STYLETHREAD -- LET'S TALK SHOP!

kenzie · Chanel

nm

Hermes

RE: Ugh. Boo.

jrhampt · Kenneth Cole

You could play scrabulous with me on facebook? Too bad your ex-CEO can't get you a department to manage at your old company...

kenzie · Chanel

D, I can do that. No problem. Are you looking for articles or just a the stitches?

J, I waste so much time on Facebook. I need to add scrabulous. Doing that now.
I've also reached Zealot level on Addicted to LOST trivia.

-- Edited by kenzie at 10:53, 2008-06-25

Hermes

Right now, I want to focus on just getting some stitches going vs. issues. However, a stitch can be an article. It can be whatever you want that is relevant to style (which is broad and subjective...)

lynnie · Chanel

Could you throw yourself into etsy/jewelry/freelance full time in the next 6 months or so? It sucks to "waste your day" and then have to work after hours while you're doing nothing 9-5 but it might be a good way to get out of your job entirely.
Or.. is there any way you could help grow your company accounts? It sounds like you are at loss of things to do because you're fighting for the same jobs but if there was a plethora of them...

kenzie · Chanel

~

-- Edited by kenzie at 17:17, 2008-07-07

Hermes

kenzie wrote:

Thing is, the graphic designer is so busy that he can't keep up with his work, yet refuses to let me do any of it. It's really a ridiculous situation. I think it's largely because the department manager wants to keep people confined in their job title boxes (You write, that's all you do. You design, that's all you do.) That logic is really twisted to me, especially in today's economy of workers having to have more than one skill set. That's usually an asset, not a problem. Not here.

D-Sounds good. I'll work on it.

sweet - thanks for the help.

in regard to people being in boxes... it's not uncommon. when I went from a small agency where I was a jack of all trades to a huge agency, I had a really hard time with "boxes." When I started providing more input than the designers wanted, I was told "that was not my job." Hence why I'm happier in a small agency -- I get to be a jack of all trades smile

kenzie · Chanel

~

-- Edited by kenzie at 17:17, 2008-07-07

Hermione · Kate Spade

Two things immediately came to mind for me:
1) Why can't you just tell your boss how you are feeling? It doesn't make sense that they'd want to pay someone to do nothing, just tell him that you are bored and don't have enough to fill your time and would like a challenge? I did that with one of my jobs - the manager was like "wow, ok - I had no idea" and gave me more interesting things to do (and some not so interesting, but things to do nonetheless)
2) Here's what I see as the best bet - if now the CEO realizes how much you did - can you not approach him/ her and ask if there are any positions available or to keep you in mind if something comes up? Now that he realizes your value, you could probably leverage that into a more suitable compensation package then you had before - also it would be nice to be in a company that valued your talents instead of bypassing you to grant the every whim of another employee.

Overall, here you are in another position where someone is overshadowing you and you're losing on the growth potential/ opportunities that you might have otherwise had. Speak up this time!

kenzie · Chanel

~

-- Edited by kenzie at 17:18, 2008-07-07

Farrah · Marc Jacobs

I'm not trying to be an a$$ or anything, but it seems like you are never happy where you are working. Perhaps you are in the wrong field. That was what I finally realized about HR: I was always miserable because I hated the work and I had most of the same complaints you have had at every job. Just a thought.

Hermione · Kate Spade

That's an interesting thought Farrah - now that I think of it Kenzie, she's right - you seem to be plagued with one terrible work experience after another.

Also, Kenzie, if your boss doesn't believe that you don't have enough work to do, and you've already spoken to him about it multiple times, I would just get all your work done in the morning, and then set up shop and make jewelry at your desk. I don't know why you'd have an old project pulled up on your screen to make it "look like you're busy," because that's only going to undermine what you've said and make your boss feel justified in telling you that you've got enough to do.
If you're able to get all your work done in a fraction of your work hours, just do it and then do your own stuff at your desk. He'll quickly realize that you weren't kidding when you said there wasn't enough for you to do.

kenzie · Chanel

~

-- Edited by kenzie at 17:18, 2008-07-07

Kitty · Hermes

I don't have any advice but I would like to commiserate. I am a really, really fast worker and I've been bored to tears at every single job I've ever had. I can have 15 projects going at once and still manage to only do a few hours of work a day. I look around and don't understand how other people seem to put in 8 hours when they have far less projects and work than me.

What about taking online courses? Can you get away with doing non-work stuff at work or do you have to do work only stuff?

kenzie · Chanel

~

-- Edited by kenzie at 17:19, 2008-07-07

Hermione · Kate Spade

What I just don't get is why they would want to pay you to sit around and feel like your brain is melting. It sucks that your boss wouldn't listen when you approached him about more work.
If they're not going to give you more work, as long as you get it done, then why not do your own stuff? Either they're going to get the point and give you more stuff to do, or you're going to be able to use that time to be productive for yourself. What do they want you to do? They want to pay you x/hr to be the solitaire queen?
You for real should either start doing your own stuff, I like the idea of online classes, or say to your boss that as you're able to get your projects done in half the time (or however long) of your work hours, and they don't have any more, you're going to change you hours from 9-5 to 9-1 for maximum efficiency.

kenzie · Chanel

~

-- Edited by kenzie at 17:19, 2008-07-07

Kitty · Hermes

I know the community college near me has a lot of online classes. I took a creative writing class online. I'm sure you could get away with having a word doc open and writing in it.

kenzie · Chanel

~

-- Edited by kenzie at 17:20, 2008-07-07