Fired after 5 weeks on the job and here's why

[Watercolors]

So, 5 weeks ago I was hired to be the front desk coordinator for a mid-size company. The gal who trained me, held the position previously and was promoted, hence the job opening.

 

I literally did not see this coming. There were no warning signs. Red flags of the coworker's behavior, but no warning signs I would be fired like i was. About 80% of the job is handling the UPS/USPS mail for the office (think, mail room worker who also answers phones and transfers calls, that's what I did).

 

The mail room is located behind the front desk but you can't see into the mail room from the front desk at all. Many times over the past two weeks, the gal who trained me, would come out of the mail room with pieces of mail, and claim that I didn't put mail in the correct box, or that I sent mail out to the wrong offices. She literally could just have taken the mail out of the mailboxes and claimed I put them in the wrong mailbox -- it's not rocket science.

 

Another issue is this mid-size company changed their switchboard to reroute their detached offices to the office where I worked, yet there were a ton of phone number porting issues so clients would complain to the detached office front desk coordinators about being rerouted all over the place. Say they'd call the phone number for the Omaha office, yet they'd get MY office instead b/c of the switchboard change. I'd have to transfer them back to the Omaha office and give them the new direct phone number. Now, did I design this switchboard? No,I just answered and rerouted phone calls and used a contact list of all the employees names and numbers as my only resource.

 

What i think happened, is that the previous front desk coordinator didn't like me, and decided she would undermine me by making claims that I wasn't doing their mail correctly, which just wasn't true at all. Anyone can take mail out of those mail boxes as they are not locked, and put them in other mail boxes and claim "hey you didn't distribute this mail correctly."

 

Anyway, the recruiter who hired me there also fired me claiming that their office is without any drama. Now, anytime someone has to say outloud they don't do drama, that actually means the opposite, THEY DO DRAMA.

 

I'm pretty upset b/c I just found an apartment and put a deposit down on it etc. but now I have to back out of that, since I don't have a job anymore. It would be foolish for me to move in without a job and risk being evicted. An eviction on my rental record means I would not be able to rent anywhere, esp. since I don't have the greatest credit either what with student loans and some late payment history on my credit file.

 

I tried to get the recruiter on my side, asking her to reconsider firing me and letting me continue to improve (although knowing I wasn't making the errors the gal who trained me claimed that i was). But she refused and told me "you're just not a good fit here."

 

The roommate I have now owns the house I'm renting a room in. I plan to ask her today if I can extend my stay another month, but she's severely depressed and not working herself, so I don't know if she'd agree. She obviously needs my rent checks or she wouldn't have sought out a roommate. But I'm nervous to ask her b/c when I came home today after being fired, we got into an argument about why she still hasn't cashed my rent checks from the past 4 months if she is really in need of money.

 

Has anyone ever held a position where your coworker was sabotaging or undermining you to the point where it caused you to lose your job unexpectedly?

 

I am going to the county office later today to file for unemployment but that process takes about 2 months to complete before I'd even be considered for unemployment benefits. So, finding a place to stay for the next 2 months is at the top of my list. My cousin in another state offered to let me stay with her, but that would mean using up what's left of my money to pay for an airline ticket and pay her rent, not knowing if I'd be able to find a temp job there etc. right away before all of my money runs out.

 

The worst part is that I still owe money on my car and I don't want to just leave it behind, if i did go stay with my cousin out of state. And I don't want to default on my car loan either as that is nearly impossible to recover from financially. Then there is grad school. I nearly had to drop out this summer while transitioning my mother into a nursing home. I wasn't sleeping b/c my mother was 'sundowning' every night/day and falling so I was constantly awake and not sleeping. I was given a medical leave and told that if I didn't pass the course I'm enrolled in now, I'd lose my financial aid and get kicked out of my grad program. I emailed my professor and the grad program director and told them what is happening to me (for the 2nd time in 4 months). I am reeling from all of this upheaval.

[schlumpy]

I suspect that you were going to be fired regardless but they had to give you some time and come up with a plausible reason. You won't win a reprieve because it appears that everyone is on board. So sorry about the situation.

