Help with career, any advice appreciated Edited w/ Updated! 12/20

[newloginuser]

I am currently employed at a bank as a commercial underwriter/analyst after changing careers a few years ago. I find the work to be somewhat interesting (more so at first) but the long term prospect seemed good. Moving up would eventually net me a six figure salary with bonus or close to it as long as I suffered through some time as an analyst.

Well not even a year into starting the boss who hired me quit and the new boss just seems to ride my ass on every little thing, more so then every other member on the team. I get the sense I will never be promoted here, and whatever work I do won’t be good enough for him.

One of my big problems is I’m not very good at networking and my job doesn’t present a lot of opportunities to do so. I live in a small New England state any everybody seems to know everybody. I’m not sure if this is hurting my chances to find a job as I’m sure my new boss knows quite a few people in the industry. I’m searching for jobs there aren’t many around.

Anyway a few thoughts:

1. Tough it out and try to get my boss to like me? Not sure it’s likely but should list it.
2. How can I improve my networking ability, and do so discretely so word doesn’t get back to my employer?
3. Should I just try to change careers? I’m not oppose to it, but if I did frankly I’d do it for money which usually doesn’t work out and I’m not sure what that could be.
4. Pick up and move for more opportunities?
5. Maybe simplest of all but what would you do?

Hope to get some good dialogue going and I appreciate the forums help

[Zamboni]

First of all, you have my sympathy. Although I don't have much detail upon which to base my opinion, your boss is likely being unprofessional in his treatment of you, and bad bosses SUCK!

The first step is a mental one:
Know that you will not be working for this guy forever. Keep telling yourself that. It does help. Every time he rides you about something, try to smile. Stay relentless pleasant to him while your little inner voice remind you that this, like all things, is temporary. If he's truly being a bully, then he likes upsetting you, so don't let him see it when you are upset. Trust me on this: it will feel like a victory if you can force a smile in the face of his asshole behavior.

To suggest more steps, more information would be helpful.

[thesis]

It might help to understand where you boss is coming from. Maybe he has some crazy deadlines on his shoulders? (do you know exactly why your previous boss quit? speaking of, where does he work, and would he want to hire you there?) Sometimes personality types can clash, too. For example, in the Myers Briggs analysis of personality types, "Sensing" people tend to be extremely detail-oriented, while "iNtuitive" people tend to prefer the big picture. A hard-core sensor will often think an intuitive is being lazy and indirect, while an intuitive may think a sensor is being obnoxiously particular and lacking in a clear objective. Just as an example.

Of course, your boss could simply be a tool.

Try not to burn any bridges, but feel free to see what's out there. Also, crank that stache. Even if you're a long way from FI, building that stache fast might allow you to buy time to figure out your next steps. At the very least, if you can survive half a year without a paycheck, you can sleep a little easier at night knowing that if this guy completely loses it and fires you, you'll have plenty of time to find another job.

Sounds like a sucky situation. I hope things just simply improve for you - that's the best situation =/

(for some reason I got the impression your bosses was a guy, but you never actually stated that. I'm too lazy to edit everything I wrote with he/she, but you get the idea)

[newloginuser]

First of all, you have my sympathy. Although I don't have much detail upon which to base my opinion, your boss is likely being unprofessional in his treatment of you, and bad bosses SUCK!

The first step is a mental one:
Know that you will not be working for this guy forever. Keep telling yourself that. It does help. Every time he rides you about something, try to smile. Stay relentless pleasant to him while your little inner voice remind you that this, like all things, is temporary. If he's truly being a bully, then he likes upsetting you, so don't let him see it when you are upset. Trust me on this: it will feel like a victory if you can force a smile in the face of his asshole behavior.

To suggest more steps, more information would be helpful.

Sure what information would you like? I’d be happy to edit my original post to include anything that may help.

[newloginuser]

@thesis your comment actually sounds spot on.

