Saturday, October 29, 2005
And the hunt begins
I vented about this on one of my fave BBs but I thought I’d blog about it as well, since it’s going to be a continuing saga.
I asked for a raise the first part of the summer and was told to remind Boss when I'd been there a year. The day before I had been there 1 year I was informed the other part time paralegal had decided to go full-time, but was told I was NOT losing my job. I reminded Boss then that it was a year. He told me that not only did he make other paralegal full-time, but he also gave her a raise, so I was going to have to wait until mid-October.
When it was time to call in payroll for mid-October he was out of the office so I reminded him on the phone (and apologized for doing so) that I was promised a raise for mid-October. He told me to increase my pay by 50 cents and he'd talk to me about a more appropriate increase when he was back to work.
I waited until he was back to work for a week before broaching the subject again. That was last week and he told me that he was going to have to talk to his partner first before he could give me any type of substantial raise.
Thursday (2 days ago) I told him payroll was being called in and he told me he couldn't help it, but that he and partner were meeting tomorrow morning (Friday morning). When I got to work yesterday I overheard partner's paralegal telling him that since he wasn't there to discuss it and she had to call in payroll, she told them she was getting a raise.
Boss called me into his office and told me that since part-time paralegal got a raise partner's paralegal was complaining that it was her turn to get a raise, so she got one. I told Boss that I heard her tell partner that she gave herself a raise yesterday.
Boss told me that partner has not been doing well for a couple of months and said he would not approve a raise for me. Now I'm being told that I have to wait until January.
To say I was unhappy is not even touching on how I felt. If I had not had an expert witness meeting yesterday afternoon I would have left right then, for the day. I cannot believe that they are putting me off again.
I asked Boss if he was going to give me a good review when my references were checked for the job I was going to start looking for. He got a surprised look on his face and said "of course."
I made a comment later that afternoon about it sucking to be the worm on the food chain since everyone just shoved me aside. It got rather quiet in the office then.
I think what pisses me off most is that Partner's paralegal calls in payroll so when I got the 50 cent increase I told her that it was a temporary fix until Boss could talk to Partner. I feel like she did what she did purposefully to keep me from getting a raise. She has been rather condescending lately, and has even insulted me a couple of times, but I've overlooked it. Not anymore.
After my vent on the BB last night DH brought me a nice glass of Glenmorangie. I also sent an email to a firm looking for an entry level person telling them a tiny bit of my experience and asking if I could send a formal resume. The only qualification was that the person was computer literate, so I think I have that covered!
When I got back from the grocery store this morning I had received an email back from the firm I contacted last night:
Please do, and include this email. Are you looking for a position such as this which is truly entry level?
I looked up the firm (since I couldn't tell who it was when I sent the email) and it's similar to where I'm working now - real estate law and business law. They also deal with elder abuse and nursing home issues, collections, personal injury (which I dealt with as a legal secretary for 2 years in South Carolina) and tax matters.
The question about "truly entry level" now makes me paranoid. I know I have more experience than what they're looking for, but I haven't worked a 40-hour week in 6 years, plus I still have at least 3 major and 1-2 elective classes to go before I get my degree. I know working full time, plus maintaining a homework load won't be easy and I was thinking an entry level position might alleviate some of that worry.
It's 50 cents less an hour but I'd be working twice as many hours, so it's a pay increase in the long run, so the money doesn't bother me. Perhaps it should? It also mentions there are benefits, but not what they are. If I could just get paid days off I'd be happy with that benefit, since right now if I don't work, I don't get paid (including for jury duty).
I’m worried I’m selling myself short by taking an entry-level position.
So now I’m waiting to hear back after sending my resume.
In stitching news I’m stitching as fast as I can to catch up on my obligations I’m behind on. I sent emails to everyone apologizing and explaining why I was behind, but I’ve only heard back from one person, so I suppose people are upset with me. My own fault, but I cannot worry about someone not forgiving me something as simple as letting them know AHEAD of time that I was going to be late. I should never have signed up for them in the first place, since my school is my number one priority. Lesson learned.
