The Office

Kerin has resigned and Kirin said that they were changing direction and they were going for a really experienced person to replace her. 

If I wanted to apply for the job I should give her my resume.

I instantly felt anxious when I thought about having a permanent job, and having to get back into the “office” politics and the bitchiness those in charge are capable of. I've mostly had female bosses and some of them I still adore to this day, but, I am sorry, girl's are the biggest bitches in the office. Bethany Horton comes to mind, except of course, she is a mentally ill. I wonder if her particular "disorder" has killed her yet? Would you like a side of fires with that? (big smile, wink, joy) I could happily clasp an enormous popcorn and coke to my chest and watch her rat face take its last breath. Or is she still "running" from it, like she is from her sister who hates her? Like everybody who hates her... But, I digress... 

I still don't think I want a permanent role.

But, it is literally a five minute walk from home and I thought that settling in one place was too convenient to pass up. I've been doing the gypsy thing, go to the CBD, go to Clayton, go to Richmond, go to St Kilda Road, go here, go there, for three years now and maybe being in the same place for twelve months might be a nice change for a time. I'd give it twelve months. I am no longer going to give any company longer than twelve months. If you stay longer than twelve months, you are in danger of putting down roots and making yourself a target for those above you to mow you down when they are being mowed down by those above them. Stab, or get stabbed, is the corporate sentiment of the 21st century.

I gave Kirin my resume this morning. She had on her leopard skin velvet jacket with its plunging neckline. (I tell you what, when you are an old scrubber from Dandy North you have no qualms about getting the girls out on display) 

Then I asked her the salary for the role, which I hadn't asked her yesterday, I just assumed what the salary would be. What is it they say about assumptions? It turned out not to be a senior role salary. I thought that was weird and a mismatch, when she had said they wanted a senior person. Oh, I thought. That doesn't make any sense. And I no longer wanted the job, not that I told her that. I was still thinking about the poultry salary when she moved onto something else.

I had to help Kerin all day. We were doing the end of month stuff, but mostly we were balancing and preparing the superannuation payments for the last three months.

Kirin was in a bad mood, as her incompetence is catching up with her. I suspect, and she is having her arse kicked by those above her who are not happy with her sloppy running of our department. (I call it the Bethany Horton Syndrome) She knows her stuff, but she never checks anything and she makes a lot of mistakes, that she never picks up, which she eventually blames on everyone else, anybody she can. She is copping it from the finance execs who want answers to all sorts of things. She has stuffed up the superannuation, which if it is ever audited she will be crucified, the company would be up for large fines for failing to meet quarterly deadlines.

To just outline some of the many problems, she had super funds set up incorrectly, people attached to the wrong super funds and one super fund set up as another fund all together. When I told her that small fact, she said, "Don't worry, we’ll fix it later," even though this decision would have lead to more funds being paid to the wrong fund. Really?

And I would guess, she is blaming anyone she can lay the blame on, as I've heard her blame everyone who have come before me. I could be wrong, but I doubt it. She has already said she is sick of having to do Kerin's job as well as her own. Poor Kerin thrown in the deep end, straight out of uni, with no experience and given shoddy training. I’m guessing, I will be blamed next, when I'm gone.

So, apparently, we had to pull our fingers out tie up all the loose ends and get the super paid before Kirin goes on holidays next week.

So we stayed back to get all of the super done. I had to balance it and produce the files, which I haven’t done before, well not for a long time, but I decided to keep my mouth shut about it and just wing it, which I did. Ah, its like riding a bike.

Late in the arvo, sometime just after 6pm, I heard Kirin talking to somebody on the phone about the people she’d interviewed to replace Kerin, who she was still interested in and who was on the short list, there seemed to be a few of them. So, I could only assume that I wasn’t getting the job. Why would she be interviewing people and intending to interview more people, who all seemed to be girls, if she had any intention of offering me the job. She liked one girl, but she lived too far away. She like another but was worried about her lack of experience. And she liked another, for some other reason, who, of course, was still on the short list.

Funny, she wanted someone who was experienced (with the computer application) when, in fact, I know more about the application than she does.

She wants a senior person but is going to pay a junior salary. She asked me to apply, but she doesn't intend to employ me. This is making less and less sense as the time goes on. It is indicative of a manger who is struggling in their own role.

Anyway, I’d worked for 10 hours helping Kerin who is lovely but so unconfident and she’d been trying to complete all the international transactions, which she was having all sorts of trouble with. She whinges and stresses and over-thinks things and then she just sort of freaks out and then she continually asks me questions interrupting what I am doing. And I couldn’t help but feel pissed off about the job situation, the bullshit of it and me being sucked in again. Did she only offer me a chance to apply for the job as a way of being polite and I missed the tell tale signs? I felt like an idiot. They don’t want me clearly, maybe it was as simple as she wanted a girl to work with. So, why did she ask me then? At 8.15pm when I had been at work since 8.15am, I decided I was going home.

“See ya,” I said and I left. I didn't ask, I just picked up my bag and left.

Shake of the head. You have got to love a 5 minute walk home. I've got a five minute walk home, I said out loud. I laughed. I'm glad there was no one in the street to hear me.