Career Change Needed - Fewer Hats, Comparable Pay?
April 8, 2023 8:42 AM Subscribe
I am a burnt out office manager for a small (less than 20 employees) company. I make just enough money to live alone and feed myself. No savings. I'm wearing too many hats, and there is no chance of sharing or removing any of them in my current position. Please help me chart a path forward, or at least think a bit more clearly.
I want to thank everyone here who basically saved my life in March 2020 when I lost my previous job. In May 2020, I accepted a position which was a huge promotion and pay raise at a much less toxic company. Less than three years later, though, I am Burnt Out.
I have no formal training/education in anything. In fact, I am a high school drop-out. (got my GED though!) No matter that was 25+ years ago, it still complicates my confidence when job hunting. I have a solid 10 years experience in "office administration" for small businesses when you combine this job and the one before it.
My previous job as "office assistant" included invoicing, inventory reconciliation, accounts receivable, accounts payable, general clerical stuff, and just about anything else that came up. That company was 10-15 employees and management was TOXIC.
My current job is a lot less toxic, with a company whose mission is one I truly believe in. I have really appreciated the Fair Trade ethos, and I believe the owner's (my direct supervisor) heart really is in the right place. I think I might be tired of the small business/start-up environment and dealing with founder's syndrome. Pre-pandemic, there was a 3-day in-office, 2-day work from home policy. It has become almost entirely work from home for everyone but myself and the warehouse team. I am in office 4 days a week, work from home 1. The rest of the team is "highly encouraged", and we "strongly suggest" office attendance on Wednesdays. This is part of a larger pattern of not creating/enforcing actual *policy*. Frankly, it's a bit lonely, and I don't feel as if I've integrated well into the larger team. My predecessor was long gone before I started, and from what I've gathered was not competent in a lot of areas.
My current workload includes accounts receivable, accounts payable, some light bookkeeping, all the clerical stuff, office maintenance, a bit of HR, and way too much event planning. And of course, any other tasks that come up that don't fit anyone else's job description. There is only me. I have no "team", no assistant, nobody with similar skill-sets, and this will not change. A lot of the time, even my supervisor does not have the knowledge or skill to really assist.
When I started, I was thrown into HR with no experience and no competent mentorship. Everything from onboarding/terminations to benefit administration, etc. After a LOT of convincing, my boss/founder agreed to an HR audit, which I participated in by myself, and was overwhelmed not only by my predecessor's lack of organization, but also by just how many things I didn't know were wrong (on top of the many things I knew were wrong). After that grueling process (and completely revamping the company handbook by myself), my boss was finally convinced to outsource most of HR. I am very grateful for the company we signed on with as they have taken a lot off my plate and saved me from quite a few headaches. I am still their main contact, and I still process payroll and do basic onboarding/termination tasks. If I didn't know it before, I definitely know now, that I do not have any interest in HR. In fact, I think I'd hate a fully-HR role.
I am also in charge of planning/coordinating All The Events with no assistance. Monthly lunch and learns; monthly happy hours; twice yearly community service days; two or three other "social" events per year; the yearly Halloween party; the yearly Holiday Dinner.... Almost all of which involve (per the boss) "polling the team" or "getting feedback from the team", which, most of the time, results in a lot of crickets. Asking the team for help with planning might result in (too many) more vendor/organization ideas, but no concrete assistance. I *might* get a volunteer to pick up food for lunch and learn (delivery/convenience fees are a big no-no for my boss). Also, I am a socially anxious introvert, and the only person for whom these events are not voluntary, because I am the planner/coordinator. I don't know if I'd enjoy or tolerate this more if I had actual assistance, but that's moot because I will get no more assistance than I have. I pretty much hate every aspect of event planning.
I'm pretty ok with the office administration and clerical stuff, most of which (to me) seems more like "life skills" than "career/job skills", though it would be nice to have an extra hand with some of it considering everything else that's on my plate. I'm pretty comfortable with gathering quotes from vendors and contracting for things like pest control, weekly cleaning, tree trimming, roofers, plumbers, etc etc. I keep track of and order office supplies and stock the kitchen with snacks. I'm making good headway in inventorying all the company's technology assets and have created the technology policies and process for tracking who has what equipment. I don't even want to think about how much the lack of these things cost them before I started.
