So, I’m 35. Got a new role with a company that I start next week in the publishing/editorial sector. It’s a good company that is employee-owned with a profit share scheme (after the qualifying period) and many other benefits. Oh, and it’s 100% remote contractually speaking – the only thing that would have coaxed me out of my freelancing situation. Salary is the highest I've ever had and exactly what I asked.
The interview process was a little drawn out, an initial talk with HR, an interview with department members, a competency test, a presentation of the test that I had to run through with department leads, and finally a quick chat with the CEO. All remote, all fine – not met anyone physically yet and my laptop was shipped to me yesterday.
I am optimistic, but cautious. Anyone have any tips for this type of company?
If you are interested in a couple of notes on my experiences and advice I’ve got from throughout my working life I’ve listed a few below:
Jobs fresh out of college – I was a cook, I worked in a call center and did a few movie gigs and events (film graduate). It was difficult to make shit burgers for basically no money with a master's degree – but it was right after the ‘08 crash – I got my degree in December ‘09 – and it was all I could do.
It was chaotic in the kitchen and I got let go from a few gigs for no reason, some guy tried not to pay me and I took him to court and won, so that was nice. Other than that no major beef and the spirit of us, colleagues not bosses, all being in the same situation was positive.
No advice but I feel all the people here who share their experiences with this type of work – I could never do it as anything other than a side hustle. I worked writing articles for online magazines, primarily for free, during this time and that was my ‘real’ aim.
First ‘real’ job. I did an apprenticeship and was hired after failing to find relevant work for two years, alongside starting another degree to just do ‘something’ vaguely related to my field. This was the first time I noticed salary levels stagnating, did remote work, and experienced workplace bullying. I politely quit and did not respond years later when they asked for a website quote.
Doing work locally relevant to my passion was great, but the bullying was not – I and others would get yelled at occasionally with a ‘Hey if you can’t handle it…’ mentality and I was so young I regret not saying that I left purely because of this. All this company’s Glassdoor reviews mention this.
The advice here would be to stand up for yourself. I know some people can’t afford to tell someone to fuck off but I absolutely could and I didn’t. I also have all my digital assets from this role to use in my portfolio, which I think is an excellent tip.
Next job, big city corporate. Joined a nationwide company and commuted daily. The best workload I’ve ever had as it was so poorly run, I would browse Reddit a lot and it was fun being in the city – different people, different vibe, drinks in cool bars on a Friday. The worst thing was the commute and I almost got fired by a cost-cutting, cheapskate boss for a very minor mistake.
The work was okay and if I lived next door to the place I’d have stuck around. The company was a small business wrapped up as a corporation, the head guy called himself the ‘CEO’ and talked about shareholders but it was crap. Once they reigned in WFH I quit with a curtailed notice.
The knowledge from this stage is to look at the company structure wherever you are joining – you can look up records for free. Don’t bother commuting ever, it’s not worth it – this was around 2015/16 – so I’ll bet it’s more hellish now. Quit with no notice too, a manager rang in a panic and that was sweet.
My next role was in an international corporate. No commute, I walked in and could work remotely quite freely. Good benefits including bonuses and share allocation, we got acquired and each got a good payout, but this was a company that masked coercion in 'sensitivity' and 'team spirit'. They were pretty ‘woke’, not that I upset anyone, but that made the atmosphere quite tense.
Good, solid, high-quality work, but the disparity of the board/C-suite was significant and very obvious. Nice treats, trips and parties but I felt exploited and humiliated daily. They would say “You’re a rockstar” and some people swallowed that line happily. I quit with zero notice, citing coercion.
In the biggest companies, my biggest tip is to hold their feet to the fire. As I said, I felt forced to quit. They paid me off for the year (quit in September) and they were scared I’d sue. My main advice for this situation is to be as cynical, calculating and heartless as the largest companies are towards you.
Latest job was another small operation, similar setup to the first real job. I took the job in March of ‘20 when the pandemic hit and my freelancing seemed perilous. It was good, when nobody was in the office. I just kept myself to myself and once the lockdowns came I was barely there. I spent a long time away and this kept me insulated from the toxic work culture.
Loud swearing in the office, misogyny, casual threats of firing (they really thought they had leverage over me so it was funny) and other crap made me think, ‘screw this’ once they said we had to be in office 3 days a week. After this and a positi e review with no raise I quit, with notice.
For this situation I timed my quitting to perfection to fuck them, they begged me to stay an extra month, which I did for some more cash. Tips here, don’t join a small company unless you are maybe related to the owners or something as they exploit you and want ass kisses. Also, don't make friends.
Those are my stories, I love this sub. Thanks to everyone and my sympathies, empathies and other positivity towards you! Keep hustling and maybe we can all get a bit more fairness.