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Polycarbonate · Newbie Joined: 07 Jul 2009 Posts: 1 Career Advice: +0/-0

I am in the US working at a consulting firm currently.

I got the job by interning here in college. Over the course of the internship, they extended my job as I worked on really great projects that were so fun and exciting. The firm is small, so there is very little guidance or formal training, but it made me learn a lot about so many different things. I love the people I work with, I feel like the firm is going to be great as it is slowly expanding, and the work is exciting. Great, right?

The last project I worked on was during my last semester of college (I only had two classes). I did a great job, and really did the project on my own. I was working full time, and I rarely had one single free minute of time. The client loved it and it turned out great. The bosses were proud. And this is a hard job to get. People come in all the time for informational interviews looking for jobs, so I know mine could be taken in a second if I quit.

That project ended, I graduated college in the winter, and was offered a job. The only catch was that I was to work 40 hours a week maximum, and could only bill 8 hours of work a week internally (for tasks that were not related to specific projects). Also I was an hourly employee. The pay per hour was great, but I wasn't on salary.

So since graduation, with the downturn in the economy, we had very few projects coming in for me to work on. I would bite on scraps here and there, but I wasn't working full time. The company overall was getting projects, but nothing was coming my way.

So I worked on selling new projects, which I am still doing. But I don't get paid for that, and the projects we do land haven't come my way for me to work on.

My problems are:

1. I am working much more than my maximum 8 hours internally, whether it is on marketing, sales, internal biz dev, etc. But I am simply not getting paid for it. I don't want to slack off and not do it because I am not getting paid, but when I come in to work everyday and my weekly timesheet has 8 hours on it, I make very little money and it makes me look like I am doing nothing for the company.

2. My bosses say that they want to give me stuff to do, but there just isn't anything for me to do project wise (which means I don't get paid). Which is why I was surprised when they hired an older, experienced person a week ago to provide support for projects. It shocked me because they keep saying there is nothing to really do.

One of my bosses knows that this sucks for me, and he is understanding. However nothing comes of it. This week, last week, etc. there is just nothing for me to do that I can get paid for. Neither one of my bosses get on the ball and give me anything to do. They know I get 8 hours of work max per week, so I am wondering if they a) forget b) realize it sucks c) want me to leave because I am getting paid so little.

I looked for new jobs, but this is a pretty niche market, and there aren't a whole lot of things available for someone in my position (not enough experience). Should I stick it out, and see if new projects come my way, and keep reminding myself this is a good thing? Or should I quit and pray I find something else?

Pauloz · Posted: Wed Jul 08, 2009 5:19 am Post subject:

Polycarbonate

The strictly according to the rules, and in this case correct, advice here is that:

This isn't the time to be leaving a job.
Don't quit, because you lose your UC entitlements.
This job may not be delivering money, but it will deliver references, and those are valuable, particularly at this stage in your career.
You do not need a work record shot full of holes, with a voluntary termination, at this point, starting out.

Just to put your mind at rest on one issue: If they wanted you out, they'd do it. That really doesn't look like it's the situation.

To which needs to be added:

People aren't hired to do work that can be done by someone they already have who doesn't have enough work to do, unless there's more to it than that. Don't take that situation too personally. Sounds like you'd cost less, so I think there has to be some sort of internal machinery at work there. Nepotism, networking, you name it, but the experience side also counts, and that's more likely to be the case than any fault of yours.

(If this is a marketing job, in any form, start by assuming nothing is as simple as it looks.)

Suggest:

You can freelance, if you can create some spare time. Work is out there, it's a matter of finding it and setting it up. Check out with your boss about what's viable as working hours under these circumstances, so you're not just hanging around, etc, but you're not killing your time, either.

Stay obviously committed to the job. You're there, you want to work, you're in the right, and you can't be faulted for that.

Guest · Posted: Fri Aug 28, 2009 6:44 am Post subject: GOOD LUCK

I have changed my job recently, although i had a one year experience i really did not get any useful things from the first job. I want to tell you that pls do not give up the hope and you will obtain more. GOOD LUCK!

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