Which brings us to accounting. I've been doing basic accounts receivable/accounts payable and some light bookkeeping since my last job and I'm pretty comfortable with it. Unfortunately, I don't have any formal training/certifications, which most accounting jobs seem to require. I have 8+ years in QuickBooks and almost 3 years in NetSuite. I am honestly terrible at math, but look at it as knowing the basic vocabulary and knowing where to put what data. The software does most of the rest. I'm happy to track aging and reminding customers that their invoices are [over]due. I'll gladly enter bills and schedule the payments and ensure those payments are made on time. I never thought I'd pursue accounting as a job/career, and it took an argument with a CPA friend to convince me that yeah, maybe, I might actually be a staff accountant.
I'm burnt. To a crisp. My skill-sets, such as they are, are wide, varied, and nothing is exactly "expert" level. I'm nearing 40 years old, and $50k/yr is just enough to live alone and still feed myself, but not enough to have any savings. Living alone has made a great improvement in my mental health, and I'd hate to sacrifice it, but I'm in Austin, Texas, and cost of living will only increase. It's obvious I need a change, but I don't even know where to start. I've never, and probably never will be, a "career" person. I just want a bit less stress, a bit more collaboration, and the ability to maybe have a life outside of work. I'm so tired and stressed out that my weekends mostly consist of just dissociating and maybe getting some housework done.
Hope me? Where do I even start? What do I even look for? Where do I go from here?
I want to thank everyone here who basically saved my life in March 2020 when I lost my previous job. In May 2020, I accepted a position which was a huge promotion and pay raise at a much less toxic company. Less than three years later, though, I am Burnt Out.
I have no formal training/education in anything. In fact, I am a high school drop-out. (got my GED though!) No matter that was 25+ years ago, it still complicates my confidence when job hunting. I have a solid 10 years experience in "office administration" for small businesses when you combine this job and the one before it.
My previous job as "office assistant" included invoicing, inventory reconciliation, accounts receivable, accounts payable, general clerical stuff, and just about anything else that came up. That company was 10-15 employees and management was TOXIC.
My current job is a lot less toxic, with a company whose mission is one I truly believe in. I have really appreciated the Fair Trade ethos, and I believe the owner's (my direct supervisor) heart really is in the right place. I think I might be tired of the small business/start-up environment and dealing with founder's syndrome. Pre-pandemic, there was a 3-day in-office, 2-day work from home policy. It has become almost entirely work from home for everyone but myself and the warehouse team. I am in office 4 days a week, work from home 1. The rest of the team is "highly encouraged", and we "strongly suggest" office attendance on Wednesdays. This is part of a larger pattern of not creating/enforcing actual *policy*. Frankly, it's a bit lonely, and I don't feel as if I've integrated well into the larger team. My predecessor was long gone before I started, and from what I've gathered was not competent in a lot of areas.
My current workload includes accounts receivable, accounts payable, some light bookkeeping, all the clerical stuff, office maintenance, a bit of HR, and way too much event planning. And of course, any other tasks that come up that don't fit anyone else's job description. There is only me. I have no "team", no assistant, nobody with similar skill-sets, and this will not change. A lot of the time, even my supervisor does not have the knowledge or skill to really assist.
When I started, I was thrown into HR with no experience and no competent mentorship. Everything from onboarding/terminations to benefit administration, etc. After a LOT of convincing, my boss/founder agreed to an HR audit, which I participated in by myself, and was overwhelmed not only by my predecessor's lack of organization, but also by just how many things I didn't know were wrong (on top of the many things I knew were wrong). After that grueling process (and completely revamping the company handbook by myself), my boss was finally convinced to outsource most of HR. I am very grateful for the company we signed on with as they have taken a lot off my plate and saved me from quite a few headaches. I am still their main contact, and I still process payroll and do basic onboarding/termination tasks. If I didn't know it before, I definitely know now, that I do not have any interest in HR. In fact, I think I'd hate a fully-HR role.
I am also in charge of planning/coordinating All The Events with no assistance. Monthly lunch and learns; monthly happy hours; twice yearly community service days; two or three other "social" events per year; the yearly Halloween party; the yearly Holiday Dinner.... Almost all of which involve (per the boss) "polling the team" or "getting feedback from the team", which, most of the time, results in a lot of crickets. Asking the team for help with planning might result in (too many) more vendor/organization ideas, but no concrete assistance. I *might* get a volunteer to pick up food for lunch and learn (delivery/convenience fees are a big no-no for my boss). Also, I am a socially anxious introvert, and the only person for whom these events are not voluntary, because I am the planner/coordinator. I don't know if I'd enjoy or tolerate this more if I had actual assistance, but that's moot because I will get no more assistance than I have. I pretty much hate every aspect of event planning.
