[Aerolite]

Am I wrong to act this way...?

Basically, I'm a work study student at a graduate school in my university in the marketing department. Things are pretty casual, and some of the older people are really cool. It's actually a fun environment. I always, ALWAYS, try to keep my best composure and be as professional as possible. When people in the office talk to me about things like school, relationships, having fun, etc...I tend to keep it basic and to a minimum.

But recently I *feel* like I'm being too uptight. I put on this whole act of being overly polite, respectful, and conservative--not because I don't want to or that I'm fake, but because it's my job and I'm working my ass off to make sure I get good recommendation letters for my future. The other work study students are so open and fun that they can talk to their supervisors and sometimes even our boss about crazy things, like they were friends. For example my co-worker could talk to his supervisor about how he gets drunk parties, smokes, etc. I could NEVER do that because even though they're all great people, I try to separate life from work.

I guess I'm just saying this because my supervisor just asked me what I was doing this weekend. I told her I was going to a party and that I was dressing up as Alice from Alice in Wonderland. She proceeded to ask if my costume was 'sexy' and that I should bring a hookah (something about the Cheshire Cat and how everything's wonky or whatever...lol). I didn't know how to respond but just laughed and said that she had a point (if she were a real friend I probably woud've been like "Hell yeah I should!" or something). I felt like I just made her feel awkward for bringing that up when I could have been really chill about it.

Don't get me wrong, I LOVE my job, but am I doing fine by acting this way? I feel like some people don't talk to me here because I might come off as really serious... How exactly should someone act in a casual environment?

[Prot]

Am I wrong to act this way...?

Basically, I'm a work study student at a graduate school in my university in the marketing department. Things are pretty casual, and some of the older people are really cool. It's actually a fun environment. I always, ALWAYS, try to keep my best composure and be as professional as possible. When people in the office talk to me about things like school, relationships, having fun, etc...I tend to keep it basic and to a minimum.

But recently I *feel* like I'm being too uptight. I put on this whole act of being overly polite, respectful, and conservative--not because I don't want to or that I'm fake, but because it's my job and I'm working my ass off to make sure I get good recommendation letters for my future. The other work study students are so open and fun that they can talk to their supervisors and sometimes even our boss about crazy things, like they were friends. For example my co-worker could talk to his supervisor about how he gets drunk parties, smokes, etc. I could NEVER do that because even though they're all great people, I try to separate life from work.

I guess I'm just saying this because my supervisor just asked me what I was doing this weekend. I told her I was going to a party and that I was dressing up as Alice from Alice in Wonderland. She proceeded to ask if my costume was 'sexy' and that I should bring a hookah (something about the Cheshire Cat and how everything's wonky or whatever...lol). I didn't know how to respond but just laughed and said that she had a point (if she were a real friend I probably woud've been like "Hell yeah I should!" or something). I felt like I just made her feel awkward for bringing that up when I could have been really chill about it.

Don't get me wrong, I LOVE my job, but am I doing fine by acting this way? I feel like some people don't talk to me here because I might come off as really serious... How exactly should someone act in a casual environment?

I act differently depending on my supervisor. If the supervisor treats me in a polite, respectful, conservative tone, I would do the same. However, if they are casual and say things like your supervisor did, then I would be casual as well. As long as they make the first step in determining the mood and the proper speech in the work environment, I will follow the same tone. You can work hard and still talk in a casual manner at the same time, just make sure you aren't completely stopping whatever your task is to talk or to talk when you have finished whatever you needed to work on. It may hurt your recommendation if you are not sociable in your workplace in fact because a workplace involves communication between the workers/clients for it to function at the highest optimal potential.

[theedqueen]

^ditto, you have to let your boss/manager/supervisor/etc. set the mood then you can go from there. If they're casual you can act casual, if they're quiet then you'll probably have to polite too. Just don't go overboard, like don't be too uptight or too loose if you're talking very casually.

[k1D3Ck]

i thought you were workin a great job??

Yes, but there is always better. I find it best to explore any venture whenever possible, while accomplishing the current work fully.

Plus, I will most likely move in 9 months time to a new location and testing my waters.

Any feedback watcher?

[watcher]

Yes, but there is always better. I find it best to explore any venture whenever possible, while accomplishing the current work fully.

Plus, I will most likely move in 9 months time to a new location and testing my waters.

Any feedback watcher?

dunno... testing the waters is fine, but you haven't specified any goal. cant really say much...

