MetaChat - THIS IS A SCREAMING WITH FRUSTRATION AND UPSETNESS THREAD!!!

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23 February 2009

THIS IS A SCREAMING WITH FRUSTRATION AND UPSETNESS THREAD!!! →[More:]
SO, THEY'RE ADVERTISING FOR LAWYERS IN OUR LEGAL DEPT AT WORK. YAY! I PREPARE MY APPLICATION, GET A SUPPORTING STATEMENT FROM MY MANAGER, AND, A WEEK BEFORE THE DEADLINE, GO DOWN TO HR.

NOW I DON'T KNOW ANYBODY IN HR, SO I SAID "ARE YOU STEVE?" "NO, HE SITS THERE, HE'S NOT IN YET." "CAN I LEAVE THIS ON HIS DESK?" "YES, THAT'S FINE".

NEARLY TWO WEEKS GO BY. I HEAR NOTHING. I EMAIL THE GUY TODAY WONDERING WHY I HAVEN'T HEARD ANYTHING BACK FROM HIM YET.

ACCORDING TO HIM, HE DIDN'T RECEIVE MY APPLICATION. WHICH WAS IN AN ENVELOPE MARKED 'PRIVATE & CONFIDENTIAL', ADDRESSED ONLY TO HIM, AND LEFT ON HIS FRIGGING KEYBOARD!

WTF??? SERIOUSLY, WTF?!!

"I'LL BRING YOU DOWN A DUPLICATE RIGHT NOW", SO I TAKE IT DOWN TO HIM AND HE SAYS THAT INTERVIEWS ARE ALREADY BEING SCHEDULED AND, ALTHOUGH HE'LL FORWARD MY APPLICATION TO OUR GENERAL COUNSEL, HE CAN'T PROMISE ANYTHING BECAUSE MY APPLICATION IS 'SO LATE'.

HE SAID "YOU SHOULD HAVE EMAILED ME TO TELL ME YOU'D PUT IN AN APPLICATION"

AGAIN, WTF??!! WHY WOULD I NEED TO EMAIL HIM ABOUT SOMETHING THAT I HAD PUT ON HIS DESK? I HAD NO REASON TO THINK IT WOULD BE REMOVED/LOST/DESTROYED.

I POINTED OUT TO HIM THAT (A) THE APPLICATION WAS NOT LATE, IT WAS LEFT ON HIS DESK AND (B) THAT IT IS A MATTER OF SOME CONCERN THAT AN ENVELOPE LEFT ON HIS DESK MARKED "P&C" WITH HIS NAME ON APPEARS TO HAVE GONE MISSING, CONTAINING PERSONAL INFORMATION ABOUT ME.

IF THEY WON'T CONSIDER MY APPLICATION BECAUSE THEY SAY IT'S LATE, THEN I WILL BE TAKING THIS MUCH, MUCH FURTHER.

AS IT IS, I INTEND TO RAISE CONCERNS ABOUT MY PERSONAL INFORMATION GOING ASTRAY.

THIS SUCKS BEYOND BELIEF. THIS WOULD BE A GOOD PROMOTION FOR ME.

post by: essexjan at: 12:34 | 22 comments

posted by grouse 23 February | 13:06

Oh that is SO not fair. SO SO SO not fair. I really hope they consider your application.

posted by Specklet 23 February | 13:17

That sucks so much. Good luck!

posted by kellydamnit 23 February | 13:26

His reaction to you sounds very much like someone who got caught making a mistake. He's just dragging his feet and making you sweat to prove that he *can*, but I bet he makes it right on his own (because he knows he screwed up), then comes back you you and tells you about how magnanimous he is. I understand the frustration and rage, but I bet it's all going to work out.

And if it doesn't, well, losing a confidential personnel document in a building full of lawyers seems really fucking stupid.

posted by mudpuppie 23 February | 13:37

losing a confidential personnel document in a building full of lawyers seems really fucking stupid.

My thoughts exactly. Sheesh.

I hope it turns out okay, Jan, and GOOD LUCK!! You deserve to get this job!

posted by BoringPostcards 23 February | 13:39

He's not a moron.

He's a petty little sneak and a liar.

posted by jason's_planet 23 February | 14:18

Slight derail about personal info going astray. One of my co-workers went to our employer-sponsored health clinic. At a session, he received a sample of Viagra. Not sure it was an issue, but he took it.

So, next visit, he's in the crowed waiting room and the receptionist calls across the room to list the meds he's currently on, to make sure their records are right, so them everyone in the waiting room found out that Viagra is one of the meds. . .

This guy is a straight shooter (don't), so I doubt there is any elaboration in his story. ..

posted by danf 23 February | 14:28

ARRRGGGGHHHH!!!!

