Congratulations Diana! Very cool!!!!

<poke> How are y'all doing? Jill--have you looked at any of the online colleges? The boyfriend is getting his degree that way, and they (like some community and private colleges) will give "life credits"...so he didn't have to take a zillion "intro-to-life" things like new students might. Instead of 4 years for a degree, he ended up taking 3, taking two classes at a time. He was "in class" once a week (and these were archived, so if he was at work during the class, he could load it up and listen later), and typically had one or two assignments a week in each class.

I have one hard-to-talk-about thing, but in my defense, and because I have over a year of good therapy under my belt, I never once said, "I don't deserve this."

Yesterday, the General I work for (in a large command like this, he's like a Vice-President of a company, with the guy he works for being the President) stopped by my desk and gave me an award. He gives 8-10 of them a year, and it's nothing "official", but a token of recognition and appreciation (a coin, if any of you have a military background). I was tongue-tied, but managed to say I was honored, and my co-workers were SO thrilled--which was the strange part. Everywhere else I've worked, when I got promoted or awarded, there was an undercurrent of "she doesn't deserve that!"

Lots of important people I'd never met before came by to meet me yesterday because I'd gotten the coin, which was very, very strange. I had to keep my shoes on, and I prefer to take them off at my desk.

quote:

Originally posted by D in St Pete:
......So, today I told my supervisor that. She doesn't work near us, so we don't see her very often, and she doesn't see us work. I also said that I was disappointed I didn't get a promotion last year, but wanted to know what to do to get one this coming December. Apparently, she submitted me for a promotion last year, but I didn't get it (I already knew this part) because I wasn't a big part of the "company culture." In short, I don't socialize or chitchat with the people who make the decisions. She said it was a dumb argument, and got pretty heated with the "panel" who decided not to promote me.

Anyway, she's going to work with me to get my name "out there," since that's my downfall. She realizes that to please my govt boss, I need to have my butt in the chair and be WORKING. We have another meeting in two weeks to go over all the competencies, line by line, and figure out exactly what I need to do to meet and/or exceed every one of them, so there won't be any reason not to promote me this year.

I'm not the kind who normally seeks out a promotion, but I deserve this.

Woohoo! You go girl!

Good for you D. I know that really had to push you outside your comfort zone. Even as outgoing as I am, I don't like to have to ask for a raise or promotion either.

Dawn

Good for you D! It sounds like you are doing everything right to get that promotion this year. I'll look forward to hearing your good news at the end of the year.

Bumping this up because I have sorta-good news. Because my company is primarily consulting, which means they hire all kinds of people to do all kinds of jobs, they don't have a "must type xx words per minute" or "must maintain xx hours of continuing ed" in the job descriptions, so they have a list of "competencies" to meet in order to get promoted. Things like analyzing your own work, increasing productivity, problem-solving, etc.

Well, I was hired at the base level. I've been doing work above that level--easily one step above, arguably two steps up. My co-worker is one step above me, and he does the bare minimum to get by. I do the monthly reports and number crunching, I do the write-up about what we do when anyone asks, I'm the "go-to" person in our department. (There are two of us who work for the company on a team of 8, the others are a mix of military and govt employees.)

So, today I told my supervisor that. She doesn't work near us, so we don't see her very often, and she doesn't see us work. I also said that I was disappointed I didn't get a promotion last year, but wanted to know what to do to get one this coming December. Apparently, she submitted me for a promotion last year, but I didn't get it (I already knew this part) because I wasn't a big part of the "company culture." In short, I don't socialize or chitchat with the people who make the decisions. She said it was a dumb argument, and got pretty heated with the "panel" who decided not to promote me.

Anyway, she's going to work with me to get my name "out there," since that's my downfall. She realizes that to please my govt boss, I need to have my butt in the chair and be WORKING. We have another meeting in two weeks to go over all the competencies, line by line, and figure out exactly what I need to do to meet and/or exceed every one of them, so there won't be any reason not to promote me this year.

I'm not the kind who normally seeks out a promotion, but I deserve this.

I haven't posted here for a while because there has been nothing to post. But this morning I was watching a show and there was a teenage girl who was in some trouble and was sent to a juvenile facility which renewed my interest in working in juvenile probation. I see an obstacle in going to school for 4 yrs though to obtain a CJ degree. Financially I have no idea how I could go to school and still work FT. As a single mom I have to work and keep my income at a certain level so I am not sure what I am going to do but I need to get back on track and start seriously thinking about my future.

