STYLETHREAD -- LET'S TALK SHOP!

kenzie · Chanel

I'm so annoyed right now!

carmenb513 · Coach

I hope your day gets better.I don't have any interns at my job but nothing pisses me off more than when a subordinate (for lack of a better term) asks me why or gives me 50 million reasons why they can't do what I've ask.Dammit it's because I said so! I never take that tone but I always wondered why people question authority when it comes doing to simple tasks!

nunzi182 · Kate Spade

You poor thing. I've been a receptionist before (in fact I just got a new job a couple of months ago where I'm not one) and I feel your pain. I had to ask permision TO GO TO THE BATHROOM. If that's not like highschool I don't know what is. Especially on those days when I drank a ton of water and REALLY had to go -- people must have thought I had a medical condition. It's just embarrassing. I hate when companies get so bent out of shape if you have to leave your desk for a minute...whoever is calling will call back...

It used to make me so mad...but you know what...everyone is human so everyone has to use the bathroom and everyone has to eat. One time I got so much flak for leaving my desk (I worked at car dealership - ew) and the General Manager screamed at me for leaving my post to go to the bathroom. Mind you, I had it on what they called "Night Ring" where it rings everywhere and anyone can pick it up. In response to the GM's anger I said, "Next time I have to go to the the bathroom, I'll piss right here in your office and see how you like it." A little vulgar, yes, but it got the point across.

As for lunch, I always had to eat at my desk...which is also embarrassing. Don't worry, you're not just PMSing, I bet a lot of receptionists feel the same way.

kenzie · Chanel

nunzi182 wrote:

Don't worry, you're not just PMSing, I bet a lot of receptionists feel the same way.

Oh, that sucks about asking permission to go to the bathroom!! I haven't had to do that since grade school. Did they make you sign out and give you a hall pass, too? That's such crap!

I really need to find something in my field (or at least something that doesn't make me want to cry everyday). I just don't understand why I'm having such a crap time! I'm smart, talented, creative, ect and I just don't get it. Sorry, I'm having my own little pity party here.

nunzi182 · Kate Spade

I'm really in the same boat Nylabelle. I am in an administrative assistant position, which is NOT what I went to school for and I feel like my degree is going to a complete waste. I've just recently started looking for a job in my career (Graphic Design) because the market for it is getting so much better.

Just never give up searching because I would apply to like 30 jobs a day and finally I hooked one. You just have to hit the market luckily....just like stock, or something.

Cheer up though, it does get better!

Christine · Coach

Sorry to hear that you're having a rotten day....one of the interns at my company also has a terrible attitude and feels that he knows more than any one of us, so I know how you feel!

Just try to think about the graphic design and studio art classes you were mentioning and how excited you are for them!

kenzie · Chanel

nunzi182 wrote:

I'm really in the same boat Nylabelle. I am in an administrative assistant position, which is NOT what I went to school for and I feel like my degree is going to a complete waste. I've just recently started looking for a job in my career (Graphic Design) because the market for it is getting so much better. Just never give up searching because I would apply to like 30 jobs a day and finally I hooked one. You just have to hit the market luckily....just like stock, or something. Cheer up though, it does get better!

I'm planning to go back to school for graphic design and studio art as well. It's what I would really like to do (in conjunction with writing). Hopefully, I'll be able to make it through school without going bonkers.

blubirde · Chanel

Ick - I feel your pain, although kind of in reverse. I used to work for a law firm in undergrad and I had to man the phones when the receptionist went on breaks and lunch and what have you. (I would never have thought to say no!) But she would take like 3 hour lunches and I had a lot of work to do on my own and I didn't want to be a tattle. So I would always end up staying late to finish stuff. I finally told and she got fired - not because of me.

Moral of the story - being tied to a receptionist desk to answer phones sucks! Don't worry, it'll get better eventually. And I don't know about you but when I realize I have pms, I feel immediately better. It's like I realize I'm not actually as depressed as I feel, it's just hormones having their way with me. Weird, I know but it works for me.

