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Giving my...one week...notice?

palindromic — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 18:01:17 -0800

I've been given an offer I should really not refuse. Problem: the project starts in one week. I've been working in a small, privatized department of a local hospital, which consists of myself as patient advocate, a receptionist, a manager/biller/overseer and the physicians. I have worked there for five years, and have always seen this job as the way I pay my bills rather than a vocation or lifelong career. I am a student, and they are aware that I would not be staying indefinitely, and that I have science-y aspirations.

My goals right now are to finish my bachelor's, and start a graduate program in epidemiology either this summer or in the fall. To that end, I have been lucky enough to get a job as a research assistant in an epidemiology lab that will last me for the rest of my undergrad, is within walking distance, and generally is a good thing for me. The one caveat is that they need me to start in a week, because that is when the various lab samples will be coming in. I will not get the job if I can't be there in one week.

I seriously hate my current job, and would like nothing more than to walk in with a tiny little oompa band to blast an anthem of quitting, but no, I would like to maintain something of a positive reference from this place, since I've sunk in five years, been a good employee and so on.

So, yes: How bad would a one-week notice be if you had an employee quit with one week of notice? Does it matter that my job is not that hard? That many, many people in this state are looking for work? That I'd still have two days out of the week that I could come in to train my replacement if needed? Does this blow five years of good honest labor?

As a bonus, I think the physicians would be quite sympathetic to me, and understand more where I'm coming from. It's really the manager/biller who will be the most put-off. Would I be able to go over her head and use the physician staff as a reference for future jobs even though she is my direct supervisor?

How do I change jobs without letting my bosses know?

Anonymous — Sun, 24 Aug 2008 18:10:35 -0800

I work for Small Company A. I want to work for Small Company B. But Small Company A has close dealings with Small Company B, and I worry that Small Company A will find out if I apply to Small Company B. And there will be repercussions if my current bosses at Small Company A find out, because they are extremely petty. So what should I be doing? I originally went to work for Small Company A to form and develop skills in a potential career path. Since working with them, I've developed a love for this career and would like to pursue it further. However, it's become clear that there is no further opportunity for this at this company.

There is opportunity at Small Company B, however, and it looks like a great job for a number of other reasons. I want to apply there, and preliminary scouting has indicated they may want to hire me (especially once they learned I worked at Small Company A).

But Small Company B does a lot of business with Small Company A and if I apply there it is quite likely my bosses will find out, when Small Company B checks my references if nothing else. My bosses at Small Company A tend to be petty, controlling, and when their employees try to quit or cut hours they take it extremely personally and respond by making life miserable for the employee. The longer the employee has worked there and the more highly trained the employee is, the worse the reaction. And I am currently one of their oldest, highest-trained employees, so it's going to be bad.

If I try to switch jobs and they find out, there's a 99% chance they will badmouth me to Small Company B in order to make sure I don't get hired. Then they are going to make life miserable for me at Small Company A. This has happened before to other employees, and there is no indication I'd be any different.

So what do I do? I feel like telling Small Company B not to tell Small Company A about my application would immediately put my application in jeopardy--even moreso if I told Small Company B why as it may seem I've something to hide. If I say nothing and submit it, Small Company A will almost certainly find out anyway. Is there a good way out of this? There are no HR departments involved--the owners of both companies do all the hiring.

I'm a bookish introvert stuck in the advertising industry! Help!

Chaotician — Thu, 14 Feb 2008 11:01:50 -0800

After several miserable years in the ad industry, I'm quitting, because I was never cut out for this to begin with. Suggest some gigs more suited to a right-brained, literature-loving introvert who values kindness far more than the bottom line. When I graduated with a B.A. in film (all the professional training I have), I headed straight for the entertainment industry, and that soon bled into advertising (which is a bit easier to get into). Unfortunately for both me and my employers, I never found much success at any position above mailroom, because I am--to put it very mildly--not a people person. I've struggled with depression and social anxiety all my life. This handicap is something I'm working through on my own time, but it's not helping that I'm on the phone with cranky strangers for most of an average day. I won't even go into what I perceive as a rampant shallowness and hypocrisy in the industry and many of the people in it. If this world is your thing, great; but it's not mine.

What I want to do with my life is be paid to write and/or edit novels, and I'm honing those skills in my spare time. Until that begins to generate some income, though, I need some means of support that won't play to my weaknesses. I'm a reader and a writer, and I do my best work when left alone. Something like night watchman might be ideal, but my girlfriend (who lives with me) works a day job, and I'd like to see her every evening.

I'd also love to become involved with a cause supporting, say, promoting fair trade, ending the drug war, preventing animal cruelty, and various others. I'm willing to push my comfort boundaries, but I still need to finish some personal growth before I start another job that forces me to interface with strangers all day.

That's about the long and the short of it. I do have a bit saved up, but not enough for more than a few months. I'd love to pour all my effort into writing, and I'd love to go back to school for a masters, but I'd prefer to have something to feed and shelter me until then.

So, in brief, I need a job that doesn't promote an industry I loathe, lets me work mostly alone, and has normal (or flexible) hours. Any ideas?