Corporate Ratchet Part 4- A pot of gold

** Disclaimer: The time frame for these blog post is 2012 to2013. My blog series “Corporate ratchet” talks about a job experience I had shortly after I graduated with my MBA. This story series does not reflect my current state of affairs as I no longer work for this establishment. I apologize for any confusion**

 

I stared at the man who would be my trainer for the next six weeks for a second as I tried to process what he had just said. Now when think about your first day at a job, you are expecting bright smiles plastered on the faces of the people you will be working with, enthusiastic about showing you the ropes and how awesome it is to work for their company. Telling a new recruit that sobbing is part of the job description was hardly a heartfelt welcome.

As I signed in, I was asked to take a seat in a room filled with computer monitors. On the walls were posters with procedures to follow and rules to abide by. Kind of like when you are in elementary school and you have “drills” posted across the room. I took a seat close to the trainer’s table and waited for the remaining newbies to come in. Our trainer, Marcus * was a middle aged black man who looked more annoyed than anything. Hence the welcoming comments. I once caught him at his desk, checking his Facebook account while going over a lecture. I could tell he really wanted to be there.

The next six weeks consisted of long lectures on company policy and standard procedure on how to handle customer issues. Four of these weeks would be purely theory and two weeks will be in the lab where we will be working with actual customers. Everything was done down to the minute, from the moment we walked in the building till the moment we left.  We were allowed hour long lunches and 15 minute restroom breaks.  In between the breaks and mind numbing lectures, I got the chance to get to know my classmates.

In my class of new recruits there were 33 students. More than half of them were either in college or just graduated from high school. Some of them had college degrees like myself and were just doing this job to get by.  Seated next to me was a young lady, Jess *. Jess had just graduated with a degree in Social Work. We had bonded over our shared interest in bad reality television. She was petite and soft spoken. She had been applying for jobs for over three months and when the bills started coming, she figured this job would be a temporary fix for now. I could relate to her.  In between text heavy modules and chapter tests for each lesson and nibbling on gummy worms, we talked about college experiences, our career goals and our concerns about the job market.  My kinship with Jess made training with a room full of colorful individuals, bearable.

Three weeks in, I was starting to feel like I could do this job. I was doing well on all my quizzes and the trainer Marcus had great feedback to offer me. Meanwhile discussing our job prospects over coffee each day with Jess before training started, was what I looked forward to. That feeling was short lived. I walked into the training room one Thursday morning, coffee in one hand and a juicy story about how I found an awesome position online the night before that I applied for on the mind.  I walked over to my computer next to Jess’ desk and waited for her to arrive. Jess normally arrives before me but today she was late.  As training started, I kept one eye glued to the door. Surely at some point, she would breeze through the door and join me.  By break time, I was concerned.  Maybe she taking advantage of the two free absences we were allowed.  I couldn’t think of any reason she would not show up for work. She didn’t seem sick the day before, so it couldn’t be that. Or maybe she had emergency? Meanwhile, all these thoughts were going through my head and all I wanted to do was share my story about the pot of gold I found online.  I decided to go to lunch, alone. On my way to the lunch room, I bumped into one of our classmates, Vanessa*. Vanessa and Jess lived in the same apartment complex. I asked her if she had heard from her. What I heard next left my heart in my stomach.

“Girl, you didn’t hear? Jess got a call yesterday for a job interview for a position with the city. She was checking her voicemail and got a message for an interview for this morning. She went for the interview. She just texted me saying they decided to hire her on the spot. Great pay and full benefits.”

Well, color me surprised.  I was stunned. While I was thinking I had found a great job to apply for, my work friend was had found the pot of gold, the rainbow and even the leprechaun. I let out a huge sigh.

“So, she’s not coming back?” I said realizing immediately that was probably the dumbest question I had asked in a while.  It was followed by an equally dumb look from Vanessa.

“Girl, she accepted the position on the spot. She already dropped off her id at the front desk”.

I smiled and said I was happy for her and quietly walked to the lunch room. I had lost my appetite. I was happy for her. There is nothing like getting that call for the position you have been working so hard for. Like finally reaching the light at the end of a very long tunnel. But it was less about her success and more about me. I just felt left behind.  Of all my fellow trainees, I felt she was the one I felt I could relate to.  Admittedly, I wish it were me, getting the unexpected call, an interview and an offer.

