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Trying for job change from past 8 odd months and have been applying for many job posts and job openings all of it has been rejected - nothing is working out.
Skills and experience:
M.Com graduate with around 4 years of experience into Indian and US Accounting and Taxation.
Can anyone help me out with this.
EY KPMG Deloitte
I was in the final stages of an interview with Microsoft two weeks ago, in partner marketing. Then the recruiter told me they were putting the hiring process on hold to assess the need for the role. Well, then we heard about Microsoft layoffs last week. Seems like most were in Xbox and Project Alpha but there’s not a lot of information out there. Should I hold out any hope that I’m going to get this job? Any insights on how much these layoffs have impacted the marketing org and/or new hiring?
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What do you do when you have down time at work?
Any advice for your LAST day in office?
Who’s negotiated severance? Any tips?
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Welcome to the ebbs and flows of advertising. Some weeks you’ll be done with your work at 930AM and other weeks you’ll work until midnight. We don’t have a “file paperwork” job, it requires thinking and means it’s usually all over the place.
I get that, but it’s always like this. I’ve never had a “busy season” that required working significantly more than this.
Do NOT ask for more. Are you accomplishing what you’ve been scoped for? If yes, then bill for that and enjoy with a clear conscience.
No one gets out alive. And your reward for doing more will only be MORE.
I think you guys are forgetting that you don't have to go straight from working 15 hours to working 80. Maybe OP ends up working 25 hours instead. All I know is that one of the jobs I hated the most was when I was doing only about 5 hours a week. I felt like I was stagnating and spent most of my time on LinkedIn (and found out the feed doesn't get updated much every 5 minutes). I resented that company so much because I felt that they weren't helping me grow.
If you’re WFH, you should freelance. Get that money.
I’m just starting off and doing that.
One thing to consider is (as a writer) our minds are always working. We’re in our heads. All. The. Time. So even if your conscious mind isn’t churning over something, your subconscious mind is. Also, most creatives don’t work linearly. You can work for hours and have “nothing” or five minutes and lightning strikes.
Also, like some said, pick up some freelance. Or write fiction. Or something. This business is not kind to “older” folk.
I consider myself lucky to be coming up on the big 50 and still working in advertising.
Very true! Thanks for this perspective.
Get a side gig. Build wealth and prosper!
Anyone who is adamant that you should be asking for more is jealous of your efficiency and how it plays to your benefit in this situation. Period.
Imagine someone offering *whatever* you’re going to get by filling your week with that additional thirty hours. (minimum) Now, set it on a table next to 30 hours of your life and ANYONE OUT THERE tell me... which you’d rather walk away with every week?
You’re fooling yourself if you say you’d want anything other than time. And you’re not fooling anyone else, by the way.
Too many people are overestimating how easy it is to start a profitable side hustle
Negotiate a promotion before you ask for more work
Thanks everyone! I’m already going the freelance route and am obviously enjoying the great work-life balance, I just felt guilty since I know this is uncommon in advertising. These replies have been helpful, and I will definitely not be asking for more work given the advice here.
Great addition. Thank you!
I can relate. At one point I was efficient and getting things done faster than others, so I got a larger workload. Work that would have taken my colleagues 60 hours or more took me a little over 40. I was miserable and felt overloaded mentally (and worn out because I was also sacrificing breaks to get done faster), but I couldn’t get help because my hours looked reasonable. It was a hard pattern to get out of.
So enjoy your efficiency and protect your time.
Feels about right for in house
My wife is an in house designer, and the work it takes her copywriter a week to do, I could do in about 10 hours.
I'd ask for more work. Maybe downplay it, a bit.
At least make it known you have extra time. Nothing worse than getting busted for only working half the time you're getting paid a few months from now.
This seems fine and great. Honestly this is about how much actual work I get done in a week once you count out all the meetings.
Stop snitching
Sounds like it’s not challenging enough, that may get old after a while
Take that free time and pick up some high visibility, high value projects. Make a name. Get promoted.
Or just roll it into non-work activities.
A lot of opportunity with all that free time.
I’d say it’s fine as long as you’re growing and adding to your book. If you’re doing neither, you might regret staying there in a few years when you can’t get another job. Lots of things to weigh and consider for your next gig.
This is helpful context. Both are true right now, but this is a great baseline for deciding when I need to either ask for more work or move on.
Pro
Yep. Totally normal. Keep it up and be grateful.
Yes, but pick your opportunity to ask for more work. There could be a huge thing coming down the pike that you’d love to work on, or there could be more...sad boring stuff coming up. You might miss your shot at the good stuff if you raise your hand too early or too late. 👍🏼
Instead of asking for more work could you suggest projects that you would be interested in working on? I did that while in house and they gave me budget to oversee a fun campaign that is great on my resume.
https://www.instagram.com/p/CHzzbMRnX1I/
Omg, don’t follow this advice. This sort of thing would work if you were in an operational-type job where tasks are predictable and replicatable. That is not creative work. If you’re a fast writer or simply more talented than the other writers, you can’t just write up a plan that amounts to: be better.
No cd would look at that and say, hot damn this kid’s on to something.
Work on your own writing or whatever don’t worry it will come around and you will be drowning in work at some point