Hate Employers

Hi Guys,

So, I've had a fair few jobs in the last few years on and off most of which I have been fired from and one I left. There have been various excuses as to why I was fired such as, making one mistake, not being efficient enough, not fast enough and more but all these excuses are just that. Just some random reason to get rid of me. I didn't really do anything wrong. All it is, is that every job I have had, I've never done before and therefore required training yet none of the employers I've ever had will give me the time of day.

At the start of the pandemic - literally before it all started when we only had like 2 cases in the UK - I worked in a law office as a receptionist and I got fired because I wasn't answering the phone within 3 rings and wasn't confident enough. 3 RINGS! How was I supposed to answer the phone within 3 rings if I'm doing something in another room?! I had to do other administrative tasks as well like copying, scanning etc and the scanner was in the other room where I can't hear the phone until it overflows into the room to everyone else, by which point it's more like 5 rings! Now I am a quiet person generally but the longer I worked there the more confident and louder I became, and I felt like I was improving in myself there - even my mum who called the office for a quick chat said I sounded confident when I first answered the phone.

So, I was out of a job till November 2020 when I worked in a Warehouse as a packer. Now this job was hard and not my cup of tea at all but I needed a job and so I did it. We had weekly targets starting from 90 items an hour up to 225 items an hour that we had to pack and I tried really hard and was close to my targets each week - literally I was in so much pain in my back, shoulders and feet at the end of each shift as some of the packages we had to pack were so big and heavy, (the bags were nearly bigger than me and I am 4 ft 10 inches) and our breaks weren't very long as we had 2 15 min breaks and a half an hour dinner break which were more like 5 and 15 minute breaks by the time we walked from our station to our bags to get food and drinks, had a toilet break and then found a seat - for the dinner break we'd need to do the same as above but if we wanted food from the canteen we would have to walk all the way down there, queue up and find a seat which were sometimes limited due to Covid-19 times. I ended up getting fired because I wasn't reaching my targets - which I wasn't too far off - therefore not fast enough. Go figure. I tried to explain that I'm small so the bigger packages are harder for me and therefore slows me down etc but they didn't seem to care.

Then January 2021 I worked for a grand total of 2 weeks at a Security Guard Office doing admin work which was great till I was fired because again I was too quiet, and I made a mistake and put the wrong address on a letter. Now I drafted the letter yes but I emailed the letter my supervisor as a draft template and specifically stated this in my email hoping she would look at the letter and make any amendments necessary or tell me what needs amending, this also meant that she was supposed to check the address as I had purposely put the wrong one on there since I didn't know the correct one as it wasn't in the records so I sent it to my supervisor hoping she would know what the right address is but she just sent it without a seconds thought. So technically they made a mistake because even when they asked about it afterwards, they knew just by looking at the address that it was someone else's and not the clients which clearly means that they didn't check it before sending. (Bunch of tosspots.)

After that I found a 6 month Kickstart Scheme Job in Marketing which at the time was like my dream job but about 3 months in, I realized my employer was a dodgy c*** who never gave me the time of day and then blamed me for taking so long when he's is the one doing everything so slowly and tried to manage everything himself, and even why I tried to leave the job and firm myself he wouldn't let me leave. So once my 6 months was over, I never went back to the firm. (He was a complete d***)

