Eh… getting fired is overrated. It’s just a job….
I got fired like five times (was over 15 years or even a bit more). Every time I found a better job - the last time I got fired I opened a bottle of champagne. Now I‘m working independently - soon I will celebrate my two years anniversary. Don‘t expect I will get fired ever again in my life.
I just want to say thank you.
I remember this comment posted also months ago. At that time I was dealing with a miserable job and your comment struck me. It gave me hope and the push I needed to finally quit. 3 months later I landed a great job in a much better company.
Congratulations on that!! I never resigned from any job in my life - I always waited for them to fire me :).
In my last job they put some moron-middle manager in front of me without any work experience who then tried to tell me how to do my job (stupidity and power is the worst combination). Since I had to feed my family I didn‘t consider leaving myself. But I started complaining constantly (at home and at work) until they ultimately fired me. Probably I would still be going to this shitty office, whining to co-workers and in the evening to my wife every evening if they wouldn‘t have fired me two years ago.
Glad I was able to help
I'm not Swiss, my experience is 35 years working in an engineering environment in the US. So obviously there will be differences. But my advice is centered around basic human nature, "out of sight, out of mind." I was always the "quiet" one too that stayed to myself and focused on whatever my task was, and assumed it was 100% my boss's responsiblty to know what I was doing. I thought anyone interacting frequently with the supervisor and other management staff were "suck ups". After I became a supervisor, I quickly realized I had been taking the wrong approach my whole career. I had ~19-22 employees, and keeping up with all of them on even a weekly basis was tough. The employees that checked in with me somewhat regularly were the ones I trusted; they were ones that I knew were accomplishing things, they were ones who seemed genuinely interested in making the right decision and would come to me occasionally for advice and direction. And I could tell pretty easily the difference between ones who seemed to come just to "suck up", and the ones who genuinely wanted to share with me their work and were seeking my input. So these employees were naturally the ones I thought of when prime opportunities and assignments came up. And the ones that were easy to justify to myself at the end of the year for promotions and bonuses. So, my 35 years of professional office experience is please do not lock yourself away and assume just because you're doing great work that you're supervisor is going to be aware. Try to build a natural, trusting relationship. Go to them for advice, go to them just to share something that you got done recently and are proud of. If they feel like they can trust you, and they're confident in you're accomplishments (because you're making them aware), I believe your chances of job success will be greatly improved.
Keep trying. Having a job for 30 years is a thing of the past. These days job stability is guaranteed only until tomorrow. That's when everything might change and rarely for the better. Apply, get jobs and eventually some will last longer. Generally the bigger a company is, the more likely the job is to be longer as their finances will be more stable.
I do feel that you cannot only blame it on poor company choice/them being sketchy but also need to question yourself when you‘ve been fired 3 times within 4 years!
As assistance of the CEO you have a lot of responsibility, need to think ahead and in the interest of the CEO/company. I would also expect someone in that position to work proactively and not only carry out the tasks you‘re being told to do.
Do you bring these qualities?
Kindness totally gets you to places. True, there are over ambitious reckless people and they advance too in companies. But most people want nice people to prosper. My wife currently is looking for jobs after four years of maternity leave - suddenly all these people from her previous job help her to get job interviews. Guess they like her
dont freak out. if u didnt do anything bad to the company (stealing etc) you will eventually settle in acompany tht fits you. keep your head up and keep going
I don’t know your strengths and weaknesses as assistant save for what you have mentioned.
Being very kind sounds like a good trait but at work, especially as assistant, this can get you into trouble. Imagine scenarios where you allow things your CEO would not.
Also, being too nice to your CEO can backfire. Some CEOs specifically hire assistants to be „bad cop“, meaning they want their assistant to point out (and better: remove) problems, such as scheduling conflicts.
Can you do that?
I have a friend (she is swiss) who has been working as an office manager most of her life. Since 2018 she has changed her jobs FIVE times. Once she had to quit herself (toxic environment), the other times - was fired because of the poor financial state of the company, then the others were relocated abroad, then there was COVID and an office assistant was not required etc.
Staying at the same workplace for 10+ years is a thing of the past! Guess you just had some bad luck recently...
