Times are a changin'!

It was recently noted at work that "they're dropping like flies!" Yeah. I mean, that's not even an understatement. If there was a mass elimination challenge in a reality TV show and my managers were the writers, this would have been the best ratings weeks the Nielsen's ratings have ever seen.

With all the pressure applied to "do this, and do that, and if you don't you'll be fired...." lots of people have quit. So many that we've gone from about 30 people to about 15. Yeah. So, my mediocre performance is now amazing and my dedication to the job that I do have is just damn near admirable. This all came after the manager we were hired on with, left this job for another cushier job a few blocks away in the medical fields.

In come Captain Amazing. He champions a positive environment, an actual bonus, and lesser expectations (the older higher ones were even too high for a kiss ass like me). We'll just have to see what Captain Amazing has in store for the job, because hopefully, someone will call me soon about a job I actually enjoy coming to on a daily basis

Weather and its impact on life

This week's weather has been horrible. I don't think I've seen the sun at all. It's been under 65 degrees four of the five work days and rainy/foggy for all five. Driving in it is horrible and working next to a window with a constant reminder of the crappy world outside is even worse.

So, I chose not to think this weather would affect my work ethic, but in some aspects it did. By the time I could feel the temperature dip below 60 I felt like curling up in a little ball, saying "I quit," and leaving. Well, that would be ridiculous, but I know some people did it because we lost some more people, again. I just don't understand that. Anyway. This window seat I have looks out to the highway and everyone driving on it. I want to go shopping every second of the day instead of doing my job. I just daydream about being in one of Lexuses I see driving by at 3 in the afternoon on a Tuesday. Do those people work? Have they ever worked a day in their lives? Were they just lucky? Do they know what we do in the office they drive past to get to their ritzy shopping center? Most probably not...but the weather just gets me thinking about how horrible life can be sometimes.

Then, I snap back into reality and say, "What the heck are you thinking? You have a house, a family, a job, and most things you want in the world." Quit your whining. I thank God every night that I have the things I have. I also ask for the strength to continue on with what I'm doing. It may not be where I will be in the future, but I do have the faith that it will lead me to where I need to be in my life. I don't know where that future is, and honestly knowing where that future is kind of scares me. All I know is that the sun will come out, some time. Maybe not tomorrow, but sometime. I just need to be patient.

A Pressure Cooker

If I wanted to work in a hot, steamy, and pressure filled environment after graduation I would have moved to California, auditioned for some reality TV shows and kicked some ass. I settled for turning my training class into a reality TV show at the beginning of this blog (see Training Class Episode 1-2 for those entries). However, I feel like this job has really turned into a reality TV show now.

On Tuesday managers came up to each and every one of us, individually, and previous to those individual evaluations we had later in the week, and said, "if you don't do ____ number of sales by the end of the week I can't guaranteed a job next week." I was having a particularly good day that day so I just shrugged it off, but by Thursday I couldn't sleep, had a stomachache and wanted kill myself. Friday came around and I told myself, "I'm going to work super hard so I can do what they want me to. This isn't the job I want, but it is a job that pays the bills." But, half way through the day I pretty much relegated myself to failure. It was complete crap. I was nearly to the goal they set for us at the end of the night. Nearly in tears, again, I gathered my things and turned towards the door; thinking that I might as well put the things I just moved to the desk in the back into the bags that they came in.

This pressure cooker feeling is not one I've ever been familiar with. It's horrible. I've always been one to do the things necessary to get the job done and never have been reprimanded for it. It's just ridiculous. I just want to punch all these men in their suits and ties in the faces.

Well, that feeling kind of subsided when, as I was walking out the door, the same man who told me I may not have a job next week, said "don't worry, you're fine," on the way out. But, this is also the same manager who is employed by the same guy who said I had a chance at a senior sales position. So, maybe I should get those bags packed.

Say What?!

A while back I was review by my managers. It was a good review. Pretty awesome, actually. I was one of two people who weren't getting yelled at for something or another, attendance, quality of something, not doing something right, etc. So, I was shocked and amazed when I was shuffled into an office today and asked to sign a sheet of paper that implied that I was slipping down to almost an "involuntary dismissal" for the lack of equal sales. Basically, it meant that I wasn't selling enough of some things. What the hell? Are you serious? H

I walked out of the office composed, no tears, no emotions, just confused. How did I go from 100% everything to almost being fired? Say What?! So, needless to say, that gave me the green light to look for another job. If you're going to tell me I'm not doing well with what you're giving me, and not helping me at all... I might as well say "adios."

Just pray it doesn't take as long as it did last time to find the "second job."

Denied

In some sort of way....

So, the application for the week in California was lost in the internets somewhere. The HR Gods did not receive it. I went to my managers after hearing about the interviewing all my co-workers were doing. I let them know I clicked "enter" and that I wanted to at least talk to someone about it. So, my manager, who is a bad ass, called them up and set up an early morning interview for me.

I arrived early and was the first person to be seen yesterday. The interview was getting settled and I was patient for her to get settled. As the interview started she started to get a bit snotty because I wasn't answering questions directed towards the position, they were answers pointing towards "previous experience" that the question asked for. So, she pulled out the sheet and look me in the eye, "Were you aware of the qualifications for this position? 1 year of experience in this that and the other...." I was like "Well, education substitutes for that, doesn't it?" And she gave me an evil eye back, "Psychology doesn't deal with sales. Honestly, I have no idea how you got this job to start out with...this is an opportunity for you."

No idea how I got this job to start out with!!!!??? Are you shitting me? Have you seen some of the people this place hires? Without naming names and being nasty, they aren't the brightest bulbs or crayons in the box. So, she didn't recommend me for the second interview because I wasn't qualified. Oh well. There's always a next time. If it were a regular interview I would have left the room not expecting a returned phone call for a follow-up. No worries, but I did have to go back to work. And emotional, because that's just the way I am. I was all collected, but my eyes were just a bit red still. My training manager asked me what was wrong and I said, "So and so said she didn't know why I was hired." By the time I returned from the bathroom things were escalated to employee relations.

I'm not sure what's to come of the events, but whatever they are, I was denied.