Welcome back to the corporate Cowboys podcast my name is Alex your host today’s date is Sunday December 11 2022. bringing you another 30-minute consult of sorts I could squeeze this one in and it should be pretty uh I’m not gonna say straightforward but they’re asking a particular
Very peculiar question this is from our slash career guidance these Reddit questions brought a lot of good material sometimes they don’t provide the best context but to the question and uh the body seems to give a little bit more information so let’s Dive In it’s the first week at my new job and
Already being ostracized should I quit now now for those who don’t know what ostracized means it’s to exclude someone from uh like a group or from society even from civilization so they’re being ostracized on their first week they’re being excluded for some reason and I mean you’ve got to ask
Well what are they doing wrong how are they [ __ ] up it could just be them as a person right but we don’t know who they who they are as a person we would find out on a one-to-one consult if they need it and it’s suggested
As a career as a career consultant as a professional consultant I would recommend visiting us one to one sending us a message a DM even on Instagram it’s at corporate Cowboys with a z you know you can also send us some snail mail it’s P.O box 3372 Rancho Cordova California 95741
The body says I started a new job and my supervisor doesn’t hide their disdain for me meaning the supervisor doesn’t hide their ill feelings their ill will towards them I really don’t know what I could have said or done since I haven’t been here a week
It’s a very small team and they invite everyone to lunch and breaks except me Jim I guess you just have to take your own breaks you have to have to take your own lunches by yourself and until you’re part of the end group um now as far as the manager hiding
Their disdain I’d like to know a little bit more about that how you know it is disdain disdain is gonna be like a like a disappointment like uh uh like uh apprehension like um repulsive like maybe the repulsed somehow by this new employee that causes them disdain towards them that
That’s like an active like a that’s an active feeling a feeling of disdain it’s uh they say here it’s a very small team they invite everybody to lunch and breaks except me I tried my best talking to everyone and sort of tagged along with them to lunch but they really seem
To avoid me I mean your brand spanking new dude I mean they’re they’re already bonded together essentially and if you tag along I just keep my mouth shut in the beginning right until either until you get included or until you have something worthwhile to contribute I don’t know what the dynamic
Is maybe you do have something worthwhile to contribute just off Rip but they’re swatting you down they’re knocking you down a peg like you’re you are an outsider essentially this is a brand new territory that you are infiltrating for lack of a better word so until you know how how the pieces
Move until until I know how the pieces move I’m keeping my mouth shut and just observing that’s it that’s that corporate Cowboy [ __ ] right keeping my mouth shut just observing until I can until I can do it moving they say here the supervisor uh they always seem to avoid me the supervisor
Always act irritated when I ask questions about work at my second day all right okay uh first few days in they even proudly told me how they outcasted a person they didn’t like until the person quit all right I mean those those are like subtle red flags
Uh I was given I mean because that’s that’s office politics that’s corporate culture um at this point sometimes a supervisor can act irritated but as long as they help you you keep asking the questions you keep asking about policies and procedures if they don’t come to you
If they don’t come to you with with the manual with the policy manual an employee’s manual something for you to follow where are you going to get the procedures from where are you going to get the policies from from your supervisor so they can act irritated all they want
At the end of the day they’re still going to have to orient you to the company all right they said uh first few days in by was given I was given a big project by the director and I asked help from my supervisor but they are indirectly refusing in indirectly refusing and
Purpose indirectly refusing and purposefully offering help to other people within my earshot I haven’t even been here a week and I’m already dreading going to work do I quit now uh indirectly refusing how like how exactly maybe if they offered you if if they hired you for a specific job
A technical job a job that you interviewed for a job that you might have claimed you had experience in um something along the lines of what the director has assigned to you I would question I would question all the questions coming from you if you have the
Experience in the background now if you need additional information or data some type of uh uh chain of cust like some type of I don’t know documentation that requires a chain of custody with your supervisor then that’s fine because you obviously have to go to them for certain authorizations certain permissions
In order to carry out the project that’s not the the fact that they don’t the fact they don’t want to do your job for you doesn’t mean they are refusing to help you that might be what you mean that might be what you mean by indirectly refusing maybe because they’re not directly
Helping right but uh again that depends on our definition of direct and indirect and that all depends on context you see if I had this person in front of me I would go through I would create a list of questions and go through it with them so that I’m able to get