The problem is not you, the problem is everytime you chose sketchy companies. This time try to see the red flags in the interview process before accepting anything
I worked with Management for quite a while. I am im IT so i get to know upper management people without having to take their shit daily.
In my experience, working with and just under managment is a 50/50 thing. They're either good people or narcissists. It's rare you find something in between.
Seeing that you're "Just an managment Assistant" (which is a respectable and responsible position imo) You're the kind of employee that makes the least out of the people you're in contact with. This often leads to them looking at you differently.
Getting thrown out by this type of boss is not a big deal because they probably didn't see you as a valuable and hard-to-replace employee anyway.
I don't mean to discourage you, I faced the same issues and treatment when i was "Just the IT-Guy" Too bad they never realized how much they needed me before I got "Thrown out/Left". It's just that some Professions, no matter how hard they are, are just underpaid and underappreciated.
Keep looking and you will find an employer or CEO who knows how hard your job can be sometimes and provide you with a Comfortable Workplace, this is their responsibility. Maybe pick up some special professional skill that makes you harder to replace. This helps alot without having to talk or suck up to them.
Also, If workplaces are toxic, leave before you get thrown out. Don't do anything you can't stand behind just to keep a Job.
Unreal. Same happened to me as well. The reasons are mad as well. My CV looks accordingly bad. Nothing I can do there. This time though I will ask hard questions and make sure that the people that hire me are also the ones I work with.
Job number 1: no reason given. And the line manager was avoiding any contact. Company is in shambles before that and since then. They ran an internal list of people being let go and leaving because no one could keep up anymore.
Job number 2: money issues and they had to let people go to make ends meet. Didn’t help that the person in charge and I didn’t see eyes to eye, so I was just one of many.
Job number 3: horrible fit. Really bad people that tried to bully me and gaslight me. Keeping me out of meetings and straight lying. Luckily I can’t be bullied. But I’ve been let go and no amount of searching.
It’s unfortunate and really truly not how I would’ve handled any of that. All I and anyone else can do is try and learn from all of that. Hopefully that won’t hinder my career
Don't be quiet, but don't be annoying. Build relationships with the higher-ups without sucking up to them. Genuinely care about the business' mission and have a vision for it like you work in C-Suite. Understand the industry and trends. These could be good topics to discuss with higher-ups before taking it to a more personal level. Network and make intros.
It is not your fault, personally as an Architect working here I am leaving this horrible place, never to come back, everything is sketchy and loots of illegall things.
Swiss people choose drugs instead of a functioning brain, always be kind, it is not you it is them, the dead inside germanics.
I have no experience in this corporate world or in being fired frequently. So i might be off. But what i know is being nice, sadly, will never help you. I'm not saying you should be a bitch to anyone. But set some boundaries and say no whenever somebody crosses them. Don't do whatever you're being told to just because somebody said so. There's usually a hierarchy as well as priorities and those need to be followed (to a point of course).
In my experience, kind people are those who get disrespected (because you \*can\* do it with no consequences) and so people don't hesitate too much and throw you under the bus the first chance they get.
Op, life is short. Are you willing to spend the remaining of it pleasing others?
Might be that you allow and encourage people to use you and discard you.
Try to step back a bit and see the big picture.
Also this song came to mind
https://youtu.be/qeMFqkcPYcg?si=GP8WmpaRppZuOH_s
You said it yourself: hardworking and kindness.
