03 November 2010

Taking Control

It is no secret that my job is unfulfilling and I do not wake up with gumption in the morning.  I have tried in the past to find things to do.  After I was done with training and in the branch for a while, I emailed the trainer in Norwich for suggestions.  She gave me a great list of things I could do and I started asking my assistant manager what I could do.

I was blown off on a daily basis.  I was told I could not have an email account that would go outside the bank system or make calls to customers (with no reason I found).  I was given permission to organize the tickets however.  This went on for a few weeks so I stopped asking.  Then we got a new head teller shortly followed by a new manager.  I figured I would give it a go with these new people.

The head teller (who is now also assistant branch manager) treats me as though I am a child.  She literally told me today that I am "good at organizing tickets" where she is not.  I am sorry, but if you insist on being both ast. mng. and hd. tlr. you have to do both jobs and hd. tlr. includes teller work, which includes organizing tickets.  How hard is it to put things in order?  It is not even close to the most difficult part of her job.

The problem is she used to be in security so she is convinced that she is above this job.  In reality, her training is far above Eileen and I at the very least, but if it was so great, would she not have been asked to manage the branch over the manager?  She came just as my old manager was leaving.  In other words, she could have taken that position seemlessly.  Instead, she was offered head teller.  That ought to tell you something right there, no?

Either way, while all the changing was going on and we had no management the manager from Wolf Rd., who also manages the district, was our "acting" manager.  She was in our branch often and I came to rely on her for work help.  She is also really nice and according to her husband, who I met at a company event, she is at least a little fond of me.  She has taken to lending me books and bringing me hand-me-downs.  Honestly, I appreciate it with how management here treats me.

Either way, we had a temporary CSR and she was just sent to her permanent branch a week or so ago.  We are not looking to replace the hd. tlr. as the ast. mng. insists on doing that as well, but we are looking to replace the CSR.  I emailed her and asked about the position, explaining that I knew I probably was not qualified yet.  She responded and said we could talk when she returned from a business trip a few days later.

After she returned she injured her back so it was pushed off.  She came in yesterday and we talked about it.  She said I am not ready, but she is willing to help get me there.  She is going to help me get my notary and into the training sessions they have here (there are two).  She also said that I need to ask about being able to make calls to thank customers and I need to sell more and get more referals.

I am not particularly interested in this line of work, but I can only think that exceling and moving up the ranks will help.  I figure if I do well here, considering I do not like it, I can do really well at something I like.  Plus, sales experience and management experience say a lot and do a lot for you.  I would very much like to add these types of things to my resume.  I think part of the reason I cannot get out of here is that I do not have much to offer any where so why hire someone who is already employed, no matter how ungainfully?

She is supposed to send me a list of things I should be doing and I emailed her a few questions about getting my notary license, so I am making headway.  I will probably keep track of what they allow me to do here and if they are unhelpful, ask her if I can go to another branch for training.  I know of at least one branch where they are very helpful.  They trained our old ast. mng. on just about everything.  I would love to actually be helped.  It is something that really does not happen here...

2 comments:

  1. I once had a manager that thought he had to teach my friend/co-worker how to alternate something. As in she was assigning clients to 2 different people and he wanted her to alternate them one to "Bob" one to "Kathy" and then switch. He actually sat with her and showed her how to alternate. We still shake our heads over that one.
    Bottom line lady, you're too good for that place. I hope you're looking for something else. Its easy to get stuck in finance. Believe me. I spent over 3 years doing it. I'm out now and its so much better!!!!!!!!!!!! Hang in there!

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  2. Looking for business minded people who are motivated and have leadership skills to join my team. I have an all natural products business that is expanding rapidly and need people who are interested in health or more wealth. It is a business where you can have residual income.You will be hearing about this company in coming years . If you do not want to join at least send me email to let you know what it is about for your future reference qivanasara@gmail.com
    There has never been a better (or easier) time to be your own boss and provide your own income. Many of the characteristics that work against jobs (outsourcing / the fast pace internet) actually can work for an entrepreneur.
    Whatever business you choose to start, the key is to start a business with the following characteristics:
    No Fixed Asset Requirements (i.e. renting office space/buying expensive equipment/hiring employees).
    The ideal business is home based, maximizing fixed costs you're already paying (which can lead to tax deductions based on the square footage of that space used in your home.)
    Area Served
    The product or service you provide should be able to be marketed nationally, or better yet, internationally...starting a business with a product or service only marketed locally significantly limits your upside. This is the age of the internet there is no good reason you cant sell a service abroad.
    Based in Economic Reality
    The product or service must reflect the current and future economic realities of this country. And while we mentioned foreign outsourcing earlier, outsourcing means not just foreign workers, but independent contractors right here in the US (experts think more than 40% of all workers will be contingent-workers in the next ten years ).
    he point of the above is not to scare you into starting your own business, but to show you that if you just look at the cold hard facts, taking care of yourself is a very desirable goal. In fact, if you ask yourself the question of how will I survive in the coming years? entrepreneurship is the most logical conclusion one can reach. The simple truth is this: the economic numbers above do not bode well for those in jobs. Plan accordingly.

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