Advice needed - first day of new job and I HATE it.

[StellaBlue]

So I posted about this last week... and I started my new job at a law firm 2 blocks from my house today. I hate it. They presented it as a great paralegal opportunity, and I was swayed by the promises of regular salary increases and performance-linked bonuses, but now that I've read the employee manual, I am not so positive on it.

First, I get NO VACATION time until my first year has been completed. I realize the US is behind the rest of the Western world on this, but, coming from having spent four years in the UK, where the legal minimum paid vacation time is 20 days (yes, even if you work at McDonald's!), I just cannot fathom this.

They also want me to work 8-6. I am on my lunch break right now, and, as I walked out, the woman who is training me said, "Take an hour... or, you know, less, if you want." WTF?! Kiss my ass!

I may or may not get healthcare... I am supposed to research it myself and present the plan I want to the head attorney, who will pay for all or part of it. This at my first review after 8 weeks. They have also given me a bunch of crap to read about their area of specialization.

I didn't even get to go to lunch until 1:30pm! And it seemed an afterthought.

Also, I have a masters already and am working on a distance Master of Library Science course. In about another 6-9 months, I will be in a position to apply for professional librarian jobs. However, with this job, I neither have enough time to study nor any ability to take an afternoon off for an interview!

To top it off, the other employees, other than three attorneys, are all undergraduates who are the gung-ho future-lawyer types. Except for the office manager, who is 100% business, somewhat condescending, and not a very good trainer. The worst part? BORING. So, so boring.

Is this premature? I just hate working in an office setting under artificial light typing away on computers all day in a profit-driven environment *in general* (hence why I want to become a librarian) - every other office job I've taken I really really didn't want to go back the second day. But this just doesn't seem right.

Problem is, I've got to pay the rent. What to do?

I was offered a lower-paying, no-benefits, summer position working in the history archives of a major university, and I am almost wishing I'd taken it now. I might have to work a couple nights a week waiting tables, but... I would be much more in my element. I might even feel less pressured. That job was 10-5 M-F!

Any advice? I really want to go back, work the day, then call in the morning and tell them I don't think it's a good fit and I won't be coming back.

Argh.

[commander bunnypants]

1. I read briefly

Can you still get the archival job? If so take it.

Benefits. :shrug: sorry

Who wants to work for a stuffed shirt. Go where you will have fun

CB

[StellaBlue]

2. Thanks, commander!

n/t

[StellaBlue]

3. dammit - archives job taken

I don't know that I could've eaten on the money they were offering, anyway.

[tjwmason]

4. I'd say it's too early to tell.

It may well be as bad as it appears, the opening signs certainly aren't optimistic - but it is your first day, you can't be sure of anything at all yet.

[StellaBlue]

5. I agree, *but*

I just have this horrible, gnawing, stomach-turning feeling. I can't explain it. I just don't. want. to. be. there.

I was temping in the university fundraising office before this, and that was HEAVEN in comparison. The people were all really friendly, happy to be there. And they let us leave at 3:30 on Friday for the holiday weekend.

[tjwmason]

8. I know exactly what you mean.

In the past I've had similar feelings about places and they've passed as I've settled in. I've also had them when they've been proved absolutely right.

I also know what you mean about the holiday thing - I'm in the U.K. and am still shocked at how little Americans get.

All that I'd say is give it a probation. If things appear to be staying the same or getting worse - then you could well be absolutely right about it. However it is also possible that you'll adjust to the new environment well and quickly.

Given that you don't have another, better, position to walk into - I'd say stay there for now, keeping as open a mind as you can, but with a critical eye as to how you feel there ready to make a change if that does turn out to be the right thing for you.

[KurtNYC]

6. Doesn't sound like a good start

My usual rule is you can tell how nice a place is to work by looking at the lunch room.

Also sounds like you won't get health care. You seem to have buyer's remorse on this job. Can you hack it while you look elsewhere?

[StellaBlue]

9. yes, but

I can hack it, but I don't have TIME to look for another job working at this place.

Disgruntled!

[MissB]

7. Six to Nine months.

You have a goal. Either this job helps you achieve your goal, or it works against you. Only you can really decide which that is.

[StellaBlue]

10. I'm just concerned about when exactly I will be able to interview

for anything else. I get no time off, nada, for a year. I can't cram interviews into a less-than-one-hour-please lunch break, and I work 8 to freaking 6. Silly.

[MissB]

11. I think you'd be allowed to get sick once in awhile.

;)

[StellaBlue]

25. No, sick leave is not allowed until you ACCRUE it.

1/2 day per month.