Jill

I've got my 1st Calculus class this summer, the 2nd in the fall along with 1 engineering course, and spring will be just physics 2 (at a school where it WILL transfer ).

As it stands, I will be shuttling between 2 different schools (one for engineering, the other for math & science to finish those off), but I figure the 2nd one will have two benefits.

1. Keeps me in the engineering world a little bit while I finish off the math & science classes.

2. It's a $300+ per credit hour membership to the wellness center.

Almost two weeks later, and I'm still in that same holding pattern. Beginning to wonder if I really want this job.

Laura, now that you've gotten your grades, what's your next step?

Anybody else have any news?

Here I'm anxiously awaiting grades to be posted sometime early to mid next week. Then I can figure out my fall schedule.

Nothing here either.

Well, I'm sorry to report that I STILL have noting to report. It's been two weeks since I took that %^$*# writing test, and whenever I call the recruiter to check in, all she can tell me is, there's nothing new...sorry it's taking so long...I'll call you when I hear something. I've gone through this with every job change in my life, but that doesn't make it any less frustrating!

Just bumping up this thread to get an update from everyone. How are all the job hunters doing?

Also wanted to share this article with you, just for fun:

Taking the Fear Out of Changing Careers

Yesterday I took a writing test for the new job I'm considering. I had asked the recruiter about how long it would take, but she never really answered me. I was figuring on 90 minutes, two hours max. So I was more than a little surprised when the recruiter (a different one, since the woman I was dealing with was out) told me they would give me FOUR HOURS to complete the test. OK, minor panic -- I had finals that didn't take that long!

Actually, I was done in just over two and a half hours. I think I could have taken the whole four, just to keep editing and tweaking. Those of you who write for a living know how hard it is to say a written piece is "finished." But my boss was expecting me to be on a conference call, so I had to hurry home for that. Can't lose my current job just yet.

Congratulations, Lynne!

Cathy, I'm sure that the people who are criticizing you for not working are a vocal and clueless minority -- most people should understand what a disability is. And it sounds like you are contributing where you can.

Cathy, one more thing...have you checked with the state's employment agency? The reason I ask is because if you truly are unable to hold a job, they can point you in the right direction toward collecting disability, if that's something you'd consider. With money coming in that way, you might feel better about the time you spend volunteering.

And the "In America, if you don't work..." thing? I agree it can feel that way. However, *you* define yourself, and being active in volunteering and (for Heaven's sake!) making a REAL difference for kids is amazing.

I'd be proud to list off volunteer work like that if someone asked, "So, what do you do?"

Also, I found this list of companies that have received awards because they are disability-friendly. I don't know if that might give you a jumping-off spot, but the rest of that particular website (Dept of Labor, Office of Disability Employment Policy) might have other information.

Cathy,
I don't know if this offers enough flexibility for your needs but I've heard good things about this company that hires home agents for phone stuff:

http://www.alpineaccess.com/external/index.html

Peg

Cathy,

I may be in a very similar situation. Since I can tell that you are an intelligent, caring person with strong and varied interests, how about investigating freelance writing. There is a book, you could get at the library, (mine's upstairs) which I found enlightening about the myriad of writing opportunities (for cash).

Maybe you could turn your own situation into some articles for publication. I know you are not alone in your situation.

Other suggestions would be to see if BVR (Bureau of Vocational Rehabilitation) or Goodwill might have some suggestions.

I'll keep my thinking cap on for more ideas.

Linda

Cathy, have you checked to see if there are local or state agencies that help people with disabilities find jobs? They often have the inside track on job vacancies that aren't advertised and aren't offered elsewhere.

quote:

Originally posted by mountaingirl:
Incidently, life turns on a dime, so whatever is ripping you apart today, will change. Just remember that.

Congratulations, Lynne! It sounds like a fun job. And how very like you to include a little encouragement for all of us in your happy news.

Cathy, I don't really have any words of wisdom for your work situation, but I will say this: I can't imagine how anyone who knows you would think you are incompetent or stupid. I can tell just from reading your posts here that you are one sharp lady, and I hope some day a sharp employer realizes that and gives you the opportunity you deserve.

As for me, I'm scheduled to take the writing test for this new position tomorrow. Fingers crossed.