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Topic: Job Depression
| Author | Message |
| gina_davis36 | Posted – 11/18/2007 11:04:09 PM | show profile Everyone's cried about their job before, yes?If I could follow my heart, the tears would stop flowing and staining my cheeks. I'm also sure the use of my pen would be sure to increase. Wouldn?t it? I?m in my 20s, and I have nothing figured out. Working at one of the top publications in the world, I guess I should be happy. Who wouldn?t be? Right? I have the name. However, somewhere along the way, I feel as if I missed my destiny. I lost my way for a brand. Consumer testers have shown we?re suckers for product placement. The labels on our food, clothes, appliances, and recreational toys dictate what we decide to purchase. No one ever told me that how I choose my career would be based on a label. At the time, it was more about the people I working for. Now I?m unhappy. I?m unhappy because as much as I love the people that I work with, I hate the daily job that I have to do. I don?t hate the publication, nor do I hate the people. I hate the dissatisfaction I feel writing about a topic that barely holds my interest. I hate being set up for failure. I hate how the rules vary from person to person. I hate how diversity is a myth. I hate how I?m not motivated enough to have 365 stories a year. I hate how my confidence is chattered every time I pitch a story on a topic I enjoy because ?there?s already somewhere here to write that story?. I hate how someone younger than me has the opportunity I would kill for if only for six months. I wish I could afford to leave but making around $30,000 makes it impossible to have enough stowed away in savings to leave. Is anyone else going through a job depression? Can anyone relate? Why am I so unhappy? Yes, I know it's time for me to leave. |
| PluckyPane | Posted – 11/19/2007 10:44:48 AM | show profile You're having some Monday morning blues, aren't you? It's been my experience that if you start feeling sick Sunday for work Monday, it's time to change jobs. But how long have you been with the company? Maybe there is a way to talk to you boss? Maybe you're not so thrilled about your job because you haven't been given the right challenges? Only you can figure out why you hate your job. Writing for a top magazine can be your ticket to the next best thing. Network. Join associations. Call on contacts and start putting the word out that you are looking. But before you do that, figure out first what you don't like about the job and what you REALLY want to do first so that you move into a better situation next time. Just knowing that you are looking for a new job will give you some sanity to make it through. BTW, if you really hate it and savings are an issue, try using your credit cards TEMPORARILY to get you through the month. I did that when I switched jobs years ago. I didn't go crazy with the cards, just the basics and NOTHING else, but I was in a job I liked better and I made more money. Get your best clips together, get your name out there, and chin up...you will find something else. There's no shame in moving on to the next thing. That keeps you fresh. :) |
| caitlinkelly | Posted – 11/19/2007 12:37:36 PM | show profile Sounds like you have a fair bit figured out but aren't sure what to do about what you have learned. It can be heartbreaking to find one's illusions about work shattered, but that's what illusions are for. Better sooner than later. The topic does not interest you -- but you still have to do it well to keep your job, even for a while. "Being set up for failure" is a large, vague complaint -- who is setting you up, why and how? Is it possible you're not being "set up" but are having a hard time managing what is going on? Rules will also always vary person to person. Get used to it. Very few print reporters produce 365 stories a year -- unless they have no other life. If your confidence is shattered every time you pitch a story impinging on someone else's territory, you need to develop a Teflon ego (shattered?) and get much smarter about finding an area to write about that no one else has covered. If there is literally no fresh ground for you to till, discuss this with your manager to see if that's what s/he expects from you -- or simply what you want. If you're in your 20s and jealous of those younger than you getting opp's, it's not going to get any easier....try talking to those of us north of 40! And diversity is indeed a myth for many workplaces. Some of your misery is likely to show up in other media workplaces; certainly if you are a minority in an industry legendarily unwelcoming to anyone of color. It's wrong but it's widespread and that particular stress is unlikely to disappear if you stay in this field. Take a seasonal retail job to put away as much money as you possibly can -- even $1,000 or so -- to buy you some breathing room. Freelancing even a few stories would also add to your savings and help boost your wounded sense of confidence. You need a few easy wins right now. |
