In my life of 'serial employment' (which is, of right now, quite stable) I have had several jobs. Some great, some not so great. In either case, even if I did not like the job, or the job did not like me (I'm looking at you, crazy day spa lady) I learned great lessons. I would like to pass these lessons onto you, in the hope that in doing so, you, a professional in your own right, might be helped in some way.
Our first lessons involve this question:
'Emily, how do I know if I have accepted a job on a sinking ship, (i.e. a company going under?)'
Well - here are some things that should worry you if you see them in your new place of employment.
1. On your first day of work, you meet another employee who says "My name is _____, but don't worry about learning it, because this is my last day in this place."
2. When you are choosing your workspace, it takes a while because there are several available desks/rooms.
3. There is dust on the fake plant in the bathroom. As well as the kleenex box cover and the soap pump. And the picture frame. And nothing to dust with.
4. You can never order duplicate supplies for your job. When you ask why, the answer is that there is not enough cash flow for more than one box of staples at a time.
5. The owner mans the phones because they haven't hired a replacement for the last receptionist, and nobody can get up enough courage to ask when they will hire a new one.
6. Also, when the owner goes to lunch, you have to man the phones because of the whole 'lack-of-receptionist' thing.
7. You can plan an hour nap here or there because you are not that busy.
8. A lot of your supplies have been bought for yourself by yourself.
9. The second bathroom has never been used by anybody, there is never enough spillover from the first one. And even if they wanted to use the second bathroom, they couldn't because the toilet has been broken since before you started working there.
10. No one is hired after you, even though people are slowly disappearing left and right.
11. You can't throw out the stained towels because then you wouldn't have any towels at all. And no, you can't buy any new ones due to the aforementioned 'cash flow' problem.
12. The owner has an office, but is never in there. Mostly because he/she is looking at MySpace and Facebook all day on the front computer.
13. When you think of a great marketing strategy to reach out to clients with a personalized mailing, you are told 'Oh yeah, we have some postcards around here somewhere. Maybe in your room? You can look for them.'
14. Light bulbs are of no importance. If one of yours blows out, you just shuffle bulbs around from another workspace. Just take one from the pedicure/manicure room, because in the three months you have worked there, nobody has booked a pedicure or manicure. In fact, come to think of it, you don't think there is a person on staff who can do nails at all.
and for the kicker:
11. A co-worker pulls you aside and tells you in these exact words "This place has been a sinking ship for months now. If I was you, I would be looking for a new job"
And that, my friends, is just one of my many ghosts-of-jobs-past. Stay tuned for next week's installment - 'Emily, how can I make working at a call center more entertaining?' (Hint: Not much)
Here's to helping you while being able to laugh at my own weird jobs-
and of course, yours sincerely,
me.
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