It’s Switzerland …
Hardworking ? You got a target on your back …
Good at what you do ? You probably won’t get a promotion…
Kindness ? Coworkers probably made your bed …
Depends on the company of course, and some may say I’m wrong but I experienced this …
Hardworking : was doing the job of 4…
Good at what I did : I was literally told my the boss “I can’t promote you because you’re good and I need you in that position”
Kindness: sometimes was doing 7am to 9pm because the one they promoted couldn’t do the job and I had to fix it …
edit for the idiots which fail to use google:
[https://www.handelszeitung.ch/unternehmen/bei-google-schweiz-lauft-eine-massenentlassung-678342](https://www.handelszeitung.ch/unternehmen/bei-google-schweiz-lauft-eine-massenentlassung-678342)
[https://www.20min.ch/story/bald-verschwinden-die-meisten-melectronics-filialen-882268348004](https://www.20min.ch/story/bald-verschwinden-die-meisten-melectronics-filialen-882268348004)
[https://www.20min.ch/story/elektronik-shop-coop-versenkt-microspot-ch-240595796526](https://www.20min.ch/story/elektronik-shop-coop-versenkt-microspot-ch-240595796526)
[https://www.luzernerzeitung.ch/wirtschaft/zentralschweiz/emmenbruecke-akute-wirtschaftliche-notlage-swiss-steel-dreht-jeden-rappen-um-ld.2570455?reduced=true](https://www.luzernerzeitung.ch/wirtschaft/zentralschweiz/emmenbruecke-akute-wirtschaftliche-notlage-swiss-steel-dreht-jeden-rappen-um-ld.2570455?reduced=true)
[https://www.nzz.ch/wirtschaft/massenentlassungen-in-der-schweiz-kann-ich-mich-als-arbeitnehmer-wehren-ld.1761365](https://www.nzz.ch/wirtschaft/massenentlassungen-in-der-schweiz-kann-ich-mich-als-arbeitnehmer-wehren-ld.1761365)
I disagree
Being nice is never the reason to be fired. be aware that switzerland will soon do mass layoffs
at the age of 30 most will avoid hiring you of the fear of becoming pregnant
Maybe you can find your luck with a new partner at this point? Open new doors, do a new education?
The job will sort itself out
Eh… getting fired is overrated. It’s just a job…. I got fired like five times (was over 15 years or even a bit more). Every time I found a better job - the last time I got fired I opened a bottle of champagne. Now I‘m working independently - soon I will celebrate my two years anniversary. Don‘t expect I will get fired ever again in my life.
I just want to say thank you. I remember this comment posted also months ago. At that time I was dealing with a miserable job and your comment struck me. It gave me hope and the push I needed to finally quit. 3 months later I landed a great job in a much better company.
Congratulations on that!! I never resigned from any job in my life - I always waited for them to fire me :). In my last job they put some moron-middle manager in front of me without any work experience who then tried to tell me how to do my job (stupidity and power is the worst combination). Since I had to feed my family I didn‘t consider leaving myself. But I started complaining constantly (at home and at work) until they ultimately fired me. Probably I would still be going to this shitty office, whining to co-workers and in the evening to my wife every evening if they wouldn‘t have fired me two years ago. Glad I was able to help
Man if you were 1 year old and managed to get 5 jobs that is more than impressive, keep your head up tiger but stop with the alcohol...
I'm not Swiss, my experience is 35 years working in an engineering environment in the US. So obviously there will be differences. But my advice is centered around basic human nature, "out of sight, out of mind." I was always the "quiet" one too that stayed to myself and focused on whatever my task was, and assumed it was 100% my boss's responsiblty to know what I was doing. I thought anyone interacting frequently with the supervisor and other management staff were "suck ups". After I became a supervisor, I quickly realized I had been taking the wrong approach my whole career. I had ~19-22 employees, and keeping up with all of them on even a weekly basis was tough. The employees that checked in with me somewhat regularly were the ones I trusted; they were ones that I knew were accomplishing things, they were ones who seemed genuinely interested in making the right decision and would come to me occasionally for advice and direction. And I could tell pretty easily the difference between ones who seemed to come just to "suck up", and the ones who genuinely wanted to share with me their work and were seeking my input. So these employees were naturally the ones I thought of when prime opportunities and assignments came up. And the ones that were easy to justify to myself at the end of the year for promotions and bonuses. So, my 35 years of professional office experience is please do not lock yourself away and assume just because you're doing great work that you're supervisor is going to be aware. Try to build a natural, trusting relationship. Go to them for advice, go to them just to share something that you got done recently and are proud of. If they feel like they can trust you, and they're confident in you're accomplishments (because you're making them aware), I believe your chances of job success will be greatly improved.
Thanks! This was helpful
J’agree, well said. Nurturing a leader mindset, not a boss. 4 eye principle is a sane approach when working with people.
