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Post Info TOPIC: When it rains, it pours..... (work dilemma, long)
Karina


Chanel

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When it rains, it pours..... (work dilemma, long)
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I have been in my company for a little over a year and a half.  In October, I applied for an internal position and was hired.  In November, I started my new job.  My job responsibilities were supposed to be Merchandise Planner.  Instead - I was placed in the Forecasting group.  I was a little confused as to why that was, so I emailed my HR rep and she set up a meeting with me.  She explained to me that I was in Forecasting for a temporary 6 month basis to help out and also to learn Forecasting, and after that, I would be placed in a Planning position.  I was fine with that.


I spoke to my boss about this, who then spoke to my director, who told my boss, "No - Karina is hear permanently.  There is no 6 month deal.  This is where she is working."  Back I go to HR where I get the run around and bullshit corporate answers for about 3 months.  Finally, 2 weeks ago I met with HR again and she told me she would set me up with some interviews with Planning managers so I could try and get a chance at going into Planning again (Why I would have to do the same interview I did 4 months ago was beyond me, but I agreed to it). 


I met with 2 of the planning managers and they seemed very enthusiastic about getting me on board, and one of them even pulled me aside a few days ago and told me that she put in a good word for me and everything looks good.  Sound good right?  


Well yesterday, I am sitting at my desk, when the HR rep tells me to come with her, and we are going to speak to the VP of the department.  So I'm like, "Oh, cool.. maybe I got the job and I'm going to get an apology for being lied to all these months."


Wrong.


They sit me down and the VP asks me why I want to leave forecasting, she was under the impression I wanted to leave because of job security.  I told her yes and no.  I said I wanted to leave forecasting because I didn't want to be somewhere where I didn't apply to go and since I did not have a specific answer on if I was going to be kept in Forecasting or Planning, I was concerned about that.  (P.S. - None of these people know, from my mouth at least, that I'm pregnant).   


She continued to tell me that I did NOT get the planning spot, that the managers said I had a negative attitude and they felt that I was not ready to go into planning.  She said that I should have sold myself better at the interview, and since I didn't, I didn't get the job.  She said that what they were going to do was keep me in Forecasting for the next 3 months, and after the 3 months was up, they were going to see if I was ready to go into planning again.  She didn't even care that I was lied to or that the initial job was misrepresented to me, and was totally condescending.  I kept a stern and straight face the entire time, but my insides were boiling.


I left the meeting fuming.  I sent an email to the manager who "put in a good word for me" and thanked her for meeting with me anyway (don't want to burn any bridges).  She wrote back and said, "You're welcome.  It was really great meeting with you.  I haven't spoken to HR yet, I have been calling them for days now.  Good luck!"     


Wait a minute...... haven't spoken to HR yet?  


I wrote her back and said "Oh I spoke to HR already.  Thanks, though."    She came to my desk and said "What do you mean you spoke to HR?"  I told her, "Yes I spoke to HR and the VP and I didn't get the job."  She said, "Excuse me?!"  I told her exactly what they told me and she told me that *she didn't even speak with them, they had been blowing her off and not returning her calls*.  As a matter of fact, the VP stopped her in the cafeteria that same day and asked her briefly what she thought about me and if she thought I could do the job, and she said Absolutely.    She asked me if there was anything she could do or say about this, and I told her that I wasn't sure.. it seemed that the VP and HR had a personal agenda against me.  She told me that she was going to speak to the other manager about this and talk to her director. 


At this point, I don't know what to do .  I can't exactly look for work outside the company, I'm 23 weeks pregnant .. I don't know if I should get a lawyer... I don't know if I should go and speak to the VP's boss ... I don't know what to do.   This is why I'm writing this post, maybe someone can give me some advice.


Thanks.



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jah


Dooney & Bourke

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Is there someone else in HR you could speak with?  An HR manager perhaps? 


 



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Karina


Chanel

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quote:
Originally posted by: jah
"Is there someone else in HR you could speak with?  An HR manager perhaps?   "
The person I have been dealing with is an HR manager.

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ejc423


Coach

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I really have no advice--I suck at this kind of stuff.  I just wanted to give you big (((hugs))) cause it sounds like you are in a tough position.  Keep us updated. . .

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honey


Gucci

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aww hugs. i'm sorry you're going through this bs. i've definitely been there before. my honest advice would be to ride it out until you're on maternity leave, and then after you have the baby try and look for something else. you're smart and talented and don't deserve to be treated like garbage. i wouldn't go the lawyer route, just b/c employment issues are really hard to work out, and there is a strong chance of backlash. also based on what you said it doesn't exactly sound like you have an issue that can be worked out via the law. most employment issues relate to discrimination, and based on what you wrote it doesn't exactly sound like you're being discriminated against --- though if they know you're pregnant it could be a different story. hang in there. it will get better.

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halleybird


Hermes

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quote:
Originally posted by: honey
"aww hugs. i'm sorry you're going through this bs. i've definitely been there before. my honest advice would be to ride it out until you're on maternity leave, and then after you have the baby try and look for something else. you're smart and talented and don't deserve to be treated like garbage. i wouldn't go the lawyer route, just b/c employment issues are really hard to work out, and there is a strong chance of backlash. also based on what you said it doesn't exactly sound like you have an issue that can be worked out via the law. most employment issues relate to discrimination, and based on what you wrote it doesn't exactly sound like you're being discriminated against --- though if they know you're pregnant it could be a different story. hang in there. it will get better."