I'm pretty ok with the office administration and clerical stuff, most of which (to me) seems more like "life skills" than "career/job skills", though it would be nice to have an extra hand with some of it considering everything else that's on my plate. I'm pretty comfortable with gathering quotes from vendors and contracting for things like pest control, weekly cleaning, tree trimming, roofers, plumbers, etc etc. I keep track of and order office supplies and stock the kitchen with snacks. I'm making good headway in inventorying all the company's technology assets and have created the technology policies and process for tracking who has what equipment. I don't even want to think about how much the lack of these things cost them before I started.
Which brings us to accounting. I've been doing basic accounts receivable/accounts payable and some light bookkeeping since my last job and I'm pretty comfortable with it. Unfortunately, I don't have any formal training/certifications, which most accounting jobs seem to require. I have 8+ years in QuickBooks and almost 3 years in NetSuite. I am honestly terrible at math, but look at it as knowing the basic vocabulary and knowing where to put what data. The software does most of the rest. I'm happy to track aging and reminding customers that their invoices are [over]due. I'll gladly enter bills and schedule the payments and ensure those payments are made on time. I never thought I'd pursue accounting as a job/career, and it took an argument with a CPA friend to convince me that yeah, maybe, I might actually be a staff accountant.
I'm burnt. To a crisp. My skill-sets, such as they are, are wide, varied, and nothing is exactly "expert" level. I'm nearing 40 years old, and $50k/yr is just enough to live alone and still feed myself, but not enough to have any savings. Living alone has made a great improvement in my mental health, and I'd hate to sacrifice it, but I'm in Austin, Texas, and cost of living will only increase. It's obvious I need a change, but I don't even know where to start. I've never, and probably never will be, a "career" person. I just want a bit less stress, a bit more collaboration, and the ability to maybe have a life outside of work. I'm so tired and stressed out that my weekends mostly consist of just dissociating and maybe getting some housework done.
Hope me? Where do I even start? What do I even look for? Where do I go from here?
Have you talked to your boss about needing help? I hear you on wanting to move, but it also sounds like they're going to need multiple people to replace you and it'll be even more expensive than one-to-one staff replacement. Having some pressure off would make the process of figuring out your next step easier. If you have that's not on the table, it sounds like you're doing an office manager's job and moving into that role at a more established business might be very achievable and less stressful for you.
posted by EvaDestruction at 9:13 AM on April 8, 2023
posted by EvaDestruction at 9:13 AM on April 8, 2023
Response by poster: Have you talked to your boss about needing help?
Until I was blue in the face. It was a fight to get to the HR audit in order to get competent HR help. Boss believes one person can do the entirety of this job (and more!) with minimal assistance. Boss also has a very confused sense of what skills are related/overlapping in other departments/job titles, so that much is not just limited to me.
posted by MuChao at 9:39 AM on April 8, 2023
Until I was blue in the face. It was a fight to get to the HR audit in order to get competent HR help. Boss believes one person can do the entirety of this job (and more!) with minimal assistance. Boss also has a very confused sense of what skills are related/overlapping in other departments/job titles, so that much is not just limited to me.
posted by MuChao at 9:39 AM on April 8, 2023
Leave Austin. Someone without a college degree is never going to advance in white collar employment in a college town, to say the least of a town that is a global talent magnet like Austin.
You can probably increase your salary 50% and cut your cost of living have much more upside in Nashville or Miami.
posted by MattD at 10:22 AM on April 8, 2023 [3 favorites]
You can probably increase your salary 50% and cut your cost of living have much more upside in Nashville or Miami.
posted by MattD at 10:22 AM on April 8, 2023 [3 favorites]
Sorry I didn't read 100% of your question but my take-away is:
- "similar to my wife before she retired from Admin. Assistant to COO job at a medium size healthcare company where she knew everybody and everything having worked there for so long"
Of course, retiring isn't your out. But over the last few weeks I was reminded of the importance of networking a few times:
- at a soccer game for my grandson I overheard two parents talking near me: "Hi, did you get your job to give you more reasonable hours?" "No, I found another job with just the hours I wanted... no weekends, weekdays surrounding kid's school hours"
- at the dentist office I was speaking to the new office worker and we realized we grew up in the same neighborhood in Philadelphia, and she moved to New Jersey to get this job
- it's looking like I may want to retire 8 months early from my employer of 25 years because of "back to office" coming up, but lately I've been getting a lot of hits on my LinkedIn profile.
