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Interview cancelled as interviewer sick - rescheduled for Thursday morning - I was just getting dressed, hadn't left yet thankfully. Bit of a pain in the neck but at least they managed to fit me in on Thursday as were asking for Friday and would have been tricky with the kids.
Oh no MN! :hug:
Oh big hugs MN that sucks. I was made redundant on returning from mat leave last year, if you need help or advise on getting a new job I am happy to share what I know.
Wysiwyg -what a pain for the delay but glad you could get another time quickly
I just dont know..... Have only just started to look to see whats out there. I think I will struggle to find a similarly paid role. Based on my tenure (14 yrs) and performance I am high on the renumeration scale. Entering another workplace I would potentially enter at the bottom of the scale again. The other issue is I currently have flexible work arrangements with a work from home day and an RDO to help balance family life. I'll lose that. A new employer is unlikely to offer that to me. I only have it based on my tenure etc:
Today we have had confirmed that the redundancies will be rolling, and will commence in July, ending in November. I anticipate that I could well be one of the last men standing so to speak, as my role is a bit different and more complex than the others, who knows though
If we leave prior to the redundancy period (e.g. July) then its viewed as a resignation, no redundancy pay, after that dependant on when we are required till, we may be able to take our redundancy early if we find a job earlier, HR will confirm. I won’t be leaving without a redundancy pay, I would be stupid to leave earlier.
I am going to go full time in the interim, so I am paid out as a full timer, and to increase my income in the interim, I am devo though, I miss precious time with DD while she’s little. I hadn't planned to work full time until she started school. I feel terrible that I am making this decision based on money.
I am devo, I cant stop crying. This is just terrible. 14 years of service for what? Tomorrow we have to tell our people. The job cuts were announced on the radio today - WTF?? I had two of my people ask me if we were affected. I had to lie and say I didn't know. I hate this. Tomorrow we destroy the lives of about 70 more people. Our Leadership group is just shattered, at least we wont have to keep it a secret any longer :(
:o Oh, MN, I'm so very sorry :cry:
Good luck, Kaz & wysiwyg :hug:
You aren't really making it based on money, you are making it based on what is best for your family in the long term - this full-time work will give you more money so you will be in a better position to make decisions in the future. I would do exactly what you are doing - it is maximum 7 months? but the impact of the money lost by not going -full-time could last much much longer.:
Just coming back in it say big big hugs MN, what an absolutely crap situation.
wysiwyg - good luck tomorrow!!!! knock them out!
They would be mad not to take you wysiwyg :)
I'm ok, staff told today, it was handled terribly, we cleaned up the mess they made after the official announcement. Glad it's out in the open now, massive weight lifted. Now we just get on with it
Huge hugs MN.
I was made redundant from my company 3 yrs ago.
Lasted 5 rounds of redundancy but in the end they offshored the whole department so we all had 6months notice.
My manager was furious as she wanted to leave straight away but i was fine. But like u we had to knowledge transfer for 6mnths or not get any package at all
Bludging and "working from home" for 6 months was fantastic.
It really helped because the whole syd department was going
Very bittersweet because we all worked so hard for that company when it was only a small one and many of us were there for 10 yrs plus.
Best thing that happened. Got redundancy package as well as a better job.
All the best hun.
That is true :-) but there is a lot of madness in the world - I might not like the sound of it when I get there anyway that is always a possibility - and given it isn't going to be a great commute - it will have to live up to what I want to take it. Will only be a 3 month contract but likely to go for 9 apparently, but if they want four days a week - the first 3 months I will be working for nothing virtually because of the cost of childcare due to what I have already earned this financial year, and rebate will have hit ceiling - if it can get me into a new area though it will be worth it I think, the software will be using - there is hardly anyone in Australia trained/with experience in using it (you have to go to South Africa or England for a course) - the software won't be that difficult but given recruitment agents are so set on having experience in the exact software (they don't seem to believe in transferable skills) then it would be good to have on CV.:
MN - more hugs from here, and from DH too (as a former employee of your company he had noted the developments in the paper etc).