All my thoughts of self-pity were quickly interrupted by Marcus, informing it was time to get back to the training room.  This was going to be a very long three weeks.

*- Names changed to protect identity

Corporate Ratchet Part 3 – ” So, you got a job??? Let’s eat cake”

I needed to think.  Sitting down for a bit to process what I had just done was not such a bad idea.  I walked out of the reception room and made a bee line for my car. As I walked to my car, I noticed a group of people hanging out at the other end of the building. Some of them were exiting the double doors, leaning against the cars and smoking.  Some of them were playing on their cellphones and others were engaged in intense conversations.  I couldn’t quite make the connection but I felt that was a lot going on for a workplace. I got into my car and just sat there. I didn’t turn on the ignition or the radio. I sat pure silence. I couldn’t think of anywhere to go. I just needed a moment to collect all my thoughts and process what I had just experienced.

Did I just agree to do a job described as “stressful”?  Did I just agree to do a job that pays less than what I made before I started graduate school? Did I just agree to work with customers who can be considered “unreasonable” and “irate”? 

Have you ever had a moment where you just wanted to say “Oh no, forget this” and just leave? Everything in me wanted to turn on my car, put it in reverse, pull out of the parking lot and drive away. I have heard of horror stories of how draining and stressful a customer service jobs can be. Granted that I have had a lot of friends who had worked at a call center at some point in their life, they always looked at it as a college job or a temporary situation. Not a job as Master degree holder. 

You have all these thoughts of how logical it would be to just drive home and hit the keys again looking for a job online. But then, a small voice in your head says “What other options do you have? I mean, you have been looking for what…six months? And not even a call for an interview? You are half way to making some money and you want to run? “. I am sure if this voice were an actual person, it would be looking at me with crazy eyes.  That good old voice that just wants to squash what was otherwise a really good idea.

**Sigh**

For close to two hours, I went back and forth on whether to stay or whether to leave.  The final consensus: I was going to take the job if offered to me.  I will give myself three good months but the moment I feel that this job is something I can no longer handle, I will quit.  I breathe a huge sigh of relief.  I had figured out my grand plan and avoided having a “chip on my shoulder” mindset. I didn’t want to feel like I was above working in customer service. But if I were to work at a customer service rep, it will be temporary.

I took a deep breath and fixed my hair. It’s funny how quickly time flies when you have a lot on your mind. I decided to go back into the building and wait for the second part of the interview process to start. In the reception hall, I noticed a couple of people texting on their phones and some taking a nap. I sat close to the door and waited.  Twenty minutes later, “Katt Williams” walked into the reception hall and called my group for the second part.

We were brought back into the room where we took the assessment and were told to wait for our individual interviews.  Soon after sitting down, a lady stepped out of her corner office and said my name.  She was average height and very well dressed and her hair was slicked back into a bun. I stood up and she told me to follow her into her office. The lady introduced herself as the hiring manager asked me if I fully understood the questions I answered during the assessment. I said yes.

“Will the pay rate be enough for you to take care of your monthly financial obligations?”  the lady said in a very stern voice.

“Yes” I said but what I really wanted to say was “Uhm, no! Can we negotiate the pay?”

“Well, if that is the case, I just want to welcome you to our company. You did very well on your assessment. Consider it a privilege to work here. Many are called, but few are selected.”

I found that very hard to believe but I decided to be open minded. Maybe the level of professionalism that sought for the company was very high. Or so I thought. The lady directed me to a scheduling manager where I was told that I would have to select the days that I would like to work and my hours. That will be my fixed schedule for the next six months.  Based on the schedule I picked, that would it will now determine my training schedule.

“You have selected to work Monday through Fridays with weekends off. You will be training in group B which will be from 3PM to 11PM.”

Huh?? Getting off work at 11PM??? So much for happy hour!

“How long is this going to be for?” I asked still thinking I can just get up and leave.

“Six weeks, and you will be paid during this time”.

I guess I can handle that. I signed some papers and was told to that I will start my training on Monday.

I slowly lifted myself from my chair and walked out of the scheduling manager’s office. I felt a little light headed.  Just like that, I had a job.  A part of me was happy that I would start making some kind of money, no matter how much. A part of me was concerned about the future. In business school, I was taught to approach things with a game plan, with a strategy.  How will this job affect my overall career?  How will I be able to leverage this experience towards a more professional position? Will there be room for growth within the corporation? If so, how? What is an acceptable time to be at this position before seeking other positions? (Immediately!!!).