I guess I'm saying that if you go fishing you may not catch anything, but if you don't go fishing the odds of catching anything get really bleak.
On preview, what MattD said.
posted by forthright at 10:25 AM on April 8, 2023 [1 favorite]
- "similar to my wife before she retired from Admin. Assistant to COO job at a medium size healthcare company where she knew everybody and everything having worked there for so long"
Of course, retiring isn't your out. But over the last few weeks I was reminded of the importance of networking a few times:
- at a soccer game for my grandson I overheard two parents talking near me: "Hi, did you get your job to give you more reasonable hours?" "No, I found another job with just the hours I wanted... no weekends, weekdays surrounding kid's school hours"
- at the dentist office I was speaking to the new office worker and we realized we grew up in the same neighborhood in Philadelphia, and she moved to New Jersey to get this job
- it's looking like I may want to retire 8 months early from my employer of 25 years because of "back to office" coming up, but lately I've been getting a lot of hits on my LinkedIn profile.
I guess I'm saying that if you go fishing you may not catch anything, but if you don't go fishing the odds of catching anything get really bleak.
On preview, what MattD said.
posted by forthright at 10:25 AM on April 8, 2023 [1 favorite]
Best answer: I agree with you that you need to get out of start-ups and small shops. That's where you end up with all the hats. If I were you, I'd start applying for entry-level admin jobs at larger non-profit organizations - universities, non-profit insurance plans (medicare/medicaid-based usually), that kind of thing. Look for companies that are established, at least 15-20 years old.
Titles to scout could be Administrative Assistant (often grades I - III), Program Coordinator, Project Coordinator, things along those lines. You could also look into entry-level Accounting positions.
The benefit of a larger more established company is that job descriptions will tend to be more reflective of the actual work you'll do, and will tend to be narrower in scope than "just about anything others can't do." And the benefit of a non-profit is it's unlikely to be actively evil. Not every non-profit is three people and a dream - I work for one of several in my state with over 500 employees, and I'm extremely well compensated.
posted by invincible summer at 10:39 AM on April 8, 2023 [1 favorite]
Titles to scout could be Administrative Assistant (often grades I - III), Program Coordinator, Project Coordinator, things along those lines. You could also look into entry-level Accounting positions.
The benefit of a larger more established company is that job descriptions will tend to be more reflective of the actual work you'll do, and will tend to be narrower in scope than "just about anything others can't do." And the benefit of a non-profit is it's unlikely to be actively evil. Not every non-profit is three people and a dream - I work for one of several in my state with over 500 employees, and I'm extremely well compensated.
posted by invincible summer at 10:39 AM on April 8, 2023 [1 favorite]
Best answer: Have you looked at government work? Due to all the rules and regulations there are a lot of administrative jobs in government! Often with good benefits sometimes with decent pay, always with well defined work hours. Navigating the hiring process can be a bit confusing and hiring can take forever but that’s actually a good thing if you’re serious because a lot of people get weeded out. You’ll have to see where relevant local and state jobs are posted but for federal positions everything is posted on usajobs.gov. Depending on the position the window to apply might be only a few days, but if you’re able to figure out what series you’re interested in it can be easier to find new postings and I think set up alerts. For example 0404 is biological technician, there’s probably something similar for administrative work. There’s a lot of info on how to navigate the process you just have to wade through it and educate yourself.
posted by 12%juicepulp at 10:48 AM on April 8, 2023 [2 favorites]
posted by 12%juicepulp at 10:48 AM on April 8, 2023 [2 favorites]
Check out government work! Pretty strict job descriptions, often unionized, and they (we) are desperate for qualified admin staff. Pay will be better at state and local levels, but it's very hard to fire federal employees, and once you are in the system you have a lot of options for jobs in other agencies or locations.
posted by suelac at 10:59 AM on April 8, 2023
posted by suelac at 10:59 AM on April 8, 2023
Best answer: formal training/certifications, which most accounting jobs seem to require
Accounting jobs, sure. Payables and receivables jobs, not so much. There are a lot of operational positions in purchasing/buying, shipping and receiving/logistics management, contract management, and just all the various waypoints in between acquiring things and selling them that require you to understand and track how the dollar amounts move around and how the stuff moves around, and if you understand the basics of accounting (and also if you know any of the popular accounting software platforms, even Quickbooks, put that on your resume) have just some moderate Excel skills that you can turn into reporting skills you've already got some stuff you can brag about in interviews.
