Job update
Aug. 11th, 2009 09:45 amOk, So I found a job about 2 months ago. It is only paying $1.10 less than what I was making. It is unfortunately a no overtime, temp to hire, no benifit situation. The job is OK, doing sales for an elelectric motor company. They have a non-web based program, in a DOS window. Ancient ordering system from the 80s or early 90s. No phone system que to speak of and it is not computer based but I do have a wireless headset. Odd really. The hardest part of the job is learning all the parts. Thousands of diffrent part numbers and the customers don't always know it. I had no idea that the electric motor biz was so convoluted. They really need a better organized method of searching for parts and a better system I must be spoiled. There are less than a dozen people, including the warehouse here, in the building.
Very odd situation.
Anyway, further reflection on the "layoff" of my previous job is that it was a purely social descision. I was told to be a bit more social and talk to the other reps more, rather than just doing my job and making sure that I get the job done. I attempted to do so. Now, my socializing skills are not that great. When I try, it is enevitable that someone will not like me. I must have failed.
The reason that I conclude that it was a purely social layoff and not business related is that my last review was a very good review. It was in January, I got "Layed Off" in April. Nothing in my work was questioned and the last time I talked to my supervisors we were all good. I did special projects and 2 days before I got "Layed Off" I was one of the 2 people choosen to man the phones when we were out of power and on back up for most of the day, it was for 1/2 the day we couldn't do anything. They trusted me to take phone calls and be efficient on the phone then. So I have to ask myself, "What's the change?" When I asked why in the exit meeting, I got some short garbage about some accounts that someone higher up had problems with or some such, it was all very vauge. The supervisor started out the meeting by saying exactly "We are letting you go and there is nothing you can say to change that." Yes verbatium. Now I was shocked. Being a good employee in a growing business that was short of help as it was and being the veteran on the line. My initial conclusion was that they fired me because I was being paid about $2.00 more an hour that someone that they could hire fresh. This was due to 2 merit raises that I received prior to the company selling to a corporation from being owned by two individuals. Given the hard line and the vagueness the supervisor did not want to tell me why and knew it was a shitty thing to do. She may have even been the one that shared the dislike of me personally and not just someone "Hirer up". But hey, I am not bitter.
On the stock issue, I did manage to get a loan from my mom and bought the stock, they say that it is at the lawyers for signatures prior to issuing the stock certificates. So that is for 1100 shares. In a few years or when/if they go public it should be worth 10 times as much. The investment corporation bought the compnay for about 100 mil. NOW that is what their revenue is going to be by the end of the year. No idea what the profit is but it has got to be a few million at least profit. For a company of 120 employees that's pretty damn good. They also have tripled or quad'ed the customer base in that time. That is in less than 3 years. So it is a strong company and the stock should be worth a lot, in some time when the secret is out.
So that's an update in my life. Things have downgraded. Oh, and 2 weeks ago I had a massive alergic reaction to some lawn chemicals and that frightened the hell out of me. I have never had an alergic reaction like that. So I paniced. It cost a bundle to go through ergent care center. A total of around $350 for the visit and 2 shots, one benadryll and the other was steroids. Then I called into work the next day and slept most of the day. I was better by saturday and sunday. But it was hell.
All better. I figured I would update here as I had put on that I was let go.
That is all for now.
Dave
Very odd situation.
Anyway, further reflection on the "layoff" of my previous job is that it was a purely social descision. I was told to be a bit more social and talk to the other reps more, rather than just doing my job and making sure that I get the job done. I attempted to do so. Now, my socializing skills are not that great. When I try, it is enevitable that someone will not like me. I must have failed.
The reason that I conclude that it was a purely social layoff and not business related is that my last review was a very good review. It was in January, I got "Layed Off" in April. Nothing in my work was questioned and the last time I talked to my supervisors we were all good. I did special projects and 2 days before I got "Layed Off" I was one of the 2 people choosen to man the phones when we were out of power and on back up for most of the day, it was for 1/2 the day we couldn't do anything. They trusted me to take phone calls and be efficient on the phone then. So I have to ask myself, "What's the change?" When I asked why in the exit meeting, I got some short garbage about some accounts that someone higher up had problems with or some such, it was all very vauge. The supervisor started out the meeting by saying exactly "We are letting you go and there is nothing you can say to change that." Yes verbatium. Now I was shocked. Being a good employee in a growing business that was short of help as it was and being the veteran on the line. My initial conclusion was that they fired me because I was being paid about $2.00 more an hour that someone that they could hire fresh. This was due to 2 merit raises that I received prior to the company selling to a corporation from being owned by two individuals. Given the hard line and the vagueness the supervisor did not want to tell me why and knew it was a shitty thing to do. She may have even been the one that shared the dislike of me personally and not just someone "Hirer up". But hey, I am not bitter.
On the stock issue, I did manage to get a loan from my mom and bought the stock, they say that it is at the lawyers for signatures prior to issuing the stock certificates. So that is for 1100 shares. In a few years or when/if they go public it should be worth 10 times as much. The investment corporation bought the compnay for about 100 mil. NOW that is what their revenue is going to be by the end of the year. No idea what the profit is but it has got to be a few million at least profit. For a company of 120 employees that's pretty damn good. They also have tripled or quad'ed the customer base in that time. That is in less than 3 years. So it is a strong company and the stock should be worth a lot, in some time when the secret is out.
So that's an update in my life. Things have downgraded. Oh, and 2 weeks ago I had a massive alergic reaction to some lawn chemicals and that frightened the hell out of me. I have never had an alergic reaction like that. So I paniced. It cost a bundle to go through ergent care center. A total of around $350 for the visit and 2 shots, one benadryll and the other was steroids. Then I called into work the next day and slept most of the day. I was better by saturday and sunday. But it was hell.
All better. I figured I would update here as I had put on that I was let go.
That is all for now.
Dave