Good Questions #1

On this post of Good Questions, I want to answer a single question that is on everyone's mind when creating a blog such as this.

Why in the hell am I doing it and what for?

The simple reason is this.

I like to tell stories and talk my head off about whatever is bothering me. If it's a bad day at work, I would talk about it. If it's running into the wrong person, I would talk about it. Hopefully, me talking away at my bad experiences would hopefully help them on how to avoid the experiences I have been through, or find a better way at how to approach them.

This is just that. Experiences, whether good or bad, are shared with one another to help gain knowledge of what to do and what not to do in situations. For me, if I see someone go into the woods and get mauled by a bear, I would avoid those woods. Hell, I would avoid zoos altogether if that is the case. For bad jobs, it is treated just the same.

I see a bad job as a loving relationship gone horribly wrong. At first, the lover does sweet things to gain your love, respect, and devotion by making so many promises that they can't keep. Think of it as the mouth writing checks that the ass can't cash. On down this relationship, you notice things that are not right, but you keep going thinking that you are in something good for the long haul. Those sweet promises that were made continue to remain unfulfilled for days, weeks, months even while you play dumb and ignore the signs that you are in a relationship that will not benefit you in the slightest. Then you find that you are stuck in deep shit with the person that would eat away at your very mind, body, and soul while you suckle upon their tit of what little milk that they offer so you can barely survive. Going on weeks and months to no end until you give up and push yourself away, knowing the consequences of striking it out on your own again.

Once you break it off, you feel a wave of despair blanket over you since you don't know where your next support will come from. You also feel happy that you got out of a bad situation that could have went horribly, horribly wrong if you remained with the lover of empty promises.

My experiences are just like that, bits of internet lover drama except this is the kind of drama that could benefit anyone who is willing to listen.

Thanks for taking the time to read, and don't forget to send those questions to realyourjobsucks@gmail.com.

Talk to you next time, and happy job hunting!

Congrats on your job! Now what?

So you landed yourself a good job. Congratulations and welcome to the world of responsibilities! You are on the bright path to personal and financial independence! With your job, you are able to set your goals, handle your finances, and give your sweetheart that perfect present at your favorite romantic rendezvous. 

GIGGIDY!!

Who knows, maybe your job will rocket you to an enriching career that will give you a deep and warm satisfaction like a bacon salad with bacon in it! 

But what if that job isn't the right job for you? Are you sure that you are willing to put in the effort, hours, and attention to turn your current job into a career that you could be proud of? Once you do happen to get that shiny "career" that your employers are preaching about, would it still be worth it? Figuring out things like this is what helps us make sure to find a job that fits you and won't feel like it's a huge waste of time. You only have one life, no continues, and no time machines to reset by. Knowing this, you need to find that right job that makes everything count!

The job that you currently have maybe the diamond in the ruff that you’re looking for, or maybe not. There are always signs that show us if the job is worth holding onto or something you need to drop like a bad habit! In my personal experiences, here are a few bits of behavior to keep in mind before you clock in. 

Everything seems so exciting when you get that new job. You are ready to start the day to learn a new skill and apply your skills to reach new heights! You feel amazing and able to become the person you were destined to be. But…then it happens. That sweet contact high you had when you got hired usually would keep you happy for about 2 to 3 weeks. That is when the little things will start to annoy you. Then the annoyances will continue to annoy you, and so on and so forth.  In about the forth week, you are looking like the living dead being beckoned to your masters. Don’t get me wrong, if annoyances are a part of your road to a career, then just buck up and take it like the awesome person you are. If you are at a job which makes you happy to face it every day, then congratulations! You’re in a career. If you see yourself in a career in flipping burgers, then you better make sure that those burgers are triple flipped. If not, I suggest you get yourself out of the kitchen into greener pastures.

You probably have heard this once or twice from a few people and hiring managers. “You’re lucky to have this job, because not that many people would get this opportunity.” These people act like you should give them sexual favors or sacrifice a few virgins in order to appease the gods. All the words they are spitting are just scare tactics to keep you locked in a job that is no good for you to begin with. Don’t get upset with them because they are just the result of a form of Stockholm syndrome, in which a hostage falls in love with their captors. In this case, for years they have been stuck with an awful job to make ends meet. They stuck it out, meet the demands, and now have the benefits that they are looking for. Praise thy retail! Now, they are in a loving/hating relationship that they can’t get out of. Despite what “words of wisdom” they have for you, you still have a choice. If you feel that you and your work is valued and not seen as what you need to do to appease the “gods”, then congratulations! You are in a career!  Otherwise, you need to get yourself out of the cult mentality and into a job where you don’t have to cut your wrists to make someone happy. 

Let’s be real here. The main reason you got your job is because you need money to feed whatever fetish you have or whatever bills you have due. That’s all well and good and more power to you, but there is a drawback to that. If you are in a career, the paycheck would be the frosting on top of a perfectly good cake. On a job, the paycheck may not even get you the cake mix. Now, what do we mean by the pay outweighing the bullsh*t? Well it means that your time on the job is time well spent as it is shown on your paycheck. This also covers that you are well taken care of in your health insurance benefits and others needs as well, like food and transportation. Trust me on this. You do not want to have to go to the doctor for a stubbed toe, come out with diabetes, end up having to spend your whole paycheck on one doctor’s visit, and have no cash to come home to your cold cup of Ramen noodles. That is not good for anybody. If you are pulling more than your weight at a retail job and you still have to stop yourself from purchasing a value meal for $5, then you need to re-evaluate your situation. If you have your paycheck, just take a quick look at it. If you are able to even pay for your monthly rent with just one paycheck and still have money left over, then congratulations! You are in a career. If you are paid weekly, then try it with two pay checks. If you look at your paycheck and have to make life decisions on how hungry you are before you spend, then it’s time for an intervention on your job decisions.

Seniority is the most hated thing to hear for a new guy. You’re pretty much at the low end of the totem pole and the short end of the stick for everything. All the crap duties are yours to deal with and yours alone. Remember the group of the job cult with the Stockholm syndrome? Their long years of wait are now over. They have higher seniority so they have the first pickings at everything. Well, they should since they were the ones that stuck it out with their job the longest and have been granted a tiny taste of power from their “gods”. You want that better shift? Sorry, already taken by the next guy up. Wanna get that day off? Denied! The guy with seniority got to that first. You don’t want to do that demeaning job? Too bad! That sucky job is yours since the senior citizens got the better ones. I know that it’s good manners to give old seniors your seat on the bus, but it’s kind of frustrating having to deal with that on your job. However, this would feel very differently if you are in a career. No matter who was their first or the longest, you would still feel valued and equal as an individual. If you feel like an equal employee among the seniority before you, then congratulations! You are in a career! If not, then look forward to giving up more seats for the old people who were there before you. Don’t forget to clean up their poop that’s left on the floor, since it’s the new guy’s job.