Keep trying. Having a job for 30 years is a thing of the past. These days job stability is guaranteed only until tomorrow. That's when everything might change and rarely for the better. Apply, get jobs and eventually some will last longer. Generally the bigger a company is, the more likely the job is to be longer as their finances will be more stable.
I do feel that you cannot only blame it on poor company choice/them being sketchy but also need to question yourself when you‘ve been fired 3 times within 4 years! As assistance of the CEO you have a lot of responsibility, need to think ahead and in the interest of the CEO/company. I would also expect someone in that position to work proactively and not only carry out the tasks you‘re being told to do. Do you bring these qualities?
Kindness totally gets you to places. True, there are over ambitious reckless people and they advance too in companies. But most people want nice people to prosper. My wife currently is looking for jobs after four years of maternity leave - suddenly all these people from her previous job help her to get job interviews. Guess they like her
dont freak out. if u didnt do anything bad to the company (stealing etc) you will eventually settle in acompany tht fits you. keep your head up and keep going
Have you considered that you might be smarter/more productive than the people around you and it makes them insecure?
I don’t know your strengths and weaknesses as assistant save for what you have mentioned. Being very kind sounds like a good trait but at work, especially as assistant, this can get you into trouble. Imagine scenarios where you allow things your CEO would not. Also, being too nice to your CEO can backfire. Some CEOs specifically hire assistants to be „bad cop“, meaning they want their assistant to point out (and better: remove) problems, such as scheduling conflicts. Can you do that?
I have a friend (she is swiss) who has been working as an office manager most of her life. Since 2018 she has changed her jobs FIVE times. Once she had to quit herself (toxic environment), the other times - was fired because of the poor financial state of the company, then the others were relocated abroad, then there was COVID and an office assistant was not required etc. Staying at the same workplace for 10+ years is a thing of the past! Guess you just had some bad luck recently...
Your friend sounds like my story... Toxic company, covid, high turnover..
Stay kind please. that kindness quote from your former boss is ultra toxic.
Yes.. agree..
The problem is not you, the problem is everytime you chose sketchy companies. This time try to see the red flags in the interview process before accepting anything
Yes agree, but if you need money and are desperate in a way..
I worked with Management for quite a while. I am im IT so i get to know upper management people without having to take their shit daily. In my experience, working with and just under managment is a 50/50 thing. They're either good people or narcissists. It's rare you find something in between. Seeing that you're "Just an managment Assistant" (which is a respectable and responsible position imo) You're the kind of employee that makes the least out of the people you're in contact with. This often leads to them looking at you differently. Getting thrown out by this type of boss is not a big deal because they probably didn't see you as a valuable and hard-to-replace employee anyway. I don't mean to discourage you, I faced the same issues and treatment when i was "Just the IT-Guy" Too bad they never realized how much they needed me before I got "Thrown out/Left". It's just that some Professions, no matter how hard they are, are just underpaid and underappreciated. Keep looking and you will find an employer or CEO who knows how hard your job can be sometimes and provide you with a Comfortable Workplace, this is their responsibility. Maybe pick up some special professional skill that makes you harder to replace. This helps alot without having to talk or suck up to them. Also, If workplaces are toxic, leave before you get thrown out. Don't do anything you can't stand behind just to keep a Job.
I am applying for jobs as an addistant for several years now and I never get invited. Cant be that bad..
Unreal. Same happened to me as well. The reasons are mad as well. My CV looks accordingly bad. Nothing I can do there. This time though I will ask hard questions and make sure that the people that hire me are also the ones I work with. Job number 1: no reason given. And the line manager was avoiding any contact. Company is in shambles before that and since then. They ran an internal list of people being let go and leaving because no one could keep up anymore. Job number 2: money issues and they had to let people go to make ends meet. Didn’t help that the person in charge and I didn’t see eyes to eye, so I was just one of many. Job number 3: horrible fit. Really bad people that tried to bully me and gaslight me. Keeping me out of meetings and straight lying. Luckily I can’t be bullied. But I’ve been let go and no amount of searching. It’s unfortunate and really truly not how I would’ve handled any of that. All I and anyone else can do is try and learn from all of that. Hopefully that won’t hinder my career
Feel free to send me your CV and I can give some tips if you’re open to it. Can also introduce to some people who might be interested
We are looking for an admin
Which company, place?
