I've been involved in interviews this week, for the Deputy Manager post at my placement. As part of the interview they had to do a group exercise, and along with another staff members and some service users, I was in the group.
I'm not the most confident person in group settings and was quite nervous about it even though they were looking at the interviewee not me, but it was actually perfectly fine.
Three of the people interviewed were internal applicants and it was quite strange seeing them in the interview, all nervous and dressed up!
During my course we have done workshops in listening skills and it was useful to be able to use them while thinking about how they approached the group session. Obviously we didn't get a say in who got the job, but I liked the fact that they asked us about the session and let us give our opinions on that at least. The reason I was asked to take part if because I'm fairly new so the staff don't know me very well compared to the regular staff, but even so I felt that I got a lot out of it. If nothing else, I got to spend time with a couple of service users who I'd never met before.
On Tuesday I have a 'Student Information Day' which from what I've heard is just a chance for someone at the council to tell us how great they are and how we should work for them. I really hope it's more than that, considering that Tuesday is staff-meeting day and if I'm taking a day away from my placement, it would be nice to know it was for some logical purpose.
Sunday 5 October 2008
Friday 26 September 2008
I work in supported living. The organisation has four homes in the city, I do bank shifts so work at all of them (well, three of them, the other one hasn't offered me any shifts I've been able to do). I've worked for them since May, before I went on placement I was doing 3/4 shifts a week - they were very short staffed and I needed the money.
As bank staff I expect to be at the bottom of the pile, but I'm getting increasingly frustrated. I like the job, I like the tenants. It's the staff I can't deal with.
One staff member, I won't even work with anymore. I've had enough of the way she speaks to me, of her attitude. The second she walks into a shift she'll start snapping at me, more than once I've left work upset because of something she's said either to me or about me when she knows I can hear. Her best mate also works there. A couple of weeks ago I was three minutes late, and at three minutes before my shift was due to start I got an arsey voicemail demanding to know where the hell I was because I was supposed to be on shift right now. When I arrived she didn't even acknowledge me and walked straight past me like I was invisible.
So. I don't know if it's because I'm bank staff, or because they just don't like me, but as far as the organisation is concerned, I feel like something they've stepped in on the pavement that has come out of the back end of a dog.
I had two shifts booked in for next week, shifts that they asked me to do weeks ago, and got a call this morning to say that they were cancelling them because a new member of staff has started. Now, I understand that the point of bank staff is to fill in when 'proper' staff can't cover shifts, but when they asked me weeks in advance to work and I have arranged other things around those shifts, I've refused shifts at other places, I was counting on the money, I expect the respect that I give them. Unless I was on my deathbed I wouldn't cancel with a couple of days
notice, and I would very much appreciate it if they didn't do the same thing.
With my university placement I can only do bank shifts - I had interviews for a few jobs which were two days a week, but didn't get them. I thought about agency work, which pays more, but decided that I'd rather work for one organisation and get to know the people I'm working with, rather than potentially never going to the same place twice.
As I said above, I like the job - most of the time anyway. I'm just sick of feeling like I'm not important just because I'm bank staff - I am still a colleague and should be treated as such.
I just needed a rant I think. It's not the first time they've done that, and they're constantly messing with my shifts. I have to get the rota and my diary out every time I go in because they're always taking me off shifts and then sometimes putting me back on them without letting me know. It's a shame really because I don't want to be doing a job just because of the money (although to be honest, the reason I am doing this job is to give me some extra money while I'm finishing my course) but I don't want to be hating my job and constantly thinking about the money - when I worked in Vision Express (only for a few weeks, but that was too long) I basically spent the whole time watching the clock and working out how much I'd just earned. This job isn't like that, and I'm trying hard not to let it become like that. I've looked at other bank jobs, but ths is the first paid job I've had in four years and part of me feels like I should be grateful that they employed me. Obviously, I am, but I'm getting more and more frustrated. Maybe I should look for another bank job and do as many shifts as I can for them, then I wouldn't be relying on one place.
As bank staff I expect to be at the bottom of the pile, but I'm getting increasingly frustrated. I like the job, I like the tenants. It's the staff I can't deal with.
One staff member, I won't even work with anymore. I've had enough of the way she speaks to me, of her attitude. The second she walks into a shift she'll start snapping at me, more than once I've left work upset because of something she's said either to me or about me when she knows I can hear. Her best mate also works there. A couple of weeks ago I was three minutes late, and at three minutes before my shift was due to start I got an arsey voicemail demanding to know where the hell I was because I was supposed to be on shift right now. When I arrived she didn't even acknowledge me and walked straight past me like I was invisible.
