Lost cause
Brother Bluto
68 Posts
I'm an HRM at a small Japanese plant and feel like the ship is sinking. I constantly hear from employees about the lack of communication and leadership as well as the penny pinching, low wages, and lack of appreciation.
Our VP and GPM spend every day working 12-14 hours, but most of their time is spent running machines, fixing machines, or inspecting parts. They refuse to have meetings to discuss the direction of the company. I've tried looking for other employment opportunties, but when I get the "sorry, not interested" reply, the feedback I get is often due to speaking too negatively about my current employer. If I had great things to say, I probably wouldn't want to leave. Help me Please!!!!
Our VP and GPM spend every day working 12-14 hours, but most of their time is spent running machines, fixing machines, or inspecting parts. They refuse to have meetings to discuss the direction of the company. I've tried looking for other employment opportunties, but when I get the "sorry, not interested" reply, the feedback I get is often due to speaking too negatively about my current employer. If I had great things to say, I probably wouldn't want to leave. Help me Please!!!!
Comments
My assistant and I decided not to wait for management to change. We decided to go around to the various divisions/sections and talk to the employees ourselves - kind of a verbal pat on the back from HR and a chance to learn more about what the employees are doing for the office. We want the employees to know we do care and are there if they need help. Even our supervisors need to know they are doing a good job and welcome our visits.
So far, our "field trips" have been well received! I also plan to resume the Happy Birthday e-mails sent from HR to our employees - anything I can do to make a connection with the employees has got to help the office as a whole, right? Anyway, I sympathize with you and wish you the best of luck - try to change your world and the rest will follow! x:-)
Nothing wrong with looking for a new job since it has been four years. But remember, the grass is not always greener. In the meantime, until your dream job comes available, you can always brush up on your HR skills by reading available HR internet material and networking with folks in the industries you are interested in... At least now you know what you want and what you don't want in a job!
Best of luck with your situation and take comfort that most of us has been where you are now...have a great weekend! x0:)
However, the interviewers are right to be a little cautious of someone who lets too much negativity toward the current job slip in an interview. For one thing, it suggests the possibility that you might bring some hostility and baggage from the previous job into the new job environment. Also, think of it as having a gossipy friend -- if your friend says rude things about everyone else, what might he/she say about you?
If you've worked for a place like this for a short time, sometimes you can just say that the job isn't a good fit and interviewers will understand what that means and move on with little fanfare. But if you've worked there for some time, a little more explanation is probably going to be needed.
My advice is to find a positive way to spin the difficulties at your current job to help you shine to new employers. Don't focus so much on your opinions about what your employer does but, instead, point out what *YOUR* qualities are and that you feel that they would be stronger in a different type of company/different industry/different position/whatever is applicable. Research the company you're applying for and note the key differences that you think would result in a more positive job fit there and use those differences to your advantage.
Also, a simple trick is to start sentences with "I" rather than "My employer." It helps avoid sounding like you're casting blame when you say "I would feel more comfortable in a company that emphasizes communication" rather than saying "My employer never listens to me and never holds meetings."
By all means, be very careful about disparaging a former or current employer in interviews. Honestly, in my experience I've found it better to suggest that there is a nuance of my personality, preference, or ability that doesn't fit the current employer rather than suggesting the employer has done something wrong and hasn't accommodated me. This does put you in a defensive position, since you're suggesting that you are the cause of the poor fit, but it's easy to then point out a reason those same nuances and abilities would benefit the potential employer and, thus, would result in a benefit for everyone involved.
Holly Jones
Attorney Editor
M. Lee Smith Publishers, LLC
I think you do need to get out of there. You seem very bright and you deserve an organization that will let you practice HR without restraints and limitations.
Talking negatively about your current or former employer can be a turn off. I would limit any statements to vague comments about "a challenging but often difficult environment" while stressing you worked there for FOUR years.
Good luck!
Is this right?
I'll do my best to be positive!
Your whole perspective is so balled up with your current situation and all of that negativity, that you are not focusing on the positive reasons you are wanting to get into a new situation.
Why not consider spending some quiet time with yourself envisioning what your new job will have. Opportunity for growth, supportive management, continueing education, training opportunities, an experienced mentor, pay in line with your responsibilities, etc. etc.
This way, you can come into the next interview with bright eyes and a vision of the future. No need to bad mouth your current employer, instead express appreciation for the opportunity to learn what you have learned and to realize that there is more that you want to do. This "more" is not available at your current company. Keep it simple while being able to verbalize the solid HR foundation that you have from your current experience and all the HR and Education that you list on your resume.
Imagine yourself beyond this current job. A few months after you have left it, it will all be a memory that you can incorporate into who you are.
Good luck, you can do this.
Like Marc said, the important thing is to not let the negative environment you find yourself in change who you are.
You've been given lots of great advice here! I thought I would have something to offer when I first read your post, but all of the other responders have already said all I would say and more. So I just wanted to throw in a word of encouragement. I wish you a lot of luck, and I hope you'll keep us posted on your situation.
"It was not a good fit so consequently it was challenging for me. After FOUR years, I am ready for something else." (NOT ANOTHER WORD ABOUT YOUR EMPLOYER!)
Then stress what you want to do at your new employer. Focus on that, and it will help you get through and come out looking positive.
Best of luck to you!
Nae
Good luck.
The questions of why you are looking for another job and why you are leaving that company in particular are invariably going to come up. Also being an advocate of not bashing your current or former employer, I knew I had better answer the questions professionally and without malice, yet truthfully. I decided that the truth would be my ally.
For example, instead of saying that the company leadership has run the organization into the ground, which comes across as an opinion; I said ,"In the past month I went out on the floor on two different ocassions and, one by one, told 50 employees that their paychecks would be bouncing." That was a stated fact (the truth).
Then comes the question, "How do you suppose the company got to that point?" Instead of saying that the owner was crazy and the CEO was a drunk, I said " Despite the efforts of the management group to manage costs to the penny, the owner bought a $30,000 piece of equipment which we don't use and the CEO came to me and apologetically said, 'Pay it'. After my experience with the employees paychecks, this incident led me to believe that the best interests of the company and its employees are not being served by the top leadership."
The interviewer will probe the situation so be prepared to use it to your advantage. Think of a lawyer presenting the facts of the case and let the interviewers form their own opinion. For me, it worked. I could tell I was "winning" the interview when one of the interviewers (my present boss) asked me, "My God, how could you have stayed there that long?" I then "set my hook" and said, "I had such a good working relationship with the other managers and we all thought that we could really, somehow make it work. Recent events, as I've told you, have led me to believe otherwise."
I got my offer and here I am.