"I get knocked down, but I get up again"

So the hunt for another job is on. I got a call from a recruiter today about a reception job. The last receptionist had been “let go” after 4 weeks (why was this being disclosed to me?) because she “wasn’t keeping up” with the busy role and was letting “outside personal problems” interfere with her job. The Manager was displeased and they wanted an immediate replacement.

I turned that job down.

This post is for that receptionist. I feel you, girl. I bet you worked your ass off in those 4 weeks and I think you were probably more than capable of filling that “busy reception role”, but the staff were probably giving you more and more work to do (work they should have been doing but everyone likes to push boundaries when it comes to hard-working temps), were stressing you out and pushing you to the limit and were probably the reason you ended up “with personal problems” and being “let go”…just like I was on Thursday last week.

Too often temps are taken for granted, treated like animals, given way too much work, bullied, mocked, gossiped about, left out, harrassed and then discarded as easily as one would throw away used candy wrappers.

So this one’s for you – receptionist who is probably going through the same shame, worry and confusion as I am. There’s nothing wrong with you and you probably did your damn best to please people who had already labelled you as insignificant, unimportant and easily replaceable.

I hope I did you a tiny favour in not agreeing to be your replacement today. I hope wherever you are that you’re having a probably much needed rest. I hope you’re surrounded with good people who will encourage you, lift you up and give you hope to keep moving on. I know I’m incredibly thankful for Alun and the amazing friends in my life who encourage and love me through these awful days of unemployment.

Tomorrow I have an interview for a different job- an Admin job with a Hospital, assisting the Facilities team. We’ll see how we go with that one, I guess.

I at least know the reception post at some mental health clinic is still vacant. The people who fired that last girl won’t take time to consider their loss and those idiots won’t change their behaviour, but I hope I’ve done my part in making them wait a bit longer to get someone new in. I hope they’re inconvenienced. That’s for you, fellow temp.

We temps gotta stick together, eh?

Receptionist/office temps are replaceable…but that doesn’t mean we’re worthless.