Category Archives: Work/Life Issues

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That Great Job that seems like It’s For You, May Not Be

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You see a job listing on a site like Craigslist and think “That job is for me!” Only to find out later, in the interview, or via online reviews from customers or employees, that it’s not really for you. In this case, be glad you found out before taking the job.

And here’s why you shouldn’t be afraid of turning a job down when you learn more about it. Here’s what I experienced recently.

I saw a job for a delivery driver, delivering meals from restaurants, and everything looked good, so I inquired and was called for an interview. I did my research online and things looked good, though I was required to have a smart phone in order to be interviewed. I asked why would they require this before the job was offered and was told that it was so the company could get you going sooner. So, I checked to see if I could get one for much cheaper than the $500-$600 quotes I often saw and, luckily, I found a phone and deal that was for only a little more than my plan at the time, and even if I didn’t get the job, the new phone would not be a negative for me. (And in fact, it has already served me well since and I’m glad I got it!)

(For how this went, see “Again, Before Jumping In, Do Your Research! (Or how I got a $149 phone for just $49!“))

The interview went well, too, and I was scheduled to come in the next week and ride with a driver to see how it really is on the job.

Well, when I arrived for the “ride along”, the driver told me how I would have to “rent” the carrying bags and also a few other items. In addition, there were a number of small weekly fees. Then, it was “first come first serve”, where the bags were concerned, so I might not always get the bags I need.

On top of this, it was required (not mentioned in the interview!) that I obtain a cooler for the drinks! Out of my own pocket, of course!

For drinks, I would have to guess what people would want and put fifty, yes 50, bottles in my trunk, 10 of each type and hope I didn’t run out of a particular type.

Then, I would have to fill out credit card receipts and also take cash payments, out of which I would take tips, but then have to return each night to the main office, hope I get a parking space in what was a very congested area, and give the office its share.

It just seemed like a big mess to me, with lots of potential for messing up that couldn’t always be avoided and with the consequences falling on me. So, even before we were to leave, I told them that I’d changed my mind and that it wasn’t the job for me. And I have no regrets.

Another potential employer wanted me to come for an interview and pay $30 for them to do a background check on me! I e-mailed back, “No Thanks!” Unfortunately, some employers want applicants to pay costs that should rightly be borne by the employer!

This is not the first time that I’ve turned down a job once I saw what the job actually entailed. There’s nothing wrong with turning down a job that you find you won’t be comfortable in, even in these times when jobs are scarce.

I’m not saying that you shouldn’t take a job unless it gives you everything you want, but if you really cannot live with some aspect of the job, or really know that there’s something you can’t handle that’s part of the job, then don’t take the job! The possibility of the job costing you more than you make, or the stress from those parts of the job that you know you really don’t like, can do you more harm than good.

My advice: Unfortunately, an ad alone won’t really tell you the details of what a job entails, so, unless you see red flags that says the ad is a scam, go ahead and inquire.

If you are called for an interview, go ahead with it. And even go for a “tour” or “ride along” so long as you still feel you want the job, but be sure you get all your questions answered before you actually take the job. If they won’t answer your questions, or they try to dodge them, especially those regarding your main concerns, look elsewhere. And remember, during the interview, you should also be interviewing and watching them!

And remember, many job ads, especially those for sales positions, are often trying to sell jobs that may not really be as great as the ad says.

Good luck with your job search! And thanks for reading! 🙂

If you like what you’ve read here, please let others know of this post, blog, and site! 🙂

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Is a Smartphone the Best For You?

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My first cell phone, which I got in 1996, was one of those big Motorola flip phones. While it did clip onto my belt, it was big and heavy enough for me to feel its weight as I moved. Also, its battery had a short life and because it was analog, the number could be cloned, and it was, twice.

Thankfully, cell phones quickly improved and the next phone I had was not much larger than what I have now. And, with each progressive phone I’ve had, I’ve gotten more features.

The latest one is an LG Extravert with a slide out miniature keyboard, for easier texting. Now, it can also accommodate a data plan as well, though I don’t have one as I don’t feel the need for one. I don’t know if it is considered to be a true “smart phone”, but if not, it is as close as one could get. It is still as small as my previous phone, however, it was slippery and easy to drop as a result, so I had to get a protective rubber covering for it, as well as a screen protector.

