Huge Work Concerns, Don't Know What To Do

gibgodsman

Hey guys, I will have to keep some information to myself as to not give away personal info. The jists of the situation is that this is my first job, I am 24, did 4 years of college and was unemployed for a further 3 years after that trying to get a job. I ended up just setting my standards as low as I could and got a job earning 21k a year doing "sales", I say sales like that for a reason.

During the interview for this job I was told I would be basically trying to increase the sales of the company through marketing and contacting old customers on their database to try make them current customers. He told me the company had fallen on hard times a year ago and they were only getting back on their feet, the interviewer being the current owner had only purchased the business recently.

While this did scare me, I was at the point were I couldn't turn down a job, no matter what my head was telling me. So I took the position, they boss basically gave it to me there in the room. Contract sent over, salary + commission with a very large sales target monthly, but a good amount of commission on that, so my salary concerns were not as bad as I could at least make good commission.

Day 1, I go in to find out I am answering to a different person completely and that my boss, doesn't live in Ireland, lives quite a far way away. There is also nothing set up for me to do my job, no contacts, no access to the business database, no nothing, so sales would have to wait I guess....

Boss from outside the country contacts me regularly via skype and phone to give me tasks, none of which are related to what I was told I would be doing, or sales in anyway. Started in November, have had little contact with the boss since, I am trying to keep myself busy, offering help to the other 2 employees in the office but I literally find myself doing nothing most days as there is not much I can do as I am constantly having to wait on my boss to do a task so that I can move on with mine.

Any chance I get to make a sale, I make them, but as I am just sales and not the producer of the stuff I am selling, the next issue arises. Made 3 sales in November.... only completed and shipped to the customer in Jan....

The product I am selling, I knew little about coming in, the boss knew and was supposed to train me, never got any training and had to learn everything on my own.

Received 3 payments thus far, none of which seem to be correct but I can't even tell as I am not receiving payslips that I have constantly asked for, and its not just a few euro out, its 100's each time.

Now my issue is, that I actually enjoy the job when I am actually allowed do my job, and not doing the bosses tasks that help him make money but do nothing for me or my job (commission remember). But not getting payslips, constant wrong payments, almost no contact with my boss, my contact that he gave me still sat in my office waiting on his signature. I go to work everyday not knowing if I will have a job when I come home, its stressing me out ALOT. I don't know if I am just moaning as this is my first job and stuff like this is normal, or if I should be running for the nearest exit.

If anyone could give me any advise on what to do it would really be appreciated.

Elmo

Use your time to look for another job, make sure you get paid what your owed. This might be a learning curve for you before your next job, read up on the product that your selling and network in the area, this could lead to another job.

First thing I would suggest is to continue to request a copy of payslips - do this by email, if you haven't been already. Send that email every day that you don't get a response.

Also, add this job to your CV and start looking again, as a back up.

I'm sure others will have more helpful advice, but that's a start.

gibgodsman

Elmo wrote: »

Use your time to look for another job, make sure you get paid what your owed. This might be a learning curve for you before your next job, read up on the product that your selling and network in the area, this could lead to another job.

What I am selling is very niche and would not be something anyone else near me would be selling.

Deleted User wrote: »

First thing I would suggest is to continue to request a copy of payslips - do this by email, if you haven't been already. Send that email every day that you don't get a response.

Also, add this job to your CV and start looking again, as a back up.

I'm sure others will have more helpful advice, but that's a start.

The thought of looking for another job scares the hell out of me, took me 3 years to get this one, and I set my sights SUPER low, literally anything full time that paid minimum wage I was applying for

Have a think about why it took so long to get that job:

1. do you not have relevant work experience?
2. do you not sell yourself well, ie bad CV or interview nerves?

You will need to tackle these issues sooner or later.

For the moment, while you're hanging in there, waiting on payslips (you may be on emergency tax?), get someone who knows what they're doing to have a look at your CV. Find somewhere that does interview techniques.

Was it sales that you did in college?
If not, have a look out for work that relates to your college course.
If yes, try to hang in there and get some experience for a short stretch while you're polishing your employment skills.

gibgodsman

Deleted User wrote: »

Have a think about why it took so long to get that job:

1. do you not have relevant work experience?
2. do you not sell yourself well, ie bad CV or interview nerves?

You will need to tackle these issues sooner or later.

For the moment, while you're hanging in there, waiting on payslips (you may be on emergency tax?), get someone who knows what they're doing to have a look at your CV. Find somewhere that does interview techniques.

Was it sales that you did in college?
If not, have a look out for work that relates to your college course.
If yes, try to hang in there and get some experience for a short stretch while you're polishing your employment skills.

I am not on emergency tax as I had to sort out my tax myself and sort of take the company's VAT number as the boss was supposed to sort his side out but never did.

I am very good in interviews, my guess would 100% be the work experience aspect, I have had quite a number of interview but it just seems to be when it gets to work experience they see none and go another direction. I have had interviews for both CO and EO positions in the Civil service in the past year and had to turn down the interview for the EO position as it coincided with my start date for this job.