 

I remember when I was going to college. Our finances were cut to the bone. Our big monthly outing was pizza night. We even argued about whether to install a phone and at that time the cost was about 15 dollars month.

 

I think you should think about the same strategy until you can get yourself to point where the dollars in equal the dollars out. I know this is a step back in your life and you will view it with reluctance but I'm assuming (from what little I read in your posts) that you have a strong independent streak.

 

Can you sell your car and use public transportation? I know that sounds radical but would you rather sell it or have repossessed? What else can you sell that you can do without for a quick cash infusion?

 

Look for two part time jobs that you can work until things are better.

 

Find out if you can delay your graduate studies at some point without disrupting your grant money. Medical should be a good reason. Things like this must have happened to others in the past.

 

A personal loan might solve your problem if you can get it.

 

You need to live in a box for awhile. For a period of time your life is going to suck more then it does now.

 

Hunker down and weather the storm.

[alphamale]

sounds like the perfect storm watercolours. chin up, everything will work itself out over time. good luck

[Mr. Lucky]

What i think happened, is that the previous front desk coordinator didn't like me, and decided she would undermine me by making claims that I wasn't doing their mail correctly, which just wasn't true at all. Anyone can take mail out of those mail boxes as they are not locked, and put them in other mail boxes and claim "hey you didn't distribute this mail correctly."

 

Watercolors, I'll gently suggest this sounds a little paranoid. Even if she didn't 'like' you, how does that extend to trying to actively get you fired?

 

The danger to your approach is that it excludes any examination on your part as to how you might have affected this outcome. Given the cost involved today in just pushing newhire paperwork through the system, no company terminates someone after 5 weeks unless, in their mind, it's justified. You'd benefit from taking a step back as you consider the entire experience.

 

Sounds like you've got a lot on your plate. I like Schlumpy's idea of a couple of part-time jobs, that may give you the flexibility to buy some time to work things out. Hope your situation improves...

 

Mr. Lucky

[Rayce]

<<<hugs>>> I lost a job in June after just 3 weeks because they didn't like me so I understand how upset you are. I posted my own thread about it at that time. You have a right to be upset but unfortunately their is nothing to be done other than put it behind you and move forward. Wishing you success for finding something even better.

[ajequals]

I would just get a job anywhere to hold you over while your looking for a new job. try not to use unemployment.

[preraph]

I had a real bad situation in a great job where I'd been for 7 years when it started and continued for 3, and the girl doing it was new. Her boss would tell her to do something for me and then nothing would happen after that, and then she would just tell the boss I never gave her the work. He liked her because she was one of those vipers who sucks up to the male bosses. And then she would try to climb over the women. It was awful. It got to where I took a witness anytime I had to give her anything. Manypeople complained about her but the bosses liked her because she sucked up to them and flattered them. In the end, I went to the owner and got it kind of shut down, but the damage was already done. Two guys over me mad at me for shutting it down, so it ultimately led to me losing my job over a manufactured reason.

 

I had a lot invested in that job, lots of years, or I might have walked away.

I advise you only have 5 months and you know the atmosphere there is against you, so you need to walk away and find a new job. Do not prolong your own misery. She will win because she has been there longer.

[Art_Critic]

That sucks, but at least you know that you wouldn't have liked it there anyhow.. who wants to work someplace they aren't liked..

 

 

BTW, unemployment benefits won't be available for this job as you didn't work 6months but if in your old job before this one you were let go you can claim on that job.

[introverted1]

Hi OP. Is there more to this story than you've shared? I guess I don't quite understand why the person who had the job before you and has now been promoted -- step up for her -- would dislike you so much that she would spend time misfiling mail you'd previously sorted. If anything, it would seem that getting you fired would work against her, since shell probably have to fill in until they can find someone else.

 

 

I agree with the suggestions to mitigate your financial situation as much as possible.

 

 

It's not clear whether you completed your graduate program? If so, and even if not, assuming you have an undergrad degree, surely you are qualified for something more than being a receptionist/mail handler?

 

 

 

Wishing you the best in getting another job quickly!

[preraph]

There's one in every office who tried to sabotage people. They're threatened.