All these thoughts made me want to just go home and get some rest.

I didn’t realize when I reached my driveway. The drive home seemed so short because of the myriad of thoughts going through my head. I put the car in park and slowly peeled myself out of my car. I decided that once I walk inside the house, I would walk upstairs to my room quickly before anyone asked me how the day went.

“So how did things go?” my dad asked once I locked the door behind me. **Sigh**.  I didn’t know my dad was going to be back from work so early.

“It went well” I said casually while still making my way towards the stair case.  My mom, who just happened to be home early as well looked up at me.

“Come sit down and tell us how everything went” she said. **Sigh**

I really didn’t want to go into details so I sat down and gave them a very condensed version of what happened.  

“Long story short, I got the job…so that’s that, I guess” I said with very little enthusiasm in my voice.

What happened next cannot be explained in words. Till this day, I can’t comprehend what would cause anyone to react this way.

“So, you got a job??” my dad exclaimed.

I nodded.  “Well, this is cause for celebration!!!! “He said with a huge laugh. My mom followed by lifting her hands in praise.

“Let’s eat cake” my dad said. He then called my brother and told him about my job and that he needed to go to the store to get a cake.

“Really??? Is it really that serious? Cake?? ” I said to myself.  This isn’t even my dream job. What is there to even celebrate?? With cake for that matter?  I didn’t see this as being celebratory event.

Hindsight being 20/20, I can see why any type of job was a reason to celebrate. You really don’t know how bad the unemployment rate is until you walk into a company and see a bunch of people applying for the same job as yourself.  And the hiring manager did say that not everyone who applies gets hired. I was part of the select few. This was something to be grateful for, no matter the job. But for that moment, I faked excitement and walked to my room to change.

Shortly after, I walked downstairs to find a store bought cake on the dining table.  A birthday cake with the words “Congratulations” on it and a bottle of apple cider.

I cut the cake and my mom took a picture with her camera phone. I can’t make this stuff up.

We ate cake, drank cider and the very next day, I started my first day of training.

“Girl…the first time you get on the phone, the customers are going to curse you out and you are going to cry…you might as well just quit right now…” were the first words my trainer told me as signed in and asked what the job was like…

**Sigh**

Corporate Ratchet Part 2- “We are not interviewing for the same job”

I quickly scanned the small reception room and confirmed once again that I was overdressed. Men and women dressed in a mix of dress shirts and sneakers, jeans or if dressed in a suit, it was two sizes too big. This is not what I had expected the interview for the “important” job to look like. In fact, I wasn’t expecting to see a room full of people. I started to panic. What is this really?? There had to have been at least thirty people in the room and one lady even brought her children. Surely, they couldn’t be interviewing for a job here. I ran every possible scenario in my head of what this situation could really mean. One stood out to me.

“These people are here for an appointment to meet with a manager or a higher level executive. The manager will emerge ,dressed in a well tailored suit and whisk them away to an air conditioned office where their issues will be addressed” .

Yep, that was what I chose to believe and I stuck to it. A loud voice interrupted my thoughts.

” Ma’am , can I help you?”

I turned to the direction the voice was coming from and saw a woman behind a glass partition. I walked to the window and told her that I was here for an interview.

” Sign in here and have a seat somewhere”.

I looked at the sign in sheet and flipped over to the other sheet since the first page was filled with names and phone numbers. I signed my name and number in the fifth spot. At the top of the page, the words ” INTERVIEW SIGN IN” was in bold letters. Then it hit me. These casually dressed people  were actually there for an interview as well.

Next scenario: “ Maybe, we are not  interviewing for the same job“.

Sigh.

After signing my name, I scanned the room again for a seat. There was one left in the corner. I sat down and noticed that the gentleman sitting next to me was reading with a kindle. I looked at my watch. It was 9 AM. I checked my phone for text messages and turned off my ringer.  I took a moment to make some observations. I think some of them may have misunderstood what business casual is. It does not mean wearing a dress shirt with Jordans and it certainly does not mean wearing a skirt short enough to show your leg tattoos and sporting multi colored weave. But I digress. We may not be interviewing for the same job.

At 9:20 AM, a man resembling Katt Williams stepped out from the back door and announced that interviews will begin in 15 minutes. We will not be allowed to use our cell phones and that he will be calling us in by groups. After the announcement, a young lady turned to me and asked me if I applied for the job from the newspaper.