The feedback I need so I could then follow up with better questions and get better context on their situation so I so my so the consult is worthwhile so so the consult has uh so the consult is contextualized and tailored as personalized for your circumstances um not that doesn’t mean
That they are actively refusing to help you if anything it may be it may be that because the director assigned it to you directly the director signed it to you you’re required to work with the director and it’s out of the supervisor’s depth maybe they don’t know exactly what
You’re working on so they give you either a vague or a generalized answer on how to approach the work but not exactly how to do it that type of instruction might need to come from the director not the supervisor so you may want to follow up with the
Director as far as the as far as the corporate culture as far as like the um the I don’t know if I want to say clickiness as far as the groups and you trying to be a part of the group I wouldn’t worry about it the first week I
Would not worry about it the first week about going to breaks and going to lunch with the other with the other teams it’s a small you’re saying it’s a small organization but even then you’re still barely trying to be onboarded maybe ask questions about the work again
I don’t know what type of person you are how personable how social you are uh what type of conversation you keep I don’t I don’t know any of that but I would venture to I would venture to find out I’m not going to venture to guess but I would explore and I would
Inquire I would ask those questions that would help me inform my professional opinion um yeah focus on focus on onboarding with the company focus on getting your position with the company right and it sounds like they trust you enough with the large project specifically the director trusts you
Right which I’d rather have a director trust me than my immediate supervisor my immediate supervisor is just there to to to manage my productivity I hope not to micromanage the project I’m working on so you asking for their supervisors you asking for the supervisor’s involvement
Is like asking them to crawl up your ass and micromanage what you do at every step at every phase of the project again I’m just going off of the context that I was given which is not much so if it sounds a little extreme if it sounds a little
Brutal if it sounds a little crude that’s why definitely follow up with a director and keep the supervisor in the periphery if anything how about this if they don’t want to include you at lunch in that break cozy up to that cozy up to the director ask them questions about the company
About the procedures and the policies those questions that you had for your supervisor hell the director could refer those questions to your supervisor obviously don’t sound ignorant don’t sound uneducated don’t sound like you don’t know what you were doing at the company but you want to make it seem like the
Company is a special place to be and the company might have special policies and procedures to follow for a certain for certain tasks so you definitely want to pay respect to those and recognize those in front of the director it’s not so much stroking their ego as
It is letting you know how the company operates that is some corporate Cowboy [ __ ] and you see how you can accomplish both things by asking the right questions asking the right people doesn’t have to be your immediate co-workers doesn’t have to be your immediate supervisor you could be the director
Who oversees almost everything foreign s real quick there are a bunch of comments and I’ll go with the first one it says here go to the director and ask for insight into the Team Dynamics share your observation that there seems to be some resentment about you being on
The team and you and you to the best of your knowledge haven’t been there long enough to have put your foot in it so you’d appreciate some tips regarding integrating into the team I had to be confident that you’ve been hired over someone the team wanted
So this can be nipped in the bud and feelings expressed to the person responsible the director for their issues however it also seems possible that you have walked into a veritable Viper’s Nest so preparing an exit strategy may be wise [ __ ] you gotta have an extra strategy
Regardless anytime you go into a place never stop interviewing always keep moving even if you slow down on the application and the interviewing while you Orient yourself into a company you have to keep it moving in today’s day and age don’t expect to last to don’t expect to last more than five
Years don’t expect it I wouldn’t plan it if somebody asks you where you see yourself in five years tell them in a better position that’s it Point Blank I don’t think you have to I don’t think you have to elaborate you could just tell them in a better position making more money
Handling more business working with more people seeing more clients being more productive you know that that’s that’s about all you have to say without having to elaborate without telling them oh maybe not I don’t see myself at this company anymore in five years and because they’re going to start to ask
Why why you aren’t committed you’re committed while you’re there you’re committed while you’re there why because you’re committed to the work you’re committed to your professional image and developing yourself but that’s all they should know that’s all they should know is that you’re committed to being better foreign