As a result, I couldn’t use a standard flip phone clip-on case. I had to purchase a small Lowepro camera case that clips on to my belt (Lowepro makes the best and most user friendly cases!), and it works with the phone just fine and is still small enough not to feel like an added heavy appendage to my belt.

Recently, I was on a trip, visiting family, and my cousins had smartphones. The were able to see each other as well as talk, and the visual quality was great! The phones looked easy to use, too, and I could see how they could do so much. One of my cousins also used the navigation feature on her phone with no problem. While the car had its own navigation system, the phone’s worked just fine, and we could have been in a Model T, and it wouldn’t have made a difference because my cousin’s phone had its own portable navigation system!

But is a phone that can do everything really for you? Only you can answer that, but, having seen what they can do, and having checked them out in stores, I’ve made my own observations.

Being able to see one another while talking, at least for now, as I understand it, requires a data plan, which costs more money than just a talk and text plan. Readers, If I’m wrong about this as I write, please let me know.

I do know, however, that data plans, at least in the “Paygo” world, of which I am a part and highly recommend, are coming down in price.

And some smart phone class phones are being offered at cheaper prices with some plans.

But, here’s a problem. The phones are getting larger, and some are approaching tablet size. The good thing about this is, you can now find a size that fits your needs.

But, on the plus side of this, while getting larger, the size increase is only one-dimensional. They are getting thinner and are much lighter than those old Motorola phones, so that still means less bulk.

But, they can be more obtrusive and vulnerable to breakage when worn on a belt or put in a pocket. I can see them breaking if they are on a belt or in a front or back pocket when you get into your car. If they are in one of the lower pockets on a pair of cargo pants, or in someone’s purse, handbag, or day pack, they should survive. But they are not as convenient to carry as my phone still is. And recently, there was an issue with a recently released phone that bent too easily.

So, while true smartphones phones now have more and better features, I’m satisfied with what I have. Of course, if you are in the market for a smart phone, do check them out, as there are so many kinds, from Androids to Galaxies, and others.

Of course, bear in mind that new and more advanced phones are coming out all the time now, and plans are constantly evolving, so, if you can’t quite find what you really want in a phone, just give it some time before buying. Sooner or later, the phone, and plan, that you want will be here.

If you like what you’ve read here, please let others know of this post, blog, and site.

And thanks for reading!  🙂

 

*** Update! In January, 2015 I did get my first smart phone! An LG Optimus Zone 2. To see what transpired and what I have to say about it, see my post, Again, Before Jumping In, Do Your Research! (Or how I got a $149 phone for just $49!)

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What Really Will Happen if Automation Phases Out Work?

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Last month, I wrote a post called, “Will Automation Phase Out Work?“, in which I talked about how a fully automated world is still along ways off and that there will still be plenty of jobs for humans to fill, even if there aren’t enough jobs.

But what may happen if that fully automated world were to come about?

First, this assumes that the machines are so well made and systems so well-developed that there would almost never be breakdowns of any kind and those few that do happen would be taken care of by other machines.

With humans not being able to get any job no matter their credentials or who they know, the concepts of income and the world of work would have to change. Only CEO’s of large companies and those fortunate enough to have machines working for them could realise any sort of “traditional income”. 

What about the rest of us? Well, most likely, at first, people would still try to find jobs of a sort, but these would be few and far between for probably little money or just barter. Once most people run out of money, it would have to be barter only. Some might become entrepreneurs, but even here, such people might have to resort to accepting items in payment instead of actual money.

Now, to prevent the possible widespread poverty that might result from this scenario, a new concept of work and income might have to be instituted.

Here’s one scenario that I can imagine.

Both taxes and money might have to be eliminated, at least temporarily, and people given a certain amount of “credit” to start their lives with, and have a robot given to them as well. It would be the robot that would go looking for a job and ultimately support the person or family, as no human would have the skill to do any job as well as the robot could. And, combined with barter, perhaps the family could obtain a second robot and “second income”. Money could then be reintroduced into the economy.

