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How Do You Job-Hunt If You Work Overtime?
Lord_Dweomer asks: "As a recent college grad, I took a job to pay the bills, but soon realized that it would end up sucking the life out of me. I work a lot of overtime in a high-stress, tight deadline job. Once you get into that kind of downward spiral, how do you find another job?"
"All my free time, during the week, is completely non-existent, and the weekends are needed to take care of chores, and preserve my mental health. Are potential employers typically sensitive to the fact that I may not be able to interview during the week or during standard work hours? Also, will having left here after a year seem like a real black mark on my resume? My reasons for leaving, aside from the overtime (I am non-exempt), would be that I've basically been promoted in work load and responsibilities -- and have even taken on another job role, IN ADDITION to my current one. All of this without a raise in pay, or new title.
I'd quit if I had a choice, but I really need the money, yet I'm unable to look for a new job because of lack of time. How am I supposed to job hunt under these circumstances?"
I'd quit if I had a choice, but I really need the money, yet I'm unable to look for a new job because of lack of time. How am I supposed to job hunt under these circumstances?"
The same way you found the time to make this post on Slashdot?
the amount of time needed to write, proofread, edit, proofread
You must be new here.
I definitely sympathize with you since I've been in your shoes. Here's what I would have dome differently 10 years ago if I had the experience. Any/all of these should lead to more time to look for work and/or an escape from the hellish grind you find yourself in:
/stress leave. If you can't sleep because you're working so hard, or work is desrupting your otherwise normal life, seriously think about this option. Your medical plan covers this and if you don't have insurance, then you can approach this from a workplace health & safety perspective / unemployment insurance. A hunk of every one of your paychecks goes to fund these goverment programs, so USE THEM. There is nothing wrong with this, and it doesn't mean you're 'weak'.
If you are working so hard that you are stressed to the breaking point, see your physician or psychologist, with the possibility of receiving medical clearance to go on sick leave
Recognize that your employer needs you more than you need them. I say this because if you are filling two roles for the price of one, your company probably cannot do without you. While this is tougher for people to do when they have less experience (aren't wise to 'normal' employee / employer expectations), know that you can establish boundaries and expectations. Advise your manager that you will simply not be able to fulfil the duties of BOTH positions and they're going to have to pick the ONE that you will be responsible for. If they won't play ball, tell them you intend to resign. They will do anything to keep a person that does as much work as you, including cutting your hours substantially.
Realize that salary does not mean 'you will complete as much work as we tell you to, even if it means sleeping under your desk'. There are labor laws which govern this type of employee abuse. Spend a few hours calling local government agencies and find out what your rights are. Better yet, consult a labor lawyer. He may actually be able to extract money for all the extra hours you put in. Plus, the company basically can't fire you after this, because that getting fired for attempting to protect yourself from abusive employment practices is called 'wrongful dismissal', and is worth even more money to you in a lawsuit.
All in all, finally I can just tell you to look out for yourself first. Your company isn't looking out for you, so YOU HAVE TO DO IT. I would suspect that you have a strong work ethic, and want to do good for the company and it's clients, but at the end of the day, are you reaping the profits? NO. So always look out for #1.
Yeah ... I used one for my current job. That was seven years ago, and in addition to my own hunting I suffered through a series of useless headhunters. One of them quit her position and (quite unethically) took her contact list with her. When I finally called to find out what was going on the office manager apologized and told me he was sorry but they didn't even have my phone number anymore! However, I finally got a fellow that listened to what I was capable of / interested in, and spent about three hours with me going over my background in detail. Then the next day he called and said he had a possibility ... I went in for an interview and was hired a couple of days later. I'm still there, so I guess he earned his commission. So yes, a good recruiter can be a tremendous asset, but my experience is that good ones are hard to find. Most of them kept offering me positions that had little to do with what I do, other than that they were software/programming jobs. I got very used to hearing, "But, you could do that, couldn't you?" Sure, I probably could ... but it's not what I told you.
The higher the technology, the sharper that two-edged sword.
More importantly though is your current situation. You don't need time to interview for other jobs, you just need more time, period. Once you take a few 'sick afternoons' to go interview or leave for a long lunch interview, you may realize just how easy it is to leave you job at a reasonable hour. I had a job that used to make us stay late and work long hours. I was very unproductive. One day, because i hated that job so much, i left early (granted early=6:30, 8:30-6:30). I started doing it every day. One day, as i was leaving my manager stopped me and said 'i noticed you've been leaving at 6:30' (he dare not say 'early'!). I told him, matter of factly, that tonight i was meeting a friend and had to get ready. I made no excuses for the other nights. After that he learned to have more respect for the time i was in the office. He knew that i would be the 1st to leave the office and he would make extra efforts to make sure that i would have everything i needed to finish my projects before 6:30. He knew i wouldn't stay one second later, unless it was an emergency.
My coworkers were jealous that I got to leave 'early' and they had to stay until 9-10pm every night. I told them it was their own doing and they could leave when they wanted. When bonus time came around, my billing was on target and my bonus reflected that. I got more done during 8:30-6:30 when i felt good about my job, than i ever got done working 8:30AM-10PM and hating it.
This is one of my great revelations. It was beginning of restructuring my social life, getting physically fit, starting bike racing, and generally getting my life in order.
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