RE: Word to PowerPoint Conversion/Job advice (long)

Subject: RE: Word to PowerPoint Conversion/Job advice (long)
From: "M Rassmussen" <mrassmussen -at- hotmail -dot- com>
To: "TECHWR-L" <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- raycomm -dot- com>
Date: Wed, 22 Aug 2001 17:20:25




From: "Swallow, William" <WSwallow -at- courion -dot- com> wrote:

Mergers and acquisitions can be tough all around. I've been through a
couple, one ending in a better situation, one ending in a worse >situation (eventual disintegration of the company). No matter which >direction the acquisition goes, there'll be a lot of bumps and bruises >along the way.

It was just strange to interview with Company X and end up working for Company Y. Had I known, I may have hesitated because I've read some negative things about Company Y's work environment. Company X, on the other hand, was pretty cool.

Given that you are entry level, I think you might see a promotion to a
normal and eventual senior level. I don't know much about the defense
industry, but I'd think that progression within your job sphere should be
expected.

Well, as I've been learning, the defense industry isn't really a growth field. As Brian (I believe) pointed out on the list, the bosses tend to be exclusively ex-military, and they're incredibly stingy about raises and promotions (so I've heard), unless you're coming from the military. I've achieved some level of respect because my father is ex-military and a retired cop, but I don't know if that's going to translate into a raise greater than the 78 cents/hour over two years Brian said he received.

The fact that the project will be discontinued doesn't always directly
result in the loss of a job. They *may* move you laterally, given that you
have *company* experience.

At a teleconference, when we were discussing this possibility, my task leader shook his head and said, "Man, I hope that doesn't happen to you. That'll be really bad if it does."

I didn't take that as a sign to be optimistic.

This I've seen before, and though I disagree with how strict an >Internet policy can get, I see the company's point as well.

I see the point too, but at the other companies I've worked at, employees were treated like adults. If you want to look at Yahoo! News during your lunch hour or a break, fine, but even *that* is inappropriate here. I'd like to say that I'm so dedicated that I work non-stop from 8 - 5, but even I have downtimes where I don't think the world will end because I want to read the latest headlines.

But I've limited my Internet usage to sites that can be considered work-related, and I'm not going to argue with the company that the co-workers who sit around and yap for three hours are just as unproductive as the employee who spends 10 minutes reading about the latest in the Middle East. Damn it, I just want to be able to visit a site on PowerPoint tips without fear that it'll cost me my job.

>>>Ask me about the hand lotion incident. Please.
Asking. ;)


With the defense industry, everything is contracted. My division can't use the other division's goodies and vice versa. Well, one day, I noticed that the bottle of hand lotion in the women's bathroom was empty. So, being an observant person, I had noticed there was a huge bottle of the same lotion in the kitchen. Being a team player (wink, wink), I took the kitchen bottle and filled up the bathroom bottle.

As I walked out of the bathroom, there were five people staring at me with that "you flippin' moron" look. "What are you doing?" someone asked.

"Gosh, I was just filling up the empty hand lotion bottle in the bathroom." Envision a glint of light on my teeth, as I was so proud of myself for being considerate.

"You can't do that!" someone cried. "The housekeeping company has the contract to fill the bathroom dispensers! The kitchen one is *ours*!"

Well, excuse me. I've been tempted to buy a bottle of the hand lotion and carry it around to see what people say.

Only you can answer that question for your situation. We can provide insight
and our feelings, but when it comes right down to it, you need to determine
if the experience is worth it and if you could get that experience
elsewhere.

When I first started looking for a post-grad job, my relative lack of experience (this is only my second TW job) didn't seem to hurt because I had a strong portfolio, excellent references, and knowledge of and ability to learn various tools. But I know that a lot of companies want to see x-number of years of experience on a resume. I just don't know how the TW market is and what it values.

-Michelle


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