Why I Was Fired
I was hired for a job in a small office that entailed a salary and commission based on selling a service. After a week my co-worker gave notice. I was then thrown into her position which was straight clerical. She trained me for 9 days then left. I was on my own.
The owner was very condescending and verbally abusive. I had to figure everything out by myself. After 100 days, I asked what his plans were as I could see that the job I was hired for didn't come about. I was told things weren't working out and to hand in my termination letter. I asked him why would I do this since I was fired? He then just smirked.
What Being Fired Has Been Like
After being fired, I felt like I couldn't do anything right. My former employer was belittling and nasty. If you made a mistake, he rolled his eyes. He would correct the way you answered the phone, he would correct the way you pronounced names. He would read your emails and then announce to everyone in a meeting that you had x amount of unread emails in the morning and he only wanted 30 emails in you inbox at any one time.
I asked for training and feedback, all I ever got was bad feedback. I knew everthing I did wrong, but nothing I did right. So it felt like I couldn't do anything right. My boss would throw temper tantrums if things didn't go his way. He would tell me to tell other brokers to "f" off, and wouldn't take their calls. Every day it was like walking on eggshells and waiting for the next blow-up.
If you questioned him he would give you the silent treatment and not speak to you
for days. His partner and live-in lover would throw you under the bus any chance he got. We worked out of their home and one of them if not both had on their workout clothes or simply wore a wife-beater undershirt all day.
I was told at the very beginning by my boss that he respected people that stood up to him and that he knew he was intense. After standing up to him, he said that he couldn't handle my pushing him and my presence was toxic.
Advice
- Go with your gut, if it doesn't feel right from the get go, it's probably not going to work out.
- Try and get a history of the work environment. Had I known that 5 others had simply up and quit, no notice, or anything, I would have thought long and hard about taking the job.
- Don't work out of someone's home. It's never as professional as an office environment. If you don't mind working for a boss who's clothed in underwear, go for it.
- Don't expect any kind of loyalty when live-in couples work together. They will look out for each other and let you flounder. Plus, the pillow talk comes into the equation.