Well it went well I think - and sounds like 3 days might work too :-) - Should know by end of tomorrow. Commute isn't going to be great but I think will be worth it - is a pharma company - so it sort of felt like home.
Hope you get the contract wysiwyg.
Just over work at the moment. Thought I was just the one receiving the brunt of anti part-time sentiment from of the staff members, but one of the others has been copping it worse than me! Not sure how to deal with, other than pull up the culprit when she does it. Try to be polite as much as I can, but wont let her get away with it.
I got the job! ! Money is rubbish (well in comparison at least to last position) but I am hopeful could be start of a new era of job satisfaction for me :-) really good news is it starts the 12 th so I have next week off.
Congratulations wysiwyg!!!!!!
congratulations! That's fantastic:
Hooray wysiwyg! Fantastic news, enjoy your week off and I hope the job satisfaction is sky high :)
Yay - that's awesome wysiwyg!! Go you!! :) Hope the job is really enjoyable x
:leap: :happydance: thrilled for you, wysiwyg!!
Yay Wysiwyg!! I had a really good feeling you'd get it. Congratulations!
Thanks everyone - I am spending this week trying to get everything done on my to do list that has sat there for about 6 months. New car seats is order of the day but I have to say I think the information out there is completely confusing once you get past the baby stage - I wish had never looked into it, but last time I just went and bought the EzyCombo on the basis of the CREP result and have always hated it in out little car and DD has never really liked it either - so I was determined to do more research this time but I think I may just be more confused than I was before.
Yesterday I lost my library card 30 mins after getting a new one, and then locked myself out the house, then forgot to take the bag of books back to the library only 2 mins after I had packed it - the children were at daycare so I can't really blame them as usual, I hope I pull myself together for next week. Today had to take DD to art class with DS still in his PJ's and me only half dressed :-) He through a tantrum about a milkshake because we normally always go for milkshake while she is at artclass so in the end we were in the library cafe with him in his PJ's (he had a dressing gown on so very obvious) and me with my PJ top on under my jacket and my jeans, oh well the more people go out half dressed the more acceptable it might become :-)
At the library I picked up a book called "Work Women Want" - I found it a depressing read - the tagline was " If you have ever asked how to make decent money but still care for your children, I wrote this book for you." - - it seems it was written for people who want to party plan, have a spouse who earns enough that they can risk investing it, or just want a bit of 'extra money' but are not dependent on it. All the solutions in there were very stereo-typically female - great for a few I am sure but didn't really even touch on the real issues of what in my mind is "Work Women Want" - which is really whatever sort of work they want but not for a massive amount of hours each week. There was a section on part-time work though which was helpfully divided into negotiating part-time if you already have a job, and trying to get one if you don't already have one (which it did acknowledge was difficult).
Had a bad feeling about this job this arvo and then got a call about new start date - is now 26th, hope it isn't all going to fall through, not sure I will feel settled about it till I start now. But as long as it does happen another week off is good, and then have second week of my Cert IV in training and assessment- so it is a better start date for me really.
It's hard, good one on the job offer WYSIWYG!
Work Women Want: work which is flexible and uses our qualifications, and allows us to use our minds and intelligence. Work which is pay at the same rate as men. Work where we aren't assumed to be taking leave as soon as we get the job, but also where it is flexible and allows us to be paid enough to be a sole income if we want.
Anyhows. So I had my interview. Went well. Waiting for 3rd interview. Bit of a kerfluffle where the video hookup they booked was neither a video room nor booked. So my interview was voice only and interrupted by a pile of people coming into the room half way through which was booked. Doh. Bright side: I can wear my interview suit for next time.
Good luck Kazbah - I had a phone only interview for my first job here in Australia - it was sort of weird because you can't gauge anything from expressions etc. but like you say has its perks like wearing whatever you want etc:
Have you heard anything yet Kazbah?