[Sanity Claws]

30. That just means you won't get paid if you take a sick day

Schedule a medical or dental appointment to last a couple of hours away from the office. They have to allow for that.
Working 8 to 6? Assuming an hour for lunch, that's at least 9 hours a day, 45 hours a week. Do you get overtime? Or did they classify you as an exempt employee? If you are an exempt employee, your pay cannot be docked for absences of less than a full day from work.

[LynneSin]

17. in 6-9 months you'll probably be able to work something out

where you can take an extra 1-2 for lunch and make up the time other ways. Even on my current job, I had to go in an hour late today so I could pick up a package and I'll just stay late an hour to make up the time.

But worse case scenario you have to quit this job in 6-9 months and focus full time on job hunting but by them you'll have some money stashed away to tide you over

[Blue-Jay]

12. At least give it a while to get "settled in".

A new job can be overwhelming at first. Sure, it sucks about the vacation time, but sometime you need to bite the bullet and look a little further into the future. Just give it a little while and see how it pans out. You can't make a rash decision after only one damn day.

[huskerlaw]

13. wow...

that's awful!

I know you were looking for library jobs for resume purposes, and that makes sense, but not at the cost of your sanity.

Particularly if you're going to be working that many hours AND doing school.

Is there any way you can go back to the temp job? Then get settled with your school schedule and start looking for a different library job.

And on the positive side, at least now you know what kind of work environment you DON'T want.


:hug:

[StellaBlue]

26. I turned down the archives job

Because of the poor salary; they only really wanted a data-entry person with a GED or diploma.

I took a job at a LAW FIRM. Egads.

[Monk06]

50. I read the thread when you were thinking about these jobs.....

Paralegals are gofers in any law firm.
Even the office manager has more prestige.

From the sounds of it your first love was
the archive job. I have an archive fetish
myself being a closet history buff.

I'd apply for the archive job and if you
like it thing of a Post Graduate in Library
management.

You could even do an MBA in corporate
archives which is also very much in demand.

[LynneSin]

14. Ok - take a deep breath

First - give the job a week or two. Worst case you've made some money even if it drives you a bit bonkers. I've pretty much felt this way on the first days of all my new jobs but it'll even itself out and you'll manage a schedule that will fit both the job and your education.

Second - as for healthcare, ask around and find out what plans others have used and then go with that. Unless you have some sort of medical disability that requires constant medication you should be fine with what others have used. At least then you'll know what the firm will pay for completely.

Third - there are other times you can study other than lunch hours. You also have evenings and weekends for studying. If your masters is completed in 6-9 months then you're just going to have to make the sacrifice to get through especially if this job pays well enough that you can pay for rent and have healthcare covered.

Finally - Some companies can setup interviews for after hours. And perhaps after 6-9 months, you'll be established well enough in the law firm that if you needed to take an extra hour for lunch you could stay late an hour to make up the time. Plus if you find you need more time off then perhaps that is the time to finally quit the law firm and focus full time on getting the job you really want.

I'll be honest, we all take sucky ass jobs at somepoint in our lives. I sold weight loss programs & cars just so I could have a decent pay job with benefits. But you have a light at the end of the tunnel - just focus and it'll go quickly.

[NewWaveChick1981]

15. OK---I have a few things you should hear!

First, I worked as a temp at a law firm for two days back when I needed a job in 1990. No matter how much I needed a job, that place was BULLSHIT. :mad: It sounds just like the firm that you now work for. They treated the employees like dirt, and the head paralegal was on food stamps. :yoiks: No one in the paralegal dept. had benefits until after the first year, and then they were paltry. I was working clerical support, but I learned a lot in those two days.

Second, I worked at a benefits company in 1992 and part of 1993 that (get this) REFUSED TO PAY BENEFITS UNTIL AFTER THE FIRST YEAR. :wtf: Yeah, you read that right. There are a lot of companies that still do this to employees. It's not as though a law firm or a benefits company is a struggling small business---they were total cheapskates, lining the pockets of their officers at the expense of the little nobody employees. It was a blessing when they laid their entire full-time staff off---I hated that place. :mad: Oh, and why did they lay off the entire full-time staff? To replace us with part-time workers who didn't....you guessed it....get benefits! :grr: (That didn't work, as I heard later, and the company folded. :) Couldn't have happened to a better bunch of idiots! :rofl: )

You need a job, so stay with this one until you can find another. There ARE better ones out there! :D

Edited: forgot to say that when your gut instinct tells you something is wrong, it usually is. I had that awful feeling in the pit of my stomach the day I accepted the benefits co. job. It was dead on. :)

[Shakespeare]

16. Did you not ask about benefits details before you took the job?

That's info that should be disclosed to you preferably during the interview process, and at the very least upon extending an offer to you.

