Aimless ranting and complaining ahead. You’ve been warned.
I’ve been at my current job over four years and ready for the next chapter.
Pros:
I get to lead a small team of amazing people who I care for deeply.
We get a decent amount of autonomy.
It’s fully remote.
Cons:
Overt VP abuser in my department who’s been on less than a year and already had one person quit.
My team has been a steady fixture through a lot of attrition and changes and it’s been very hard on us.
After being managerless for almost a year, my new manager of almost two months hasn’t spent any time trying to get to know me or my team. Just throwing work at us with very little clarity or context.
Almost all the work we do is rushed and sloppy and we are frequently forced to drop what we’re doing to work on another rush job and this cycle has been going on all year.
Have never met my team in person despite my repeated requests for budget to do so. Obviously Covid time doesn’t count.
Department lead has engaged a myriad of agencies and everything is extremely messy and all over the place and no one knows their elbow from their ass.
Zero project management so most emails are basically “where can I find this?” Or “who does this?” Or “where is x?”? To be clear, I handle pm for my own team and we run a tight ship but the chaos everywhere is unsustainable.
I had really high hopes for my new manager but am thoroughly disappointed. I’m struggling to adapt to their style and we’re having a lot of miscommunication.
All the ways of working I’m used to are basically gone.
Mentally I’m checked out. I’ve been applying other places. But the thing is, I don’t want to be doing the same fucking thing somewhere else.
I keep getting rejection emails because I can’t bring myself to be a suckup so I submit applications with the bare minimum. As a designer I’m already having to keep a portfolio site which is a massive time suck. If someone can’t determine my fit based on my portfolio and my CV then it’s probably a dodged bullet for me. Having been on the other side and hiring, I don’t give a shit about glowy cover letters and the like. I hinge the choice squarely on quality of work and experience. Everything else is secondary.
Truth is I just want to do my own thing but I have a family to support so I have to sell my soul to the highest bidder. I don’t have the capital or support system to just break it off and take the risk.
Hell, I’ll even take working somewhere semi decent/ethical as long as I can make enough income.
Feeling jaded, cynical and exasperated.