[Mr. Lucky]

There's one in every office who tried to sabotage people.

 

Certainly an exaggeration. There are 100 people in the workplace who self-sabotage for every rogue employee running around trying to get other people fired...

 

Mr. Lucky

[Foxhall]

Sorry to hear that Watercolours,

 

ah wel it is likely to be a blessing in disguise,

 

perhaps take a little time out to evaluate what your best suited to and to what area you would like to work in,

 

no panic other opportunities will arise,

[gaius]

I figured you were going to get canned after you actually pulled the COO of the company to the side and wasted a whole bunch of his time filling him in on the details of the conflict between you and your predecessor. You don't think he has better things to do? The only thing surprising is that it took this long.

 

Next time you get a job, if it's boring then sit there, stare at the wall and be happy you're getting paid to do not a whole lot. If you get accused of putting mail in the wrong box, smile, apologize, and double/triple check your work next time. Get along with people. And if it's really that horrible then find another job. But until you do, reread this paragraph.

[alphamale]

gaius that's the best advice I've heard of in ages

[preraph]

Certainly an exaggeration. There are 100 people in the workplace who self-sabotage for every rogue employee running around trying to get other people fired...

 

Mr. Lucky

 

Speaking from my own experience.

[Watercolors]

I suspect that you were going to be fired regardless but they had to give you some time and come up with a plausible reason. You won't win a reprieve because it appears that everyone is on board. So sorry about the situation.

 

I remember when I was going to college. Our finances were cut to the bone. Our big monthly outing was pizza night. We even argued about whether to install a phone and at that time the cost was about 15 dollars month.

 

I think you should think about the same strategy until you can get yourself to point where the dollars in equal the dollars out. I know this is a step back in your life and you will view it with reluctance but I'm assuming (from what little I read in your posts) that you have a strong independent streak.

 

Can you sell your car and use public transportation? I know that sounds radical but would you rather sell it or have repossessed? What else can you sell that you can do without for a quick cash infusion?

 

Look for two part time jobs that you can work until things are better.

 

Find out if you can delay your graduate studies at some point without disrupting your grant money. Medical should be a good reason. Things like this must have happened to others in the past.

 

A personal loan might solve your problem if you can get it.

 

You need to live in a box for awhile. For a period of time your life is going to suck more then it does now.

 

Hunker down and weather the storm.

 

Schlumpy thanks for sharing your strategy for surviving tough times. I've tried the two-job thing before but I have asthma and find that if I'm running around more than a few hours in a retail environment or restaurant environment, even if i use my inhaler, it really does a number on my breathing.

 

I can try to sell my car but someone will need to agree to payoff my car loan which is more than the Kelley Blue Book value. So, slim chance that I could, but I will look into that. I don't mind taking the bus.

 

I do have a strong independent streak but that's because when I reach out to family for help, they hold their arms out and reject me. So, I have to be resourceful. I have no other choice if my own blood won't let me sleep on a spare bed in their home.

 

When I was taking care of my mother I had to take a medical leave from my summer term course and now the penalty is, if i drop this course i"m enrolled in now, I'll lose my financial aid award and be kicked out of my program. So, I have to pass this course. I was transparent with my professor and she's willing to let me turn in my papers late without any penalty so that i won't lose my financial aid award.

 

I spoke with my roommate's sister and it was agreed I could rent for another month, so I have 6 more weeks of stable housing. That gives me a better chance now, to hustle to find a permanent job or at least a long-term temp job beyond 6 weeks, that would give me the stable income to pursue another roommate situation. I think I will avoid renting an apartment until I have a permanent job. I think roommates may be a better route. Don't you?

 

sounds like the perfect storm watercolours. chin up, everything will work itself out over time. good luck

 

Thanks alphamale. I hope it all works out.

 

<<<hugs>>> I lost a job in June after just 3 weeks because they didn't like me so I understand how upset you are. I posted my own thread about it at that time. You have a right to be upset but unfortunately their is nothing to be done other than put it behind you and move forward. Wishing you success for finding something even better.

