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Who cares whether someone thinks you are a secretary?
Actually, there's an important issue here that isn't about egos. If others
perceive your job as something other than what it is (secretary, longshoreman,
whatever), their attitude usually includes an expectation that you'll do that
job IN ADDITION TO your real job. That's a very real problem.
Since sending my post about encountering the "secretary" situation 12 years ago,
I've received several offline notes from people who are facing problems with job
perceptions/expectations. Honestly, I wouldn't care a bit about title if the
pay were good and I had time to do my REAL job--you know, the one my job
evaluation is based on.
Knowing now, what I didn't know then, here's my advice. Arm yourself with a
good project plan. Use it and make sure managers see what you need to do and
what impacts your doing it. This approach avoids all the controversy and helps
you focus on your job, not someone else's.