Now for my recent job which I started last November (2021). I practically fell into the job because my mum worked there and one day the receptionist was off sick so my mum suggested me as I was unemployed having just left the Marketing job so I went in a covered reception for 2 days which turned into 4 days (2 days covering reception and 2 days doing admin and reception) on day 2 my mum's boss asked her if I would be interested in working there full time as an Administrator to which she said yes and after a short interview, I said yes too and the rest as they say is history. Now this job started off as mainly Marketing with some admin on the side but this quickly changed and turned into a Conveyancing Administrator role when I realized that I have a new passion for Conveyancing. I was really enjoying there, working with my mum, learning so much and making friends. I was really coming out of my shell, feeling confident and so so happy. The week before last I was busy getting through my work and sorting it for my colleagues during my week off (I was going on holiday for a week with my family) which I was really excited about as we haven't been on holiday in a long time due to the pandemic and other personal issues. The Friday before my flight on Saturday, my boss called me in to his office, thinking nothing of it I went in assuming he wanted to discuss a file he wanted me to work on or maybe something on his computer he needed help with. I walked in and he closed the door and we both sat down. We did briefly discuss a file that I had worked on but didn't do exactly what he wanted, because he passed a message on through one of the secretary's to ask me, to run off a copy of some documents, which I assumed meant blank copies for him to make amendments on and give back to me as usual. Turned out it wasn't the case. He then said to me that he thinks I am struggling at the firm and that the role isn't the right fit for me. I was stunned! I thought excuse me? What the hell! (Didn't say these things but thought them) I tried to explain that I disagree, and I love it at this firm and didn't understand why he was saying these things but he wasn't having it and the conversation ended by him telling me that he was letting me go. At this point I was speechless and had no idea what else to say so I was like fine okay. He didn't even want me to work my notice he just said that I can leave that day and then don't come back after my holiday. I was shaking, thinking "not again" "what am I going to do", close to tears. As soon as I left his office, I went straight to my mum (not knowing what else to do or where else to go plus I had to tell her at some point that day, might as well rip the band aid off right there and then). Mum was as shocked and upset as I was, and she stormed into our boss’s office and tried to get some answers out of him, but he would say any more than what he said to me except that there are "a catalogue of things" that I had apparently done wrong but neither of us could figure out what those things were, and he wouldn't say. There was not much else to do at this point, so we decided not to bother doing any more work for the rest of the afternoon, which was only like 2 hours left of the day anyway, and just pack up my stuff and leave. Instead of leaving the office that day feeling excited to go on holiday and not be in work for a week I left feeling hurt, angry, and peeved. No one else in the firm knew, except a fee earner who was told by my mum as they were quite good friends, so we just left without saying a word to anyone. For my mum and I the holiday was ruined because all we could think about was what he said and kept asking ourselves why? Why did he fire me? Why now? Why right before my holiday? why months after finishing my probation period? Let's face it the excuse he gave is the kind of excuse an employer gives during the probation period or at the end of it when you have the meeting to discuss if he'll keep you or not etc. Not months after deciding he wants to keep me on. Another thing that baffled us was that I got no warning whatsoever. Just out of the blue, "I'm letting you go". We didn’t tell my dad or brother so that we didn’t ruin their holiday as well. For once my dad was quite supportive when I told him on Sunday (I know Father’s Day right? I had to do it otherwise he’d question why I wasn’t going to work the next day. Like I said ripping the band aid off) I really thought I had found my dream job. The firm was going to support me in doing a course in Conveyancing to further my career and I was going to speak to the fee earner who is my mum's friend for some advice on courses after my holiday and now it's all gone out of the window. Yesterday my mum went into the office and handed her resignation in because of all this – she wasn’t too happy there anyway, but I think this was the cherry on top of the cake for her that convinced her to quit.

I really don't understand why this keeps happening to me. I mean why me? Am I too good at my job so they don’t want me to work for them anymore? I doubt it but it could be a reason. As I said at the beginning, it seems like all my employers have just been finding any random excuse to get rid of me. I worked at my last job almost 8 months which is the longest I’ve ever worked so I thought “at last, I’ll be able to work somewhere for at least a year”. 1 year. 1 measly year is all I wanted to work at the very least so that when I look for jobs again, I can tell employers that I have 1 years’ experience instead of a few months or weeks and now I have to start all over again. I’ve never felt more depressed than I am now. First, I was getting fired for being to quiet and now (probably) it’s like I’ve been fired for being too confident or something. I can’t win can I?

Anyway, I’ve vented now, if anyone has any advice or just comments in general, please do. Thanks for reading my life drama and thanks in advance for any advice or comments you post. 😊

This entire post is a walking red flag. Just the way you write about all of this shows you aren't able to accept even partial responsibility for your own life. You set out valid reasons for why you were let go in every role where that occurred but seem to not realise that you were at fault. You need a lot more self awareness methinks.

Surprised you read that… lol

This entire post is a massive red flag. Just the way you write about all of this shows you aren't able to accept even partial responsibility for your own life. You set out valid reasons for why you were let go in every role where that occurred but seem to not realise that you were at fault. You need a lot more self awareness methinks.

I disagree with you there. Most of the reasons I was fired were not my fault entirely. I mean who fires someone for being too quiet?! That's just a ridiculous reason in itself especially when they knew before hiring me that I am a quiet person and didn't give me the chance to grow and become more confident and chatty. I am now more confident and chatty however I do admit that I still need to work on this more. Okay, I admit one or 2 things were my fault but not all! most of these employers were just looking for a reason to get rid of me for sure. My last role in particular was not my fault AT ALL and was fired for no particular reason without warning.