“Uhm, no. I found the job online”  I said.

” Oh okay”  she responded and turned back to her cell phone. She looked like she was in high school. Had she applied for the same job as me? It was in the newspaper?  We must not have applied for the same job. Or maybe we did? Concern level now was at least a nine on scale of one to ten.

At 9:40 AM, the Katt Williams look alike emerged from the backroom and started calling names. He called my name and about 15 others and lead us into the back room which had a set of cubicles with computers. He told us to find a cubicle and that we would be taking a 15 minute skills assessment. As I took my seat at the computer, once again, I was running scenarios through my head.We were told that parts of the assessment were timed. I turned on the monitor and clicked on the  “TAKE ASSESSMENT” tab. I filled out the brief questionnaire and started the first part of the assessment which was a typing test.

“This should be easy ” I scoffed, mentally. A graduate student who has written their fair share of research papers has mastered the the art of typing. We had to retype a small passage a quickly as possible in a minute. I typed a quickly as I could with few typos.

The second part of the assessment was more of a questionnaire describing the job itself. It was more of a ” are you willing to do this or that? Yes or No” type questionnaire. Most of the questions seemed pretty reasonable enough. “Is the customer always right? Yes or No?”  I answered Yes since “sometimes” was not an option. But as l answered the remaining questions, I started to get more concerned.

“This job involves talking to over 100 customers a day who might be irate or verbally offensive. Do you think you can handle this level of stress? Yes or No?” , “You will be required to wear a headset for long periods of time while documenting customer complaints. Are you okay with this? Yes or No? “, ” This position requires you to deal with issue resolution that can be high stressful. Can you do this? Yes or No”. This job pays only X.00 an hour. This is a flat rate with no negotiation for pay despite your level of education? Do you accept this? Yes or No ?”

I answered every question in the affirmative. Before I answered each question, I hesitated. I kept thinking “well, what are my options? I don’t have a job right now and anything will do. But hey, what if this is just a questionnaire everyone has to take. I am sure once they see my resume, they will offer me a much better job than this.” 

Or not.

After the test, I was asked to go back to the reception area. The receptionist told me that the second part of the interviewing process will be in two hours.

Two hours!! What am I supposed to do til then?

Stay tuned for part three.

Have a great day.

Ms. MBA

 

Big Dreams …and there is reality!!

When I first graduated with my Master in Business Administration degree, I had very big expectations for myself. I felt like someone had finally handed me the key to a brighter future.  This is not to discourage anyone who is currently pursing an MBA or a higher degree. This post today is just to send the message that sometimes, we have big dreams and then we have reality.

Weeks before I completed my course work, I had this butterfly feeling in stomach. It was like the day before Christmas, everyday!! I was in a euphoric state of mind. I was not only happy to be done with two years of sleepless nights, challenging group projects and comprehensive exams, but I was happy to finally start living the dream I had for my life.

Months after my college graduation, I was faced with the “no experience” roadblock. I was left with the option of working with a recruiting firm that placed me of various contract positions all over the city where I live. While it was nice to make some money for basic necessities, I had a bigger dream for myself. I knew I wanted to work in a position where I could be creative and innovative. I knew I wanted a job with good salary, benefits and a nice office. I knew I wanted a job that required me to actually dress like a professional.So I decided to get a Master degree. To help with my job prospects. But when you are in college or in graduate school, no one really prepares you for the realities of the job market. No one tells you that while you have a degree in a certain discipline, so do thousands of others and the competition for those coveted positions in intense.

A recruiter once told me that for every position that requires at least a Bachelors degree, there are over 1000 people applying for that position. In some cases, depending on the company or the position, it could be a whole lot more. And when recruiters can no longer narrow down candidates for interview based on the degrees, they have to now look a specific criteria such as the dreaded “relevant experience” or specific “technical skills is  a plus”.

And where does this leave the optimistic MBA candidate that is at the cusp of graduating ? It leaves them with the very harsh reality that what they may have been working so hard for might not happen as quickly as they might have hoped for. It leaves them thinking that they might have to take a detour in the form of working a job they are overqualified for or underpaid. It leaves them with the possibility that they might have to rethink their strategy of pursuing a career path that when they were in school seemed like a great idea.  They are left with the reality that while you have accomplished something great, the job market is telling you “Yeah, but so do others and there are not enough jobs for all of you freshly minted MBAs”.

