One Snarky Chica with Issues

I have been at my current job almost three months. I am on the job through a temporary staffing agency but was told that the position would go permanent at some point. Seeing as how I was unemployed at the time and that this job was a salary increase - I took the position. Typically though I am not a fan of staffing agency jobs as there is no job security.

Two weeks ago I overheard something at work that I am fairly certain I was not supposed to hear. My boss was asking someone if they had the jobs section of the Sunday paper as she had placed an ad in it and wanted to see if it had hit. Out of curiosity, I got on the newspaper website and did a search to locate the ad. The ad in question was the same job title as mine. However, my boss is over several departments that have the same job title in each department.

So, I began investigating. In December I had been given an internal link to apply for my position. I have not heard anything back since doing that. Of course, in that time span there has been some butting of heads between me and my boss. I have mentioned before how she penalizes the people that work quickly by making everyone stay late. Just this Tuesday I spent almost two hours just sitting in my chair late at night waiting for my co-workers to finish up their work. (One of them let me help but the other refused to let me help her finish up, argh) Anyways, the job on the newspaper site has a requisition number that I matched to the link where I had applied for my job.

So yes, they are trying to hire someone for my position. So - what do you do in this situation?

Being the strong-willed and somewhat stubborn chica that I am, I WANTED to quit right before month end close and say a few choice words. That is a great example of what NOT to do.

Instead, I thought it over for a couple of days. Then I called my staffing agency to feel them out and see if they had any clue. They did not and immediately jumped into reaction mode and called up my boss. Supposedly they were going to remind her of all of the compliments she had given them about me and to remind them how I am committed to the position and such.

On my end, I made sure I kept any complaints and thoughts to myself. This means my super long day on Tuesday did not involve me saying anything about what I thought about it. I also came in and worked a full day on Saturday when no one else did. Basically my objective was to make my boss think I was a rockstar that she could not afford to lose.

Of course, things could be past salvation at this point and I know that could be the case. So, I have also been taking care of that angle. I am already set to move into a cheaper apartment this weekend, which will lower my monthly expenses about $200. I am also not hooking up cable or a land line phone. I am not renting a truck to move things with. I have asked friends and family to help. And I have sold things that won’t fit in the cars we have to use. And honestly - I do not need the items I am selling anyway. Who needs a coffee table AND and end table? Not me.

Selling the stuff also gives me some extra money that I can tuck away incase I find myself unemployed. I have also ramped up the effort I make in earning alternative income online. I am also staying on focus to pay off credit cards, which in turn lowers my monthly expenditures when it comes to bills that are due.

I have also worked on my resume and began looking to see what jobs are out there so that I am prepared to start looking for a new one! I have also taken some domain names that I bought not too long ago and have developed them so that in a few months time they will hopefully be working on building up an audience and some success there.

And lastly, I think it is important to take a moment and think about what got me (or you) into a situation like this one that way you will know what you can work on to prevent it from happening again. For me, I know exactly what it is. My boss wants employees that put work as a number one priority over family and everything else. She wants to be able to control my comings and goings and doesn’t like the resistance that she meets with me. And I know that when it comes to situations like this that I have a real problem with authority. I like to be more independent and able to work on my own without someone hovering over me. And honestly, I knew from the beginning that it was going to be a troubled relationship

So, for now I am still employed. And I do not know if my job salvaging tactics have worked or not, but they did teach me something new this morning, so that is promising.