This Business and Moment...

Monkeynut · 25 Feb 2016 at 11:30

Want to break out of Retail into Admin for slightly more money, does this look necessary?

http://www.open.ac.uk/choose/vocati...vel-4-nvq-diploma-business-and-administration

Thoughts? Gone through agencies but they just try to refer me to Sales Assistant and Supervisor roles.

Nix · 25 Feb 2016 at 11:46

Monkeynut said:
Want to break out of Retail into Admin for slightly more money, does this look necessary?

http://www.open.ac.uk/choose/vocati...vel-4-nvq-diploma-business-and-administration

Thoughts? Gone through agencies but they just try to refer me to Sales Assistant and Supervisor roles.

Agencies are useless when it comes to career changing.

Try temping instead.

randomshenans · 25 Feb 2016 at 12:31

Agencies are utterly useless and it's more about the numbers/ what matches what they have on the books.

What sort of role are you looking for? You may want to tailor your CV to highlight the transferable skills etc. over going for a course like that, seems pointless unless it's a constant pre req, but I can't imagine it.

Monkeynut · 25 Feb 2016 at 13:20

randomshenans said:
Agencies are utterly useless and it's more about the numbers/ what matches what they have on the books.

What sort of role are you looking for? You may want to tailor your CV to highlight the transferable skills etc. over going for a course like that, seems pointless unless it's a constant pre req, but I can't imagine it.

Basically Office Admin or 1st line support? Definitely not staying in retail. Not 100% sure as to my career (I'm 22) but want something better than being a cashier all my life.

Nix · 25 Feb 2016 at 13:45

Monkeynut said:
Basically Office Admin or 1st line support? Definitely not staying in retail. Not 100% sure as to my career (I'm 22) but want something better than being a cashier all my life.

Temping is a good option for you right now.

Monkeynut · 25 Feb 2016 at 14:05

Nix said:
Temping is a good option for you right now.

I'm currently applying on places like CV Library, Job Centre website, Monster etc does anyone have any specific places that are really good? Just doing some research before I start working at 3pm today.

Davey_Pitch · 26 Feb 2016 at 13:47

Davey_Pitch said:
Found out today that there is a big company announcement on Friday morning, and all staff have to be in for it, even those who were previously booked to be on holiday. I don't think that sounds too good. Fingers crossed it's just a restructure of the company rather than a sweep of redundancies or something like that.

So, turns out the announcement wasn't great for me personally. It's been confirmed that our IT department will be going, possibly as soon as the end of March (they're outsourcing IT going forward). Not great news, but I've been made redundant before and came out of it better in the end. I'll make sure I do the same thing this time.

tcfreer · 26 Feb 2016 at 14:07

Unlucky Davey

Still as you say onwards and upwards.

depending on what It area isn't there some IT jobs on here in the Jobs here thread - might be worth a look - some are northen based?

Davey_Pitch · 26 Feb 2016 at 14:19

Yeah, I'll make sure I have a nose. At least it's not as bad for me as for some others. 3 members of staff were made redundant on the spot, with another 3 leaving at the end of next week. At least I have at least a month to look for something else. Plus, I'd like to think with over 16 years experience in IT support, all the way up to server and team management, that I should be able to get a job relatively quickly. Fingers crossed anyway.

tcfreer · 26 Feb 2016 at 14:29

Have you been there long?

alx · 26 Feb 2016 at 14:29

Davey_Pitch said:
Yeah, I'll make sure I have a nose. At least it's not as bad for me as for some others. 3 members of staff were made redundant on the spot, with another 3 leaving at the end of next week. At least I have at least a month to look for something else. Plus, I'd like to think with over 16 years experience in IT support, all the way up to server and team management, that I should be able to get a job relatively quickly. Fingers crossed anyway.

Can't be nice, good luck with it all.

Will be going through something similar in a couple of months, just been taken over by the company in my sig

, slight irony

Davey_Pitch · 26 Feb 2016 at 15:38

tcfreer said:
Have you been there long?

Nope, it'll be a year on Wednesday.

Ayahuasca · 26 Feb 2016 at 15:48

Should be fine with 16 years experience Davey, all the best finding a better role!

randomshenans · 2 Mar 2016 at 21:22

We had another person contact us today about a sales role, and I happen to know the company she used to work for. They do analytics in our area, as their CPO and COO are mentors of mine. I asked them about her and said she was really good, just given an impossible territory to sell to. Anyway, call with her tomorrow and Friday have a demo scheduled with Arizona State Uni.

