My New Job???

ARRGH!

I started a new job yesterday. I was really psyched because the job is 1.5 miles from my house. I think I let that information completely cloud my brain during the rest of the interview process. That and I kept getting calls from the agency during the workday - when I was still working at my previous job. And I had no privacy so everyone who cared to listen to my conversations could.

So, anyway, here's a little rundown of what I Thought I heard and what actually IS:

Thought: This is a temp-to-perm position. You'll probably go perm in 30 days.

IS: This is a temp-to-perm position. You might go perm in 3 months or the client will hire someone from the pool of applicants she is still interviewing.

Thought: The job entails some admin work and work on PowerPoint, database and other such programs.

IS: The job is mostly admin (scheduling meetings - ooh, exciting!) and maybe an update of a pre-existing PowerPoint presentation or two.

Thought: This is a good opportunity and will really play to your strengths.

IS: This is a good opportunity if you play your cards right, suck up a bit, and act like an eager beaver.

Okay, so I have NOTHING against Administrative Assistants. I know that on the executive level, the pay is outrageous and, truth be told, if I manage to go perm on this job, my salary will be, while not outrageous, pretty damn decent.

I'm just having a real issue with ME being an administrative assistant. In my last major job, the one where I was a slave for over 7 years, I earned the title of Assistant Vice President. Now that I'm out in the real world, I've discovered that that title really translates to: "fancy-title-given-to-slave-in-a-tiny-company-to-make-slave-overlook-the-fact-that-she's-working-60-hours-a-week-and-is-getting-paid-jack-while-boss-is-planning-on-selling-said-tiny-company-for-a-huge-profit-and-not-give-any-cut-to-said-slave-who-in-actuality-was-a-major-reason-the-boss-was-able-to-get-so-much-money-for-the-tiny-company."

Inotherwords (for you Reluctant Texan!) I can't get hired anywhere with that title on my resume. At least that's what 3 resume/placement agencies told me. AVP in a tiny company means nothing when compared to AVP in a large company. It was just window dressing. So, I've had to rearrange my resume to make it look as if I was an executive assistant to the president of the company. Okay, granted, he couldn't format a document to save his life, but I really wasn't his assistant. The clients I was handling by the time I ran screaming to the hills, grasping at what little shred of sanity still dangled from my fingertips, amounted to 75% of the profits of the company. I worked my ass off. I had connections all over the country and clients who depended on me and knew I'd get their work done. I was important, darn it! Yes, I did admin work but it was MY admin work.

And now I'm doing someone else's admin work and it's really quite depressing. And I don't even know if I'm going to get to keep this job. Which really sucks since I left a full-time (with benefits) job to take this one. I haven't been an hourly worker since 1993! Yikes, Yikes, and triple Yikes.

So, let's work this out:

PRO: potential of possibly being more than "just an admin" if I play my cards right.
CON: She's interviewing another candidate tomorrow.

PRO: It's 1.5 miles from my house
CON: I'll spend most of my day scheduling meetings

PRO: There's a stocked kitchen for employees on every floor (H20, sodas, coffee, tea, hot chocolate, yogurt, soup, oatmeal, boxed cereal, milk, fresh fruit, etc.)
CON: I'm going to be bored a lot of the time

PRO: It's 1.5 miles from my house.
PRO: There's a stocked kitchen for employees on every floor
PRO: It's 1.5 miles from my house.
PRO: There's a stocked kitchen for employees on every floor

So, am I selling my soul for a short commute and free food? Does Isabella take every opportunity to annoy Merlin?

*Sigh* life was so much easier in high school when I made the pronouncement that I was going to be on Broadway and be independently wealthy by the time I was 25.