posted by Lyn Never at 11:39 AM on April 8, 2023
Accounting jobs, sure. Payables and receivables jobs, not so much. There are a lot of operational positions in purchasing/buying, shipping and receiving/logistics management, contract management, and just all the various waypoints in between acquiring things and selling them that require you to understand and track how the dollar amounts move around and how the stuff moves around, and if you understand the basics of accounting (and also if you know any of the popular accounting software platforms, even Quickbooks, put that on your resume) have just some moderate Excel skills that you can turn into reporting skills you've already got some stuff you can brag about in interviews.
posted by Lyn Never at 11:39 AM on April 8, 2023
People above have made good suggestions about fields to look at when applying for a new job. Now you need to carve out some time and energy to start sending out a steady stream of applications.
Are you working more hours than specified in your contract? If so, you need to request some guidance from your boss on how you should prioritize your work tasks when there are more tasks than you can complete during your work hours. Then, start applying those priorities. You will probably need to start tracking how much time you spend on each task (or class of tasks); bring this information to your regular one-on-one meetings with your boss in case you need backup on why some stuff is not getting done. (The stuff that's not getting done should correspond to the stuff that your boss identified as lowest priority.)
It sounds like the event planning is an area that you particularly dislike; it's also merely "nice-to-have", rather than "critical-to-operations" the way the other aspects of your job are. Tell your boss that you are overwhelmed with [tasks A and B] and will not have time to plan the lunch-and-learn or happy hour this month, and see how your boss responds.
posted by heatherlogan at 12:19 PM on April 8, 2023
Are you working more hours than specified in your contract? If so, you need to request some guidance from your boss on how you should prioritize your work tasks when there are more tasks than you can complete during your work hours. Then, start applying those priorities. You will probably need to start tracking how much time you spend on each task (or class of tasks); bring this information to your regular one-on-one meetings with your boss in case you need backup on why some stuff is not getting done. (The stuff that's not getting done should correspond to the stuff that your boss identified as lowest priority.)
It sounds like the event planning is an area that you particularly dislike; it's also merely "nice-to-have", rather than "critical-to-operations" the way the other aspects of your job are. Tell your boss that you are overwhelmed with [tasks A and B] and will not have time to plan the lunch-and-learn or happy hour this month, and see how your boss responds.
posted by heatherlogan at 12:19 PM on April 8, 2023
First: Get a raise. Ask a Manager's Alison Green's step-by-step "asking for a raise" guide.
You're doing several jobs, and you're being underpaid. You've been there three years and shown how capable you are (during a [hopefully] once-in-century destabilizing event, no less). Crucially, you want to have a greater current base salary when negotiating your next job's (even higher) starting salary. (Yes, you can ask for a raise even if you won't immediately quit if turned down.)
posted by Iris Gambol at 12:50 PM on April 8, 2023 [4 favorites]
You're doing several jobs, and you're being underpaid. You've been there three years and shown how capable you are (during a [hopefully] once-in-century destabilizing event, no less). Crucially, you want to have a greater current base salary when negotiating your next job's (even higher) starting salary. (Yes, you can ask for a raise even if you won't immediately quit if turned down.)
posted by Iris Gambol at 12:50 PM on April 8, 2023 [4 favorites]
Best answer: At my university there has been a lot of demand for folks in grants management, no specialized degrees are required and many of the folks in this role in my university don’t have college degrees.
It’s a lot of the same kind of stuff it sounds like you are doing now, but more focused. There are definitely times of year when things can get busy and stressful but most of the time it is pretty chill.
You might see jobs in this field with titles like grants coordinator, grant management analyst, grant manager, or financial analyst.
posted by forkisbetter at 2:39 PM on April 8, 2023 [2 favorites]
It’s a lot of the same kind of stuff it sounds like you are doing now, but more focused. There are definitely times of year when things can get busy and stressful but most of the time it is pretty chill.
You might see jobs in this field with titles like grants coordinator, grant management analyst, grant manager, or financial analyst.
posted by forkisbetter at 2:39 PM on April 8, 2023 [2 favorites]
Government employment is very often much more stable than private-sector employment. I don't know about your state, but my state (PA) just reclassified the educational requirements for many state jobs to remove college degrees. They realized that many jobs can be well-filled by qualified people who, for whatever reason, did not pursue higher education. I think a GED or high school diploma is still required, so you are in good shape.
