General Forums >> Careers >> Help! I'm about to lose my job
Help! I'm about to lose my job
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Posted 7 months ago I've been working at my company, in the same position, for the past ten years and I'm close to getting fired. (I'm at the top of the salary scale for what the company is willing to pay for my job, and there are plenty of people half my age who would love to do the job for half my salary). Over the last year, my boss seemed to be looking for reasons to criticize me, and very recently, I made a very serious error which gave him and another manager the fuel they needed. I was suspended without pay, and a note was placed in my file saying that if I made one more mistake, I would be terminated. There are no other job posibilities within the company. My question is this: Does it make more sense to come in to work everyday, walking on eggshells, knowing that one false move would be the end... or should I just quit (giving a month's notice), so that I don't have a "firing" on my resume, and won't have to tell potential future employers that I left my last position because I was fired???
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| Posted 7 months ago Ruth, FIrstly, I am very sorry for your situation. Secondly, do not quit your job. (Please know that "FIRED" will never appear on your resume (unless you PUT it there!!!) It cannot legally be mentioned officially by your company.) Thirdly, start looking for a new job immediately. Get the resume updated, the contacts contacted, etc. Find something ASAP. Even if it's not perfect. If you KNOW your days are numbered at your current company, it won't hurt to find something else and then you can find a better fit once you're at the new job. Obviously, be careful of errors, attendence and punctuality at work. Don't give them reason to fire you. You sound like you're under a lot of stress now at work, so you might want to talk to HR about the incredible STRESS that you're feeling, how hard you're trying to do an excellent job, and how much you want to stay with the company. I would mention that you have felt very criticized for the last year and make sure that you openly ask HR for coaching from your supervisor. Tell them that you're willing to do "whatever it takes" to stay with the company. You did't mention how old you are in your letter but if you're over 50, mention that fact subtlely to HR. Even see your doctor or therapist about the stress you're feeling. If you need to go on disability due to stress, it may come to that. Find out the rules by reading your employee handbook and checking out the social security website. Do not ask HR about it. If termination is discussed again, ask for 3 months more so you can improve your performance or look for work--whatever seems most appropriate. If the day comes when you are terminated, know what you want as a "package." Maybe 1 or 2 weeks severance for each of your 10 years with the company, outplacement assistance (look into this if you're not familiar with the concept), and whatever else you think would be helpful. You might not get it but I'm from the "It never hurts to ask." school of thought. As for why you left the job, your story is that the company had evolved over time and it really wasn't such "a good fit" for you any more. Or something like that. If you ARE over 50, I would chat with a lawyer about whether or not there is an age discrimination issue here. For future, try not to stay at the same company, in the same position, doing the same thing for the next 10 years. On a going forward basis, manage your career a little. Respond to things that interest you about the company and about business. Take classes, network with people, ask for additional responsibilities or for a change of responsibilities at work. Growth and exercising different business muscles is a good way to make sure that you are marketable. No job is permanent so always be thinking about what you can do to ensure that you are a valuable commodity. Finally, be wide open to other people's comments and your own instincts. There is so much that you have not been able to tell us in your letter that I could be WAY off base. Good luck. Hang in there.