I hate quoting others' advice, but I think honey's right on.  I know it's hard, but PLEASE try to just put off any drastic action until after you have the baby, as all this stress isn't good for either of you. You have some good karma coming, I am sure



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Andrea Julia


Coach

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I keep trying to respond to this post because you have been such a help to me with my career problems.  I just totally don't know what to say except that I feel for you and that they have been really horrible and deceitful.  I'm surprised that HR has so much power at your company.  At my company, sometimes they are even the last to know when someone is interviewed or even hired.  Hopefully this woman who wants to hire you can work things out for you. 


I wonder why they are doing this?  Maybe you are so good at your current position that your boss doesn't want to lose you?  It just seems so ridiculous.  If there is a spot that you are qualified for and the person wants to hire you and you would be happier working in that dept, then why would HR hold you back when they are risking losing good talent?


I probably wouldn't go the lawyer route.  I think it is very hard to fight the big corporation unless you have several people who have the same problem.  They just have access to more money and resources than you.



-- Edited by Andrea Julia at 19:55, 2005-03-14

-- Edited by Andrea Julia at 19:55, 2005-03-14

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blink


Coach

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I have worked in a place where I got the corporate run around too, regarding internal transfers and working in a position that was changed from the original responsibilities.


This isn't going to be a popular statement but, in my experience it was the female managers and executives who were the weirdest and most dishonest about organizational changes.  I have found that men, while not always in my corner, were more often the superiors I could trust to give me the fair answers.


Do you think there is some competitiveness going on?  Besides your so called bad attitude, can you think of a reason they don't want you to move out of forecasting? 


As for advice, play nice and diplomatic.  Don't let the HR and the VP think that you were sneaking around and planting seeds of doubt (even though they have done worse to you).  The planning manager is in a better position to play politics.  I hope it works out for you.



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itsapinkthing


Coach

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Karina, do you have a wlf-contained HR department or is it corporate run?  Perhaps there are coprorate directives which created this whole delimma?  It seem quite unfortunate if you have a self-contained HR department.  However when you applied for the original opening in planning was it based on a job postin that you can refer to?

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Karina


Chanel

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quote:
Originally posted by: itsapinkthing
"Karina, do you have a wlf-contained HR department or is it corporate run?  Perhaps there are coprorate directives which created this whole delimma?  It seem quite unfortunate if you have a self-contained HR department.  However when you applied for the original opening in planning was it based on a job postin that you can refer to?"

Yes, our HR department is self-contained...


Yes, I do have the original opening job posting for planning and now it has been changed to say "Forecasting Analyst" because of all the noise I created (Supposedly the HR manager said she didn't know the difference between Planning and Forecasting and therefore placed me in Forecasting, since the job title was the same)



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Dizzy


Marc Jacobs

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This one sucks. I hate the "We'd love to do what we promised but we can't because you have such a bad attitude..." routine. So low.


Having said that, I would just play along, all the while makng contacts in planning, so that the next time something opens up over there, you're first in line. Oh, and unless this manager in planning is your mother's BEST friend since childhood, your godmother, and the one who would have had custody of you if you ever became an orphan - I don't think you can count on her to stick her neck out any more than she has. And she may have stuck it out too far already. If she doesn't know that, you probably don't want her on your side anyway. So I would tell this manager you're going to drop it because forecasting is a good opportunity... (blah, blah blah, just make up somethign that sounds like you're trying to build a skill set...) then focus on getting this manager and the HR rep in your corner. Kiss up. Thank them for their help. Buy them candles. Whatever. The HR rep probably doesn't like you right now, and that's not a good thing.


And if you're good at office politics, I would try to get some concessions out of these guys, too. It may be too late, since they're playing blatant hardball, but something along the lines of "I'm so happy you chose me to fill in this gap in forecasting. It's good that you know you can always count on me.. It's so flattering to be your go-to-girl... I was thinking my office needs new curtains, by the way, and there's this training seminar in hawaii that could really give me a base in forecasting..."


If you're going to be screwed, and it sucks but you are, you might as well use it as an opportunity to increase your reputation and soak the company a little. It's funny because that really is a bad attitude, but they'll never catch on or blame you for it.


As for being pregnant, that's actually really good. If I were you, I would start documenting some conversations at work. If a case can be made in any way that after they found out you were pregnant they treated you badly, demoted you, or, ahem, failed to deliver a promised promotion... well, it never hurts to be a few steps ahead when your company has already proved that you are on your own and have to watch your back... Good luck!


 


PS - you're the one in the situation, and you have a better grasp than I do, so if any of this doesn't feel right, stick with your gut. I'm just talking in generalities because I've seen similar situations. In my last job, it was common to hire a person to be the "star" reporter with a front page feature, tell them they'll spend all their time researching pulitzer-contention stories, then tell the poor sap "we don't think your work is quite up to par yet. You need to practice by doing the grunt work for a while. Once you've developed as a writer, we'll see..." The people who kicked and screamed just got a bad rep. The ones who smiled, dabbled in grunt work, made some friends, then started doing whatever they wanted always ended up fine. So smile, take some names and kick some ass, mama...



-- Edited by Dizzy at 18:39, 2005-03-15

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Karina


Chanel

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Girls (especially Dizzy) .. thank you so much for the advice and positive thoughts.


 


Dizzy, you are so right on - thank you soooo much for the great words!!! I feel much better now



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trixie


Kenneth Cole

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Karina, I'm so sorry to hear that you are still going through this bull.  It really is crappy what they are doing to you.  I agree with Dizzy, put on a brave face and try to get as many people in your corner as possible.  Especially if your company is being sold and you may or may not be losing your job (and I have to say, I feel you on this one, I'm going through this for the second time in a year with my company!), your best bet is to stick this out and maybe find a new job after your maternity leave.  Best of luck!


Also, for my own curiosity, what is the difference between a forecasting and planning analyst?  Your HR manager sounds like a real winner for not knowing the difference - I mean isn't that her job??



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