Kareer Kandor with Kathy: I Don’t Want to Work for IBM

by Kathy Seaton

Time for a new segment in my weekly blog. We’ve taken some emails from our readers and wanted to respond with some suggestions. Not to bring you down or anything, but today we will be covering Corporate Take-Over, Clock Watching, and Inadequacy. Fun stuff.

Craig: “My company just got bought by IBM and I don’t want to work for IBM. What’s my next career move.”

Hey man, I don’t want to work for IBM either. In fact, by Wednesdays I don’t want to work at all. But we don’t have that choice if we want a roof over our heads.

Your facing what I call a “Kill Bill” moment, when you find yourself getting impaled by a Hattori Hanzo Kantana sword. It’s probably time for you to read the writing on Black Mamba’s wagon, if you know what I mean—haha. If you just play the waiting game, you might find yourself with a cup of coffee and a pink slip in hand—a heinous way to start your day.

So, get going on that resume. It’s an arduous task, but start quickly by listing all of your accomplishments, which is way more important to highlight than the mindless tasks you do all day. Need help compiling a list? We usually enlist a Budweiser to help us. If bud or two doesn’t do the job, we’ve found that Sam (Adams) will do just as well in a pinch.

Figure out whom you can count on for a good reference and call them immediately. By reaching out you might also find a job opportunity right under your thumb.

Once your done with the resume, you need to write a kick ass cover letter. This is your time to brag about yourself, even if you have to bend the truth a bit.

Viola, you’re on way to better horizons.

Mike: “I’m so bored at work that I can’t see straight. I spend the majority of my day watching any and every clock in sight. I don’t know what to do next. I’m being euthanized by my work. Help me.”

Tick tock Mike. If the most important thing that you’re doing today is watching the clock, liking Facebook posts, or ordering teacups from amazon.com, then you certainly need a change. Just like Craig above, get that resume together.

But, you might want to go hunt down your supervisor and tell him/her that you’re ready for a new challenge. I had a colleague do the same. He asked his supervisor to mentor him and asked to be moved onto a new product line. Not only did he love the new challenge, he was able to lead a change in the group, met a whole new group of peers, and found it to be very rewarding.

Stop clock-watching Mike and man up.

Kerry: “I’m so sick of my boss marginalizing my contribution. I’m totally dejected and want to barf on my way to work because I hate it so much. What can I do about my demon boss?”

Oh sugar Kerry. This sounds like the typical man vs. woman contest. There’s no reason to ever feel inadequate at work. Just like Mike above, I think that you should start with your supervisor and try to ascertain why you’re being treated like the village idiot.

Take his input, act on it, and see what happens. You would be surprised how easily it is to turn the tables on a man. Us ladies do it all of the time in our personal lives and the same principles apply at work.

If you don’t see any change, I think that you need to visit your HR representative for direction. That might be a severe move, but HR has a lot of pull and you might find that your relationship with your Ogre of a boss will be changed, immediately.

Just make sure that you remain calm, and appropriate with the discussion. No name calling, throwing him under the boss, etc. Remember what Ron Burgundy said, “Keep it Classy San Diego.”

Well, that’s it for this month’s Q&A. Have a question or comment? Lay them on us in the comments below.