Now, of course, this is a very simplistic example, and in real life, there would certainly be lots of possible variations, but I believe that something like this scenario would have to be the result, or there would be a widespread revolution, as people would not want to live with the level of poverty and unemployment that would otherwise result if we tried to hang on to today’s economic culture and mores in a fully automated world. How can anyone expect one to get a job in a world where truly none can be had?

People will always need something to do and, more importantly, an attainable means of supporting themselves.

A fully automated world may be a long ways off, but it is an interesting thing to think about.

If you like what you’ve read, please let others know of this post, blog, and site.

And thanks for reading!  🙂

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Are all Lies Bad?

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Don’t you just hate being lied to? I sure do. But, and this is a big “but“, I haven’t been offended by all lies told to me. Why? Because some lies were told to keep pleasant surprises as surprises, for one.

Most lies are bad, but some are good. I was told that the club I belonged to was changing its meeting place. I went to the new place and was treated to a surprise party for my birthday one year. It was great! It happens all the time.

Also, we tell “white” lies. These are lies to avoid offending people or to prevent people, often older parents or grandparents from worrying. Can you imagine if we always spoke our thoughts. Saying to Aunt Marge, “Your hat looks dumb and too big for your head!”, when she asks you what you think, or saying, “Cousin Tom and his girlfriend lived together before they were married.” to your old-fashioned grandfather, or saying how dangerous your job in law enforcement can be to your worrying grandmother, will only cause trouble.

Of course, the truth may still come out and, in the above examples, the idea shouldn’t be to deny the truth as much as to lessen the full impact of the truth.

In that last example of your law enforcement career, God forbid if you are killed, everyone knows that your grandmother won’t accept the idea that you just decided to take a very long trip without any communication with her or anyone else when you’ve always been a stickler for keeping contact with all family members. What needs to be done is to gradually let her know what your career is and assure her that you are taking extra care to protect yourself.

But what these white lies can do is to prevent the truth from being too blunt. Instead, in all 3 examples, the truth can be brought out in stages so the recipients won’t suffer as much mental shock with the resulting tumult in the family.

And of course, your child home alone telling an inquiring stranger on the phone that you are home in the shower is also a very good lie.

So, there are times when the lie can be more helpful than the truth. Just something to think about.

If you like what you’ve read here, please let others know of this post, site, and blog.

Thanks for reading!  🙂

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Let’s Hear it For Teachers!

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I remember one of my high school teachers saying that most people think that teachers simply open up kids’ heads, pour in the knowledge, and they’re done for the day. I’ve heard people not involved in teaching say that teachers have it easy, what with having the whole summer off, as well as two weeks at Christmas and a week at Easter, days that end at 3pm instead of 5pm, etc.

So, how true is this? Well the fact of the matter is that people have a real misconception about teachers, and, while it is true that there are, and have been, some really bad ones out there, the vast majority are good and are often unfairly tarred by the impressions that the bad apples, and administrators, leave on the public.

Let’s examine some of the myths regarding teachers:

Teachers get the holiday season and the whole summer off! 

Yes, they do, and it is a nice perk, but, unlike members of Congress, they don’t get paid for more than two or three weeks of it, about what an average worker would get for their 2-3 week vacation! Teachers have to manage their salaries so that they can cover the 2-2 1/2 months per summer where they aren’t paid.

Teachers just mostly talk all day at the kids, how simple is that! They have such an easy job!

If you’re more than 5 years old, you must have seen some kid somewhere act up. If you’re a parent, or old enough to be one, you know you have! Just imagine 25, 30, or often more kids and several are acting up, not listening, or just not getting it. And you realizing that they are not your kids, so you must show more restraint in how you handle them! Add in all the special things that a teacher needs to do besides talk. Such as explaining things, grading papers, talking to parents, dealing with the different personalities of each kid, pulling “playground duty” at recess and lunch, keeping the classroom in order, coming up with lesson plans, and of course, dealing with administrators, some of whom have never taught a class of any kind in their lives yet think they know everything. Which leads to the next myth,

Teachers’ days end at 3 pm while everyone else works til 5pm!

