The good news: I officially have a new job without any fuss of interviewing.
The Bad News: I was hired on the basis of a reputation for a good work ethic and not on the basis of knowing anything useful about the new department.
Training was promised, but I’m beginning to have a bad feeling about it.
to be clear: internal transfer. Same company, same building, same uniform, new responsibilities.
After five years, it’s about damn time, but I’m more scared than excited right now.
I let the PhD chemist “help”.
… I should also confess that my reaction was: “NO! Wait… ooh, cool.”
…Yay?
Yeah, my coffee pot reminded me of that rule this morning. Ouch.
Agreed, I extend a hearty “congrats?” as well. And sometimes, you find there’s nothing to actually be afraid of, so chin up!
Hooray! I’m still hoping vainly that our office snake will decide to quit/retire/be fired in a spectacular show of insight from upper management. It’s not going to happen, but it’s a wonderful fantasy.
Yesterday at work was nice, because I was able to eat lunch with my coworkers in the lunchroom and I like hanging out with them. Today was worse, because Insane Staring Woman was back in the lunchroom. I got to the lunchroom before my coworkers, and ate my lunch very quickly by myself, all the while being stared at by ISW as though I were some sort of zoo animal.
Someday my boss is bound to ask me why I rarely eat lunch with her and my coworkers anymore. I’ll explain it to her then, but I’ll probably get a lecture on how we should be nice to people who are fucked up in the head.
I dunno…
Today I had another reminder, as if I didn’t need one, of why I want out of here. Another director dragged me off of two projects I was working on at the same time to have me sit in on a meeting where she angrily complained that “something was wrong with the receipting process” and she would really like to streamline it, because I guess putting her nose into that process was easier than doing actual work. It was carefully explained to her that the receipting process was going faster and more error-free than ever before, and our customers remained pleased with it, so what was the big problem?
Well first she resented the implication that it wasn’t going fast enough when she was in charge of it. Second, she complained that “one of the reports has to go through more than one set of hands” and she didn’t like that…she didn’t explain why but it seemed that it offended her sensibilities or something like that. And lastly she couldn’t understand why a certain person in the office which she is still under investigation for harassing is involved in the process at all. Responses: nobody said it wasn’t going fast before, just that it’s going faster now; you want the reports to go through more than one set of hands anyway because someone in my department produces them and someone in your department acts on them; and lastly it is the job of the person you don’t like to be involved in this process, and you’re already under investigation for trying to break this person’s contract so if I were you I’d lay off of trying to change her job description.
The result of the meeting was that this director still didn’t like what was going on, but didn’t have any ideas to improve the process. Another hour of pointless grumping down the drain, with absolutely zero to show for it. In other news, my third and final interview for the other job is on Friday.
Good luck, Cognoscant!
I was on a phone call with a vendor last week, along with one of our executives who is in charge of a project involving this vendor, and a couple of other people. We wanted to do two things that we don’t do now. One thing the vendor said that they don’t do, but they said it quickly and then moved on to the other thing, which they can do but which they recommend against, based on another customer’s experience. There was a whole long discussion about the second thing, filled with anecdotes by the vendor, which I think was at least partly to draw our attention away from the first thing that they don’t do.
The executive came away with the idea that the vendor can do both things but they don’t recommend it. He mentioned this in an email that included me and a different executive (my Sr VP).
So I had to correct this executive publicly, so that the project doesn’t go completely in circles with a lot of wasted time.
I hate having to correct anyone publicly, especially an executive who has the CEO’s ear.
On the other hand, the closer I get to retirement (less than 20 months now) the less it bothers me.
I also hate that the vendor behaved this way. My regular contact was the one who said that they don’t do the first thing, and their Sales VP is the one who attempted to draw attention away from that.
Basically, this project sucks. It is being powered by visionaries and designers, with no idea how things happen in the real world. “We’re focusing too much on process.” Fine, design away, but at least be as aware as the rest of us that reality bites in the end.
Roddy
Every year the company I work for makes the list of “Best Places to Work” in the region. It’s not an awful place to work, I’ve been at far worse, you all know that if you were around here in 2012. But I just didn’t get the love all the time if you know what I mean. Well, now I know how we make that list every year.
There’s a survey that is emailed to all the employees about how satisfied we are with our jobs. I have no idea where it came from or who is tabulating the results, but we all got it. And we all must complete the survey. Oh, they claim it’s anonymous, but they also know who has and hasn’t returned the survey yet. If they know who hasn’t turned it in yet, then they may also have access to the supposedly anonymous results. So of course everyone posts glowing reviews of the company.
Explains a lot…
This Dilbert has this situation covered. 
Any way you can at least sit with your back to her?
“ppffft What’s with these idiots expecting ‘results’ and ‘progress’? I’m busy being CREATIVE over here! I’m a fucking Visionary!”
Yesterday everybody at my husband’s level or higher in his office got promoted – except him. His asshole boss got promoted to Vice President and transferred to England. He has no idea how this all is going to affect him and is so stressed he couldn’t sleep. Seeing him go to work this morning was like watching him march off to the gallows. They have to start treating him better or he’s out of there.
… or stare back. Make it a game: she who blinks first loses that round.
May be difficult because of how the lunchroom is arranged, but I can try.
She wasn’t there today, luckily.
Ha, maybe I should try that.
Make sure you always have a fork, teh crazy can be hazardous…
And at the end of the last interview, the SVP said, “I think you’re the person we’re looking for here, and so does the hiring manager and the interview committee. When do you think you can start?”
All my current job’s troubles past, open seas at last…
Holy shit, congrats. 