I'd stick it out awhile - I think one day is a bit premature to decide whether you do or do not like a job. And always, always make sure you know the specifics on benefits before you accept an offer anywhere.

[StellaBlue]

28. I was kind of misled

Not really... it was all just really rushed to me, and hazy. I was told 45 hours a week, 8-6. I didn't really want to work that many hours, but when I said I could work anytime between 8 and 6, he purposefully misinterpreted it and put me down for 8 TIL 6.

The healthcare thing was explained as being a benefit the company thought was important, and something I needed to research on my own and then tell the firm at my first review (in 8 weeks), at which time they would work out a plan with me.

I was told overtime was rare. I thought I could handle this, but now it appears that working until 7pm is a regular occurence. Bonuses don't seem to be paid as often as intimated.

It just seems like the whole thing is a big, gung-ho, profit-driven, Type-A exercise in Gordon-Geckoism. Not my bag, baby. I thought it would all equal out, and be a worthwhile opportunity; but I really hate it.

[Lance_Boyle]

18. If your hours are 8a-6p,

shouldn't you be getting 2 hours for lunch/breaks?

My own opinion - without taking into account little things like needing money and all - bail now and don't look back. And fart on your way out the door, too.

[Marie26]

19. Have you considered

public interest firms? You make peanuts, but can work on issues you actually care about, with people you actually like. I've made that choice & haven't looked back. But, it sounds like you really want that history archives job & are waiting for someone to tell you to take it. So, here you go: take the history job. Be happy. Live free. Peace!

[Sammy Pepys]

20. Well, that job...

...sounds about par for the course if the experiences of the paralegals I know is any indication. I know one that would probably kill for 8-6...she regularly works 12-14 hour days and weekends.

But the parslegals I know are also doing it because they see bigger and better law careers down the road, so they deal with it. They're the "gung ho future lawyer types", as you put it. If that's not where you see yourself going and you think you're going to miserable, it's not worth it for you or your employer.

[crispini]

21. Um, why didn't you ask all of that stuff up front?

Your interview is the time to ask about your healthcare and vacation benefits, the corporate attitude towards hours, who your immediate supervisor will be etc. etc.

[StellaBlue]

29. see my above reply

I was under the impression that I would get 5 days the first year, not after it; and that overtime would be unusual.

[Deep13]

22. That's how the legal profession is.

Court starts at 8:30, so the office has to be open at 8 a.m. Clients are not usually available until after work, so they have to stay open until 6. The vacation thing is typical if not de rigour here. So are the benefits.

My first law job was 8:30-6 p.m., though with my case load it was more like 8:30 to 7pm M-F. Saturday it was 10 a.m. until 1 p.m. I got a week off after a year. As far as benefits, if I got hit by a truck, insurance would cover some of it, but no dental or routine medical care. It sucked, sucked, sucked, sucked.

[Mr.Green93]

23. Good luck!

With your current attitude it is doubtful you will last a week.

[Blue-Jay]

24. That's some damned fine positive reinforcement!

You should be a high school guidance counselor or work with a suicide hotline! :thumbsup:

[MichiganVote]

27. Whats the name of the online library sc. program you're taking?

[StellaBlue]

31. Texas Woman's University - why? n/t

[MichiganVote]

37. My son is interested in library science

Good luck with the job thing. Everybody works a crummy job now and then. When you can afford to dump this firm like the bad boyfriend he is. Sounds depressing, life's too short. Work there long wnough to eat and scoot b/f you get fired.

[StellaBlue]

39. I think it's a great field

So far I haven't met one dissatisfied librarian. :D

[StellaBlue]

32. So. I quit.

Had to stay until 8:15 - my first day.

That's just not on.

I do have a life.

I am still up for another job I interviewed for elsewhere, so fingers crossed on that. I'm 100% sure I can find something else with the same, or better, pay, with benefits, and reasonable hours. I am not the type of person who will sell their soul for work. One of the many reasons I'm a liberal. I favor a Western European style, mildly socialist democracy.

At least I know once and for all that, despite my stepmother's continued insistence, I will NEVER be a lawyer.

BORING.

I've had a really hard year. It's time for me to follow my heart.

/rant

[MissB]

35. Good luck on your next job!

[Floogeldy]

36. U did the right thing.

Slave labor was outlawed a long time ago.