[xkrn4lyfx]

I know that the real world its not easy...but i can say that im a lucky guy...for now.
im in the army, and thank god,that im able to do something that i like in the army, i work in a ward, with only few " clients "(veterans from a war 30 years ago),and its easy to handle them.
But what i like more in my job, its more like a school yard,i and my co workers, we spent the most of the days doing NOTHING, absolutely NOTHING!
Well, i work 9am-5pm,and i can say that i really work 2-3 hours daily...the rest its hanging with my co workers, playing playstation, computer, poker,and gossip...sometimes its hard to me, see my mother half-dead from her work, and im like a parasite, cause i cant even sweat....
the payment its not bad, (only if u dont have lots of bills to pay)...even if its a good job, u only can stay for 7 years, so the sweet life its eventually come to a end(i only have one year and half of contract to go)...

i must say, the army does make me kinda angry for that. my friend is also in the army but he admits, no, he brags about how he only has to do a set amount of work for a week, which he boasts he can finish in 5 hours or less than a day, then he gets the rest of the WEEK off. i can't believe the american army is so overfunded to do this kinda mini cooper.

[Elle12]

Hello, i just finished the recruiting process for the Big4 firms and recently got job offers from PricewaterhouseCoopers and Ernst&Young starting next fall.
I am having a really hard time deciding on a firm. After going on their office tours and networking events, they both seem to have great work environments and personable people.
Does anyone here work at one of these firms or have heard of anything that could help me with my decision-making?
I have to decide by November 7...

Advice please

[Because I'm a Boy]

Title: Senior Pensions Officer
Company: Local Government Superannuation Board www.lgsuper.org
Postion/Department: Everything
Duties: manage and maintain a billion dollar portfolio of pension funds under management. Basically I set them up, and do all the admin and management of each investment portfolio right up to paying out the fund which involves lots of manual calculations.
Years on Job: 6 months in this specific role


previous job

Title: Senior Service Consultant
Company: TOWER Australia www.toweraustralia.com.au
Position/Department: Investments Redemptions Dpt
Duties: calculate and release superannuation (401k), mentor team, business improvement and testing etc..
Years on Job: 2


previous jobs
- Systems Tester (UAT) for Superannuation company (401k)
- Financial planning assistant (Paraplanner) for Financial Planning firm


back in the days jobs
- waiting
- dishwasher
- bakers assistant

[m3chen]

(thanks to Because I'm a boy, I stole your format XD~)

Title: Computer Support Technician
Company: University of Toronto
Postion/Department: Information Technology
Duties: Help troubleshoot and repair computers, maintain the network infrastruction, maintain the telephone infrastruction, general contracting work (related to I.T, such as drilling holes for cables and making sure I.T relates issues are upto health and safety standards).
Years on Job: 1 year and 4 months

previous jobs

Title: Computer Sales Associate
Company: University of Toronto Bookstore
Position/Department: Computers
Duties: Sell sell sell!
Years on Job: About 3 years?

Title: Computer Sales Associate / Computer Repair Tech
Company: Honson Computers (Now a part of Home Hardware)
Position/Department: Sales / Repairs
Duties: Sell computers and service them when needed. Also be my bosses coolie haha~
Years on Job: A long long time, I can't remember the exact date, but I think it was about 4 - 5 years?




back in the days jobs
- Pizza baker (seriously)
- Train Conductor and Train Manager!
- Deputry Returning Officer during the elections (Doing my part in terms of helping the government)

[watcher]

Hello, i just finished the recruiting process for the Big4 firms and recently got job offers from PricewaterhouseCoopers and Ernst&Young starting next fall.
I am having a really hard time deciding on a firm. After going on their office tours and networking events, they both seem to have great work environments and personable people.
Does anyone here work at one of these firms or have heard of anything that could help me with my decision-making?
I have to decide by November 7...

Advice please

they're both great firms. the minor details of differences are negligible. depending on the city you work in you might choose one over the other due to the type of clients and size. i've always had a better impression of e&y than pwc, but this was before the big 4 became the big 4, and anderson was king of the big 5... hehe

if you want to get into consulting, i'd suggest considering trying to get into deloitte if possible.

[ghodassama]

i must say, the army does make me kinda angry for that. my friend is also in the army but he admits, no, he brags about how he only has to do a set amount of work for a week, which he boasts he can finish in 5 hours or less than a day, then he gets the rest of the WEEK off. i can't believe the american army is so overfunded to do this kinda mini cooper.

thats the world...i have friends in Afeghanistan strugglingfor their lives, and im here conmplaining about my work....