 

Thanks Rayce. I'm sorry to hear you went through something the same as me, in June this year. I hate the fact that personality differences can be the reason an employer fires an employee. My state is a 'fire at will' state. So, employers can fire you here without a legit reason and they won't get into trouble for discrimination.

 

I will try to put it behind me and move forward. I have to move forward. I only have 6 weeks of housing left where I'm at now. I hope my roommate doesn't change her mind about letting me stay through November.

 

I would just get a job anywhere to hold you over while your looking for a new job. try not to use unemployment.

 

That's what Im trying to do ajequals. Find a temp job. I don't qualify for unemployment now. They review the past year and my previous temp jobs disqualify me for unemployment bc they are not permanent jobs. So, this 5 week real job, still doesn't qualify me unfortunately for unemployment. Oh well. What can I do? You know? I could appeal it but that won't really change the state laws here for what qualifies for unemployment benefits.

 

I had a real bad situation in a great job where I'd been for 7 years when it started and continued for 3, and the girl doing it was new. Her boss would tell her to do something for me and then nothing would happen after that, and then she would just tell the boss I never gave her the work. He liked her because she was one of those vipers who sucks up to the male bosses.

 

And then she would try to climb over the women. It was awful.

It got to where I took a witness anytime I had to give her anything. Many people complained about her but the bosses liked her because she sucked up to them and flattered them. In the end, I went to the owner and got it kind of shut down, but the damage was already done. Two guys over me mad at me for shutting it down, so it ultimately led to me losing my job over a manufactured reason.

 

I had a lot invested in that job, lots of years, or I might have walked away.

I advise you only have 5 months and you know the atmosphere there is against you, so you need to walk away and find a new job. Do not prolong your own misery. She will win because she has been there longer.

 

Wow that sounds just terrible, preraph. Just terrible what you were put through with that coworker. It is total proof that coworkers do and can successfully sabotage and undermine coworkers to get them fired. Sometimes it's subtle, sometimes it's blatant.

 

Sorry that you still lost your job because of those two jerks who manufactured a lie about your work performance. But it happens, unfortunately. Like this coworker pulling mail out and pretending I didn't put it in the correct mailboxes. I mean, so blatant she was lying! There are labels on each mailbox and mailing labels inside each mailbox.

 

So no way did I send the mail to the wrong detached offices. No way. I triple checked every time and did it methodically. No way did I effe up the mail system there. She definitely manufactured the lie that I wasn't doing the mail correctly. I mean, there are books, articles and even podcasts about coworker sabotage, because it is a real thing. Not an imagined slight.

 

That sucks, but at least you know that you wouldn't have liked it there anyhow.. who wants to work someplace they aren't liked..

 

BTW, unemployment benefits won't be available for this job as you didn't work 6months but if in your old job before this one you were let go you can claim on that job.

 

Thanks Art Critic. I agree. Why would I want to be there esp. knowing those two women didn't like me at all. And you're correct. I read on my state's unemployment website that I don't qualify so its a non-issue now.

 

There's one in every office who tried to sabotage people. They're threatened.

 

Yes, I agree with you 100%! There is always someone in every office who is out to sabotage and undermine someone they feel jealous of, or threatened by, or competitive with. A myriad of reasons, some reasonable, most unreasonable.

 

Sorry to hear that Watercolours,

 

ah wel it is likely to be a blessing in disguise,

 

perhaps take a little time out to evaluate what your best suited to and to what area you would like to work in,

 

no panic other opportunities will arise,

 

Thanks so much Foxhall. I'd move to Ireland b/c of my dual citizenship there for work. But I'd have to have a year's saved income to qualify even to move there, according to a blog I read. Oh well. I would love to work in Ireland. Even if its Cork or outside of Dublin or whatever.

 

I hope this is a blessing in disguise and not just a pattern I repeat b/c I am too afraid to pursue something different, that better suits me. I don't even know what that would look like. I've read that book "What Color is Your Parachute" but it didn't really help me. I need to creatively problem solve this, so that i can produce a better outcome for myself. But where do I start? How do I start? What does that even look like?