How dare you ignore the 3 ringing rule! I'm ashamed of you.

I didn't ignore it! It was just difficult to stick to when I'm doing multiple jobs most of which require me to be away from my desk unlike most receptionists who are sat at their desks all day. I was doing other admin work at the same time which sometimes included some conveyancing work - this required me to go into another room to get files, organize them, use the photocopier, deliver post that I had organized and more! Further more, this job was a temporary job covering for the regular receptionist who was going on maternity leave but before she left she had to train me on how to do various tasks that she had to do and I noticed that she didn't care for the 3 ringing rule at all and no one said a word to her. Now I could answer the phone from someone else's desk when they are not there, however I don't have my notepad with me to take notes and I don't know where other people keep it in their desks which takes more than 3 rings to find as I like to be ready with a paper and pen before answering the phones so that I'm not a bumbling mess on the phone fumbling to find something to write on. Seriously it's like people think I'm sat at my desk all day twiddling my thumbs until the phone rings - NO there's other things I had to do as well as I was more than just a receptionist.

So before you judge think about the entire role and the million and one things I had to do as well as answer the frickin phone!

I didn't say it was all your fault but I'd say it is largely your fault. Being quiet and withdrawn is a reason to fire someone, but honestly it's probably code for you having a *****y attitude. I expect the same has been the cause of your other firings.

I especially doubt you getting fired from your last job wasn't your fault AT ALL.

Damn - sarcasm goes over your head...

I started this discussion for positive comments, advice and help not for everyone to start judging me. I always strive to do the very best in every job I've had to ensure that everyone my boss included are happy and I succeed as well as the firm. So after nearly 8 months of working at the firm and succeeding in my role, having everyone come to me for help because I know how to most things and I am good at my job and never been told once that I could get fired if something doesn't change, it hurts to be told out the very blue sky that I am no longer allowed to continue working at the firm. It's like my dreams had come true, I'd finally found something I can excel in and then just like that it all got taken away. At least I was making mistakes he could've had the balls to tell me ad give me a chance to improve. He knew full well when he hired me that I had very little experience in Conveyancing therefore I would need training and inevitably make some mistakes along the way yet he kept me on past my probation period and now it's all over.

On the bright side, at least the experience gained at my last job is helping me get other interviews and noticed on job sites but there was more I was going to do there. My mum was going to show me how to do more Conveyancing stuff so that I could do even more and I was learning more and more every day I was there. I'm feeling really depressed and frankly, I'm hurt and disappointed that you all think my life is funny.

I'm on the fence about whether this is a troll post, but on the off chance that it's genuine, you need to be a bit more self-critical if you are going to be successful at keeping a job in the future. Perhaps try to look at it from the employers perspective? Hiring, firing and training people is time consuming and expensive so do you really think they would get rid of you because you're "too good at my job so they don’t want me to work for them anymore?". One bad employer is unfortunate, but when it becomes a pattern, you do need to question why you are falling short of what is expected. It must have been difficult for your last employer to let you go as your mother works there and it's hard to believe they did it lightly, and if it had been for economic reasons there is no reason why they wouldn't have said so.

Sorry @gtty123, I take back anything harsh I said to you. I'm just peeved at the moment with my current situation maybe taking it out on you a little.

Well I can't help who I am. I am trying to change so that fit in better and be a better employee but the way I see it a person shouldn't have to change themselves to suit others. Others should like the person the way they are, as god made them. Also I never had a *****y attitude in my last job, I was really happy there and had a positive outlook, never stropped or got angry just got on with whatever I had to do. Sure I had to deal with some idiotic clients but that didn't affect my attitude for the job, as I have said I have found a new passion for Conveyancing and want to develop it further - my boss had said at my probation time that he was going to support me with a course in Conveyancing if that is what I wanted to do which it was and still is. I did everything I was told to do and more and if it seemed like my attitude was *****y at all then it was probably due to stress not because I was struggling because absolutely was not struggling, if I was I would have said something. So whether you doubt it or not, I definitely DO NOT think the reason I was recently fired was my fault at all. He wanted to get rid of me because he couldn't afford me so he made up a random excuse to fire me even though he made this role for me - it didn't exist before I joined the firm and I was thriving. I was told once that I would be better off working in a Library but hearing that was like being spat at. I am so much more capable of doing more than stacking some books!