[work] innnnnnnnteresting

[juldea]

So, I just went into the office of one of my bosses to ask a question. He had a guest in, possibly a business contact, to whom he introduced me.

Contact: Now, where does she work? [meaning me]
Boss: Front desk.
Contact: Oh? What happened to... [struggles for name] the other girl?
Boss: I don't know and frankly, I don't care.
Me: ... I see.

Some more conversation happens, and the business contact works in the optical part of the hospital. It's mentioned that he's the guy I go to if I need eye stuff...

Me: [jokingly] Tell you what, (Boss), you get me some insurance and I'll go get some glasses from him.
Boss: [not joking] Talk to (Head Boss) about staying on here full-time. Come July, if we find out she's not coming back, that's an option to you. Especially if you want insurance and that type of thing. I'll certainly give you a recommendation.

...

What kind of people normally hold these jobs? I mean, great goddamn, I waste so much time here. I have caught up on a year's worth of 7 different webcomics and I plan on covering at least 20 more. I installed Trillian so I can chat at the desk. I read LJ and email every few minutes. I even sometimes put on (small) headphones and listen to music. And I wear sneakers!!!

And yet, I'm still more amazingly awesome than the standard. I only shudder to imagine what the standard is, in these cases.

Will I stay here? The only incentive is the security and insurance. This isn't the job I'm looking for, though. I think the most I'd do is go on indefinite temp-ness while looking for something else. That doesn't get me insurance, though. :-/

Comments

[baronbrian.livejournal.com]

I used to have that happen when I worked as a temp. I'd come in, knock out work that was supposed to take a week in a day and then listen to the supervisor say that I was a great worker. Then be out of a job the next day. Temping was such a odd world.

[jargo.livejournal.com]

It sounds similar to contracting. At my current gig we all like to joke that the FTE's(full time employees) work at "glacial speed".

Unfortunately, we have to pace ourselves to them, otherwise we'll run out of work. On the upside, we have alot of time to work on personal development. I spend a fair chunk of my time researching arcane subjects, and occasionally study for certifications.

[descant.livejournal.com]

Where do you work?

The place sounds very much like a lab where I used to work here in town. Granted, it's an academic organisation and thus very informal .. but you couldn't imagine the amounts of time I had free and I was hired as an intern net developer.

[juldea.livejournal.com]

I prefer not to say in a public LJ comment (privacy stuff and all). I'll tell you tomorrow. ;)

[mr-teem.livejournal.com]

Ah, the seductive chains of a dental plan and two weeks paid vacation a year....

It is entirely possible that you're not getting the full responsibilities of the job, as a temp, and that you'd still be overqualified for the position even at full time. And, you might just be in a quiet stretch right now--there could always be crises that have you doing a lot more "stuff" on some days than others.

There are a lot of jobs that don't need someone with special skills who is constantly busy but just need someone that a) knows who's who and the "ropes", b) shows reasonable industriousness when tasks are at hand, c) is professional--in behavior at least if professional dress isn't required, d) has the flexibility to take on varied tasks and e) isn't stark staring bored with stretches of relative inactivity.

(Of the top of my head at an earlier job we had one admin who spent a good chunk of the day reading romance novels after her work was done. But, when customer visit time rolled around, she was there late into the day making arrangements for two-three weeks worth of people coming in. Then, she'd take a day or two off, then come back to the usual level of activity.)

[invader-haywire.livejournal.com]

Its the kinda place where people get used to being lazy. Thats why they get really bad temps.

I would use the extra time to do things that you can do on a computer. Like write that novel or plan for a D&D game run, write some code, or something

[juldea.livejournal.com]

Catching up on webcomics is something that I can do on a computer. ;)

wowie

[etherial.livejournal.com]

yeah, sounds like the place I worked at, only I didn't wear sneakers. When I needed music, I just put the hold music on speakerphone. Pachelbel's Canon, In the Halls of the Mountain King...These kept me sane enough.

Re: wowie

[juldea.livejournal.com]

I'm not supposed to wear sneakers... But I haven't gotten yelled at yet!

[alexx-kay.livejournal.com]

Sounds like the FT predecessor in your position had some sort of life-meltdown and left unexpectedly. This happens more than you might think, and certainly does lower expectations in the affected employers. My current company isn't that old, and we've lost two "front desk" people who left without notice.

What most employers really care about is that the work they give you gets done. It doesn't really matter to them how hard/easy it was to do, or how quickly/slowly it was done, as long as it gets completed by the time they expect.

I've been unemployed recently, and am still heavily in debt. My advice: if they offer you the job, Take It! Then use a few hours a day of your down-time to job-hunt. If/when you find a better opportunity, it's polite to offer at least two weeks notice, but even that's not strictly required if you have a definite new "permanent" gig.

Remember, the idea of "permanent" employment is all but obsolete. Accepting "permanent" employment at your current place isn't significantly different from "indefinite temp-ness", except that you get more benefits.

[juldea.livejournal.com]

Well, I know the person I replaced went on FMLA leave, and the temp agency told me it was a pregnancy leave. Perhaps she was one of those women who can totally hide it when they're pregnant? I don't know.

...as long as it gets completed by the time they expect.

A lot of the stuff on my desk hasn't been given a completion time. It generally gets pushed aside for email... ;)

Remember, the idea of "permanent" employment is all but obsolete.

I can't remember that if I never knew it. That seems really... odd to me. My dad's a 30-something year military servicemember and the idea of not staying long at a job is really odd to me... taking a position seems to me to be a committment... but perhaps I just need to change my way of thinking!

[alexx-kay.livejournal.com]

A lot of the stuff on my desk hasn't been given a completion time.

In those cases, the completion time is "when they ask for it." Recommended strategy is to get it done quickly, but don't necessarily be quick about *telling* them it's done. That way, when they ask, "Can you get that task finished by tomorrow?", you can say "No problem!" and hand it in 2 hours later, giving the impression of immense efficiency :) [Though if they seem to have totally forgotten about it, you might want to remind them, just to make sure you get credit.]

taking a position seems to me to be a committment

Oh, it's certainly *a* committment, but there are many many degrees on that spectrum. Check your contract; if it says (as most do these days) that your employment is "at will", that means that The Company has the right to dump you at any time, for any reason. [They may be obligated to give you two weeks notice/severance if you are not "at fault".] If they set the bar at that low a committment level, there's no particular call for you to unilaterally raise your end. If a particular employer wants a higher level of committment, it's reasonable to ask for more committment from them in return. But that generally doesn't happen until mid-to-high level professional positions.

[ex-sleek838.livejournal.com]

Wow, a job without insurance. Maybe you need to speak to your legislator and have insurance be mandatory for a 20 hour work week of a month or more. We have that here. I still don't have a job though. :P

[juldea.livejournal.com]

Hmm, y'know, in liberal Massachusetts that might just work.