Class time may end at 3pm, but not the teacher’s day. They have papers to grade, lesson plans to be drawn up, oftentimes extra curricular activities to supervise, meetings, often mindless ones, that administrators make them attend, parental meetings, and special events to attend.

Teachers don’t teach and just want to be pals to the kids!

Certainly some are like this. But most are not. However, they are often prevented from enforcing much discipline and are restricted from teaching, or not teaching, certain subjects or in certain ways, by our PC mentality, overbearing and cowardly administrators, and sue happy parents of all stripes.

If you really think about it, and use the “Mental Hand” that I wrote about in my earlier post, The Mental Hand, you’ll see that teachers, especially good ones, have a really tough job.

I’m not saying that every time there’s a teachers’ strike or the threat of one, that the teachers are always right, but I do believe that they do deserve a respect, from the general public, that they don’t get today.

If you can read this post, especially if you can read it easily and understand it, thank a teacher!

If you like what you’ve read here, please let others know of this post, blog, and site!

And thanks for reading! 🙂

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Stop and Think: Seeing the Plus Side and Remembering Those Who Contributed to It

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Hi everyone! You know, we are all so busy with our lives and so preoccupied with our own problems, that we often fail to stop and take a mental look at the good things we have. Just as it is a good idea to stop and smell the roses, it’s also a good idea to just stop and think. About the good things and people we have in our lives, and to remember those who contributed to those good things.

Yes, perhaps you’re financially poor, worried about yourself or relatives, or the job, or a myriad of other things. I’m the same way. But oftentimes, through a mixture of personal will and probably some ‘mental luck of being’, I see or hear of people in worse straits than myself or those I care about.  Here some examples:

I hate the fact that I’m short. But then, I’ll see an obese man who has all kinds of trouble doing things that I do without even thinking about it, such as walking far, getting into a small car, tying my shoes, getting in and out of chairs, and I think to myself, ‘Thank God I’m not him’ , and realize that being short isn’t the worst thing in the world.

I’ll see or hear someone who is acting obnoxiously, and thank my parents and others who taught me not to act that way when I was a child, so I wouldn’t make a fool, and worse, out of myself as an adult. Again, I am thankful that I’m not that obnoxious person.

Sometimes, I’ll find myself mentally griping at circumstances in my life, then hear about some people who are being oppressed in one way or another in some other country. I then remember that I live in a free country that’s been kept free by the efforts of those who worked and fought and died to keep it that way. And I am grateful because I know that things could have been a lot worse.

And when I’m on the job and thinking it’s too hot or cold, or the fliers are too bulky, I notice that I am outdoors, and seeing things that I could never see if I had an office job. I also can wear what I like, have near total control as to how I plan my day, when to take breaks, etc., and I have employers who are not micromanaging me. And I am thankful that I have the job I do have, when so many are either unemployed or have jobs that they despise and are too afraid, mentally tired, or too literally stuck to try to change things.

So, do take some time to see the good things you have and remember those who contributed to those good things. You will feel better, trust me.

If you like what you’ve read here, please let others know of this post, blog, and site.

Thanks for reading! 🙂

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Your Cubicle is not really Your Space : How Not to Decorate

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So, you’ve got a job in cubicle land and you have your very own cubicle. Yours to decorate as you wish? Well, maybe, but there are some risks.

I once worked in cubicle land and had my own cubicle, too. Now, some people decorated their cubicle greatly, bringing pictures, heirlooms, and other things, while others, didn’t decorate at all. I leaned towards not decorating. At most, I had a picture or two, and maybe a small calendar.

And this was for several reasons, all huddled under the main reason which is that, your cubicle is not really yours. It belongs to the company.

One, departments are often compelled to move, and moving means that you have to unpin and remove all those belongings you brought from home, in addition to all the company material that must be moved.

Second, a cubicle cannot be secured the way your home can. So, that nice little vase you got as a gift that so impresses your co-workers, is also impressive to thieves. And it may not be the nighttime cleaning staff either. It could be co-worker in your department, or one just passing through.

Then, while it may not be offensive to you, that object or picture you brought from home may be offensive to someone else, resulting in your superior coming to you and demanding you take it back home. How your superior does this may or may not be embarrassing to you. And it may go on your employee record.