Kari · Dooney & Bourke

I could NEVER imagine telling any full-time employee "NO" to almost any request as an intern. I am wondering how old they are? I am still young, but it seems as if some of the younger interns around here do have a sense of "better-than-thou" attitude. I don't mean to offend any young people here, I am not saying ALL of them.

kenzie · Chanel

Kari wrote:

I could NEVER imagine telling any full-time employee "NO" to almost any request as an intern. I am wondering how old they are? I am still young, but it seems as if some of the younger interns around here do have a sense of "better-than-thou" attitude. I don't mean to offend any young people here, I am not saying ALL of them.

One of the interns is 19, the other is 21 or 22. Either way, they are interns and I would never have thought to behave like that as an intern!!!

TheLovelyLady71 · Hermes

Sorry to hear about your bad day, NYLA. I've been a recep. before also, HATED it, was glad when another pos. came along. BUT for an INTER to tell you NO, I'm too busy, I'd have to take it to a higher-up, I mean, they are ONLY INTERNS, and only there for a certain amount of time.....

bumblebee · Coach

i had many internships when i was in college, and would not have dreamed of ever saying "no" to a request from a higher-up. BUT, i think that it may be a function of your interns believing their school's hype about internships. here's my theory:

there's a necessary fiction that companies create (and universities perpetuate) around the concept of internships so that they can entice bright/young/naive college students into doing their company's most menial tasks for free, under the guise of "you'll be learning so much!" everyone who works at a company has the attitude that the interns are the lowest of the low and only there to be given the stuff that the regular employees can't get to, with the understanding that if they are smart they will absorb as much as they can about that particular industry and maybe make some contacts. a lot of interns (i have found) believe what their university will tell them about internships--that they are there to observe and learn, that they are special and the company is there to provide them with a valuable learning experience, as opposed to the other way around.

and so it goes round and round and college students sign up for internships, expecting that they are going to learn a lot and remain detached from the dirty work of making copies and delivering lunches, etc. until they get there and catch on that the company has a different idea of their function. some companies have full intern programs and are great with teaching interns things, but the vast majority, i have found, do not.

kenzie · Chanel

bumblebee wrote:

and so it goes round and round and college students sign up for internships, expecting that they are going to learn a lot and remain detached from the dirty work of making copies and delivering lunches, etc. until they get there and catch on that the company has a different idea of their function. some companies have full intern programs and are great with teaching interns things, but the vast majority, i have found, do not.

When I was an intern, I was fortunate enough to snag a few internships where I actually did build my portfolio. I actually feel like I'm being treated worse than the interns here at this job. I'm the one who gets stuck delivering lunches and making copies, while the interns do work that I am trained to do. It really, really sucks. And then when they act like they're more important than me, that really pisses me off. It's like rubbing salt in the wound. I feel like, hey, I did my time in college and as an intern (and yes, I had to make copies and do stuff like that in addition to my regular internship stuff) so why should I be treated like crap from these interns. My self-esteem is already taking a beating b/c of my ongoing job problems, this is the last thing I need.

Lilykind · Hermes

*hugs* Nylabelle

I'm so sorry you have crappy interns! They should not be talkign to you like that at all! Age is not an excuse under any circumstances...I started interning at 16 and I never said no to my superiors. I never had any holier-than-thou crap going...honestly I think interns should consider themselves lucky! If I had a bunch of things to do I simply asked my boss which assignment would take precendent over the others. Usually I ended up covering lines over doing assignments, but the jobs got done eventually.

They're really really bad about phones here too. We got chewed out by the bosses and the company owners after one of the owners called and we didn't pick up. It was the busiest season of the year and the two assisstants and I (the intern at the time) were scrambling like crazy.

Andrea Julia · Coach

I agree with everyone, but something that is coming to mind is that maybe their bosses told them they didn't have to accept work from other people. A lot of the managers in my company are like that: if you want to give work to the assistant or intern, it has to come through them.

I'm so sorry your new job turned out like this. You should not be a receptionist. You are way too experienced. It is making me mad. How are these people who are still in school considered "above" you? I only hope that this position will open doors for you and make the crappy receptionist job worth your while.