BerthaBlog

This is our new girl’s first week (so I guess I have to come up with a new moniker for the one I used to call New Girl). And I’ve been tasked with training her how to do everything, because I’m “so patient.” (People who know me outside of work will be cleaning coffee off their keyboards now.) Basically I get the job because I’m good at being pleasant and easygoing with my co-workers even when I’d rather be bitch-slapping them.

Not that our newest employee needs bitch-slapping. She’s a nice lady, she wants to do a good job and is picking things up quickly. My dislike of the job has nothing to do with her, I just don’t like teaching people. There’s a reason I didn’t go into the teaching curriculum in college. And I also have to go behind and make sure she’s doing it right, and give her feedback, and find work for her to do. I’m almost her manager. I do not want to be a manager.

To make things worse, we really didn’t need her. I think the boss panicked when our second payroll girl left, and thought he needed more staff than he actually does. By Thursday I expect I will have run out of work for her to do. I just hope someone else will have something. On the plus side, that means I only have one more day of training to do.

A recruiter contacted me last week and submitted me for a really juicy contract job. Yeah, it’s a contract job but I’ve had good luck in the past with turning contract jobs into permanent ones. I think I’ll e-mail her tomorrow and see if she’s heard anything more about it. If I wind up giving my two weeks notice, THEN we’ll need the extra staff.

My search for more money (and benefits) continues. Had an interview this week, and went to a big job fair that gave me a few promising leads.

The interview was, frankly, a waste of time. They called me the day before, I told them I was looking for opportunities for advancement and told them my rate was $X (more than I’m making now, but still at the low end for people doing my job in my area).

I go in the next day, and it’s a dinky operation with two people (I would make three) and they can’t pay me $X, but asked me to think about the lowest offer I’d accept. I politely said I’d think about it, but in my head I was thinking “There’s no room for advancement here and you can’t pay me what I’m asking for, WHY THE HELL DID YOU BRING ME IN?”

But I think I know the answer anyway—they brought me in because I’m exactly what they want. Unfortunately the feeling isn’t mutual.

I’ve never been looking for a job when I already have one; I’m still getting used to it. Now I’ll have to practice politely and professionally rejecting offers that don’t meet my requirements. It’s a skill I’ve never had to learn until now. “I’m afraid I can’t consider anything lower than $X.”