Without going into too much detail over the latest incident in the event someone at my work actually looks on this forum; in it's most simple form, I have to analyze the worthiness of a company in issuing a loan. Lots of different variables but for the latest request I was working on a renewal for a company that's been with the bank for about 10 years. No new money or increase in exposure. I made a comment there largest job was work done on a specific highway/route, but I was technically incorrect. It was a scenario where I didn't zoom in far enough on Google as it went from Route 20 that merged/converted to Route 16 (as an example).

My boss decided to bring it up every day this week and even call me into his bosses office to go over it. Technically makes no doesn't impact the credit decision as to if they are more likely to pay the loan back or not based on what highway they are doing the work; I agreed it should have been correct but it's not like a referenced a highway in Texas or even out of state.


Also the boss is a he :) . I did reach out to my former boss yesterday who went to another bank to see what may be there or if he knows anyone in the industry that I could speak to.

[Slow&Steady]

I have found in my career that directly taking responsibility for a mistake and then moving that person along works best, in these cases.

1st-3rd comments by boss
"You are correct, I am so glad that we utilize an internal review, thank you for catching that.  I have made the revision, do you have any comments towards the numbers/analysis that I need to make revisions to?"

4th-? comments by boss
"Yes, I made that revision per your suggestion.  Did you not see that on the last version?  Are you unhappy with the revision I made?  I am confused, you have brought this up several times after I made the revision, is there a different way you would have liked me to handle it?

When somebody routinely brings up other people's mistakes it is usually because they see that person as a threat, they want to make sure everyone knows that they caught a mistake from the "threat" and that the "threat" isn't perfect.  Remind yourself that all people make mistakes, that is the reason reviews take place, and that your boss's issue is his issue with his own confidence and doesn't reflect on you.  You handling these corrections in a professional way will only elevate you to the other people that see it.

[newloginuser]

Hoping that's the best way to handle it, but still not sure how to try and improve my current scenario.

[ChpBstrd]

1) Start working on attaining industry credentials and certifications. Whereas having FU money can help your confidence but is invisible, FU credentials help your confidence and let your boss know you have options and are not to be fucked with. Your employer might even cover the cost, which will make them respect you more thanks to the sunk cost fallacy and the observation you have higher ambitions.

2) Your industry probably has a professional organization that holds local chapter meetings, etc. Start attending these, and offer to volunteer. Befriending the local movers and shakers in your field will ensure you are never without a job.

3) Talk to a headhunter and ask them for help tuning up your resume. If you can stand your current job a while longer, tell the headhunter you are only interested in getting a promotion. Otherwise, tell them you would consider a lateral move.

[thesis]

1) Start working on attaining industry credentials and certifications. Whereas having FU money can help your confidence but is invisible, FU credentials help your confidence and let your boss know you have options and are not to be fucked with.

+1

[newloginuser]

Since I am sitting at work with nothing to do, I thought I would post an update.

Things continued to get worse and I started looking for a new job. I ended up finding one with about a 10% pay increase, as well as bonus eligible (no bonus at my current job) which, depending on factors, can be as high as 8%, but more likely to be around the 4-5%. Still, getting this new opportunity is one I am grateful for receiving.

[Zamboni]

So you got a new job? Did you start there yet?

If so, then congratulations, and good for you!

[ChpBstrd]

Did any of the advice work, or was it as simple as submitting an application?

[newloginuser]

So you got a new job? Did you start there yet?

If so, then congratulations, and good for you!

Got the new job and started in January. Things are going well and I really notice now how poorly I was treated. Just the every day common curtesy is so welcoming to deal with. Everyone at my old job was so rude and seemed like they just wanted me out.

[newloginuser]

Did any of the advice work, or was it as simple as submitting an application?

I tried some of the advice, I think my boss just had it out for me. I tried working with him, asking what I could do, explaining our differences and just admitting fault all the time but it never got better.

When I put my notice in, they didn’t even care. Basically said glad that I found a job and left it at that.