So confused please help!

[ginger25]

Hi everyone,

 

Not sure where to start. I left uni with an English degree, not having a clue what to do next. I "fell" into an admin job in local government, but after a while decided it wasn't for me, so went back to college and got a professional marketing qualification.

 

I've been in my first marketing role for nearly a year, working for a small, young company. However, I feel a bit in at the deep end, as they have done very little marketing in the past and I have had to start from scratch. I have done my best but at times feel that I am getting nowhere. I'm not trying to lay the blame with anyone else but the MD who is my boss gives me little direction, can be very unapproachable and is too busy to spend much time supporting me. I have ideas about what to do but get so bogged down I often don't know where to start! Also, his wife works with him and she can be rather patronising, possibly because I am the youngest in the office.

 

They have also given me other work to do until they find a new admin person, which I didn't mind at first, but I feel like I've done the whole admin thing and that's not what I want now.

 

I guess I know that I need to look for something else; I have realised I don't like working for a small company and I see a lot of things wrong with the way that they do things. But I feel like I haven't really achieved anything in terms of helping them to grow the business, and I don't just want to feel like I'm giving up.

 

I know that a lot of you will be thinking I should say something to the people at work about all of this, but I honestly feel that it would only make my life worse (i know of other people who have left due to ill feeling towards the boss & his wife). I worry about things a lot, am a perfectionist and feel that this is a reflection on me, although there are other factors involved.

 

I would appreciate any thoughts on this!

 

thanks for listening

[arwen]

Hey ginger,

 

Yes, in fact my first thought was that you should cautiously try to tell this to your bosses. First of all, you came from an admin job and didn't like it. I am with you there, lol, I just had one month of an admin job and it ended right there

 

So you wanted a career move, you were wise enough to get yourself educated for something you want, you see the flaws in a company that will WANT to grow (because in the end that is what companies do, grow, right?)

 

And now you are STILL doing admin, whilst being very frustrated with your knowledge how things could be improved marketing-wise for this company. It would be such a challenge to help this company grow!

 

So I think you have two options, to leave or tell the truth and ask for a possibility to do what you are hired for.

 

Maybe you should just look for another job anyway, just to see what is out there.

 

Ilse

[ShySoul]

ginger,

 

The most important thing about our jobs is that we are happy working there. If you find yourself getting more and more frustrated, its not good for you. You'll lose motivation and your work will suffer. You will feel down and it will probably affect other areas of your life as well.

 

Looking for another job would not be giving up. It would be going someplace where your skills can be better used. This company doesn't sound like it is open to suggestions or is a good fit for you. I would see what else is out there.

[ginger25]

Thanks for your advice both of you. Think I was having a particularly bad day yesterday! There are a couple of jobs that I'm interested in and I realise my loyalty to the company is a bit misplaced, sometimes u gotta look out for yourself!

[mgirl]

Yep, i am just beginning to realise that.

[ShySoul]

Good luck ginger and mgirl. Best of luck to you both.