I'm nervously awaiting a call from my boss. I said any time after 10:30 but he hasn't been able to reply because he's been on the road all week. Realistically I think it will go well, he's a great boss and very understanding, and has offered to look at all options. I'm just nervous that he'll say sorry, I couldn't get approval for part time work with an extra person, we need you full time. I considered saying in that case I'll extend my leave to the full year to try and find something better, but we really do need the money now. Just wish the call was over already :(
Good luck Teeki!! Hope u get a call soon
Me - I'm in redundant limbo. Don't know when my end date will be, hoping to be find out in July. Redundancies will happen progressively from July through to November. Oct 10 is my yearly anniversary date so hoping to get to that ( bigger redundancy payout)
Good luck Teeki, and hope you very what you want MN. Must be a bit annoying having to wait to find out.
I am on a course, is a bit annoying because is mainly to get the qualification and not much real learning, which although I know this helped get me next job I still resent it a bit. Plus am agro about DD school next year being crap at communication. Anyway I osteo for me later hopefully they will snap me out of it.
Fingers crossed for you MN that you can stay until your anniversary date.
Bugger about the course wysiwyg. I have a feeling when I go back I'll have plenty of catch up training to do, things change so quickly.
The call went well. I'm feeling so lucky that this organisation is so supportive and flexible. It sounds as though there's not really any fte available for me to go back to my job part time. Because the idea was that they'd keep the guy doing my maternity leave full time and I'd be extra. They can't get anyone to job share with me and it's not very realistic. So worst case is I go back 5 days and keep looking elsewhere, but my boss going to put a case to his manager.
Other options are to go back to what I used to do. Easy enough to do part time and should be able to keep the same pay level. Or could switch to a different business unit, with a similar role. I reckon I'd actually like that, change is good :)
I was up front with him and said I'd love to continue my current job part time, but if I have to change jobs I'd probably welcome a little less responsibility and the ability to leave to pick up sick kids when needed. Also told him that any job change for me unfortunately comes down to money - I have childcare to pay for and a big pay cut is no good. He has 3 kids and his wife has been in this exact spot so he's awesome and he gets it.
I'm his first employee to come back from maternity leave so he's going to look up all the policies and see what is supposed to happen with offering different roles, if that happens.
Good luck Teeki. Hope you get what you need xo
Wysiwyg, I'm the same at the moment. Doing a course to get a piece of paper to formalize something I've been doing for years. Some days it is a bit of a joke - but I just sit and relish my day out of the office.
I'm still around. Resenting some stuff at work. But trying to keep my eye on the end goal. Planning some leave in July. Hanging out for that.
Hey Ladies, sorry been a bit quiet in this thread lately.
Still dealing with the cultural changes. Thought it would be settle by now, but my gut is saying that change is still in progress. Money is getting tight amongst our clients, so we are looking at ways to get more money, whereas I just think get rid of dead wood. The hard thing is being part-time, they look first at dropping hours of part-timers before a full-time, even if they came on last and add less value to the business. The socialisation aspect is a real issue. Tired of feeling like I am less valued as I am not FB friends with half of them and don't constantly give my opinion on what the boss is posting, or inviting him over for dinner. :wall: I just feel something drastic needs to happen and then it will settle into a known vibe. Hoping the drastic thing is nothing to do with me ;)
I'm not one for socialising either Astrid, so I feel your pain. I'm also in a company that has had numerous redundancies over the past couple of years, and it doesn't appear to be over. DH also works for the same company so it gets scary sometimes to think we could both be out of a job!
On a personal note, I'm really struggling to cope with the work/life balance thing at the moment. I work 4 days a week, with a 1 hour commute each way by the time I drop the boys off to school / childcare, or my mum's who is wonderful and has my boys 3 days out of the 4! I'm out of the house a minimum of 10 hours a day, sometimes u to 12, and that's tough on me and my beautiful boys.
