February 19, 2012

Decisions

I'll get to the meat of this post in a moment. I just wanted to say that Master is awesome. Lately my fibromyalgia has been acting up pretty badly. As a result Master has decided that I need "maintenance" back rubs. He decided that rather than waiting until my muscles are too tight and I'm in a lot of pain, that it would be smarter to just do back rubs frequently in the hopes that it won't get too bad. So far, it's working rather well. In fact, while we were watching Doctor Who on Netflix Master gave me a 45 minute long back rub. Oh. My. Gods. My entire back is tingling and I feel so much better. He rocks. *nods*

Well, the meat of the post is this...

Since I went shopping with my mother yesterday and I started picking up actual business attire the thought of looking for a new job has been on my mind almost constantly. It's not that I don't think it's a good idea. Because I do. I need a job closer to home. It just makes the most sense financially. Rather than paying someone else to drive per month only to have to put more gas in my car when she takes off... it doesn't make much sense. But neither does saying screw it and just driving to work every day and back. In fact, that would be more expensive. I'm also worried that it would run our car into the ground sooner. Not a good thing.

But even though I know it's a good idea and the smart thing to do it still makes me a bit nervous. I have to find a job that is closer to home and either has equal or better pay. I have to hope that the insurance is as affordable as it is now. I know I can ask about health benefits but somehow I doubt they'll tell me how much it costs. Then I have to make sure that the paychecks overlap enough that we're not going to be left wanting.

There are a lot of things to take into consideration and all need to be juggled rather carefully. Thankfully I'm in a situation where I can be picky for now but I'd rather not spend months at a time doing this search.

The other decisions I have to make are the following:

  1. When do I tell my carpool that I'm actually looking for a new job? 
  2. Do I give two weeks notice, if possible? 
The carpool thing I'm on the fence about. I'll be starting to look for a new job in a few weeks. (Wow. It's that close. Holy hell.) But I don't know if I want to tell them that right away. It's not that I'm worried they'll kick me out of the carpool but I don't want a lot of people at our job knowing I'm looking to hop ship. I know I can tell them not to say anything, but that doesn't mean it won't slip out or they won't tell someone they think won't tell anyone else... you see where my mind is going with this right?

The two week notice thing...... I've never given a two week notice. Most of time it was because I had to start the new job the following Monday. There has only ever been one time that I was told that I wouldn't start for another two weeks. That was this job. I was told, when I first got hired, that I would start in two weeks so that I could give notice at my last job.

Well, my last job is one I absolutely hated. And we were in a position that I could just have the two weeks off and still be comfortable financially. I don't remember why. I think it was due to how the paychecks landed. I'm not sure.

But Master and I discussed it. The job was going down hill, which is why I was leaving. The company was being bought out and I wanted to be one of the rats leaving the ship before it sunk completely. Thankfully, I pulled that off. That job stressed me out more than any other job I've ever had. It was just completely mind draining and had a big brother type thing going on. It was a call center. A call center where I was trained and worked in four different departments on top of e-mail customer support. I worked on all queues all the time. I had to cycle though so many programs and be able to handle any of the departments at the drop of a hat depending on what call came through. And then I had to work on e-mails in between calls. Yes, it was indeed a clusterfuck of a situation. I did it for almost two years. But the big brother portion comes from the fact that they pulled five calls a month per department to review. And then they would pull ten e-mails and review those as well. So each month I had a total of thirty things reviewed per month as well as my normal monthly review where they determined my call volumes, call times and various other things. On top of that I was making the same amount as people who were hired at the same time as I was who only knew one department. Yeah. I hated it.

Since we were able to still be comfortable and I wanted the down time I took the two weeks to rest and relax before starting my new job. I loved it. It was wonderful and I was fresh for my new job.

So... what should I do if when I find a new job they tell me I have two weeks before the new job starts? Should I give the two week notice? Or should I take the two weeks off? Most of it will depend on timing and how paychecks will fall. But lets go out on a limb and say it will be okay and we'll be comfortable? I'm torn.

I'm one of those people that don't understand two weeks notice. If I were being fired I wouldn't be told two weeks ahead of time. I know most people say to do it because of references. Well, my current job states that for privacy reasons they do not give references. They will confirm that you worked for them, but that's it.

My job has been good to me but I've also been very good to them. Don't I deserve the break if I can get it? I think I do. But I'm still on the fence about it.

6 comments:

  1. Personally, I am very strongly of the opinion that if you CAN give two weeks notice, you SHOULD. Even if they won't give you references, it's just a matter of professionalism and respect. They've been good to you, as you said. Why screw them over that way? Not to mention your co-workers who will be scrambling to cover your work while they try to find a replacement. *shrugs* But that's just me. I believe in karma. Quitting and leaving the same day when you could give 2 weeks notice (unless that's what your employer wants or the place is so terrible that you HAVE to get out) is kind of crappy. Also, I don't understand why you'd give up 2 weeks pay if you didn't have to, unless you don't need the money (and I've been reading your blog long enough to know that you'll feel it if you lose 2 weeks pay).

    Your car pool is a different story. Unless you're good friends with them (and I've never gotten that impression from reading your blog), I don't think you need to tell them ahead of time. You're not the driver. I'd give them the same 2-weeks notice I gave my employer.

    Whatever you decide to do, I wish you luck!

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  2. Normally, when you accept a new job, you discuss your new start date. Most places assume that if you're already employed that you're not going to start for at least 2 weeks. When you are offered a new job that you've accepted, discuss it with your new employer. You pretty much want to give 2 weeks notice though, because it looks good to your old employer, and they won't feel like you've just bailed on them, which means you'll be more likely to get a good reference.

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  3. Have read your posts for a while now and am delurking to just add my 2 cents with regards to the 2 weeks notice. As someone who helps make the hiring decisions within a professional office, if I had a candidate that was willing to start right away and not give 2 weeks notice to her current place of employment, it would give me great pause. My thought process would be...If we were to hire that person and later down the road, they found a better job/position, would they leave us in a tight spot without any notice to find a replacement? Its not only a courtesy to your current place of employment so they can find a replacement, but also showing the prospective place of employment that you won't be leaving them in such a tight spot. Anyways, just my thoughts!

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  4. Thank you all. I know that giving two weeks notice is a good thing to do. (Although, as I said they do not give references.) The only thing about it that gives me pause is that there have been people who worked there that gave two weeks notice and then was told that they could just leave. That worries me because then my new job wouldn't start for two weeks and if I had chosen to give two weeks notice it would be because of the pay.

    Also, like I said, my current job is the only one that ever offered to allow me two weeks. Every other job I had was: "We need you to start next Monday," and it was Friday when I was told that.

    And I'm also not saying that yes, I could totally get away with two weeks off with no pay. It's possible, but not likely.

    If my new job (when I find it) does decide to allow me to give two weeks.. the thing I'm worried about is the possible "nah, just go" thing at my current job. So while I could just work the two weeks and then on the last day say I quit... or I could give two weeks notice and hope.

    I know they wouldn't tell me that due to my not being a good employee, because I am, but it is still a worry of mine.

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  5. you could start doing things to prepare for being told you can finish up straight away if you are worried it might happen. For example, when you buy groceries, each week buy some extra canned gods or things that won't spoil/ that you can freeze so that you have a little bit of food saved, like wise put a few bucks extra gas in the tank so you will en up having a full tank if you are out of pocket in the break between jobs.

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