[watcher]

//start rant
with the way people throw around titles nowadays, i dont know who's the real deal and who just wants to put up a front. *shrugs*
//end rant

[Pogichinoy]

^Consultants, Engineers, Analysts, etc. have lost their meaning. These days it appears anyone can be one. >_< It's all just a wank factor.

[oie]

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[Meenuh]

Yeah, I'm seeing the same thing. Everyone and their mom seems to be in the IT field. I know people who majored in Art History and Communications that got IT jobs. How does that even work? And what exactly do analysts and consultants DO? Anyone in the field know, get back to me.

they analyze and consult. haha. jk. i have no idea.

i'm kind of in a tough situation where i have to choose school or working where i'm at right now ... i kinda figure i'll quit sooner or later but i just feel so horrible if i quit my job. blahhhh.

[Pogichinoy]

Yeah, I'm seeing the same thing. Everyone and their mom seems to be in the IT field. I know people who majored in Art History and Communications that got IT jobs. How does that even work? And what exactly do analysts and consultants DO? Anyone in the field know, get back to me.

Funny thing with the IT field is that its very vast. You can be a IT project manager, IT Business Intelligence, IT CRM, Help desk monkey, etc. The IT field has no set boundaries for what is IT and what isn't. I've had help desk monkeys from ISPs tell me they work in IT because they troubleshoot modems. RRIIIIIGGGHHHHTTTT.

From any industry field view, analysts follow a structured process to determine the needs of a client, develop and solution and deliver it. More specific definitions can be given to analysts depending on particular fields they represent, e.g. Systems analysts, Business analysts, etc. Consultants are similar to analysts in that they analyse a problem, develop a solution and deliver it to a client, however, they specialise on particular fields in an industry and may or may not only focus on a step in the whole process. Again, these roles can be very vague and I believe its the fault of employers too. Help desk monkeys in my previous company were called technical analysts. :|

But I guess on the flipside it lets employees feel more special and feel less like someone who is at the bottom of the corporate ladder.

[gummybummy]

I was just wondering how long it took you guys to get a job.
I'm almost graduating, just have to finish up one more subject, so I thought that I would look for a job while studying part time, but it has been 3 months and I am still looking. I feel very discouraged, almost on the verge of miserable failure
So, how long did you have to look for a job and how did you get your job?

[m3chen]

I was just wondering how long it took you guys to get a job.
I'm almost graduating, just have to finish up one more subject, so I thought that I would look for a job while studying part time, but it has been 3 months and I am still looking. I feel very discouraged, almost on the verge of miserable failure
So, how long did you have to look for a job and how did you get your job?

Can be as fast as 1 week or as long as 1 year. There are a lot of things you need to know before applying for a job, some of it may be industry specific and others
are kind of general or common sense points.

There are two things that I think are important to getting a job:

1.) Know someone. It's not hard to ask a friend to see if their company is hiring and having someone to vouch for you goes a long way in the hiring process.

2.) Be persistent. If someone in HR says they'll call you back in a week and you don't get a call back, call them and see what's going on.
I've personally found that 90% of the time for all my jobs, my bosses were undecided on whom to hire and choose me because I was not only
qualified but showed that I could take the initative to get things going.

[genki]

when applying for jobs, and when they ask for references (but ONLY past managers/supervisors - no personal/coworker refs/etc) and one of your references has a policy of directing them to the HR department where they will only list the dates of your employment and eligibility for rehire, is that necessarily a bad thing? (i guess it is, compared to a candidate with 3 positively glowing references...) i am going to be a new grad next year - and there are only so many different places where i've worked in the past... kinda nervous now.. ><

[m3chen]

when applying for jobs, and when they ask for references (but ONLY past managers/supervisors - no personal/coworker refs/etc) and one of your references has a policy of directing them to the HR department where they will only list the dates of your employment and eligibility for rehire, is that necessarily a bad thing? (i guess it is, compared to a candidate with 3 positively glowing references...) i am going to be a new grad next year - and there are only so many different places where i've worked in the past... kinda nervous now.. ><

Yes.

Get a manager who will actually speak on your behalf. Sometimes they will want to know very specific questions and they get an HR person telling them only your dates of employment . . . well you probably won't get a call back.