I took on a second role as a trial. Now I’m doing two jobs for the price of one
I have been working at a worldwide furniture company as a graphic designer since January 2015. In January this year I was asked to expand my skills as a marketing assistant, as well as carrying on in my original role.
It seemed like a great opportunity, and I was assured that by March, if I did this job as well, they would give me the job title and a pay rise.
I then had a meeting with my boss who said they would like to extend the “trial period” to June as it was felt that I had not yet learned all the areas needed for marketing. However, I am still working in both roles.
I have not been given any assigned time specifically for training, even though I have repeatedly asked for it, so it looks as if I will never get the job title or pay rise, but will continue to have to do the extra duties.
As a last resort I have emailed saying that I would like to go back to my old role without the extra duties as a marketing assistant.
I realise it would be wonderful to expand my skills, but I am beginning to feel they are stringing me along to get me to do two jobs for the price of one on a permanent basis.
Jeremy says
My strong impression is not that your company is stringing you along so that it gets you to do two jobs for the price of one; rather that it is seriously ignorant about the needs and nature of marketing, and is generally pretty disorganised when it comes to developing its people. I think you are dealing not so much with deliberate deceit as with involuntary incompetence.
It’s unusual to suppose that a graphic designer could double up as a marketing assistant. And it’s completely ridiculous to expect anyone, from whatever background, to master “all the areas needed for marketing” in just three months, working on it part time.
Extending your trial period by a further three months, with still no time formally assigned for training, cannot possibly equip you to perform a marketing assistant role adequately. Your assessment at the end of that time is almost certain to be as unsatisfactory as the last one, and through no fault of your own.
So I think you’re probably right to have asked to go back to being a graphic designer with no extra duties – but you need to be certain of one thing: has your brief encounter with marketing given you a real appetite for it?
It seems unlikely another firm would ever expect you to combine the two roles, so you need to decide whether you see a rosier future as a designer or in marketing. If your interest in marketing was primarily aroused by the prospect of promotion and a pay rise, I suspect you should forget about it for good and concentrate on design. In the light of your experience with your current employer, you might decide to keep your eyes and ears open for opportunities in rather more organised companies.
Readers say
• Get another job. Once you do it a couple of times it becomes pretty straight forward, and this kind of situation can’t arise. The best way to move up is to move on. Fafadadayaya
• Extending the trial may be a signal that they’re not sure how well you’re doing (and your request to step back down perhaps indicates you feel the same). They are not treating you well by failing to train you or give you clear feedback about your performance. Some kind of open discussion about how it’s gone might clear the air, if they are genuine, but you have already resolved the situation by stepping back. Timothy Saward
• I don’t think you are being duped, and maybe your boss is giving you the benefit of the doubt by extending your trial, rather than saying you’re simply not up to the job? Ask them precisely what skills you are lacking and if it is realistic that you could gain these skills in three months, as you don’t want to be on a “trial period” indefinitely. You’ve only been in your new role for three months, so firing off the email seems like a massive over reaction. slapmatt
All I want to do is find my passion, but I always end up flitting from job to job
From childhood I have had this habit of learning something in every field that is available. So I have studied science in school, accounting in college and have since pursued a master’s in business.
I worked part time at a HSBC contact centre, then in a government organisation in marketing, and now work in an educational institute as a teaching assistant in the area of organisational behaviour.
As you can guess, I am really worried about where I am going in my career. I desperately want to find my passion. I feel like I am passionate about everything initially, then I come out of that very quickly. So what to do now?
Jeremy says
I always worry about the use of this word “passion” in the context of jobs. Too many job ads expect applicants to display passion, and too many applicants claim to possess it. In real life, only a tiny minority of people feel real passion for what they do; the rest of us count ourselves extremely fortunate if we find ourselves in occupations that are absorbing, challenging and rewarding.
That’s not to put a limit on ambition; it’s simply to reflect reality.
I suspect a preoccupation with something called passion is at the root of your problem. You seize on a subject with unconditional enthusiasm and mistake it for passion. And then, when you discover it was no more than an interest, you become disillusioned and drop it.
So stop consciously looking for your “passion”. Instead, set your sights on finding a way of earning a living that makes use of your skills and personality, and one that offers room for development. I can’t advise you specifically on what that might be, but a glance at your past activities and enthusiasms suggests that you could find being a partner in a start-up business exactly the sort of challenge that could hold your interest. It would test your skills and knowledge and be competitive enough and scary enough to stop you drifting into limbo.
Readers say
• You are absolutely perfect for a small business of 30 or fewer people! They often need someone who can do some marketing, readily learn how to update the website, manage the database, do the books and so on. Your perceived weakness of being a jack of all trades is actually your strength. CaptainGrey
• Pick something you’re reasonably good at, or that bores you the least, and build a career out of that – if only to allow for some real income growth and to stop you flitting around. It’ll also help with a pension, as that sort of employment history won’t provide too much in old age, and the state’s hardly going to be there to help, either. In short, you probably won’t find employment nirvana in the office, but the office should provide the money to find the meaning of life elsewhere. ReadingTim
• Passion is overrated. You don’t have to feel passion for your job – you just need to find it satisfying enough to perform well. That sounds a bit disappointingly tepid, I know. However, you say you leap into things, then get bored. Concentrate less on passion and more on actual enjoyment and perhaps you’ll be able to stick at something. shima
Do you need advice on a work issue? For Jeremy’s and readers’ help, send a brief email to dear.jeremy@theguardian.com. Please note that he is unable to answer questions of a legal nature or to reply personally.