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| Posted 7 months ago Realistically, you're probably toast with your current company. They're looking for a way to get rid of you, and no matter how carefully you tread, eventually you'll make another mistake (it's human nature). Then they'll be able to terminate you. But recognize that you have plenty of power in this situation. For one thing, assuming you're over 40, the company will be worried you might consider legal action against them. That means you can negotiate for a decent severance deal in exchange for you signing a release promising not to sue. If you've put in 10 years, that could get you 20 weeks of pay as severance (maybe even more, depending on how nervous management is), assuming you play your cards right. Throw in any vacation owed to you and you've probably got a decent cushion and plenty of paid time to find a new position elsewhere. You'll want to talk to HR right away so they get your side of the story. Just remember that HR, whatever they say to you, is probably on the side of management here. So you want to make sure that HR knows that you understand your rights. Don't threaten them overtly; just make it clear that you believe the issue is about age and pay, as opposed to performance. They'll get the message loud and clear. Of course, be clear with them that you want to work with the company to stay on (though frankly that seems highly unlikely at this point). In the meantime, I hope you're actively looking for a job at this point. Good luck, Ruth. |
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| Posted 7 months ago Ouch, Ruth. What a difficult situation to be in. You've gotten some good advice from the posters here, and I hope you'll see that you now have the opportunity to turn this around and find a job at a place that will appreciate you for who you are, your experience, and your genuine drive. Daniela
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| Posted 7 months ago I feel for you, Ruth123. I was told today that my contract will not be renewed, due to budget cuts rather than work problems. On July 1, I will be unemployed if I can't find something else betwen now and then. What that something else would be is a real question mark for me. I am a generalist with a lot of different skills (writing, web design, graphics) and a lot of education (Masters) but the jobs I am seeing don't match up with what I know how to do. It does not help that I have been in education most of my life, not business. I really don't want to teach, although I have some gigs now and then through the University of Phoenix. But that won't pay the rent on a regular basis. I would apprecitae any suggestions for how to define an appropriate position. I do think my boss is right when she says that my skills have been wasted on my job here...but they need clerks, not whatever it is that I am.
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| Posted 7 months ago RUTH: Keep your chin up. Follow the excellent advice of Maddie & Caldonia. You have to take the situation into your own hands. Watch out for yourself - no one else is. And play the game smart. Know the ins-and-outs of the HR handbook and how management will play. CHARLOTTE: You should start a new discussion thread to discuss your particular situation. :) |
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| Posted 6 months ago Hey Ruth, I was wondering what you had decided to do, whether you had approached HR, or if you'd simply begun to look for new alternatives? |
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| Posted 6 months ago Ruth: Talking about being recently unemployed and in my fifties, I'm a 54 year old woman, who, after working for 5 years on a job with virtually the same pay, I was "let go" because I could not fulfill the upgraded job requirements given to me by a new administration. Frankly I felt the upgraded job description was unrealistic and could not be completed in the time alloted unless I worked overtime every night. I feel strongly that I was let go because of an "age factor" and because I was labelled as a trouble maker by my supervisor behind my back. I also feel that because almost every employee of rank who had history of 5 years or more, and who later found better jobs, were weeded out for failure to satisfy their job requirements, a short time after they voiced their recommendations, opinions, on any topic that differed from management's position. Mostly, what happened was that we got a new, 30+ year old President who wanted a 30+ year old staff because "he felt" a younger staff would come in and hit the ground running with more modern and fresh ideas, perspectives, and motivation, and he also wanted to "clean house" because of the volume of dissatisfied, underpaid longer-termed employees who were causing disruption and dissention in the workplace. I was a casualty because I had an inept supervisor who relied on me to help him do his work and kept putting my work on the "low priority" list. When I complained to a superior about this, I was labeled a "trouble maker", and my supervisor then went on a campaign of "getting rid of me" through backstabbing and the like. Unfortunately for me, our President believed him because he was new to the workplace, he liked my supervisor and because my supervisor knew how to be very charming, beguiling and was good at lying. However, soon after I was let go, the President let my supervisor go because he realized (too late for me) that I was doing almost all of his work for him. He called me and asked me if I would like to work in my supervisor's capacity, but I did not want this job because I knew I would not be able to handle the stress, and there were too many trouble makers there who liked my supervisor and would have to work with me, so I said NO to this job offer. The point I am trying to make is that at some point, we have to be satisfied with what we do on a daily basis, because if we do that something 40 hours a week, we need to feel some type of fulfillment, contribution and support coming from it. Therefore, although you might not feel it right now, you will later find that it is better for you to leave this unsatisfying and unhappy situation and take all your ageless "experience" into a job that will appreciate your contributions. That's how I feel now, even though I'm still unemployed and looking for a job. It's a lot less money for me now, but money is not the key to happiness--satisfaction with yourself and your contribution to your fellowman is! May God bless and assist you in your search for a better job. Elizabeth Harris |