Now, now..before you start pelting me with cyber tomatoes and telling me my perspective is skewed, let me just say that I know that this is not the case for everyone. I know that there are the graduates from prestigious MBA programs all over the country that don’t have to worry about stuff like this. From the beginning of the second semester of their second year, they already know where they will be working the day after they graduate. Shoot, they were probably courted by multiple fortune 500 companies from the first week of the second semester of their first year against the summer. They are graduates who because they worked for years before they started their MBA journey, they already have an established skill set which they can leverage when looking for jobs. In this case, even if they graduated from tier two MBA programs, they still find  good jobs because they have been able to escape the career pot hole that is labelled “inexperience”.

I graduated from the MBA program applying with confidence, to every fortune 500 company that I could. I aimed for companies on the east coast because I wanted to work in consumer product marketing. I wanted to work for cosmetic companies or companies that manufactured things that I could find in my pantry. In my mind, I was ready to pack up my belongings and relocated to the east coast, preferably New York and live in a tiny apartment with cool furniture. I would pound the pavement like all the other professionals by day and live the hipster lifestyle at night . I imagined myself doing big things . Even if I were to remain in my hometown, I would still be able to get a job with a reputable company and start my journey as a marketing professional.

After two years of searching for my place in the career world, the sting of reality has worn off. I am amazed at all the things I know today that I had no clue about when I first started graduate school. Maybe if I had known what I would be up against, I may have changed my strategy. But then again, I would not be writing this blog now, would I?  I guess there is some purpose in all of this.  I am still a big dreamer. I still believe that I will have the career that I was meant to have. I just realize that it is not as simple and it might not happen the way I would imagined. I realize unfortunately that there is an unspoken myth that earning an MBA degree opens titanium doors of opportunity. For some, yes.  But for the rest of us, people like myself, we have to take a different path.

That is a fact.

Signing off

Ms. MBA

It’s just my life, right???

Hello and Welcome to my journey as a optimistic post MBA graduate student from a tier one university, seeking a brag worthy job in the wonderful world that is the job market. I am your hostess, Ms. MBA degree.

Let me start of by telling you, my audience, what lead me to start writing about this journey of job hunting. Well, I guess I should start by telling you a little about myself. I am a graduate from *** of *** in *** , USA. I enjoy spending time with friends and family, satisfying my inner foodie by exploring restaurants round town with with decent rating on yelp , taking long walks and reading books/magazines at Starbucks while sipping on iced coffee. Surely you can respect my need for privacy, right? Trust me, you will not need to know all the details to get the gist of the story.  I graduated two years ago from my MBA program and while, I have had a job since I graduate, I have not had a professional job that justifies all the hard work and might I add, money, I spent on earning my degree. Unfortunately (or fortunately,more about this later) I was laid off from my not so professional job. As I type , I am still looking for a professional job.

You know when you are going through a tough time, you just want to feel that there is someone out there in the universe that is going through the same exact struggle as yourself?  Well, in this instance, I was looking for a blog or an article that talked about the real feelings of a job seeker. A job seeker with a higher degree. A job seeker with an MBA. At least one that didn’t make feel lame. I wanted the good stuff. The gnarly stuff that made me want to laugh and cry , all at the same time. Well, I couldn’t find one. So I decided to document my journey and my feelings. I decided to fill the in the  gap concerning unemployed/underemployed MBA’s in the vast world we call cyber space. I am only doing my civic duty as good cyber citizen. **blog shrug**

I hope this reaches someone just like myself who has been (“been” as in hopefully job hunting is happily in your past) or is still currently ( I feel your your pain, my brother/sister) seeking employment. Whoever reads this, I hope you can find some humor or some much needed solace or a moment of “Oh, that is so/used- to-be my life” or ” I can totally relate” or better yet ” Shut up, that was me like ,XYZ years ago. How did she know that was my truth??” type of  moments.

Because, hey, its only life, right? At least , a part of it. A part of life that millions of Americans with secondary education are facing right now. A very harsh part of life that no one ever prepares for or expects. I, for one, would like to express my feeling about it through writing. I, hereby, promise to be as open and as honest without complicating my life by divulging personal information but still staying true to the premise for which this blog is established. This is just in case I decide to run for office some day.

You understand, right??

Great.

Happy reading.

Ms. MBA