I’m finally working full-time!

Around 15 days after my previous post went up, my colleague and I asked to have a meeting with our boss. Since the two of us run the shop in Ghent by ourselves, he had to swing by especially to meet us, and during this (two hour) meeting we were able to negotiate somewhat of a promotion.

We noticed that there is currently no active company website, and from what we were told, there hasn’t been one for quite a while. So we pitched an idea to do the research and content writing as well as the photography and photo-editing for a company website. He agreed immediately. Shortly after that, we were able to meet with an independent graphic designer who had already worked out a beautiful lay-out a few years back, but due to lack of content it never went live.

So I went from working three days/week to working full-time. Three days of my week are dedicated to shop duties, and the two remaining days I come in and work on the website (as does my colleague, but in a mirrored schedule). We transformed the space behind the shop into a make-shift office, where we now have almost everything we need.

Appropriate office decor

With the website, things are coming along quite well. The Dutch version should be going up at the end of this month, after which all the translating work begins. I speak fluent English, and my colleague is fluent in French and German – handy right?

The largest portion of work left to do is gathering and editing photo material of every product the company offers.

When the website is finished, we will be adding a web shop, doing the web maintenance, as well as setting up and maintaining some social media pages. I will link all of those to this blog once they go live. The boss also has some other projects lined up for us to do, from working as a company representative to product management. It’s nice that I’m at least doing something related to my degree now, and that there are still some growth opportunities within the company.

Honey, honey everywhere

My personal writing projects have been put on hold a bit, since I’m somewhat busier. On top of working full time, I also try and squeeze in two to three runs a week (as well as playing volleyball). I also recently joined the board of my volleyball club.

Financially things are finally becoming a bit more stable. After a few months of unemployment and a few unexpected costs, earning a full wage rather than 60% does make a difference!

(pro tip: do not park somewhere you shouldn’t and get your car towed if you’re having financial difficulties. This is not a cheap event.)

 

– R.

So now I’m a shop manager.

Pretty soon after the furniture company let-down, I was contacted by the general manager of a chain of niche shops. I say niche shop, because the stores he owns sell nothing but honey, and products associated with honey. This was yet another part time position I had applied for; managing the shop based in Ghent.

He called me on the phone and asked me to come in the following day for a short interview. About ten minutes into the conversation it seemed he had heard everything he needed to hear, and asked me when I was available to start. Considering I was unemployed and eager for work, I agreed to begin my job training the very next day.

After three days of on-the-job training, I was handed the keys to the shop and the shop’s banking card for making the daily deposits. I now run the shop together with a colleague (another master graduate unable to find diploma-related work, hired one week after I was). We each work three days a week, keeping the shop up and running Monday through Saturday.

I’ve been working here for about a month and a half now, and I can certainly say I’m enjoying it. I enjoy the calm, kind nature of the people who come into the shop. I enjoy the responsibility and independence given to me from day one on the job. I do everything from sales, stocking shelves, managing the money that comes in and goes out, placing orders, and doing the required accounting and administrative work. Is it the most challenging job ever? Certainly not. Is it a job for life? Not that either.

But after all the disappointment I’ve faced over the past 6 months, it is nice to finally come up for air and relax a little. It’s wonderful not to have to write application letters on the daily, and it’s especially great not to get rejected every five minutes. Since handing me the keys nearly two months ago, I haven’t even seen the general manager once, which to me says they’re happy with the numbers my colleague and I are laying down.

But of course, that doesn’t mean I’m settling and forgetting all about writing. The free days that initially were going to be spent on further studies, I am now investing in following one of my life-long dreams.

… But more on that later.

– R.

Bye-bye 2013, hello unemployment (again)

2014 has brought with it some nice developments, as the past two months have been those of change.  Though I can honestly say things have changed for me for the better and I’m currently working, I still find myself in the “in between”. My university time is well behind me now, but as of yet, the future remains unsure.

First thing I’m very happy to share is that I am no longer a call agent! I took the plunge in January and decided to up and quit, for a number of reasons. The company I was working for is one that values numbers much more than they value their people. When you’re a call agent, you are 100% replaceable. The people I worked for used that to scare employees into doing a good job, rather than motivating them into doing their best. Those who were able to achieve high numbers were sometimes rewarded, but those who didn’t, or those who got onto the wrong side of the people in charge, were excused from the job, no second chances.

In the two months that I worked there, I saw at least five or six people get laid off. I trained two or three newcomers myself, and then watched them go again only a few weeks later. This form of management, along with the horrific repetitiveness of the job, was slowly but surely pulling me into a state of indifference and despondency. I woke up each morning dreading the day ahead of me, and I decided that it really wasn’t worth the income.

So I quit. Without any prospects of another job. Incredibly scary as this was, I had the full support of my boyfriend Michael. Together we carefully weighed my options, and together we decided that working there full time was holding me back more than anything else.

The reason I didn’t write in the first month after I quit, was because of the heavy feeling of insecurity and doubt I was carrying around in my stomach. I was applying for jobs on a daily basis, yet I was also receiving rejection letters on a daily basis. As the days go by, the money in your bank account decreases, and so does your self esteem.

At this point I decided that perhaps I needed to broaden my foundation, and go back to school to do a subsequent master. Studying part time and working part time, in my mind it seemed like the perfect idea. I spent some time browsing the university website, and decided that my interest in marketing made applied economics the only logical choice. So I booked an appointment with a guidance person from the faculty of economics to further inquire about my options. Having this appointment set gave me a sense of tranquillity, as I now felt like I had a purpose again, something to work towards.

I could not have been more wrong.

To be continued… (soon!)

-R.

Note: You can find more hilarious e-cards or even create your own by clicking on the image in the text.

Unofficially, I’m a call agent.

It’s been just under a month since my last post. Bad form, I know, but it has been an incredibly busy month.

I officially moved out of my parents place on the 13^th of November. Now I’m living in a very tight, but very cosy little studio apartment with my boyfriend (more on this in the next post). Moving out of your parent’s house is also a very good reason to find a job. If you want to make it “on your own”, you kind of need an income. Badly.

So on the 14^th of November I started my current job. I’m working at a firm that does the external marketing for two major companies, all of which shall remain unnamed. Officially my job consists of b2b prospecting and lead generation via telephone, and managing the schedules of sales representatives. Unofficially, I’m a call agent.

“Work-Week” – Cyanide and Happiness by AP

I’m sure you can already tell, this is not my dream job. But I needed to start a job fast, because after a while, one can only be so picky. And there are certainly some upsides. First of all, this job gives me the much needed “first working experience” I’ve been lacking. Also, before this I had an incredible angst of phoning strangers, which is now already completely gone. Furthermore I’m constantly working on my communication and commercial (read: persuasive) skills.

At my job I also deal with a great deal of assholes on a daily basis. You know, the kind of people that feel confident swearing at you so long as they don’t see your face. But after a few days of feeling bad about those calls, I can now actually thank the assholes. They are responsible for making me more and more resistant and perseverant everyday. And nothing feels better than wishing someone a good weekend after their angry tirade, in the most sarcastic tone you can muster.

But the best part of my job, are my colleagues. Though I have to honestly say I don’t always enjoy the work itself, my colleagues make it a hell of a lot easier to get through the day! They are young and they are funny, not to mention pretty helpful from time to time.

How long I’ll be doing this work? Only time will tell… Stay tuned.

 

– R.

Note: Visit the official Cyanide and Happiness website by clicking on the comic!