So. I don't know if it's because I'm bank staff, or because they just don't like me, but as far as the organisation is concerned, I feel like something they've stepped in on the pavement that has come out of the back end of a dog.
I had two shifts booked in for next week, shifts that they asked me to do weeks ago, and got a call this morning to say that they were cancelling them because a new member of staff has started. Now, I understand that the point of bank staff is to fill in when 'proper' staff can't cover shifts, but when they asked me weeks in advance to work and I have arranged other things around those shifts, I've refused shifts at other places, I was counting on the money, I expect the respect that I give them. Unless I was on my deathbed I wouldn't cancel with a couple of days
notice, and I would very much appreciate it if they didn't do the same thing.
With my university placement I can only do bank shifts - I had interviews for a few jobs which were two days a week, but didn't get them. I thought about agency work, which pays more, but decided that I'd rather work for one organisation and get to know the people I'm working with, rather than potentially never going to the same place twice.
As I said above, I like the job - most of the time anyway. I'm just sick of feeling like I'm not important just because I'm bank staff - I am still a colleague and should be treated as such.
I just needed a rant I think. It's not the first time they've done that, and they're constantly messing with my shifts. I have to get the rota and my diary out every time I go in because they're always taking me off shifts and then sometimes putting me back on them without letting me know. It's a shame really because I don't want to be doing a job just because of the money (although to be honest, the reason I am doing this job is to give me some extra money while I'm finishing my course) but I don't want to be hating my job and constantly thinking about the money - when I worked in Vision Express (only for a few weeks, but that was too long) I basically spent the whole time watching the clock and working out how much I'd just earned. This job isn't like that, and I'm trying hard not to let it become like that. I've looked at other bank jobs, but ths is the first paid job I've had in four years and part of me feels like I should be grateful that they employed me. Obviously, I am, but I'm getting more and more frustrated. Maybe I should look for another bank job and do as many shifts as I can for them, then I wouldn't be relying on one place.
Thursday 11 September 2008
Inspired by various blogs and forums, I have decided to start my own social work blog.
I am currently in my final year of a masters degree in social work. If all goes to plan I will qualify next summer.
I also work part-time as a support worker with people with learning disabilities and do voluntary work, both of which will be discussed here at some point I imagine.
At the moment I am 9 days into an 85 day placement in a day centre. It is at the awkward stage where you are inbetween being the new girl and being an accepted part of the team. Not that they aren't accepting, the staff are all good, I've felt welcome from day one. But there is still so much I don't know, yet soon I will start to get strange looks for asking fairly simple questions (which I do have a habit of doing - sometimes to fill a gap in conversation, sometimes because I genuinely am that stupid) because they wonder why I'm not an expert on the place by now!
I have my first proper supervision session with the manager tomorrow which I'm hoping will go well. I seem to be getting on okay with her, but I've found in that past that you think you're getting on with someone, only to find they think the exact opposite, which especially isn't good in a university placement when you would actually like to pass your course.
There is a lot I'd like to say for my first entry, but I'd better stop before I get too far into anything. I'm still catching up on my sleep from when Andy Murray played Federer the other night and I stayed up listening to it (I still can't believe nobody showed it apart from Sky, which nobody I know even has!). I've spent today doing first aid training for my job, so I can now give CPR to a dummy, should the need ever arise.
I am currently in my final year of a masters degree in social work. If all goes to plan I will qualify next summer.
I also work part-time as a support worker with people with learning disabilities and do voluntary work, both of which will be discussed here at some point I imagine.
At the moment I am 9 days into an 85 day placement in a day centre. It is at the awkward stage where you are inbetween being the new girl and being an accepted part of the team. Not that they aren't accepting, the staff are all good, I've felt welcome from day one. But there is still so much I don't know, yet soon I will start to get strange looks for asking fairly simple questions (which I do have a habit of doing - sometimes to fill a gap in conversation, sometimes because I genuinely am that stupid) because they wonder why I'm not an expert on the place by now!
I have my first proper supervision session with the manager tomorrow which I'm hoping will go well. I seem to be getting on okay with her, but I've found in that past that you think you're getting on with someone, only to find they think the exact opposite, which especially isn't good in a university placement when you would actually like to pass your course.
There is a lot I'd like to say for my first entry, but I'd better stop before I get too far into anything. I'm still catching up on my sleep from when Andy Murray played Federer the other night and I stayed up listening to it (I still can't believe nobody showed it apart from Sky, which nobody I know even has!). I've spent today doing first aid training for my job, so I can now give CPR to a dummy, should the need ever arise.
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