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Subject:Re: when is it ok to leave a contract job? From:Lisa G Wright <writingweb -at- gmail -dot- com> To:Lauren <lauren -at- writeco -dot- net> Date:Fri, 2 Nov 2012 16:27:11 -0500
On Fri, Nov 2, 2012 at 2:46 PM, Lauren <lauren -at- writeco -dot- net> wrote:
> On 11/1/2012 2:40 PM, Lisa G Wright wrote:
>
>> ... I am going to disagree on one major point: I think
>>
>> if you're being grossly under-utilized and there's no prospect of
>> improvement, boredom is a completely legitimate reason for leaving a gig.
>> You hired on as a writer, and that's not the work you're being asked to
>> do.
>>
>
> As a contractor, I have had many jobs where I was "under-utilized." I
> would find work for myself, quite often it was business analysis or
> documentation-related work that benefited my client. Many clients
> requested me again for new projects.
>
>
This is great if it is possible, but it isn't always the case, and the
individual in question may not want to do that. That's OK.
> While you can make as much use as possible of the resources you have at
>> hand to fill your idle time, ultimately, you're doing yourself and your
>> client a disservice if that continues for very long.
>>
>
> This really depends. Downtime is an *excellent* time to learn about the
> client and the client's needs. If the client really cannot put the
> contractor to work, then there is a disservice, but the client made the
> request for the contractor and this contract is only two weeks in.
It's entirely possible to tell whether something is a good fit within a
short period of time. As most people (including myself) said, communication
about the state of things needs to occur to sort it out.
>
> You have every right to have a job that fulfills and challenges you.
>>
>
> That is a privilege based on availability, not a "right." I do not think
> that we are out of the recession enough for employees to be picky about
> jobs that are not "fulfilling" or "challenging."
>
File this under "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness." People have
the individual autonomy to be picky about their jobs at any time,
regardless of the economy. That doesn't mean there is a fulfilling and
challenging job out there for them, but they certainly have the right to
pursue one. 'Cause that whole serfdom thing is so 15th century.
>
> ... The
>>
>> really sad part is that there were multiple technical writers employed as
>> formatters and grammar checkers. I concluded that it was not the job for
>> me
>> and found another gig.
>>
>
> That is not "sad." It is part of the field. Entry-level technical
> writing often includes working with other people's documents
You're making a whole lot of assumptions about the make-up of the
department that I'm talking about, so please don't dismiss what I just said
as "part of the field." It was a large, poorly run department with
well-trained, underutilized technical writers.
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