My apologies if I got a little carried away I know I’m speaking a little loud but it is what it is and it’s true uh yeah I this this is a really good suggestion to go to the director as far as uh their hiring practices I mean I I
Would probably just bring up the fact that um maybe that there appears to be some resentment but it could just be you it could just be you like the fact that your supervisor has a disdain for you you you ought to be worried whether or not the supervisor and the director have some
Type of uh cogent relationship working relationship because if they don’t then you might be getting the brunt of it because you gotta sign a project I mean it’s it’s your first week there and you gotta sign a project by a director I don’t know to some that might be a red flag
But if the director ish uh tasked you on a large project and the supervisor doesn’t want to help I mean maybe we’re missing some additional context here maybe it’s something you want to bring up with the director maybe it’s something you can bring up with the supervisor
But I don’t know exactly what words to use because I don’t have all of the facts I don’t have a very clear picture of what’s going on I just have what the op gave us just have with this original poster gave us and it’s not much to go on another comment here says
Keep looking for other work yeah always while you’re earning an income from this job yes that’s good advice talk to your supervisor’s supervisor which would be the director and get everything in writing document as much as you can don’t waste your energy trying to make friends just be polite to colleagues do
The minimum to keep this job until you get your next offer then bail unless talking with a director makes a difference and you decide it’s worth staying always be looking for your next job though yeah that’s that’s very succinctly put that’s probably what I would do but that’s standard practice if
You’re if you’re really about this corporate life you’re documenting everything you’re getting everything in writing don’t don’t rely on what the supervisor says that the supervisor promises you anything verbally get it documented via an email follow up with an email and confirm don’t don’t don’t get caught lacking don’t fall asleep [Applause] always
Be documenting don’t uh don’t rely too much on on just verbal instruction on just the spoken word um get that [ __ ] in writing that way you have evidence that way you can demonstrate you can prove to anybody who wants to hold you accountable for what somebody else said right if you
Get incorrect instruction well that’s because you were instructed incorrectly not because you did the job wrong but uh that’s gonna be that’s incumbent on on this employee whether or not they’re they’re capable of doing that whether or not they have that mindset and can follow through with it because um
I feel like them being hung up on how other on how their colleagues are feeling whether or not they’re calling their colleagues are including them I think they’ve got their priorities mixed up and uh it’s not gonna be it’s not gonna go very well for them in the long run if
Their focus at work is other people and not their own job their Central focus should be to do their job right and then from their Network and build out but in doing your job right you have to be productive you have to deliver and document documents everything
Because at the end of the day you’re covering your own ass as much as you’re learning as much as you are there to acquire the knowledge you’re there to record it you’re there to uh to record it as it’s given to you so find out what it is that’s required of you
In order to do a good job not so much to be included because integration is going to come with recognition they recognize you do your job right they recognize your competent you’re capable with your job you will be included you will be integrated seamlessly that’s going to come
With a little bit of time with a little bit of work it’s not going to be something that’s automatic I haven’t seen it unless you’re so charismatic unless you’re so charismatic unless you’re so Charming that on the first day they um on the first day they uh I don’t know
If they throw a party for you of some kind but for that you already have to have a reputation of sorts laughs so focus on cultivating that reputation in that organization first and that’s to do your job to do it right and follow up with anybody
That you need to report to about that job if you don’t even have to report to your supervisor about this one project the director gave you what are you talking to your supervisor for talk to the director maybe the director kept the supervisor out of the loop for a reason this might be
A test on the director’s part whether or not they can keep the supervisor around or whether they can keep you around regardless you don’t have to go down those rabbit holes you don’t have to go down those hypotheticals if you just focus on doing your job right see what I’m saying
So what the director asks of you you do obviously don’t sell out don’t compromise your morals because you’re going to remain accountable for what you do whether you like it or not so you also like and you want to respect what you’re doing but that’s another episode
Let’s take a look at one more comment real quick we’ll probably wrap this up pretty soon here because this is pretty straightforward here keep looking for a job follow up with the director about your work about your project ask if the supervisor has been read into it if the supervisor’s in the fold
