Re: Into the Frying Pan

[Chris Morton <salt -dot- morton -at- gmail -dot- com>]

No overtime.
Stuck w/ single 19" monitor.
Stuck in study carrel (not even a cubicle).
Cannot get required inputs, although similar projects already done in other
states.
Mgr. expects to ride coattails of her newfound BFF, one level above.
Mgr. spends all day in mtgs., not communicating with team she was hired to
lead.
Mgr. selectively disseminates key info to single team member (in a
whisper), then expects all to know.
Deplorable, depressing, cold "cafeteria" with sandwich vending machines and
old microwaves that don't even have internal carousels.
Located in BFE, with little in the way of good luncheon places around
(unless you like BK).

Team has taken over the reins, as we cannot get inputs through "approved
channels" (even if we knew what those are).

> Chris

On Wed, Oct 7, 2015 at 9:05 AM, Andrew Harvie <withanie -at- gmail -dot- com> wrote:

> Just a thought:
>
>    If there won't be any repercussions directly to yourself from the
> project's failure.
>    And, if you can detach yourself emotionally from the situation so that
> you aren't stressed.
>    And, if you're getting paid. Especially for overtime.
>
> Then, it might be worthwhile to hang around just to see how it all turns
> out. Think of it as being paid to collect an interesting story.
>
>
>
> On Wed, Oct 7, 2015 at 6:14 AM, Chris Morton <salt -dot- morton -at- gmail -dot- com>
> wrote:
>
>> Thanks to all. I'm back after a long weekend away, only to discover that
>> things are even worse than when I left.
>>
>> Our pubs. mgr. was close to inciting an all-out mutiny yesterday as she
>> informed us that even more is now on our plate without even so much as a
>> single SOP to follow.
>>
>> Unfortunately, the same recruiter that placed the pubs mgr. also placed
>> me.
>> Said recruiter is also very new to the game, so I find myself in a pickle.
>> I was supposed to meet with her for lunch yesterday, but another
>> "emergency
>> pubs meeting" precluded that. All the while, I was wondering what I'd even
>> talk to her about; I don't feel that I can ask her to find me a different
>> position, right?
>>
>> In hindsight, I knew that this req. smelled the first time it was
>> presented
>> to me, but when the recruiter came back around a second time with a higher
>> rate that matches what I can make freelancing (where my billable hours
>> aren't as numerous), I bit. At this point I'm thinking of calling it a
>> day,
>> returning to my freelance career and building out my client base. I can
>> afford to do this.
>>
>> What would you consider doing?
>>
>>
>>
>> On Sun, Oct 4, 2015 at 8:54 AM, Paul Hanson <twer_lists_all -at- hotmail -dot- com>
>> wrote:
>>
>> > After being a TWer for as long as I have, monkeying around with
>> formatting
>> > is often a distraction from a lack of solid content. Since 2/10/1995,
>> I've
>> > seen a lot of these situations. The "reviewer" doesn't know enough to
>> > review the technical accuracy of the content and decides to change the
>> > formatting. This type of reviewer comes in many shades. They know how to
>> > change font size and add page breaks. They know best about formatting
>> > things. <sarcasm>Didn't you know, as a professional TWer, that adding
>> empty
>> > paragraphs is the best way to control formatting? Didn't you know as a
>> > professional TWer that writing "Click the Add button" in a procedure on
>> > page 7 is okay and writing "Click Add." in a procedure on page 17 is
>> also
>> > okay? It's okay to not write consistently so that the reader doesn't get
>> > bored.</sarcasm>
>> >
>> > And it doesn't have to be people outside of your document. At one
>> company,
>> > a fellow TWer bragged about how she manually typed a TOC for a 100+ user
>> > guide. To verify the TOC matched, she would then print it and manually
>> > compare between the TOC and the body of the document. If she found a
>> > discrepancy, she changed the TOC and reprinted the entire document. She
>> > bragged about being in the office until after midnight on a Monday
>> night to
>> > get the user guide "done" when the deadline was at 8 AM on Tuesday.
>> When I
>> > showed her how styles could be set up to make staying until after
>> midnight
>> > unnecessary, she deemed styles were "too complicated" and refused to
>> > implement them. She didn't have any interest in the technical content of
>> > this user guide so she did what she knew how to do - make herself look
>> > necessary.
>> >
>> > The upside of your situation is that you will find another position in
>> the
>> > (immediate or distant) future and be able to look back at this current
>> > situation with a smirk. Polish the resume, network every possible moment
>> > you can (including the SMEs that now want to mark up your document), and
>> > push through. Do your very best and triumph.
>> >
>> >
>> > ----
>> > Paul Hanson
>> > My blog: http://prhmusic.blogspot.com
>> > Me Playing Drums:
>> > http://prhmusic.blogspot.com/p/videos-of-me-playing-drums.html
>> > My (frequently ignored) Twitter: @prhmusic
>> >
>> >
>> >
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>
>
>
> --
>
> -- Andrew Harvie
>
>
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