The Upside of my Job | Blogtober Day 15

Not everything is all doom and gloom at work like I'm sure you must think from reading why I hate my job. I've decided to write this post because I feel like it wasn't 100% fair of me to just "diss" my job and then not mention some of the positive aspects of it. You know what they say "no matter what; there is always a bright side", so that's what I'll be focusing on today.

I got my current job after being unemployed for about 3 months; I absolutely hated my previous job so I really didn't mind when it was over but when you're used to not having to ask for money for everything, life really changes. I was glad for the opportunity to have some of my own money for things and not having to ask mommy to buy me tampons.

The upside of my job:

It has allowed me the opportunity to gain some independence. I might not be completely independent yet but there are things I can do for myself on my own now. I buy my own toiletries for starters. No more running to mommy when I'm out of sanitary products and deodorant.

My job has given me the opportunity to go back to school and get a qualification. I dropped out of university, back then my parents were paying for it. It did not go well and I was depressed. I came back home and took a year off studying, during that time I got a job and tried to convince my parents I was ready to return but to no avail. They lost faith in me because off my first attempt at getting a degree which I understand but I mean I can't wait for them to want to willingly invest in me again. They kept telling me I'm not ready when I knew I was, then 1 day I realised no man, you have a job and you can actually pay for this yourself. I applied got accepted and went back to school without having to ask my parents for anything. I am now funding my studies from my own pocket and it makes me feel so proud. I can pay for my studies slowly each month. It was hard and draining being constantly reminded that I was a dropout and being asked questions like, "If you didn't manage to get your degree the first time; what makes you think you can get it now?” Now I answer only to myself! 

With the little money I have managed to join the gym. I find fitness and health is of utmost importance and should be everyone's top priority but I get it, we're not all the same.

I have also managed to get myself my own cell phone that I want from my own pocket. I don't have to ask anyone to buy me data and airtime anymore because I can get it for myself now. I even purchased myself a brand new laptop, I accidentally dropped mine when I was in varsity and no one managed to repair it so I was laptop less for a few years. I needed the laptop in order to be able to do schoolwork when I returned to my studies; I'm using that very laptop to blog right now.

The work environment itself is actually quite positive. I don't think I will ever find another job that is as chilled, my boss (the one that's stationed at the office) is approachable and intelligent. We talk about anything & everything and he understands when staff has personal problems. I am quite the "sickly" employee and I don't get shit about it when I don't have a doctor's note. We generally get along quite well as staff in the office, we have small issues here and there like any other workplace but overall I'd say we're good. When things are going well we get free lunch quite regularly. There was a point my mom kept asking me why I don't eat supper at home anymore because I was always claiming to be full. 

My job has allowed me to gain some of the necessary skills I need in my career such as interpersonal skills, communication skills and it has given me work experience. Working there has given me the opportunity to see and experience a real workplace situation. I know more or less what it takes to successfully run a company, how to work with people and how people react in certain unfavourable work situations. I have also learnt a great deal about myself in a work environment and I now know what kind of employee I am and which areas I need to improve on personally.

My boss is very understanding of the fact that I am a part time student and allows me to use company resources for my studies (as long as I don't abuse them of course). It has made managing work and studies a little easier for me so I don't always feel like I'm under immense pressure. I'm even able to go and work at the office on weekends should I need to do so.

I still need a new job though because I need the cash!

Why I Hate my Job

Every day I wake up in the morning and ask myself "where the hell are you going?” It's such a drag but I still drag my butt to work anyways. My colleagues are not bad; sure we have our ups and downs but my problem with the job itself is that I don't always get paid on time. It makes my life really difficult because I'm in constant fear of being blacklisted and not being able to afford my own basic necessities. If I didn't have parents to bail me out, I'd be utterly screwed.

I suppose it would make things a little easier to bear if management was upfront and honest and let us know beforehand how things were going. Amongst other things, I hate my job because I no longer find it challenging. I'm not picking up any new skills and it brings me no personal satisfaction. There are no opportunities for advancement nor do we get sent for any kind of training or attend any workshops or seminars that will help us to gain new skills or even improve on existing skills. I'm not saying that we can't do these things for ourselves but I mean it's nice to work for a company that actually invests in and values you as an employee. The company should have some sort of retention strategy in place (in my opinion).

