To give you a bit of a background I’m a 28 year old male from Sydney, Australia. I apologise for what’s bound to be a large wall of text.
I never took up any tertiary study and have been working since I graduated high school. I’ve worked in several industries including retail, advertising, hospitality, sales and food manufacturing.
I went from role to role, never really finding something that really interested me and I always worked just a specific goal; whether it was just to have some cash, or travel, or when I was saving up for my wedding.
In August 2020 I found a job as an Account Manager for a biscuit manufacturer that was a 6 minute walk from my house. I went and interviewed for the position and was told throughout the interview what an interesting person I was and how I felt like the position was just made for me and I was coming into the company at just the right time.
The interviewer was the Ops Manager who worked under two owners – a man and his own mother. The company comprised of approx 30 individuals across sales, management, admin and bakery.
I made it clear that though I understand this position is a sales-driven role, ultimately I didn’t see myself in that sort of role for a long time and in fact I was trying to distance myself from similar roles. The interviewer assured me that she understood exactly where I was coming from and that there’s plenty of room for me to move in under her team (operations) in a year or so.
Thankfully I picked up the job very easily and I was excelling in it. By February 2021 there were talks of moving teams into Ops. Following on from this there were multiple team members across sales, admin and bakery who resigned from their roles so my moving teams was put on the back burner in favour of training any new hires that would come on board within the coming weeks. It was at this point that I started becoming very frustrated with the owner’s attitude towards me and most other staff members. We were treated as children who didn’t know anything and if we weren’t a step ahead of the owner at any given point (in the way that HE thinks) then we must be morons.
Fast forward to May 2021. All the new hires have been properly trained and are solidified in their respective roles. The person who interviewed me (Ops Manager) is reassuring me that the move is coming and in fact, the business’ budget for the coming financial year calls for me to be in the Ops team, not the sales team.
My daughter was born in July 2021 and I took two weeks off (as allowed under state law – as paternal leave) which was approved by management. After I return from leave I am told that things have had to shift a bit since I’ve not been there and they need me to take on more clients (sales). At the same time the Ops Manager is (what felt like) dangling a carrot in front of me by moving my desk to the Ops office but I’m still working 80% as an Account Manager and the rest of my time is spent doing busy work for her that she’s trying to mask as ‘ops experience’ – meanwhile what I’m actually doing is editing her excel spreadsheets.
By September 2021 my daughter is two months old and as parents, my wife and I felt as though we struggled at every point. On September 12th I had what I could only describe as a panic attack/breakdown feeling immense pressure both on the work front and as a new father as well. I told my wife that though I was well aware of my responsibilities, that I couldn’t bear the owner anymore and the Ops manager keeps relying on my kindness and loyalty to this ‘family run business’. My amazing wife told me that if I can’t do it anymore then I have her full support and I could leave whenever I wanted to.
I resigned on 15th October 2021 and my last day was 5th November 2021. I’ve now completed tertiary study in a field I’m interested in and will commence work in the next few weeks. I’ve never been happier.
My point is, never EVER settle for less than what you’re worth and never think it’s too late to ‘start again’.
I’m 28 years old with a wife and child and I’m starting fresh in a new industry (I will be working for myself). Though I’m nervous about this new journey, the fact that I’m a better husband and father and better person to be around makes it all 100% worth it.