Pros
Work intended for good causes. I enjoyed talking and working alongside nice people within the agency that truly wanted to help communities.
Cons
Actions that go against how the agency presents itself. I came from a mostly cold, corporate background and was interested in the agency. My position was new and was presented as something that would change over time through multiple discussions. I talked to many people, and made tools to help teams/departments better organize & keep track of their work that I received good feedback on. From there I continued to build-up my relationships and understanding of how the agency worked as someone that didn’t come from a social services background—something I mentioned multiple times during interviews before getting hired. I was given the opportunity to conduct some meetings. This opportunity was presented as a learning experience for me & a way to help me improve. I received VERY condescending feedback after conducting my first meeting. No tips on ways to improve, no critical feedback. Multiple sarcastic “Sure you do”-s added in too. It surprised me since these meetings were presented as a way to learn & improve rather than being make or break. I continued talking to people to find ways to improve days later, but was then let go from my position without warning on a Monday. I was given the option of working on a temporary financial project within the agency due to my previous background. I could not think straight during the time (after being surprised at being let go on the spot) and told my manager that I needed time to think about it. I then asked for more details about this project, but received a condescending message back telling me “talk to (other people)” which made me know that my manager did not want anything to do with me from there. I decided to take the temporary project. The project was in a different building, and I therefore took everything out of my office since I wouldn’t be working from that location. This was originally interpreted as me completely quitting though and thus further made me know that my former manager simply wanted me gone. Days later I went to the other location for the project. The people that I had to work with weren’t there at the time. I waited 40 minutes to see if they would come in or come up to the front desk, but no one showed. I tracked the time I was there down on a time sheet inside the office and eventually left. I sent a message out hoping to get a more specific time on when to come back again. I received a message from HR later on stating that “I never showed up” and that I was “being let go” and to “never come back.” I called back explaining what happened and eventually asked why I was being treated this way as someone that never had any issues with anyone there, but received a sarcastic “awww.” I was then sent a termination letter full of lies about what happened—including a paragraph stating that I “instantly left the building” (instead of waiting ~40 minutes) and “didn’t try to get in contact with anyone.” I could not believe it. From there I knew that they simply wanted me to go away. My former position was then put up again, but with programs I used to make files/tools now being a knowledge requirement for my replacement to know (another slap in the face). This all happened near the end of 2019. I went job searching as soon as 2020 started and was in the final stages of interviews for very good positions. COVID came though and shut everything down. I was out of stable work for months. I made it through okay (thus giving me more confidence in my skills and ability to work through hard situations), but I’ll honestly never forget this wild period.