[MsJayne]

Sorry to hear about your situation. You're articulate, intelligent, and you want to work...you'll find another job soon. Those are probably also the reasons you weren't a "good fit", because, in other words, someone feels threatened by you or they don't like the way you stir your coffee. And you are spot on correct about the "we don't do drama" people....I've always found that people who say they hate drama are often the type who cause it because they treat other people with disregard....as these people have done to you.

The home situation, your roommate not cashing your rent cheques, what's she hiding? Does she not want the money going through her bank account for some reason?

[Watercolors]

Sorry to hear about your situation. You're articulate, intelligent, and you want to work...you'll find another job soon. Those are probably also the reasons you weren't a "good fit", because, in other words, someone feels threatened by you or they don't like the way you stir your coffee. And you are spot on correct about the "we don't do drama" people....I've always found that people who say they hate drama are often the type who cause it because they treat other people with disregard....as these people have done to you.

 

The home situation, your roommate not cashing your rent cheques, what's she hiding? Does she not want the money going through her bank account for some reason?

 

Hi MsJayne! Thank you for those kind words!! I agree. I must have threatened that young 25 year old (I'm 48) whose job I took b/c of her promotion, b/c the Compliance team was ready to have me on their team by week 3 of the job, helping them and the chief operating officer (the recruiter) REFUSED stating that I was not ready yet (yeah, I was ready b/c I was going to proofread forms and cross reference them on an Excel sheet, but she wouldn't let me). So you're spot on.

 

And everytime someone tells me they're not into drama, I find that they are the ones who create it because they need it to justify their bad behavior. So I agree with you 100%!!! Those people are real hypocrites!

 

Well you are very intuitive. My roommate's ex-husband has been needling her to release funds from her checking account for child support which she refuses to do.

 

She's actually hiding stocks from him, that she's had for more than 20 years that have accrued a TON of interest (she complains about this from her closed door bedroom on her cellphone with her accountant and her walls in her house are thin). So I think you are right.

 

At the beginning of renting from her, she told me "I'm not destitute but I need someone to cat sit for me this summer while I go on a bunch of trips." Well, she went on one trip in July but then hasn't left her bedroom since she returned. So I don't know what triggered her agoraphobia.

 

But yeah, I think she's hiding her funds and if she deposits my rent checks, that probably triggers something that notifies her ex-husband somehow. Who knows.

 

But I do find it highly suspicious. I even asked her, "If you're not going to deposit my rent checks, can I have that money back now that i was fired?" She shouted "No! I need that money!" Um, really? You do? Then why are my rent checks sitting on your front landing in your piles of mail?!?!

[CautiouslyOptimistic]

 

I hope this is a blessing in disguise and not just a pattern I repeat b/c I am too afraid to pursue something different, that better suits me. I don't even know what that would look like. I've read that book "What Color is Your Parachute" but it didn't really help me. I need to creatively problem solve this, so that i can produce a better outcome for myself. But where do I start? How do I start? What does that even look like?

 

Sorry this happened . But, to be honest, by the way you write you sound way overqualified for that job anyway! You will find something better!

[Watercolors]

Sorry this happened . But, to be honest, by the way you write you sound way overqualified for that job anyway! You will find something better!

 

Thanks CautiouslyOptimistic! I probably was overqualified for the receptionist aka front desk coordinator job there but I was so desperate to find a job -- ANY job that I took it once it was offered.

 

I took that job because I thought, I need financial stability from a job - don't we all? I thought, well, I'll be one of those people who works a job she's bored with, but uses the money to pay rent and bills, and pursue my passions and hobbies with. I was never one of those lucky few, who makes money off of my hobbies. Like, those people who move to the Bahamas and become wealthy real estate moguls, or whatever.

 

I hope I can find something in a company where I'm not punished for being "me" per se, but given job responsibilities that allow me to showcase my skills and abilities that help the company and fulfill me professionally. I don't know what that kind of work even looks like. I thought I did before. I tried several career paths already that led nowhere. I feel like a hamster running on the same wheel.

 

What is my purpose? How do I find it? Why is it eluding me? What am I not doing that is blocking me from my true path in the workforce (other than apparently rub people the wrong way that gets me fired).