Posted by Greg on April 10, 2003, at 20:15:20
In reply to The other shoe (long), posted by noa on April 10, 2003, at 17:07:54
I’m sorry to hear about the indignity and disrespect you and your friend are receiving at your company, you both deserve better. Ever since the downturn in the job market, more and more companies seem to be adopting this “You’re lucky to have this job” attitude. Not very many places have a mutual respect between employer and employee anymore. About a year ago I interviewed for a job that I was perfect for. I had every qualification they were looking for and then some. Every person who I talked to said they wanted me for the position. Until I talked to the HR Manager. She had set up a salary range of 45 to 55K a year, DOE. During my talk with her she informed me, quite bluntly, that because I would only have to commute 6 miles to her job instead of the 35 miles I commute now, I should be willing to take the lowest salary. I told her, quite bluntly, that I didn’t see what the length I had to drive had to do with my ability to do the job. The 55K was already well below the going rate for my particular skill set. I’m like most people, I put myself thru college and worked hard to learn extra skills to get to where I am today. I don’t think I should be penalized for the length of my commute. A few days went by and I received an email telling me thanks for applying, but they had selected another candidate. And when I called to thank them for talking to me and asked why I wasn’t chosen, I was told the only reason was because I wouldn’t take the bottom end salary. A few years ago I could have negotiated a higher salary, but in today’s market, jobs are at such a premium that employers have you over a barrel.
I’ve seen so many people like your friend get shafted for lame excuses. It almost seems like it just doesn’t pay to work hard anymore. I have no doubt that she busted her ass to do her job, but they needed an excuse, and a bad one is better than nothing at all. I don’t know, maybe it helps the powers that be sleep better at night if they can convince themselves that they had a good reason to let someone go. If her release was because of finances, they should have said so, that would have been the respectful thing to do. What does she tell a perspective employer? “I was let go because they didn’t think I was committed enough”. That looks real good on a resume... I hope she pursues this, because it could have some real negative ramifications on her future. Anyone who works for a company that really respects their workers should consider themselves very fortunate, there aren’t many of those types of places around anymore.
I’d better stop now. The whole job thing in this country is a real sore spot for me, and when I hear about people like you and your friend being treated like this, it just really pisses me off. I mean, this is our livelyhood, not a damn game to be played.Whatever happens tomorrow Noa, I hope things get better for you. Whether it be at the job you have now, or you find something new, you deserve the best. And please tell your friend that I’m sorry about what happened to her and I hope she lands firmly on her feet. With luck, she’ll find a place where she’ll be really happy. I wish that for all of us who are unhappy at our jobs. Probably a pretty big group, eh?
Greg
poster:Greg
thread:218303
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/social/20030407/msgs/218366.html