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RE: "Sorry you're not the right fit" - After "all is fine" for 4 weeks
Subject:RE: "Sorry you're not the right fit" - After "all is fine" for 4 weeks From:"Erica" <ericamhc -at- gmail -dot- com> To:<techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com> Date:Tue, 25 Nov 2008 15:31:33 -0500
Just as a voice of support, I'm also an introvert and it can cause problems.
I think we introverts get the bad rap because we're so quiet sometimes.
During reviews the only negative comment I remember being given is that I'm
too quiet. I don't think there's a way to address it in some environments.
In the job where I was told this, the other coworker was so very negative it
was impossible to talk to her without feeling absolutely drained and
miserable. She had nothing good to say about anything, and was later fired
for her negativity and unwillingness to grow in the company, months AFTER I
resigned. In the meantime though I was often criticized for not being more
talkative with her. Another coworker at the same job complained I didn't say
"good morning" to her every day, and when I did start doing so, completely
ignored me. Again, I was labeled anti-social and introverted. She was also
later fired from the company for some rather appalling behavior.
When I moved to another company I made sure to make special effort in the
beginning to appear as an extrovert. Specifically, when I had free time I
made sure to do work in the common area between departments, and made a
point of greeting every person I saw regardless of where they worked in the
building or what they did. On breaks I tidied up the kitchen area just so I
could chat with people coming for coffee refills or to have a snack. Since
most departments were rather self-segregated this was unusual and made me
seem quite extroverted. Employees there still remember my face and role and
ask management to hire me back.
Cheers,
Erica
-----Original Message-----
From: techwr-l-bounces+ericamhc=gmail -dot- com -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com
[mailto:techwr-l-bounces+ericamhc=gmail -dot- com -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com] On Behalf Of
Downing, David
Sent: November 25, 2008 3:04 PM
To: techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com
Subject: RE: "Sorry you're not the right fit" - After "all is fine" for 4
weeks
I must confess, the stories in this thread are making me mad. It just
seems so unfair that a person can be perfectly competent to do the job
and yet be fired because people don't like the sound of their voice or
have some other purely subjective problem with their personality. I wish
people could be judged solely on how well they do their job.
You may remember that I was canned from my library job, and to be fair,
I wasn't cut out to be a librarian. But I know part of the decision had
to do with the fact that I kept to myself a lot and didn't mingle enough
with my co-workers. At one performance review, I was told that, "You
need to establish more of a rapport with your co-workers," and when the
library directory gave me the bad news, he said it was partly because,
"You don't fit into the system here." So I got canned partly for being
an introvert.
Well, I guess that's how it is in the real world.
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