I'd like some job advice please!

I'd like some job advice please!

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TREMAiNE

Original Poster:

3,917 posts

149 months

Thursday 18th December 2014
quotequote all
I've actually posted the first half of this thread 10 months ago but more has happened and I need some more advice.


Sorry for the sheer length of this post, I just want to be thorough so you can put yourself exactly in my shoes and offer the best advice you can!

Also mods, I've placed it in the Lounge instead of Employment as there are more folks here to offer me some advice...






In March 2012 I got a job with a small company that sells Wireless and VOIP equipment as a box packer on £12,000 a year.

Being my first office job (previously worked for Essex Police) I put in a hell of a lot of effort and care into what I did, doing voluntary overtime to ensure everything was done and by December '12 I'd moved up in the company to being an Order Processor, we hired a new member of staff to take over my old job, in addition to my new role I had to train the new guy and also became his manage, additionally I also ran the stock/warehouse department on the side. None of this resulted in a pay rise though.

Over the Christmas period, we implemented new systems and as you can expect there were a few teething problems to start with; particularly around my role as that was the only part that hadn't actually been built, which I was a bit miffed about, and as a result, I was doing 16 hour days January 2013 - May 2013 which I did without complaining but I did think it was taking the piss a bit, seeing as at the end of the day I was only on £12,000.

A lot happened between May '13 and August '13; so I will summaries.

My job around August 2013 consisted of (but was not limited to):

Order Processor
Processing all orders placed through the companies website, ranging from 40-100 orders per day. We only stock a fraction of what we sell, so for a lot of these I had to source the ordered products, barter a good price with a supplier, order it, arrange delivery etc.

Systems 'Janitor'
Essentially I had to make sure all pages in our system were kept clean, no loose sales orders floating about (meaning customs have been forgotten about etc), no loose purchase orders - all that gubbins.

Invoicing and invoice query handler
Creating every invoice for every customer order. This was mostly Automated, however still takes a good 8-16 hours per month ensuring all invoices were correct to the sales order. Additionally I was in charge of dealing with all supplier invoices to us that didn't match up to the Purchase Order in our system; essentially our suppliers wouldn't get paid without my signature.

Stock management
Everything stock related really. I would be in charge of ordering stock; normally $100,000 dollars worth per month (quite a large scale!), I would be the one to investigate discrepancies, conducting daily stock checks etc.

Customer Service
I'd deal with all after-sale customer care, every phone call would come to me, and sit in a queue to my phone until I answered, this alone would equate to sometimes hundreds of calls per day; see a photo below of when I had a 3 hour meeting but forgot to put my phone in 'DND' and had 96 missed calls:


Sales and smaller tasks
Where I had time, I also did a bit of sales work (where I'd get a generous 1% commission) as well as half a dozen smaller tasks that weren't so essential.


So all of those roles are what I did on a day to day basis. I was genuinely expected to fully complete all of that during my 0900-1700 role.
But I ended up getting into the habit of 0700-2000, going home and then doing 2100-2300 via remote access. By this point I had racked up what me and the head accountant had worked out to be around £5,000 of unpaid overtime and between March 2012 when I started and August 2013. I had complained numerous times that I had way too much work for one person and was seriously underpaid; still on £12,000.

At the end of August the new sales manager (who didn't have clue) held a meeting with me, telling me that I wasn't pulling my weight and if I didn't shape up I was going to get sacked. After being treated like st for 15 months I thought enough was enough and decided that I'd start applying for jobs.

15th of September I applied for a particular role, 16th of September I had the interview, 17th of September I was offered the job. Finally I would be free. I handed in my notice on the 18th of September last year, and I had 3 weeks leave over that 4 weeks. I came back from my holidays with 1 week left, where I did a bit of digging to see that whilst I was gone turnover dropped by 30% - The company would tend to turnover £400,000 per month and looking at records September is one of the busier months. So that puts into perspective that impact I had on the company.

I started working at my current job 18th October 2013, I work 1600-0000 on an emergency line in a customer service role; unfortunately for me there is literally no work. I get in at 1600, I work for around 2 hours, then spend the rest of the night doing nothing at all, I watch films on my phone. The polar opposite to my old job, and I get £20,000 for that.

Initially I miss my old job like mad, yes I was treated like crap but I enjoyed worked hard, I enjoyed the business aspect and I enjoyed the thousands of emails and hundreds of phone calls I would get a week, my colleagues (aside from the Director and Manager) were all awesome and I still regularly talk to them and I do kind of miss normal working hours.

Also, speaking to my old colleagues I have since found out that 3 people have been employed to do the work I used to do on my own and apparently I still did a better job.