Or, it could just be a distraction in one way or another, resulting in the same demand being made of you to remove said item or picture.

So my advice? Ok, maybe an innocuous picture or two from home, but try not to go beyond this, and don’t bring anything that you know is against company policy or is too valuable to lose.

And speaking of pictures, it’s a good idea to take advantage of today’s technology, and make a copy, so if the picture at work goes missing, you’ll still have the original on your computer.

Good luck with your cubicle, even though it’s not really yours!

If you like what you’ve read here, please let others know of this post, blog, and site!

And thanks for reading! 🙂

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The Mental Hand

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We all have two hands, right? Well, actually we have 3. That’s right, 3.

The 3rd one is your “mental” hand. This is the one in your mind and it can be a great resource for any of us. This is what you use when you really stop and think about something, such as your politics, or you’re wanting that great new thing, or any other serious self-examination of our own lives, something most of us don’t do, or do too little of.

I refer to this kind of mental examination as a “mental hand” because I liken it to the mental equivalent of using one’s hand to really feel what a physical object feels like, or even experiencing something in the flesh.

It can often help if one uses that mental hand before making an important decision. If one is thinking of getting that new big-ticket item, like a house or a car, they are often in a frenzy to get that new item. Oftentimes they won’t think of the negatives that could be involved, starting with the money that would be spent, so they don’t use their mental hand and buy the item.

It doesn’t mean that it is automatically a bad decision, but, because they haven’t thought it through, it is more likely to turn out bad, or at least, any negatives that come up will be more of a shock and will retard the good points more, because, by not using their mental hand, they were mentally unprepared for the shock of the negatives.

But, when one can stop that frenzy, that overwhelming desire to make that purchase, or to stick with a way of thinking or doing, and use their mental hand to really do an honest, unbiased, objective analysis, one is much more likely to make a better decision.

Using the mental hand to its fullest potential means that you can see and ask yourself if you really need that new car, is the political party you support is really the right one, is that employer one you would really want to work for, do you really want to live in that area, do I like my friend Joe Blow because he’s Joe Blow and I’m letting him exploit me because I’m  just shallow, or is it because he really is a great person and friend?

The mental hand allows you to take a ‘time out’ and really consider the important choices, or any choices, in your life. It doesn’t guarantee a good decision, but it does increase the odds for one.

If you’re using your mental hand before you make major decisions, keep doing it. And if you really haven’t, start.

I’ve used my mental hand more and more, and it’s improved my life and will improve yours, too.

If you like what you’ve read here, please let others know of this post, blog, and site.

And thanks for reading! 🙂

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As Long as You Know the Score (And Be Sure You Know What You’re Saying!)

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Once, when I was in high school, this guy, that I’ll call “Johnny ABC“, was saying, in the presence of a group, that his family came from a long line of famous people. Feeling a stupid need to challenge him on this, I replied that “The only place I’d seen your name was the name of a street“.

Well, later on, he confronted me and he was not happy. Luckily, I had the good sense to apologize and managed to defuse the situation, though I have the feeling that he harbored bad feelings about this in the back of his mind through the last time I saw him, which was at graduation.

In looking back, I realized several things. One, though I never meant to be insulting when I said what I said to him, it was insulting, especially in the way I said it. It implied that his name was associated with dirt, the gutter, the bad image of any street, so to speak.

Second, what he was saying could have been true, which would have made me look even more foolish in my playing the one-upmanship game.

Third, he wasn’t insulting me or challenging me when he said what he said, but was talking about himself. 

What should I have done? Simple. I shouldn’t have said anything. I learned some important lessons through that experience.

First of all, even if I’m right, I learned it can often be better to keep quiet than to try to correct someone as it can make them feel foolish, especially if you’re among a group of people, and also make you look like you’re always trying to take people down or engage in one-upmanship.

In most cases, as long as one “knows the score”, that’s all that counts. 

Of course, if the consequences of the other person being wrong can be detrimental, by all means, tell him or her! If Joan says she’s sure that the cake someone else brought over has no nuts and you know that it does have nuts and you know Joan is allergic to nuts, you must tell her!