[Floogeldy]

33. I feel for you.

I couldn't live that way, unless I was really into what I was doing.

[Redstone]

34. Oh, jeez, kiddo, that's a tough call. But if you can manage it,

go for the satisfaction as opposed to the bucks.

But only if you can afford to. I know most people don't have the luxury of choice.

Let us know how it works out.

Redstone

[Dr. Death]

38. Have you tried to get a job in a library?

I know you don't have the MLS yet, but you mentioned that you already have a masters degree. Libraries sometimes hire masters-level people as specialists in particular areas (social sciences, physical sciences, etc., depending on your specialty). With my MA I was able to get a post as a Lecturer at a university library in Texas (where I assume you are, given your flag) until I finished my PhD. It's a great way to see if you really like Library work, and if you got one at a state university in Texas, you would get a full benefits package, sick leave, vacation, and maybe even faculty status, depending on the library (mine was).

If you're interested, take a look at the job listings pages for universities, or go directly to the university library's web page and search for jobs there. Also, don't be afraid to apply for ones that require an MLS - most will turn you down, but if you explain that you're working on your MLS someone might hire you. And finally, if you can get a job at a library, some have scholarships for the MLS that are open only to library employees (the one I worked at did, and one of my fellow non-MLS specialists got one to work toward his MLS).

Good luck, and if you want more advice/info about library work I'll be happy to help.

[StellaBlue]

40. Thanks!

I have been looking; but every job I've found requires either experience OR the MLIS; or is too low-level and low-paying, considering I can make more doing admin in the meantime. I have to eat, unfortunately. To look at my ass, you might think otherwise. :rofl:

[Dr. Death]

41. Well, keep checking on the libraries every so often,

because those types of jobs do come along. And you're right, they don't pay too much, but they do give library experience, and if they see that you have an aptitude for it the librarians will help you work toward that MLS.

Good luck!

[Dr. Death]

42. Oh, and good for you for quitting the other job

Sounded like a real bummer. The guy I mentioned who was getting his MLS was a lawyer by profession, but was going into library work to escape law.

[marzipanni]

43. I like this young woman's philosophy,

for some times in one's life. (Or, if you're like me...most times ;))
Here's the link to her essay that she read on NPR-
Choosing Life Over Career
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5424668

[StellaBlue]

44. Awesome - I like it!

Thanks! :hi:

[petgoat]

46. You were right to quit. Boredom on your first day is a bad sign.

You clearly didn't regard it as an opportunity to learn something and show your
abilities and be rewarded with greater challenges.

[sendero]

45. I know the feeling...

.. but ocassionally, first impressions are not correct.

Maybe you can hang in there a while and see. Things might not be as bad as they appear. If they are, you can continue your search on the sly until you find something better.

One of the worst moral-ethical dilemmas I ever faced was when I jumped to another company to manage a small technical department. Litterally the first day I was on the job, they showed me details of a product they were working to roll out that I would be a key part of. I knew the minute they provided the details of their plan that they were full of #$%#, the product was DOA, it would never work.

What could I do? Tell them and immediately be branded "can't do", "not a team player"? It was one of the vanishingly small number of times I kept my mouth shut.

The product died a slow and painful death, but fortunately they developed other products with more promise, but not much more. I hung around for a few years and finally found a better opportunity, they folded about a year later.

Being a working stiff has it's perils.

[KitchenWitch]

47. 8-6?

Do you get a two hour lunch?

Sounds terrible.

[yurbud]

48. Do they physically or verbally abuse you? sounds better than average

Most wouldn't even entertain the idea of health care for a position like that.

Like you I'd rather work in the stacks and eat ramen. Academics face a stark choice: work for a standard of living like other people and be bored shitless or work for poverty wages and at least be happy at work. I'd rather be happy at work.

I worked for an attorney service for a couple of years doing deliveries and serving papers, and I never walked into a law firm (or any other office) that I wasn't glad to walk out of.

Any place where people think a suit and tie make them work better is contributing to our gross domestic mental illness.

[Robeson]

49. Why do you hate Amerikka?....

...;-)

[StellaBlue]

51. Thanks and update

Thanks, everybody! You guys are wonderful. I love DU.

Good news from here - I already have four new jobs leads. One as an archives assistant at the public library, one at the university as an admin associate (grrrreat benefits and perks, of course, there), one at a construction company (doing what I used to do in England), and one in admin at a state association of professionals (8:30-5, nonprofit, benefits, no overtime, $30K).

I AM SO GLAD I WALKED OUT.