What to do (work related)

LegacyUser

hey,

Just started in a new job two weeks ago. its for a place i really want to work for, doing the job i want. After 6 years hard years of college i was so excited to the get the job here, turning down job offers in two other places. First half of the first week was fine, the usual induction stuff, however when it came to the end of the week, I was the only one left unassigned. Really felt lonely because of the 8 people who started at the same time, 6 went to the same client and the other went to another one, they already knew beforehand their destination, I was the only one left. Seeing as this was thursday evening I thought maybe it ll be sorted by Friday.

However on Friday morning I thought it would be better if I find out what to do, being new to employment (usual part time stuff before) and not knowing the practices or anyone in the organisation I try the HR people who gave the introduction speeches, they direct me to the person in charge of sending people out to the client sites. Here i was told the project that I was meant to go on has fallen through and they are waiting to see if something else comes up. Fair enough these things happen, I was told it something else will pop up in a day or so and just go and do the online learning courses. Grand I thought, getting paid to do nothing.

Anyhow later that day I meet the person in charge of the whole department, same person who interviewed me, asked me how i was getting on, tell him that i havent been assigned anywhere. They were very surprised at this and said that they would look into it. Very nice and approachable person.

However Monday and Tuesday go by (or should I say drag by) and still nothing, Ive done all the courses and at the moment finishing up my masters thesis. Sounds grand but I really want to be working. The days take so long to go by, and i like to think im a socialable person, bit shy when it comes to new introductions and enjoy talking to people but everyone here is busy, have their own friends etc..

Have been keeping in contact with the person who is in charge of sending out people but I dont want to p*ss them off by going over to them too much, and I met the manager again in passing and he said they are still looking at. But it is so hard to motivate myself to spend 2 hours on train each day, just to sit at a desk and look sorta busy.

It just seems to be a catalogue of things happening to me,
- no assigned job
- no written contract (still and i know this is big problem)
- no conseillor (everyone is meant to assigned one as well)
- the HR rep person is out of the office for the past two weeks.

Im beginning to think maybe this isnt the place for me, its soul-destroying and a little bit depressing just sitting here doing nothing. I know its only two weeks and in the scheme of things is not much time but these two weeks have felt like two months. And think another week of this might be too much to take and put me off working for them completely. If i was here 6 months and had a quiet time in between projects it would be grand at least Id know the company procedures but when new and left to the side, I dont know what to do.

Does anyone have any suggestions, and please be nice. Feeling a bit down, oh what the hell be nasty.

queencakes

I've been there my friend - pretending to be reading something when somebody passes, buying needless sh1te off ebay because so much time is spent looking at the internet, clock watching for coffee break, lunch and knock off time then getting up to do the same thing the following day. It's soul destroying.

It must feel isolating to be the only newbie not assigned a project. Not personal I am sure just a crap start to a new job that you were probably really excited about.
The only thing I could suggest is asking some of your colleagues to give you some work to do in the interim period. At least it will occupy some of your time so the days aren't too long. Try not to get too miserable about it - it could all of changed by next week!

tbh

don't worry - it happens in our place all the time. Someone starts - I can't give them anything to do just yet because they don't have the skills yet - so I need to just get this done and then I'll assign - bugger, new email - must quickly respond. You get the drift. They probably feel bad that you havn't anything to do, but if you're not there long, don't worry just yet.

Knockoff Nige

I'd say be careful about how entuhsiatic you are in just getting to do some work. You may end up doing stuff thats not directly part of your job and take you off into another tangent. Employers/co workers can be bullies like this and shape your career for you instead of you doing it.

Fysh

This may not be a possibility depending on your employer, but if you've already gone through the online training courses they offer, ask if you can be set up to shadow one of the clients that have been assigned to the other newbies. Even if you don't stick with it long-term, it would give you some exposure to how the job works and also give you a chance to get to know other people who are also new to the company.

If that's not possible, do some digging to find out if there are any industry-wide certifications you can study towards (the likes of an MCSE for IT folks, for example) and check if your employer would be happy for you to work towards that while they wait for some "proper" work to come in for you. Better than spending all your time and money on eBay at least...

LegacyUser

yep i know the feeling.
Im bascially the same, out of college, spent al ittle time travelling but settling down for life and all.
we did 3 weeks training in South Africa(nice!), then when we got back every1 was bascially assigned by the end of the week, i was in a client site on the 2nd day.
that last 3 weeks. but the client didnt keep me on. so back on the bench now... and ive just finished my 3rd week at it! doing nothing !
you could spend an entire day sending messages to everyone on your bebo site(i could only handle half of them).