You have my sympathies essexjan.

posted by mightshould 23 February | 15:19

That is some serious asshattery, right there. Is there any way you can confirm with the person you talked with that told you where Steve's desk was so Steve can remove the 'your application is late because I'm a fuckup' stick from his ass?

posted by sperose 23 February | 15:57

sperose, he was there today when I took my duplicate application in, and I said "you remember me asking where Steve's desk was, don't you?" and he said no he didn't remember.

posted by essexjan 23 February | 16:11

They're circling the wagons.

posted by mudpuppie 23 February | 16:18

Oh that is some super serious shitfuckery then. That is just unacceptable. I work in a place that is super lax about a lot of things, but P&C shit IS IMPORTANT.

If they fuck up the important shit, I wonder what they do with the unimportant.

posted by sperose 23 February | 16:35

If they fuck up the important shit, I wonder what they do with the unimportant.

You know? All the more reason they need to promote our Jan... they need competent people higher up there, since clearly there's a lack of them now!

posted by kellydamnit 23 February | 17:00

ARGH! That sucks terribly and I am gnashing my teeth and tearing my hair out in sympathy with you.

These days, I automatically assume that people will fuck things up. Faxes will printed illegibly, hand delivered mail will get mixed up with junk mail & be recycled, Australia Post's sorting machines will shred important mail.
People forget appointments or enter them into their diary on the wrong day/time. Things get lost travelling from one department to another. Someone forgets to dot an i and cross a t on a document, and that document gets sent to purgatory, and no one bothers to mention it.
Inevitably some idiot along the line (hai Steve!) must realise it was them that dropped the ball, and 95% of the time that person will deny all knowledge. The bastard.
Murphy's law is in action every moment of every day and the best we can do is try to head it off before it fucks us over.

WHY WOULD I NEED TO EMAIL HIM ABOUT SOMETHING THAT I HAD PUT ON HIS DESK?

You *shouldn't* have to and that fact that you *do* have to is infuriating, but yes, in this position the little voice in my head would tell me this guy was come going to back, spill his Slurpee on my application, and surreptitiously bin the soiled document while no one was looking, so I should email him and say "Hi Steve, sorry I missed you when I dropped off my application. Looking forward to meeting you soon" to remind the clumsy oaf that he needs to make up some half arsed excuse to get a fresh copy.
I hope Steve's conscience is developed enough that he makes sure your application gets to it's destination glowing with gold dust and you get the position.

*hugs*

posted by goshling 23 February | 18:14

danf, that receptionist broke at half a dozen federal regulations.

posted by Ardiril 23 February | 18:23

$20 gets a NRA T-shirt.

posted by buzzman 23 February | 18:24

Holy freaking crap.

See, this is why I trust noone, NO ONE with any of my personal paperwork. I'd bet that at least one if not two people are lying thru their teeth to you...

posted by bunnyfire 23 February | 19:24

That fucker better make it right for you, jan. Gah!

posted by deborah 23 February | 22:57

Oh e/j. This is really upsetting, and it sounds like a continuation of the bullshit you were getting round xmas. It looks like you've got on the wrong side of someone important, and they're basically punishing you for it.

It sounds like, "the wrong side of" here means that because you work a bit from home, someone, somewhere has thrown their toys out of the pram.

Personally, I'd hunker down, keep my nose clean, make sure everything is documented and look for a new job. Stat. And I'd try not to take it personally. Because that's what *they* want, and that's ultimately the easiest way for you to lose this fight.

Oh - and as for losing your details. That's frigging HR for you. I hate HR with a vengeance. If you can find one good HR department in the whole of the UK that isn't staffed by utter incompetents, then I'll eat my hat.

posted by seanyboy 24 February | 04:43

It looks like you've got on the wrong side of someone important

This is what I've been wondering about. Very much. Either got on someone's bad side... or someone feels threatened she might be competition for their position? Something seriously hinky, anyway. It's just too much bullshit for it all to be coincidental.

posted by taz 24 February | 05:09

Hold up on lynching Steve just yet. IANAL, but we cannot assume that he did actually get Jan's application, nor can we assume that he even knew Jan had submitted an application. The disappearance of Jan's app DOES merit an investigation because that is a definite signal of a problem.

posted by Ardiril 24 February | 07:25

Update: Lo and behold, I have an interview next week. Whether or not it is just a sop, I don't know, but at least it's one stage better than the last job I applied for.

I spoke to a recruiter yesterday. She was remarkably candid. She said that things in the legal market are bloody right now. Firms are taking people on (both in-house and private practice) as 'permanent' staff, but releasing them just before the end of their probationary period, which is usually 3 months, sometimes six. Then they take on someone else, work them for a few months, let them go with some bullshit excuse, and so on. The implications of this are that, because the staff are meant to be permanent hires, the employers aren't paying agency fees for contract or temp staff. But because the staff are 'not up to the job' and are let go before the end of their probationary period, the employer doesn't have to pay the agency commission for a permanent hire either.

The recruiter's advice was that, if you are in a permanent job, even if it sucks, do not leave because the job market is so brutal right now.

posted by essexjan 24 February | 12:55

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