Hypothetical, sort of: Joe get hired in summer of 2007 for a job that sounds perfect. Shortly after being hired Joe finds out that the actual job he was hired for is a project that still needs to be approved by corporate. Joe ends up being the “helper” around the office. Fixing things and helping out people that are falling behind since management is not ready to work on the project. Early 2008, Joe finally starts working on the project to be approved by corporate. March 2008, corporate approves the project but changes it drastically from the original plan making the job no longer attractive to Joe. Also there are very few other positions that Joe is interested in at this company (just the nature of the company). Joe starts looking for other work else but only casually. May 2008, Joe’s supervisors inform Joe that the new project is still 6-9 months from implementation and in the meantime he is back to being the “helper”. Except now they are requiring him to come in on weekends and he will be helping one specific team doing largely administrative stuff. Now Joe does not see a future at this company anymore since the original job was changed so drastically. The company is also not the greatest atmosphere. Joe also feels like he has been used for the last year and has not progressed in his career. Joe could probably not care less about the current job and company after all this. Should Joe quit, focus on L2 and then finding a new job or suck it up and find a new job while staying at this one. Is Joe overreacting?
Joe should quit if he has money saved up to last a few months unemployed, pass the cfa and enjoy the summer
You should just go in there at 9 am and leave at 5pm. If they tell you you’re lazy and need to work harder then explain to them that if you’re a filler/temp … you’ll do filler/temp/secretary hours. If they fire you, seek unemployment and study & jobsearch.
It’s easier to find a job when you have one then when you don’t. Joe should look while he’s working, and stop whining because either way, he should have known/figured out up front that he was being hired for a project (approved or not irrelevent). How can you find out enough about a job for it to “sound perfect” but not realize its a project? This also means that he should have realized that down the road he’d have to look for something else internally and and figured out upfront that given the nature of the company he would not want to stick around when the project was over. If you get overtime for the weekends, and you’re just a year or two out of college deal with it while you look, but tell them that you have some “plans” for various weekends in the summer that you had blocked out in advance because they hadn’t told you about the job requirement of weekend work upfront.
All my sympathy to Joe as he sounds like a man who might have lost sight of his goal. Tragic, isn’t it? When he started out at the firm he appears to have had a clear sense of what he was going for and what he wanted to do for the coming number of years. Starting out in a business (no matter which one) is always difficult as one faces unexpected obstacles and new situations. However, in Joe’s case it seems to me the actual job was totally different to the one he expected and he should have realized at once that the company has broken its promises. That is a serious offense in the business world and even if Joe get’s paid, I don’t think the employer deserves his loyalty any longer. Hence, Joe should contemplate what would be in his own best interest. If he wants to emerge as a winner from this whole crap, he should stay but only under one condition: No more of the auxiliary work he is doing now. Don’t put the gun to your superiors head, but let him know that you are not content with the situation and - even if it may be hard to muster - let the world (i.e. colleagues but above all your superiors) know that you qualify for more. It is up to Joe how he does it, but unless you communicate to your peers that have ambitions for the upside you lose and eventually walk out as a loser. Or one day will be introduced to a fresh college kid. As his new superior.
“It’s easier to find a job when you have one then when you don’t” Definitely true. The problem with slacking off and complaining is that you lose a good recommendation. Suck it up and keep looking for another job. Economic reality is b*#&*, and life without medical insurance and a paycheck can get rough. He should hang in there as long as he can. Just keep looking for another job. He should also make himself available for contract and temp-to-hire positions. The ST nature of these positions may make the more attainable, and he has very little to lose
if they’re keeping you this busy, it sure doesn’t look like your job would be at risk by demanding (nicely but firmly) tasks that build soils that you want to have going forward, although maybe they would do another bait and switch hire.
virginCFAhooker Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > You should just go in there at 9 am and leave at > 5pm. If they tell you you’re lazy and need to > work harder then explain to them that if you’re a > filler/temp … you’ll do filler/temp/secretary > hours. If they fire you, seek unemployment and > study & jobsearch. Perfect advice!!! I’d like to add something but I’d just be repeating VCFAH. Oh well. Do not quit. Just be lazy and work no later than 9-5 or the stated hours.
Are you a regular employee with all the benefits or a temp? Suck it up, rock their socks off and do your best.
Take note of “Joe,” Niblita.
Joe is a regular employee with all the benefits. Rock their socks off? They actually think Joe is an amazing employee but it comes down to the position they hired Joe for has changed to the point where Joe would not have initially applied for the job. Joe will probably take the mindset of working the normal hours, no weekends since he already has plans for the next month or two and try to find something in the meantime. Joe also likes to talk in the third person.
gain some character and quit.
Joe should not be working his ass off anymore…just do what he’s supposed to do and be the “average employee.” Try to duck under the radar as much as you can so you can search for another job or study in whatever downtime you have. However, I STRONGLY recommend not quitting - the job market will get worse before it gets better – and for the most part, people who aren’t in school and who don’t have a job are probably among the least employable people out there, not only because they have to go through the motions of explaining why they were unemployed to begin with, but also because they have to compete with those other unemployed people that actually have useful work experience.
Joe needs income and should stay 
recommendation, recommendation, recommendation. Don’t damage that! Keep looking until you find something else. I’m not the biggest fan of my job, but at the end of the day, I go into work every morning with this mindset, FAKE IT TILL YOU MAKE IT!!!
suggest you work 9-5, leave and pursue some other finance related interests…
I’m with those who say “keep picking up the paycheck but look for another job”
You know, a few people here have talkedabout recommendations as being important. First, if you are job hunting while you are working no prosepective employer will ask for a recommendation becuase they don’t expect you to tell your boss that you’re looking. Second, almost every large company has a very strict no recommendation issue policy becuase of potential litigation issues if they lie. The standard if for HR to provide start date, end date, title, and if the caller provides ending comp and asks if it is correct HR will say yes or no. Finally, you never give out a name as a reference without first asking that person’s permission, and obviously you will only do that if you know that thye will say good thngs about you and they say that its okay.
Sticking around solely because you’re hoping to get a recommendation, either for business school or for a future employer, is a mistake. If you’re a good candidate, there are plenty of other people that can vouch for you (like friends, people in your office who aren’t your boss but still work in a supervisory or collegial capacity, etc.), and also companies can figure out whether you’re good or not on your own. I agree with Super I as well in that future employers will not ask your current boss for a recommendation because they obviously know better than to do that. I got my current job by having colleagues and superiors at previous firms vouch for me. I never once thought about asking my boss for a recommendation, because [1] I was interviewing without his knowledge (presumably), [2] and he was somewhat of a jerk and not particularly competent (certainly less competent than I was).
I would say stay in there and look for another job meanwhile. At last your current job helps you pay the bills etc. Also, there is no harm in asking for different tasks and let them know you want more responsibility.