Government jobs are generally well-compensated and offer good benefits, and a subset are unionized, offering a good safety net. You'd probably be eligible for a pension as well as a 401k with an employer match, and good health insurance, vacation, sick time and more.
It's probable that the changed educational requirements were prompted by an enormous increase in open jobs, due to accelerated retirements in the pandemic. Best of luck to you - you really deserve better.
posted by citygirl at 3:00 PM on April 8, 2023 [2 favorites]
Government jobs are generally well-compensated and offer good benefits, and a subset are unionized, offering a good safety net. You'd probably be eligible for a pension as well as a 401k with an employer match, and good health insurance, vacation, sick time and more.
It's probable that the changed educational requirements were prompted by an enormous increase in open jobs, due to accelerated retirements in the pandemic. Best of luck to you - you really deserve better.
posted by citygirl at 3:00 PM on April 8, 2023 [2 favorites]
Best answer: I agree you could probably do better with your skill set, but while you're figuring that out I strongly encourage you to try to care less about this job. I can tell from your description that you feel it's your responsibility to fix everything, and you have made significant fixes to lots of things. I assume there are no concerns about your job performance and no substantial risk to your job security? Try a couple weeks where you don't worry if people like the food at the lunch and learn or if the tech is inventoried and so on and if they're losing money on this or that, just do an adequate job of the basic duties and focus on yourself. Listen to podcasts or something when you're hanging out in the office alone and try to just make your time less miserable. If you can alleviate the burnout this way, you'll make it easier to find something that's a better fit.
posted by lookoutbelow at 3:09 PM on April 8, 2023 [2 favorites]
posted by lookoutbelow at 3:09 PM on April 8, 2023 [2 favorites]
There is so much of this I could have written. A lot of these skills are easily utilized in remote work. I would start there and definitely see about moving out of Austin if that's something you can handle.
I agree strongly with MattD except for the Nashville bit. Nashville is currently in the middle of a major housing crisis and there is no way you could comfortably live there on 50k a year anymore. This is one reason I recommend looking into remote work - you can live in much cheaper surroundings while working for big city type companies. A lot of cities are facing similar problems with rent prices and so on.
posted by Saucy Possum at 10:02 PM on April 8, 2023 [1 favorite]
I agree strongly with MattD except for the Nashville bit. Nashville is currently in the middle of a major housing crisis and there is no way you could comfortably live there on 50k a year anymore. This is one reason I recommend looking into remote work - you can live in much cheaper surroundings while working for big city type companies. A lot of cities are facing similar problems with rent prices and so on.
posted by Saucy Possum at 10:02 PM on April 8, 2023 [1 favorite]
I would 100% lie about the college degree on your resume, but I wouldn't say you had a degree in accounting; instead pick something completely unrelated like theater. I would get some kind of credentials. Do the Quickbooks cert for sure, and maybe a CB certification.
posted by DarlingBri at 9:37 AM on April 9, 2023
posted by DarlingBri at 9:37 AM on April 9, 2023
How about virtual assistant work? No physical move required and the skills required are already in your repertoire.
posted by rabia.elizabeth at 12:20 AM on April 10, 2023
posted by rabia.elizabeth at 12:20 AM on April 10, 2023
I wonder if it would help to talk with local skilled temp agencies. One nice thing about temp work is that you get a chance to find out how you like various organizations - and if you really click, they may keep you on that temp gig for a long time (ideally, you'll be with a temp agency that has actual benefits - some do), and then pay whatever the temp agency requires to hire you on as an employee. In the meantime, you'll have gotten to know the company culture, and can move on to a different gig if you're not happy.
Also, keep reminding yourself that your soft skills are phenomenally valuable. You know how to learn on the job? You can manage diverse tasks and keep things running? You're reliable and get your work done? Those are HUGE assets. They don't come with certificates, but if any of your references will vouch for how awesome you are to any potential employers, the smart ones will do whatever it takes to get you to come work with them.
Good luck!
posted by kristi at 6:23 PM on April 11, 2023
Also, keep reminding yourself that your soft skills are phenomenally valuable. You know how to learn on the job? You can manage diverse tasks and keep things running? You're reliable and get your work done? Those are HUGE assets. They don't come with certificates, but if any of your references will vouch for how awesome you are to any potential employers, the smart ones will do whatever it takes to get you to come work with them.
Good luck!
posted by kristi at 6:23 PM on April 11, 2023
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by rrrrrrrrrt at 8:52 AM on April 8, 2023 [2 favorites]