I like to think that I'm a person with a good work ethic but it becomes a challenge for me to wake up and perform not knowing whether or not I will receive my salary at the end of the month. There are never any repercussions in the office when people either do not perform up to standard or don't perform at all. There aren't even repercussions for not showing up at all. I could literally sit here and do nothing all day and management would not do or say anything to me directly about it. I feel like this has left a gap for staff to get away with doing the bare minimum which is counterproductive for the company as a whole and has led to only a select few actually doing the work and others coasting through.

I am a human resources management student and studying while working has opened my eyes to a lot of injustices that go on in the workplace that employees don't do anything about for fear of losing their jobs, even though they are entitled to do or say something and express their grievances without fear of persecution. It makes me wonder just how many companies are actually ripping people off. A colleague of mine tried to ask the manager that deals with payments what was going on and apparently he threatened to close down the office. I was so stressed! 

It's sad how unaware of labour laws some workers are and how companies take advantage especially when it comes to overtime. My lord! People do not get their overtime money and when they do it is not calculated according to the labour laws on overtime which is 1.5 times your normal working rate and 2 times your normal working rate on Sundays. The last time I had to come in on a weekend all we got was a free lunch. I want my cold hard cash!!!

Our company doesn't do salary or performance reviews but we get a bonus at the end of the year (if we are lucky). This is nice but pay increases are even better. I think I'm the only person that has gotten an increase in the past 4 years and even I got an increase only once and if you ask me my salary is still a rip off. It's easy for people to ask me questions like "why don't you just quit?" Believe me I want to but I have bills to pay and this is better than nothing. There are thousands of young South Africans out there that have it worse than me. I'm grateful that I actually have a job to complain about. Our country has such a high unemployment rate. There are people sitting with Master's Degrees that are unemployed and all I have is a National Senior Certificate. If it wasn't for the fact that I work for my uncle; I'd be a statistic too.

Anyways in case you were wondering, I have looked into other avenues to get cash but my best bet at the moment seems like it would be to find alternative employment so that I can finish my studies. My current job is slowing my whole life down. I feel like I take 1 step forward and 2 steps back. As we speak, 1 of my modules for the semester has been cancelled due to non-payment because I did not get paid on time last month. It's the 7th of September and I am still waiting for August's salary. Management has yet to address that. I am now getting calls from the bank because my loan payments are behind and they are threatening to take me to the credit bureau!!! 

As a result if the outstanding salary payment my school has now financially suspended me on top of the fact that the other module was cancelled due to non-payment of the initial payment. I will not receive my results until the payment has been made. I am so frustrated right now... What's a girl to do?

It's actually gotten to a point that I only attend work these days to do my job applications and all my other personal things that require internet because I have very little motivation to do what I was actually hired for. I know it's not right but that's just where I'm at right now. My work attendance is also dwindling, I go to work as and when I please. It costs me money I don't have to get there and get back home everyday. I feel like I'm just sinking deeper and deeper into debt.

I am hopeful that things will improve for me by the end of this year in the form of new employment. As daunting as job hunting is, I refuse to give up. That is not an option.

Finding a New Job - A Time Consuming Nightmare!

So I've been trying to land a new job for over a year now with no luck. I have read so many articles and tips from how to make a great CV and cover letter to interview tips. I have yet to land a single interview even. I literally go through hundreds of job posts per day and still... no luck!

The way the economy is set up right now makes it important to have a good or at least reliable source of income. Personally, I am job hunting so that I can afford a better lifestyle and be able to actually enjoy life. My current job is not reliable when it comes to the payments section. Right now I am majorly stressed and faced with a lot of uncertainty as to if and when I will be able to pay my bills because they just keep piling up. The last thing I want is to be blacklisted.