I did Business and I.T in college so I guess sales could be part of is as I did marketing and such.

somesoldiers

In my experience (wife went back to work after 3 years recently, we did everything in advance but she still got screwed for first 6 weeks pay) no matter how you try and get ahead of emergency tax, you cannot. By the time revenue get back to you through web service it will all be sorted

My guess is you are likely on it, but the whole thing sounds dodgy, you are entitled to your pay slip.

have you thought about the funds industry- always looking for staff with business degrees. Starting might not be much more but you will be treated as you should be

gibgodsman

somesoldiers wrote: »

In my experience (wife went back to work after 3 years recently, we did everything in advance but she still got screwed for first 6 weeks pay) no matter how you try and get ahead of emergency tax, you cannot. By the time revenue get back to you through web service it will all be sorted

My guess is you are likely on it, but the whole thing sounds dodgy, you are entitled to your pay slip.

have you thought about the funds industry- always looking for staff with business degrees. Starting might not be much more but you will be treated as you should be

I am not on emergency tax thankfully, I had my tax sorted well before I was paid and since the revenue have actually done a spot check on the business while I was the only one there and knew exactly who I was. Business apparently had some dodgy stuff going on before it was bought. Or so I am told.

I got into the Bank of Ireland Graduate Programme in 2016, but upon starting they changed my location from City Center Dublin to Cabinteely, which added about 2 hours onto my already 4 hour travel time making it impossible to maintain, and I was not in a situation to move closer at the time sadly.

Diziet

I agree - get your CV reviewed and get looking for another job. The job market is active, and you already have a job, so you are in a better position to look now.

Get the employer number and make sure revenue know you are working for them. You *must* get payslips. If you are not, that's a big red flag... Are your colleagues getting payslips?

gibgodsman

Diziet wrote: »

I agree - get your CV reviewed and get looking for another job. The job market is active, and you already have a job, so you are in a better position to look now.

Get the employer number and make sure revenue know you are working for them. You *must* get payslips. If you are not, that's a big red flag... Are your colleagues getting payslips?

I asked that question and apparently they have the same issue, for over a year

Elmo

gibgodsman wrote: »

had to turn down the interview for the EO position as it coincided with my start date for this job.

You should have asked them to reschedule it (they would they know people are looking for work), maybe not for EO but certainly for CO your pretty much guaranteed the job once they've called you for interview (unless it goes extremely badly).

Look for similar jobs on publicjobs.ie with other state bodies. Apply for all of them.

gibgodsman

Elmo wrote: »

You should have asked them to reschedule it (they would they know people are looking for work), maybe not for EO but certainly for CO your pretty much guaranteed the job once they've called you for interview (unless it goes extremely badly).

Look for similar jobs on publicjobs.ie with other state bodies. Apply for all of them.

Did the interview for the CO position, was given great feedback "Showed evidence of all competencies" yet didn't qualify for the panel, no idea, I thought the interview went great, answered everything and was talking away. So that made me feel the EO interview would more than likely be a waste of time

Elmo

gibgodsman wrote: »

Did the interview for the CO position, was given great feedback "Showed evidence of all competencies" yet didn't qualify for the panel, no idea, I thought the interview went great, answered everything and was talking away. So that made me feel the EO interview would more than likely be a waste of time

Looking for work is a pain.

shesty

Look for another job.


I was unemployed for a year in 2010. My qualification is construction related, so yeah - there was nothing. Absolutely nothing and no prospect of anything. And I had work experience, good experience. I literally spent 1 year sending applications for every single thing that I came across, no matter what. And there was very very little out there by way of jobs and thousands of people job hunting. I'd say I sent 25-30 applications in a month - I didn't spam every single job ad there was because I didn't think that was a good way to do it.But anything that I had a hope of getting, I sent in an application. Got my CV reviewed, cover letter (hugely important) was changed for each position, the works. In the end, after a year of nothing I got a very short term contract in a financial company doing a very basic job, and six weeks into that got an interview that led to a permanent position elsewhere in a job where I had absolutely zilch to do. For four years there was nothing at all to do, and total stress due to some work colleagues, but nowhere else to go - and believe me, I looked. Eventually when things picked up, I managed to move on.


The reason I am telling you this long-winded story is that it really sounds to me like you need to start looking again. People always said to me it's easier to get a job when you have a job.There is an element of truth to that, and the economy is on your side at this point. Go get your CV reviewed and a good cover letter drafted, one that you change for every application. Go to interviews. Every single interview, no matter what the date or time or what is clashing.Think hard enough and you will come up with a way to attend. You have the first job, now go again. I absolutely know how totally soul-destroying it is to job hunt, because I think I was doing it for about 6 years in total, by the time I got myself sorted. But you just have to keep at it and at it and at it if you aren't happy.Equally, I know how much it runs your self-esteem into the ground to be unemployed and constantly looking, it warps your view a bit. You say you got this job, but you are negative about it - nobody else, got the job on the day, etc, etc. But what you've also told us is that you got an interview for the EO and CO positions, and you got onto the BOI grad programme but couldn't take it. All things considered, that's actually fairly successful.So onward and upward. Take a fresh view in your new hunt - you have new experience, you're in employment and there are other opportunities out there. Because honestly, nobody is going to sort this one out for you, except you.

Diziet

gibgodsman wrote: »

I asked that question and apparently they have the same issue, for over a year

Do check that you are paying tax, and look for another job pronto.

Diceicle

In order to stand a better chance of getting an improved job next time out - because this place doesn't sound like a long-term deal - is there any scope to make some material improvements to the way they do business? Like introducing a CMS for example.