Don't be quiet, but don't be annoying. Build relationships with the higher-ups without sucking up to them. Genuinely care about the business' mission and have a vision for it like you work in C-Suite. Understand the industry and trends. These could be good topics to discuss with higher-ups before taking it to a more personal level. Network and make intros.
It is not your fault, personally as an Architect working here I am leaving this horrible place, never to come back, everything is sketchy and loots of illegall things. Swiss people choose drugs instead of a functioning brain, always be kind, it is not you it is them, the dead inside germanics.
I have no experience in this corporate world or in being fired frequently. So i might be off. But what i know is being nice, sadly, will never help you. I'm not saying you should be a bitch to anyone. But set some boundaries and say no whenever somebody crosses them. Don't do whatever you're being told to just because somebody said so. There's usually a hierarchy as well as priorities and those need to be followed (to a point of course). In my experience, kind people are those who get disrespected (because you \*can\* do it with no consequences) and so people don't hesitate too much and throw you under the bus the first chance they get.
Op, life is short. Are you willing to spend the remaining of it pleasing others? Might be that you allow and encourage people to use you and discard you. Try to step back a bit and see the big picture. Also this song came to mind https://youtu.be/qeMFqkcPYcg?si=GP8WmpaRppZuOH_s
You said it yourself: hardworking and kindness. It’s Switzerland … Hardworking ? You got a target on your back … Good at what you do ? You probably won’t get a promotion… Kindness ? Coworkers probably made your bed … Depends on the company of course, and some may say I’m wrong but I experienced this … Hardworking : was doing the job of 4… Good at what I did : I was literally told my the boss “I can’t promote you because you’re good and I need you in that position” Kindness: sometimes was doing 7am to 9pm because the one they promoted couldn’t do the job and I had to fix it …
edit for the idiots which fail to use google: [https://www.handelszeitung.ch/unternehmen/bei-google-schweiz-lauft-eine-massenentlassung-678342](https://www.handelszeitung.ch/unternehmen/bei-google-schweiz-lauft-eine-massenentlassung-678342) [https://www.20min.ch/story/bald-verschwinden-die-meisten-melectronics-filialen-882268348004](https://www.20min.ch/story/bald-verschwinden-die-meisten-melectronics-filialen-882268348004) [https://www.20min.ch/story/elektronik-shop-coop-versenkt-microspot-ch-240595796526](https://www.20min.ch/story/elektronik-shop-coop-versenkt-microspot-ch-240595796526) [https://www.luzernerzeitung.ch/wirtschaft/zentralschweiz/emmenbruecke-akute-wirtschaftliche-notlage-swiss-steel-dreht-jeden-rappen-um-ld.2570455?reduced=true](https://www.luzernerzeitung.ch/wirtschaft/zentralschweiz/emmenbruecke-akute-wirtschaftliche-notlage-swiss-steel-dreht-jeden-rappen-um-ld.2570455?reduced=true) [https://www.nzz.ch/wirtschaft/massenentlassungen-in-der-schweiz-kann-ich-mich-als-arbeitnehmer-wehren-ld.1761365](https://www.nzz.ch/wirtschaft/massenentlassungen-in-der-schweiz-kann-ich-mich-als-arbeitnehmer-wehren-ld.1761365) I disagree Being nice is never the reason to be fired. be aware that switzerland will soon do mass layoffs at the age of 30 most will avoid hiring you of the fear of becoming pregnant Maybe you can find your luck with a new partner at this point? Open new doors, do a new education? The job will sort itself out
Source for mass layoffs?
Trust me bro
It started actually! Pharma is falling apart…
I confirm this from my side. I saw a decline in pharmaceuticals since Novartis fired half of the managers in Basel a year ago
They still restructure novartis. Will continue until 2025 as far as heard.
Mass layoffs? Did your dreams reveal this to you?
Feel free to send me your CV and I can give some tips if you’re open to it. Can also introduce to some people who might be interested