I'm alway time poor, when I get home the priority is dinner and showers for the boys. Most weeks I forget to help DS1 with his reading/homework at least 1 or 2 days a week, that makes me feel like the world's worst mum because his education should be my number one priority! I struggle with the housework, DS1 is always sad on OHSC days (but is always happy when I pick him up, it's just getting him there that's the problem). I hate being so far away from DS1 when he's at school and I'm at work :(
Well, that feels a little better getting this off my chest. I've been desperately looking for a job closer to home with more suitable hours, however' they're very scarce and when the opportunities come up, the market is flooded with applicants.
Same Jaycee, except I am being made redundant and eventually it's likely my DH will too. It's becoming more and more obvious the company we work for has no plans to keep a presence in Adelaide, I just hope I get sorted with a new job before DH is impacted.:
Okay, so I've decided to take control of an uncontrollable situation. There is an internal role going that I would be perfect for. Its the same pay, doing core hours, no longer managing people (this is appealing to me) and its more of a project/campaign role - lots of analysis, developing campaigns, engaging staff to deliver etc etc - my forte and stuff I'm brilliant at. It's at the same location I currently am, but its full time. Being that I've just gone full time until the redundancy kicks in and the reality of finding a part time gig externally paying the money I currently earn is low, its a compromise I can deal with. While I know that there is risk of future redundancy a few years down the track, it potentially gives me security and flexibility in the interim until my youngest starts school, no long commute, family friendly hours, with the potential for work from home opportunities (some of this team already do this part of the time). Project and non customer facing roles have a higher likelihood of redundancy, but if I was made redundant in a few years time, I'd be no worse off than I am now. AND I'd have a whole new skill set and experience to add to my resume! All of a sudden I'm excited again.
Based on where we are in our life now, family/work life balance is a very high priority, this gives me the opportunity to maintain that. The negative - It means more childcare hours for DD which isn't ideal, but being that I am right across the road and our commute is only 10 mins its minimised as much as possible.
Applications close Monday. My cover letter and resume is done, just getting it proof read etc before submitting and have emailed the Manager of this role hoping to catch up Monday for a coffee to chat about the role..... Wish me luck!!
Good luck MN - sounds like great opportunity. As you know I have thought about going full-time - and if I could find a role only 10 mins away it would become a favorable
option - especially once only have one in child care. I know several people who have done what you are proposing, getting made redundant and then moving to another role within the company - and it is worked out well for all of them (some have been made redundant further down the line but that has still been ok for them).
Good Luck MN. Sounds like it could work well for you.
Hi ladies :)
wow ... gotta love outsourcing don't you (although my company calls it out-tasking).
MN - good luck. I hope you get the short commute.
Astrid - socialising sux.
Jaycee - the commute sux does'nt it. I find that I'm ok with the commute, but the kids and DH aren't. Doh.
Me - still waiting for them to finish all the interviews to see if I make the next round. In the meantime, I've been "peeled" across to another manager, which means I get to concentrate on my passion ;) for the moment. Hoping to hear soon if I get the next round of interviews. AEGH!!!!!!!!
I suspect after first day in new job tomorrow I will be joining the 'commuting sux' club - but as I have low expectations of the commute it can only be better than expected - maybe it will mean I have to buy myself a folding bike! :-)
Need to get myself back into 'work' mode - but tonight have been too annoyed by our dumb neighbors - hopefully a cup of chamomile tea - will chill me out.
Good luck for your first day tomorrow wysiwyg!
And good luck with your application MN, it sounds like a good change.
I'm already dreading my return to work, I'm in a bit of a fragile mood tonight, and the thought that only 8 Sundays from now I'll be needing to prepare for work the next day has me in tears. It's hard to enjoy the time I do have left when I'm so against going back to work. Depending on what I end up doing, the job itself may not be so bad. But you've written about the guilt perfectly Jaycee, our mornings will be so rushed to get us all ready and out the door, and on bad days I don't get home til 7 - that's bed time. Then I spend the evenings cleaning up and getting lunches/bags etc ready for the next day. I truly hate our lifestyle when I'm working.
Anyway, whinge over. I guess I'm going to have to master my time management skills.