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  1. Josephine Nerissa Leão Panzo says

    As a person who is starting to build a career, this post is super useful! It’s hard to know what to look out for in workplaces when you’re a newbie, so your experience is super invalueable.

  2. Hilary Tan says

    Right now I’m working from home and I never even met my boss. I can’t contact her via phone, and I was switched managers without any notice whatsoever. This type of administrative work feels very disconnected but I don’t mind working from the comfort of my home. I take short cat naps on days where I’m really struggling to stay awake. As long as the work gets done, they don’t care. I do contact tracing for COVID-19 which feels more like volunteer work tbh, and it gives me purpose.

    Then there’s the hospital job which is also fulfilling for me, because again, helping people feels more rewarding than a paycheck. I enjoy being on my feet but can’t pick up shifts these days (I can barely walk due to pain)…. hospital work is fast-paced and the artificial lighting keeps me awake. The staff is friendly which makes the work experience as a new grad bearable, despite the stressful environment. There’s pros and cons to different types of jobs. I’m happiest in health care and happy I switched over from retail and the food industry…. I wish I had switched over years ago.

    It’s hard to know what we want until we have sampled a bit of everything job-wise. I’ve worked 9+ jobs since I was 16, including a factory job which was surprisingly fun (for the most part). Experience is important, but I lacked a lot experience. My jobs were short lived because I also spent 9 years in university. My sad-looking resume was not going to get me a job, so I included a cover letter as well! I believe that the cover letter(s) helped me highlight my strengths and abilities much better than a resume ever could.

    • Shelly DS says

      Wow 9 jobs! That’s incredible!
      It’s really hard to start a new job without having any interaction with your team or manager, but the fact that you’ve pulled it off speaks heaps about you. It’s also interesting to see that you love jobs that help people. Most of us are in it for the money 🙈

      Once baby comes, will you take a year off or will you start working part time?

      • Hilary Tan says

        Once the baby comes, I’m not taking any time off. Right now I’m doing full-time work-from home during the months of May and June 5-6 days/week, and I plan to return to my other job at the hospital in July.

        The ironic thing about all of this is that money is abundant right now. I don’t need to do this but I choose to because it gives me purpose. The pay is bonus. If I was only doing this for the money, I would be miserable.

        As for the 9 jobs, none of them lasted too long. The one that lasted the longest was a 7-month factory job. Some say that it’s bad jumping from one thing to the next, but my focus was school. I didn’t plan to be in university for 9 years! I think that trying to juggle school and work is the biggest challenge of them all! 🙊

  3. Michelle (Boomer Eco Crusader) says

    Take your 7 years and add 30 and you’ll find me! Good bosses. Bad bosses. Supportive bosses. Tyrant bosses. Credit-hogging-lowlife bosses. I’ve had them all.

    You can’t measure the value of a great boss. 2020 was one of the worst, most stressful years of my career but I survived and I’m still there. Why? I have a great, supportive boss who has my back and I can trust. I know I can be brutally honest with him and there will be no judgment or repercussions. He’s a rare gem.

    The only piece of advice I’d give is don’t take a job JUST because of the boss. People come and go. But, if you have the opportunity for a great job and a great boss, grab it!

  4. Mama Lava says

    I’m so happy for you that you have a great boss! I do as well and it is such a blessing. I have learned that the only reason I work is because I need the money. I haven’t figured out how to monetize the things I am truly passionate about, so regardless of who the boss is, it is about the salary for me. The higher it is, the sooner I can be done with the corporate world and give my life fully to the things and people I truly love.

  5. LoseWeightWithAng says

    I agree with people leaving if they don’t like their boss and it’s creating a negative atmosphere. At my work, I hear people complaining about the job all the time. All I can think is, “if you hate it so bad, do something about it!” I personally love my job, and think some people will complain no matter what.

    • Shelly DS says

      Haha I totally get you but sometimes it’s not that easy to leave – especially with the economy the way it is now. I’m glad you love your job! Or is it jobs?

      • LoseWeightWithAng says

        I wouldn’t expect anyone to go job searching right now (especially in aviation). But I’ve been listening to people complain for years and not do anything. Right now I’m only doing the blogging surprisingly 😄. Surgery means I’ll be off for another couple months.

  6. seankfletcher says

    Thanks for sharing, Shelly. “Move – you’re not a tree!” is the perfect statement for this situation. There is no doubt that for me, that a supportive and thoughtful boss (when I came across them) made all the difference in the world. Then one day, I became the big kahuna and from there reflected on all the bad things I had experienced under bad/cranky/political/narcissistic/under developed CEOs, executives, managers etc and made sure I wasn’t like they were, although I did have my bad days from time to time. Seeing people who worked with me succeed was (and is) very important to me. These days, I do my own thing work wise and try and help others at all levels be better at what they do.

    • Shelly DS says

      Gosh Sean I really wish I could’ve had the opportunity to work with you. Every time you talk about your people, they seem more like family or kids. That’s definitely the kind of spirit that a CEO has to have 🙂

  7. Dacia says

    A good boss is SO important. They’ll support you and help you find what’s right for you, even if it’s not a job under them. I fully believe and understand that good workers leave good jobs because of a bad or uncaring boss.

  8. bosssybabe says

    Great post! I thought about this a lot when I decided to move on from my 7 year job (that was about 5 years ago)… I’m someone who fears change and I felt very comfortable at that job and had worked my way up in salary and title so it felt like a waste to just walk away. But I knew the passion in my spirit had left and i had absolutely nothing more to give.. I left not really knowing what I wanted to do, I just knew I wanted to help ppl or be in a field where I could feel like I was contributing to society in someway.. I love my job now but I didn’t get here right after quitting.. It took about 2 years.. So to answer your question.. I definitely value good bosses over hefty salaries (I would go as far as saying work culture over hefty salaries) but I think there’s also a certain amount of privilege to be able to say that… Some ppl just don’t have that ability to choose.. So I’m grateful just to be at a job that I love and can see myself at for a very very long time 😊

    • Shelly DS says

      Gosh you’re right~ work culture trumps salary every time for me too. I get that life isn’t cheap, but the value we put on our mental health has to count for something!

      2 years without a job… wow! How did you make it?

  9. bosssybabe says

    Sorry, I meant I was at other jobs for the 2 year gap.. I left one job to hopefully find work doing meaningful work but I didn’t get that job right away so had to work another job that made me question leaving the first job and if I’d ever find that meaningful one… It was a hard 2 years but I wouldn’t trade it! Built character and made me appreciate work culture for sure!

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