Coming to terms with the inevitable

[cranberry]

We've had a couple of those meetings, and he maintains that I could care less about the product, that I don't work hard enough to suit him, etc. I've mentioned the fact that he just seems to have it in for me, and sure enough, he ignored the statement and the question.

Do you believe his criticisms are valid? Can he/does he give you examples? Or is it a perception issue?

 

[BYH]

I say we burn his forking house down. [/Booger]

 

[Herbert Anchovy]

Life is too short to take any guff off some little tyrant.

You're 28, not 16, and at that age you're nobody's bench.

The worst that can happen is you're fired from a business that's already in palliative care.

 

[silvershadow1981]

We've had a couple of those meetings, and he maintains that I could care less about the product, that I don't work hard enough to suit him, etc. I've mentioned the fact that he just seems to have it in for me, and sure enough, he ignored the statement and the question.

Do you believe his criticisms are valid? Can he/does he give you examples? Or is it a perception issue?

I think the criticism is completely unfounded, he hasn't given me examples, so it's clearly a perception issue. He just does not like me. Never has. If anyone's wondering, he wasn't the person that hired me, but as soon as I got in the door, it's been one problem after another.

 

[cranberry]

We've had a couple of those meetings, and he maintains that I could care less about the product, that I don't work hard enough to suit him, etc. I've mentioned the fact that he just seems to have it in for me, and sure enough, he ignored the statement and the question.

Do you believe his criticisms are valid? Can he/does he give you examples? Or is it a perception issue?

I think the criticism is completely unfounded, he hasn't given me examples, so it's clearly a perception issue. He just does not like me. Never has. If anyone's wondering, he wasn't the person that hired me, but as soon as I got in the door, it's been one problem after another.

fork him, then. Just keep doing your job in a way in which you can look in the mirror and feel good about yourself. Be a pro. If he gives you anymore shirt, ask for specific examples to illustrate his baseless allegations.

Just don't hit him.

 

[WriteThinking]

Silvershadow1981,

As you might be able to guess from my earlier post, I've been where you are.

After two years since the troubles really started, I still have not recovered -- not in any real, meaningful way that anybody with half a brain would consider to be successful. And I don't know that I ever really will.

I've simply done the best I can, and, I've actually done quite well, in many ways -- just not the ones that meant/mean the most to me.

I still have hope, and even a little confidence in myself, that a full recovery will happen, to be sure. But, I have to be honest and say that, you know what? I don't really know that. Not anymore.

The damage done by a wrongful firing to someone who actually likes their job, is honest, hard-working, doing everything they can to try to do things right and earn their way in the business -- in other words, a good employee -- can be absolutely devastating.

That's all I was trying to relay and point out, and it is not something that anyone who has not been through it can really understand.

There may be nothing (right, anyway) that you can do at this point. And certainly, that is how you may feel. I can tell that, and recognize it.

Actually, that is the only reason I've posted. You may continue to work hard, do your best to be great, improve and even correct shortcomings, and it may not matter a bit, if people are looking for everything you do wrong, or if you feel like they are.

Because, let's face it, nobody is perfect, even if your editors will never admit it, and you will never be able to do that. Which is how they will eventually catch you and pile it on for documentation purposes.

That brings me to my other point: Be careful and try not to do anything that may cause the company to start a paper trail on you. And be on the lookout for it, too, because if you're not, you may not even recognize it when it starts. When that happens is when you know you're eventually going to be toast.

I'm really sorry you're going through this. I understand it, too well, and my own experience with this has never yet left me.

My best advice is to get a plan together for what to do next, whether it's at another newspaper, or in another business.

 

[OTD]

The only problem with being fired, besides the embarrassment is that I believe it's hard to get back in this business once you've been kicked out, maybe I'm wrong. And to answer Inky_Wretch, these surveys that were supposedly ruined by my ineptness were salvaged and still legible. This guy really doesn't like me, for reasons I'm aware of.

It might be different now, but plenty of people have been fired by newspapers and hired by others. Some people have even been fired by one newspaper and rehired by that newspaper. The problem now is that there just aren't many jobs of any kind. I'd start looking if I were you, but don't quit--let the guy fire you if that's what's going to happen.

 

[cranberry]

That brings me to my other point: Be careful and try not to do anything that may cause the company to start a paper trail on you. And be on the lookout for it, too, because if you're not, you may not even recognize it when it starts. When that happens is when you know you're eventually going to be toast.

This is a good point. But paper trails need justification, too, so you're good as long as you don't provide that justification.

Also important: When someone decides to create a paper trail they will need to demonstrate that you were notified of what the company considers shortcomings/problems. Do NOT allow any such letters to go into your file without a calm, point-by-point response from you.

Keep good private notes yourself, too. This is a point at which I typically advised union members to begin keeping a journal.

 

[jlee]

If you got fired from a place that brings in an ad salesman to write about his son's football team ...

http://www.sportsjournalists.com/forum/threads/72347/

... I don't think it will be too much of a black mark on your record.

Seems to me like you've rolled with their punches quite a bit. Stick it out, dude.

 

[silvershadow1981]

That thread is the reason I didn't post this over there because I figured I'd just be piling on. I guess it wouldn't be much of a black mark, but it's still frustrating nonetheless.

 

[Baron Scicluna]

So, let me get this straight. Your paper has an ad guy writing about football games, and they expect you as the sports guy to hand out surveys at fairs?

No wonder this industry is in freefall.

 

[forever_town]

Believe me, I would be the last person to suggest doing the bare minimum or deliberately forking up to force an employer's hand.

What I suggest you do is DOCUMENT everything. If you have e-mails where someone praised your work, save them. If you consistently beat deadlines, make notes of which deadlines you beat when. If you won awards, dust them off and be prepared to brag about them.

Why? If your publisher not only tries to get rid of you, but tries to contest your receiving unemployment benefits, you need to document that you did your job.

I had stuff to document my case when I went before the hearing examiner. I also had an attorney I signed on with from my state's Legal Aid Bureau. Having her help, her advice and her presence at the hearing were all huge helps for me. According to her, the hearing examiner also considered our respective demeanors when deciding the case. I was (at least on the surface) calm and matter-of-fact when I made my case.