My contract job is looking semi OK, but a whole group of developers I worked with just got the can. Most of them were in startups anyway and can afford to just work full time on those, so no big deal but seems there are a lot of cuts coming.

I want to be based in the US; it make sense from a business point of view startup wise, so I was talking to a mate of mine in Seattle. I'm going to see if I can get a genuine job over there, full time style with his help, which would then put me where I need to be for other work.

That's my Wednesday rant away anyway.

wingman · 2 Mar 2016 at 21:43

Such a good thread, thanks for starting OP. I had just thought about starting my own rant thread, so I'm glad this is already here.

Here's mine;

Started a new role in finance a little under 5 months ago for an SME - was promised the world, with a relatively good remuneration package all round (albeit not ground breaking by any means).

In truth the role has turned out to be quite different than what I was expecting, it's almost entirely admin based and the other staff are very lazy and unwilling to help. Some of them even fall asleep at their desks.

I think I'm being utilised for my advanced excel skills, which is absolutely fine as I enjoy working with excel. I'm just not getting much finance exposure at all... I've also implemented a lot of changes into processes, simplified them and make them a little more, how to put it politely, "bullet proof" than before. They've spotted this and it's all I'm doing now.

A month and a half ago I e-mailed my manager and explained that we needed to discuss my position, what it is I'm doing here, and how I'm desperately concerned that the role isn't developing or engaging myself personally or professionally.

That conversation still hasn't taken place.

I drafted an e-mail today but didn't send it, figured I'd sleep on it another night first - basically saying that I am going to actively search for a new role as this position isn't where I want to develop my career.

Fortunately (or unfortunately), my boss is very fair and I think he would understand this point of view.

Thoughts?

randomshenans · 2 Mar 2016 at 22:03

I think you're doing the right thing. Sounds like this will end up being your role and while you enjoy some of the aspects of what you're doing, you don't sound like you're learning or getting the relevant experience to help your professional development.

The thing is it being at this amount of time, you have more explaining to do for your next role... or at interview. You can always say that you were missold the position etc. but some might take this as a negative. Either way, you hold out for 5 months or something and look, or you get the ball rolling looking and see what comes up and then cross that bridge when you come to it. I'd do the latter.

wingman · 2 Mar 2016 at 22:12

randomshenans said:
I think you're doing the right thing. Sounds like this will end up being your role and while you enjoy some of the aspects of what you're doing, you don't sound like you're learning or getting the relevant experience to help your professional development.

The thing is it being at this amount of time, you have more explaining to do for your next role... or at interview. You can always say that you were missold the position etc. but some might take this as a negative. Either way, you hold out for 5 months or something and look, or you get the ball rolling looking and see what comes up and then cross that bridge when you come to it. I'd do the latter.

Many thanks for taking the time to reply!

You've hit the nail on the head really, I do enjoy some aspects - but those aspects have been part and parcel of all my roles beforehand anyway, so there's no real real to stay with this particular company on that basis.

In a very real way I was "missold" the role, but to flip that on it's head perhaps I was being naive too, as this is the first SME I have ever worked for. I'm happy to get "stuck in" as it were with whatever the company needs but my wage doesn't reflect my work (God forbid my employer sees me saying that I am paid too much), but it's true. The wage was reflective, initially, based on performing typical accounting functions. I'm simply not doing those tasks...

To put it another way, they're not getting their monies worth I don't think. Sure, I am the most experienced and qualified member of our team of 6 (save for my manager), but what I'm doing could be done for half the price. I just don't get it. It's not helping me nor them... :confused:

randomshenans · 2 Mar 2016 at 22:20

Christ never tell them that

haha Just use this position to step hopefully into a much better next one.

randomshenans · 2 Mar 2016 at 23:50

Written a new CV. Always good practice and my last one was awful.

Regardless, it'll be good to have something just in case.

Other side note, my wife's new business has started well. She's had 2 bookings scheduled. Her business is: https://www.facebook.com/harpermaes (in no way promoting, it's just easier than writing it!)
She's looking to build out the business here, get some local ambassadors to help run the parties, so she can then build the business in other cities too. Not bad going for first few weeks in.

randomshenans · 4 Mar 2016 at 19:53

I'm totally spamming this thread but I don't care, it's been a busy but productive week.

We've got a really good sales director from our partner company, who really wants to join us. Took him through some more tonight and he's going to think of sales strategy against our business needs and talk monday.

Also, we've just received verbal confirmation from Arizona State University that they want to use our solution. And demo requests from 2 other universities and a college. I'm drinking bubbly right now in celebration to a tough but fruitful week.