Now, in my current job, I now feel useless, I feel like if I didn't exist it wouldn't make a blind bit of difference to how the company was ran. I don't really have a purpose any more, I don't even feel employed. Because of the hours, I can have a lay in, lounge around the house and then at 1600 I go into work and do exactly what I've been doing all day, just sitting at a desk... (I'm at work whilst typing this).

I've been speaking to a chap recently who is in his 50's who worked for large, well known company in London for most of his career - he was on a massive salary (6 figures AFTER tax). He's even showed me some of his old payslips where his bonuses were £10,000-£50,000 per month! Again, after tax - clearly he is in the minority and obviously must have been fantastic at his job.
We've spoken about all the jobs I've had, particularly the role I had in my last job and now knows me, my work history and my work ethic (no sick days in the last 5 years etc) and has told me that I'm a highly employable person.

Furthermore, he's said to me that if I want to earn a good salary, I need to work in London. He's shown me online the exact same job I am doing now pays, on average, £40,000 in London - double what it pays in Chelmsford - I wouldn't want to stay in this role but it was just an example..

He is also telling me that if I sign up to some recruiting companies and say I'm looking for £35,000+ they'd probably find me a job fairly quickly. This would likely be a sales role - I imagine it'd be cold sales too, when my experience is with warm leads. He knows all this but says that he knows I can do it and knows that I'll be successful - and he is currently helping me redo my CV to be more sales focused.

Around where I live and work (Brentwood/Chelmsford in Essex), there aren't many jobs that I am really qualified for that offer more than £20,000 - is it really realistic to expect to almost double my wage working in London? I don't disbelieve this guy but bare in mind he's not worked in the city now for a decade - have things changed?

I've been told in the past that I should start my own business - something I'd like to do one day but have no idea for a business currently - though I was a bit of an entrepreneur growing up. My dad is very successful himself, running a fairly big company that has offices in every corner of the world - I can't really talk to him about this sort of stuff but he will occasionally say "you'll do fine". - To add, I don't want to work for him, nor take over his business when he retires - not in the slightest. I want to make my own success, not live off of his success.

Also - just for record, currently 22, been working since I was 16 so nothing higher than GCSE level qualifications.

I know its hard to judge from what I've actually written about me as an employee, but from what I have put would you agree that I do have some potential to attain a good wage and do I sound employable or do I just come across as a whiny (if I do, I'm not in real life!!)?


The biggest 'problem' I have now is I'm lucky enough to be racing next year (my first series) and my current hours enable me to do several track and test days during the week without having to use all of my annual leave up - giving me more experience for when I actually race - if I were to get a new job now I'd lose that privilege. Having said that I can always take the advice on board and refer to it when the season is over?

ferrariF50lover

1,834 posts

226 months

Thursday 18th December 2014
quotequote all
The London thing is ste. Yeah, you'll earn £40k, it'll be very impressive when you're comparing the size of your metaphorical penis with strangers on the internet. Thing is, your rent for a cupboard under the stairs in a drug den will be £3k/month, you'll pay £97 for half a lager shandy and your forty grand will be gone after a fortnight.
It's also ste because it simply isn't true. If you'd like to meet my GM, who works in south Wales and takes home three million pounds a year, I'm sure it can be arranged. Hell, I've got managers, two years with the company, working in south Devon (pretty much the lowest paying area in the country) on forty grand.

Please, please don't take this the wrong way, but are you REALLY "highly employable"? The market is flooded with hugely talented graduates looking for work and a shed load of them are willing to do almost anything for almost any money. Asking 20k for a call centre job in some parts of the country will get you laughed at since there'll be a queue of MSCs a mile long, fighting to get in the door and asking only £16,000. They'll have the degree, post-grad, "life experience" of some kind. Having read what you've said about yourself, unless you've omitted any serious sections, my CV would make yours look like used loo roll and I wouldn't get near 99% of jobs with £40k salary.
This isn't some old bullst, designed to make me appear to be some sort of something. It goes without saying that I'm doing you no disservice, I'm sure you're a talented guy, a hard worker and a great chap, but it's a tough market at present and you're up against an awful lot of candidates for every job.

Assess yourself honestly, see where you think you are in terms of your colleagues and peers. If you're brighter, more driven, harder working and plain ol' better than all of them, then go and find yourself a really good job. If you're just another face in the crowd, making a good but unspectacular fist of life, then perhaps aim a little lower and work your way up with a career you really fancy.

Simon.

ruggedscotty

5,626 posts

209 months

Thursday 18th December 2014
quotequote all
So your 22..... No professional qualifications and doing a job from 16:00 to 22:00.....

Jesus man get your backside into college and get some vocational training - find out what you want to do. Plumber electrician ? in london you could be looking at £100k with a bit of effort and in with the right company. That guy who showed you those payslips blah blah thats his slips not yours - what did he do to get to the position to earn that sort of money ?