I never understood just how difficult it could be to find employment until I had to do it myself. I have been lucky thus far in that I have gotten my past jobs through people I knew when I wanted them and never had to actively look until now and boy is it a hassle. It's been a; "I have a job for you, you can start on Monday" sort of thing. Not many people are this lucky.

I spend my days faxing, searching and emailing whenever I have free time. The paper isn't much help as it seems to be mostly filled with ads for anything but employment. You'd think someone who's studying human resources management would be able to find a job in no time... nope! It stresses me out because I keep thinking about how I can't really afford much. I live with my mom so I don't pay rent; my only expenses are all of my personal things, cellphone, school fees and petrol. Had I not been living at home still I'd struggle to cover even those. Did I mention how costly job hunting is? I fax for free because I use the company's fax line but can you imagine how much time and money people have to spend going to the internet cafe. Let's not even talk about the travelling costs involved for some when they do land interviews and end up spending their last sent in the hopes that this time they'll get the job.

My main problems with finding employment are that I either don't have the qualification required since I am still studying or I don't have enough relevant experience. I have a cousin that seems to have no problem in the job hunting department: How does she do it??? That woman has changed jobs twice since I started my current job. Jobs on offer these days cater for degree holders and experienced professionals mostly and since I am neither of those, it is really tough for me. Even degree holders are struggling to find employment when these colleges and universities have graduate placement programs in place. I guess it depends on the college/university one attends. 

The other day I personally drove around looking for these employment agencies around here only to find that they had closed down or they only assisted with jobs for cashiers, office cleaners etc. Not what I had in mind at all! So back to faxing I went. I did research on CV tips and how to write great cover letters, reviewed my CV and made some changes so hopefully, my job hunting will pay off soon.

I have heard people say that the best way to find a job is through people you know. Unfortunately, sometimes people say they want to help you with no intention of actually helping you. Sometimes you get people who will be very eager to take your CV and try to help you find a job but that CV copy never actually leaves them and is never actually passed on. I really don't understand why people do that. Why volunteer to do something when you know damn well you won't do it. Your own "friends" could be guilty of doing this.

The youth in South Africa is under skilled and underpaid and a lot still needs to be done to rectify this. It needs to be fixed right from secondary school level. High schools need to work more on skills development and teaching kids useful skills that will help them obtain and create employment even without a tertiary qualification. Jobs require people to have driver's licenses too and many people can't even afford to go and write the learner's license test. Schools can step in this department as well by providing opportunities for pupils to go and write their learner's license test as part of the school curriculum, I suppose the Department of Education would need to step in here. This would give matriculants a greater chance of being able to obtain a job should they not go straight to tertiary after matric. A lot more emphasis needs to be placed on giving kids job shadowing opportunities and vacation work even from high school level.  

Our government can't be entirely responsible for creating employment and education opportunities for the youth, private companies must do their bit as well. Many kids in South Africa go to schools that do not even have proper facilities and they go to school hungry which impacts on their ability to learn. As a society, we need to take active steps in youth development and not rely solely on the government to provide everything.

They say the best way to go these days is to start your own thing, be your own boss but unfortunately I don't have any talents that I can make money off of right now.  It so true when they say it takes money to make money. All of this faxing and driving around is not cheap. If anyone has ANY suggestions, please feel free to give them to me. I'm all ears. 

In the meantime here are a few suggestions of websites to register, upload your CV and complete an online profile to increase your chances of finding a job:

• PNet (www.pnet.co.za)
• Careerjunction (www.careerjunction.co.za)
• Careers24 (www.careers24.co.za)
• LinkedIn (www.linkedin.com)
• Jobplacements (www.jobplacements.com)

One thing I can tell you is that many people I have spoken to are sleeping on the power of social networks such as LinkedIn. Joining can expose you to so many worldwide employment opportunities; especially if you're an experienced professional. There are also learning opportunities available for you to gain some expert or industry skills. I would advise you to sign up, you have nothing to lose and so much to gain. You never know where your next business opportunity could come from and being in touch with like-minded individuals in your field or area of expertise can get you so far in life.

There are plenty more out there. These are just the ones I have used and registered on. Happy job hunting!