All I’m saying here is to follow the adage, “Be sure your brain is running before you throw your mouth into gear!”

I have found more and more that it’s good to live by this.

Second, whatever the person is saying, they may just be right after all! Just because Johnny ABC’s name wasn’t Franklin, or Columbus, or Lincoln doesn’t mean that they aren’t related to him. Names change through marriage and other means as well. And I certainly didn’t know his family history, so who was I to say that he was wrong?

Finally, I’ve learned through this and some other experiences that I don’t need to be the smartest person in the room and that, if I do know something that I feel must be said, I don’t need to take someone else down to say it! And, whatever the other person is saying, if it’s not attacking me, I shouldn’t attack them.

If you feel the need to retort in a way that puts the other person down, or the need to challenge anything someone else says in order to get the last word or make yourself look more intelligent than the other person, try to quell it if possible, because it will eventually bite you back if you don’t.

And go ahead and have your say, just don’t do it a way that’s insulting or that tries to take someone else down. The idea is not to attack, but to contribute! 

I found that I’ve learned much more by being humble and listening. I don’t usually learn as I speak if I’m just saying what I already know.

So remember, be sure your brain is running before you throw your mouth into gear!

If you like what you’ve read here, please let others know of this post, blog, and site.

And thanks for reading! 🙂

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Who to Work For, Big or Small?

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Looking for a job? One question to ask yourself is, do I want to work for a big corporation or a small business? This can be more important than you think.

For me, I prefer, in general, to work for small businesses. But first, I’ll tell you what I’ve experienced and read so far.

I worked for a large firm for 13 years, before I left and moved on to take a few jobs with much smaller businesses.

In terms of articles I’ve read, I have found that the vast majority of job and career advice centers around big executive jobs in large firms or in fields that are held to be, lets say, “prestigious”, such as the legal field. However, some of the advice given can certainly be applied to any field or job for any size employer.

So, is it best to work for the big corporation or the small business?

Let’s look at the big corporation first.

Getting that corporate job can be hard and complicated work in itself, and requires a lot from you before you’ve even been hired.

Unless you know someone in the company who is really powerful and loves you to death, you will most likely have to submit an application with a resume and cover letter to Human Resources, or HR. Having spoken with people in the HR where I worked, I can tell you that some HR reps will send an application and resume to the shredder or round file for so much as a period on the resume that isn’t perfectly round! (I’m talking microns here, and believe me, I’m not kidding!)

It’s now coming to the point where they will also require such things as your social media passwords, credit reports, and require that you pay for the checks they do on you as well. Oh, and if you’re currently unemployed, some will now reject you out of hand, also. They also have all sorts of reasons that they will deem you to be unemployable.

Then, you may have to go through several interviews. And, according to various articles I’ve read, wearing business attire and being polite is just the beginning of what you need to do to ace the interview. You also have to read the interviewer’s mind and body language, as well as watch your own, and of course, you can do all of the best things from all of the articles’ suggestions (as they often contradict one another), and still not get the job!

And don’t think for a second that, even if all of the interviewers say that you’re a shoe-in for the job, that you have the job. I was told this by interviewers many, many times, but didn’t get the job after all. You don’t have the job until the company officially says that you do!

Let’s say you survive the application process, checks, and interviews and finally get the job.

Oftentimes, keeping the job, and especially trying to move up the career path in a large corporation means not only trying to present yourself well and doing the job well, but learning to decipher a multitude of hidden messages, dealing with office politics, trying to read the mind of the boss, knowing what words to use and when, and hoping nothing in your past, no matter how innocent, will come back to destroy you.

Now, I’m not saying that this is always the case, but you’re more likely to encounter this when working for a large firm or corporation. But let’s say your unit, boss, and even upper management is friendly and easy to work with and for, there are still some disadvantages.

Rules may be the biggest one. Even if your boss and colleagues just adore you, your boss cannot give you those two extra weeks of vacation, or that raise or bonus you asked for, and that promotion, or even lateral movement you wanted to make may be turned down by upper management or the rules themselves, no matter how much your boss and colleagues are in your corner backing you.