Sales isnt for everyone - in sales you are getting paid for getting money from others and the hardest thing in this world ? yep getting money from someone.

at two oclock in the morning when water is pissing down from the ceiling you could probably name your price..... Keep your chin up and yes jobs are weird some you work yer kackers off and get paid crap and others you would be doing nothing but getting a decent whack. You are getting a decent amount and its on a shift that would let you develop yourself trough the day - win win if you ask me.

ferrariF50lover

1,834 posts

226 months

Thursday 18th December 2014
quotequote all
Hmmm, sales suffers from the reputation it earned during the double glazing boom. That sort of work is still available, if it's what you're looking for. However, there are some really good sales jobs about if it's what you want to do. There's a sales element to my job, and I'm really good at it, but only because I'm able to demonstrate to people that what I'm selling isn't snake oil, it's in their best interests. Granted, they've forced themselves into a position (voluntarily) where that is the case, but it is the case nonetheless.

Simon.

TREMAiNE

Original Poster:

3,917 posts

149 months

Thursday 18th December 2014
quotequote all
Thanks for the advice.

I definitely undersold my current job a lot! I meant that it is quiet, purely because in that first two hours I essentially set up the night. Its far from call center type work.

I work by myself and by myself have millions of pounds worth of orders and 50 members of staff (dotted around various parts of the country) under my control. If I fk up during my shift, it would have a big impact of millions of people in the UK every day.

Most of the time its nice and quiet (and boring) because I do a good job in the earlier parts of the shift. Occasionally (and relavitvely frequently now we're in winter) st hits the fan and there are problems - earlier tonight I resolved a big problem in Scotland with product worth £150,000.

The responsibility I have is fairly big - bare in mind that when problems occur, the only person who has authority over me in terms of how to approach the problem is the head of the UK offices - I work for a global company turning over £100 billion PA.

This is why, when I've researched it, the same job for a different company pays on average double my current wage.

Also, if I were to work in London I would commute (about 5k PA at the moment) so not hit by huge living costs.

ferrariF50lover said:
Please, please don't take this the wrong way, but are you REALLY "highly employable"? The market is flooded with hugely talented graduates looking for work and a shed load of them are willing to do almost anything for almost any money.
Simon.
I never said I was - but this guy has. He has seen first hand the responsibilities I have had and currently have. I'm not saying he isn't lying to me, but he would have no reason to - he is a genuine guy who has done very well for himself and isn't the type of person to give me unrealistic advice.

ruggedscotty said:
So your 22..... No professional qualifications and doing a job from 16:00 to 22:00.....

Jesus man get your backside into college and get some vocational training - find out what you want to do. Plumber electrician ? in london you could be looking at £100k with a bit of effort and in with the right company. That guy who showed you those payslips blah blah thats his slips not yours - what did he do to get to the position to earn that sort of money ?

Sales isnt for everyone - in sales you are getting paid for getting money from others and the hardest thing in this world ? yep getting money from someone.
Sales is something I've done and I was good at it - though the sales I'd likely do in another role would probably be very different, but its something I'm good at.

With regards to more qualifications, its not something I feel I am going to need. My current job was for graduates or people had had experience in the industry, I had neither but beat dozens of people who had in order to get the role.

I'm good in business, that's where I excel at - I don't aspire to be a tradesman.

Don't get my wrong - I'm doing ok for myself now, I have nice cars, good friends, have ample disposable income... I just feel like I have the ability to have more.



Edited by TREMAiNE on Thursday 18th December 22:01

ruggedscotty

5,626 posts

209 months

Friday 19th December 2014
quotequote all
So big shot.... what is that you do that is so super important ? 20k in the SE my that really does sound like a great job..... I was pulling in 30k in 1993 as a sparkie at Dagenham.... twisting a screwdriver....

Dont aspire to be trades.... Hmmm sorry if Im being a bit harsh here but think you need to sort your head out. Trades is a job that many do 'aspire' to - spend years learning apprenticeship and going to college to get the right qualifications. If it wasnt for the trades then the world would probably be a vastly different place. So okay thats not for you.

What is it that you want to do ? What are you looking for out of life. Or do you think that someday someone will come chapping your door and offer you a great job ? Life is what you make it a mix of opportunity and being in the right place at the right time and making the right choices. I said as you were doing a back shifts - this would give you the opportunity to get in and get some training in an area that you wanted to do - to get some certification behind you that was more suited to your desired direction. You also said that you had a significant amount of downtime at work - you had set your day up in the first two hours so the rest of your shift was as you put it yours. Well be productive with it -dont waste it on forums or doing things that dont progress your corner. Have a plan or a goal to achieve and aim for it.

Ive reread the original post and wondering what it is that you really want to achieve. what is it that you want advice on ?