About your project then talk to the supervisor but about work only I don’t know about going out to breaks and lunches with them like you have to tag along I mean that might be doing a bit much to try and quote unquote fit in you don’t necessarily have to do all that
And um somebody okay so somebody else comments here I say this with genuine concern your post history shows this is a pattern for you and it seems like therapy is the is the best Next Step in working on your anxiety [Laughter] well okay well yeah I’m familiar I’m
Aware that you can I guess look at posts and and comment history for users on this platform on this app reddit and apparently somebody has done that much more due diligence which I do every now and then if I’m gonna go down a rabbit hole but redditers and in general
At anybody really isn’t a very interesting person if they’re commenting across many subjects many topics maybe maybe if you don’t know if I was doing machine learning and scraping all of Reddit that that might that might help me somehow right but just as a person I’m answering professional questions professional
Development questions which is uh what this original post is about but apparently he might they she he she or they give a [ __ ] this person might suffer from anxiety and so they’re thinking something is taking place when it might not actually be reality right to have the anxiety like these people
Don’t like me they’re not inviting me I’m not being included right all of that [ __ ] is an internal problem so again and that’s fixed by focusing on your work not worrying about what other people are doing they will come to you later with time as you grow in recognition
As your reputation as your reputation develops but that comes with you putting in the work to be known you putting in the work to to be wanted to be around it’s not automatic the first day you come into this [ __ ] ain’t that they ain’t handing out participation trophies
At the front door I mean maybe if you’re working for some really soft company but uh for the most part in corporate you you have to you have to make your bones you have to earn your stripes in order to to be elevated socially so don’t get it twisted don’t get caught up
Definitely don’t feel anxious I mean anxiety is a normal thing to an extent but you get caught in a thought Loop you get caught thinking and thinking and and your wheels are spinning that hamster wheel is turning and burning your gears are grinding inside over some petty [ __ ] over stuff that doesn’t even
Help you do your job that doesn’t help you be productive not immediately at least not immediately with time you can Network after being after establishing yourself there for a bit you can Network and become even more productive through networking but as soon as you get there fam
Get the bag don’t fumble the [ __ ] check don’t [ __ ] the money up do your work get the check get your money and do it moving keep it moving but I guess if you have something that’s like a clinical form of anxiety or depression or whatever the [ __ ] you’re
Suffering from uh it my my advice my opinion may not help you much if if it’s an internal problem that you can’t regulate yourself right you just gotta just gotta regulate yourself but if you’re incapable of doing that if you rely on what other people say and think and feel about you in
Order to value and appreciate yourself being included and being integrated like if you’re like if you’re not included and integrated if you’re not invited to lunch and and if you’re not invited to break uh what they don’t they don’t like you they don’t love you they don’t they
Don’t [ __ ] have to you don’t need to be friends you’re just Associates that’s it you’re just Associates you walk in you say hi maybe shake hands but then you work you get to work that’s how you build a reputation that’s how you bond with time and that’s probably what this group of
Individuals has over this poster over this this person this employee because this employee is brand new they are an outsider and they they are they are trying to integrate they are trying to infiltrate that’s why I say when businesses War you’re trying to infiltrate a company you’re necessarily a spy from the
Outside maybe not working for somebody else because then we’re taught then we are talking legit corporate Espionage that’s another episode but you’re essentially trying to infiltrate a company to establish yourself as a corporate Cowboy to establish yourself as a professional within that organization so don’t be uh don’t be taken don’t be
Taken by somebody else’s opinion somebody else’s action towards you at least at least not immediately don’t [ __ ] worry about them worry about yourself worry about what you are doing get your job done do it right you need help then you reach out to the supervisor then you reach out to the director I
Mean the director assigned you this task and if the director cc’d your supervisor as the person a go-to in the chain of command then go to the supervisor if not go to the director what the [ __ ] you got to supervise why are you including the supervisor why are you
Integrating the supervisor into this project when they may not even have been read in when they may not be on this project I don’t know well I mean I do know but you need more help folks you need help you know an associate that needs help some of this advice might be free
You can visit us on the page that’s at corporate Cowboys with a z you could send us a little donation shoot us a buck ask a question it might show up on the podcast snail mail is always appreciated give us a little time to write back obviously P.O box 3372
Rancho Cordova California 95741 I’m going to wish you all a great week talk to you next time
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