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Dear Steve & Jon, I know the job market isn't great right now, but my boss is a real ass. What can I do? Sincerely, Tired of the View |
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Dear Tired, Personality conflicts are a very common cause of employee dissatisfaction. Although you may have negative feelings about your boss, evidently higher-ups in your company must view him as competent. He (or she) probably views himself as successful and therefore is unlikely to change to accommodate you. Moreover, with the tight job market now, he may be viewing you as easily replaceable. Thus, I urge you to do two things: 1) Suck up, and 2) Very quietly begin a job search – e.g, contact a few employment agencies and network at your professional association. Do not quit without another firm job offer in writing, and do not ever tell a prospective employer that you have a clash with your supervisor. |
Dear Tired, Protect your present job. You are right about the economy. It is getting tough out there. Be as active as you can be considering the risk. Network with everyone you can trust and be prepared for an inadvertent breach in security. Assume that your email system at work is not secure. Nor are Monster and Career Builder types of resume posting services. Draft a new resume filled with your accomplishments including quantitative measurement of the money you earned the company, size of major projects you’ve headed or participated in, cost savings, company growth, inventory responsibility, inventory reduction dollars, systems you have installed or just used, number of people supervised, size of budget. |