I asked for a raise the first part of the summer and was told to remind Boss when I'd been there a year. The day before I had been there 1 year I was informed the other part time paralegal had decided to go full-time, but was told I was NOT losing my job. I reminded Boss then that it was a year. He told me that not only did he make other paralegal full-time, but he also gave her a raise, so I was going to have to wait until mid-October.
When it was time to call in payroll for mid-October he was out of the office so I reminded him on the phone (and apologized for doing so) that I was promised a raise for mid-October. He told me to increase my pay by 50 cents and he'd talk to me about a more appropriate increase when he was back to work.
I waited until he was back to work for a week before broaching the subject again. That was last week and he told me that he was going to have to talk to his partner first before he could give me any type of substantial raise.
Thursday (2 days ago) I told him payroll was being called in and he told me he couldn't help it, but that he and partner were meeting tomorrow morning (Friday morning). When I got to work yesterday I overheard partner's paralegal telling him that since he wasn't there to discuss it and she had to call in payroll, she told them she was getting a raise.
Boss called me into his office and told me that since part-time paralegal got a raise partner's paralegal was complaining that it was her turn to get a raise, so she got one. I told Boss that I heard her tell partner that she gave herself a raise yesterday.
Boss told me that partner has not been doing well for a couple of months and said he would not approve a raise for me. Now I'm being told that I have to wait until January.
To say I was unhappy is not even touching on how I felt. If I had not had an expert witness meeting yesterday afternoon I would have left right then, for the day. I cannot believe that they are putting me off again.
I asked Boss if he was going to give me a good review when my references were checked for the job I was going to start looking for. He got a surprised look on his face and said "of course."
I made a comment later that afternoon about it sucking to be the worm on the food chain since everyone just shoved me aside. It got rather quiet in the office then.
I think what pisses me off most is that Partner's paralegal calls in payroll so when I got the 50 cent increase I told her that it was a temporary fix until Boss could talk to Partner. I feel like she did what she did purposefully to keep me from getting a raise. She has been rather condescending lately, and has even insulted me a couple of times, but I've overlooked it. Not anymore.
After my vent on the BB last night DH brought me a nice glass of Glenmorangie. I also sent an email to a firm looking for an entry level person telling them a tiny bit of my experience and asking if I could send a formal resume. The only qualification was that the person was computer literate, so I think I have that covered!
When I got back from the grocery store this morning I had received an email back from the firm I contacted last night:
Please do, and include this email. Are you looking for a position such as this which is truly entry level?
I looked up the firm (since I couldn't tell who it was when I sent the email) and it's similar to where I'm working now - real estate law and business law. They also deal with elder abuse and nursing home issues, collections, personal injury (which I dealt with as a legal secretary for 2 years in South Carolina) and tax matters.
The question about "truly entry level" now makes me paranoid. I know I have more experience than what they're looking for, but I haven't worked a 40-hour week in 6 years, plus I still have at least 3 major and 1-2 elective classes to go before I get my degree. I know working full time, plus maintaining a homework load won't be easy and I was thinking an entry level position might alleviate some of that worry.
It's 50 cents less an hour but I'd be working twice as many hours, so it's a pay increase in the long run, so the money doesn't bother me. Perhaps it should? It also mentions there are benefits, but not what they are. If I could just get paid days off I'd be happy with that benefit, since right now if I don't work, I don't get paid (including for jury duty).
I’m worried I’m selling myself short by taking an entry-level position.
So now I’m waiting to hear back after sending my resume.
In stitching news I’m stitching as fast as I can to catch up on my obligations I’m behind on. I sent emails to everyone apologizing and explaining why I was behind, but I’ve only heard back from one person, so I suppose people are upset with me. My own fault, but I cannot worry about someone not forgiving me something as simple as letting them know AHEAD of time that I was going to be late. I should never have signed up for them in the first place, since my school is my number one priority. Lesson learned.