Changes, including layoffs are another. The bigger a business is, the more like a government it becomes. Unless you are really close to the top, you become less a person and more of a cog to the higher-ups. That means it’s easier to force bad changes like layoffs or poor assignments upon the employees. After all, the CEO sees, “employees“, not “John, the loyal employee“. Things become less personal to the higher-ups.

Poor decisions can be made regarding equipment as well, where the employees who have to use said equipment have little or no say or recourse when problems arise.

When I worked for the large corporation, I used to run a roomful of printers and would make sure that various departments had their reports printed and delivered to them. Well, the company decided to get new printers, which is perfectly understandable.

However, these new printers did not perform as well, and had a very bad flaw. If a report was over a certain size, the new printer would literally shut down and fail to complete the job. Now, if the old printer had done this, which was rare, all that was needed was for the printer to be shut down and restarted. The old printer would continue the job from where it left off so that you wouldn’t need to print the whole report over again.

The new printer didn’t do this. It would lose the job, no matter what you did, and would have to reprint from the beginning! This happened one day with a report that was about 3,000 pages and the most important page was the last page, which summarized the whole thing. They never got that page despite several frustrating attempts to get it printed, as well as having the help of the IT department.

Why didn’t the people in charge of purchasing equipment test out these printers at the manufacturer’s for this problem, I’ll never know. Quite possibly, due to the size of the company, the purchasers had no idea of the size of the reports these printers would have to deal with. And, since I was an employee in the field, I could only tell my immediate superiors, which I did. The machines were replaced about a year later, possibly due to multiple complaints, but it may have been solved naturally earlier within a smaller company where those who make purchases for the company have greater contact and exposure to those who will use the equipment.

There are some advantages to working for a larger firm, if you can handle the disadvantages.

Have a bad boss who’s out to get you? In a big corporation, unless he or she is the CEO, they have to be more careful in what they try to do to you, as there are the rules and channels, and they, too, have a boss they have to report to. There is probably a system as well for “skip level” meetings, where you can talk to your boss’s boss or even higher in some companies. And your colleagues might be on your side and, as a group, might have more sway with upper management. This can be especially useful if the boss is new and upper management has the collective conscience to at least wonder why you or your unit has suddenly gone downhill, just after this new boss arrived.

Big corporations can also afford bigger pay, greater benefits, and more perks, if they’re willing to offer them. Being large, they are less likely to suddenly go out of business, but size is absolutely no guarantor of this not happening. Employees of some large corporations in the past have arrived at work to find the doors closed for good, too. But, chances are you may see the writing on the wall sooner. And, if they have several divisions, they may just transfer you instead and use the economic benefits of simply not having an extra building to maintain instead of laying off people, including you.

What about small companies?

Here are the advantages.

They are more intimate. When you try to get a job there, especially if it’s just a mom-and-pop, chances are the owner will be the one to see your application and resume. He or she is probably a lot less interested in keywords on your resume or whether you are right or left-handed, or what your credit score or Facebook page looks like. They are just looking for someone who can man the counter, or sell accounts for them and who will fit in and be reliable, and if they say you’ve got the job, you’ve got the job!

If they really like you, they can give you that raise, extra time off, or other perk you asked for and don’t have to answer to some higher-ups.

Also, they are easier to contact and more likely to seek your input when making business decisions that can impact your job.

And, if they are contemplating letting you go due to economic reasons, they may find another way to survive without letting you go, because they know you personally and you’re not just some far distant employee.

And if they do have to lay you off for economic reasons, they may call you back later if things improve, because they remember you.

Of course, there are some disadvantages, too.

They usually have less money, and may not offer as much pay and probably few to no benefits. And, if times get too tough, you may be laid off and the company may even go out of business.

If you have a bad boss and he or she is the owner or a relative of the owner, you’re probably out of luck.

If you’re the type who has to be constantly rising on the career ladder, you may hit a glass ceiling rather quickly and end up frustrated.

So, these are things to consider when deciding how big or small a company you want to work for. And of course, it’s important to remember that you can encounter any of the advantages or disadvantages listed above at any size company.

So, good luck with your decision and job! Oh, and if you need a resume, see the services page for more info.

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