Best thing to do, it sounds like your in a consultancy type job, is to network. keep in contact with as many people as you can. Find out who the best people to talk to and if there is any work that anyone is putting off. jump in and help out. Let people know who u are now before you get placed and dont have the time to.
Im already a coordinator in a SIG we have... and i have never even worked in the field !

samhail

togster

You really need to chill out. Its only been 2 weeks. These things happen. I've been there too but never contemplated quitting because i didn't get my way. Hold on, be positive and it will work out.

samhail

yep i know the feeling.
Im bascially the same, out of college, spent al ittle time travelling but settling down for life and all.
we did 3 weeks training in South Africa(nice!), then when we got back every1 was bascially assigned by the end of the week, i was in a client site on the 2nd day.
that last 3 weeks. but the client didnt keep me on. so back on the bench now... and ive just finished my 3rd week at it! doing nothing !
you could spend an entire day sending messages to everyone on your bebo site(i could only handle half of them).

Best thing to do, it sounds like your in a consultancy type job, is to network. keep in contact with as many people as you can. Find out who the best people to talk to and if there is any work that anyone is putting off. jump in and help out. Let people know who u are now before you get placed and dont have the time to.
Im already a coordinator in a SIG we have... and i have never even worked in the field !

someothername

not trying to be a smart @rse here but ur straight out of college. so you have no previous work experience...... that makes it harder for employers to throw work at you for the start.
in here when we get our grads in they often sit for the for 2/3 weeks waiting for us to come and show them how to do the work . esp around the month end bit.
fair play on being motivated to work...
relax... you'll be working for the rest of your life... whats 2 weeks .
hope you get assigned soon

Mr. Incognito

Most people in law firms and accountancy firms do nothing but photocopy for the first 6 months to a year. What's the hurry man. Just because you spent 6 years studying doesn't mean you know anything about the work!

bragan

This happens to most people, especially at the beginning of a job. There will always be times when work is a little thin on the ground for a little while. The days become unbearably long. There is only so many things you can do on the internet before getting extremely bored. Part and parcel of working in my experience, especially when you don't have much experience.

Bear with it. Things will change.

Personally, I have never started a job that wasn't like that.

LegacyUser

Thanks guys (and ladies) for the advice,

Suppose I am jumping the gun a little. Suppose my biggest fear is that they just let me go and ill have wasted so many weeks of not looking for a job. Either that or I end been forgotten about and just left in this for weeks and weeks.

I like the idea of doing the course, that might be an option.

I have bee trying to make friends but its the kind of work where everyone is always busy and id just be in the way. Have met a couple of senior boss hoggs so that can only stand me in good stead. And the senior dude for my section is now on first name terms with me and the rest of the starters didnt get that chance to meet him so maybe that be of benefit in the future.

I know I should relax a little and enjoy it but its just the days go soooo slowly.

Supposdly they have meetings about scheduling every tuesday so if dont hear by then ill suggest i go on a course or something.

muppetkiller

Are you getting paid for doing nothing until something comes up ?
If so relax ...god I've worked in some companies where they don't have your desk setup for 2 weeks lol

AngryBadger

I think you need to give it a month OP (as in another two weeks), sounds to me like the relevant supervisory types are in the loop, and communicating with you, and it can take time for the wheels to turn in businesses. After a month I'd start making some more formal complaints about this, but in the meantime keep contacting the relevant superiors, it is their job to sort out an assignment for you after all.

You've worked this hard to get the job you thought you wanted, for the sake of two more weeks I'd stick it out and see what happens. I reckon you'll have an assignent sharp enough. Good luck!

Cuddlesworth

We hire around 300 new people a year, they do nothing but push paper around on their desks for six months to a year. This is after 4+ years of college. So don't worry about it, they are just waiting to get you some sutable work, in 6 months time when you are good at your job you will be as busy as everybody else.

di11on

Don't sweat it - that's the nature of consultancy. Resources are hired to meet anticipated client needs. The company will get some contracts and not others. The rates you are charged out at have the overhead associated with "spare" resources back at base factored in.

It's the nature of the business. Resources are hired to match the average demand over a period of time. There will be periods of slack and periods of stress. Enjoy this time because you'll miss it when working your proverbial gonads off!!