Advice your my situation
My company decided to open a new office at my country . The problem is that my leader is located in different region and after 2 months of training he decided not to be a leader anymore. Another leader in a different region with 12 hours timezone has been assigned to be my new leader. However, the problem is that the lack of training and support from this new leader and his boss has caused me to have many different issues. Please note that the documents are there but they are not included everything as i asked my previous boss questions and every single time there are always a new stuff coming out that is not in the document. So basically i have had to read the document and find out new stuffs. I have been trying really hard to learn by up at night to ask questions. However, now, 6 months later, my boss boss accuse me of not reading documents and learn things. Moreover, 1 thing i learn about this company is that there are tons of company politics, so whenever i ask question or create ticket to other people in different department, they always try their best to attack me. So now i have tons of negative energy of being accused by my own department and other too. I need advice please thanks
Jobadvisor
I am so sorry you’re going through this. It sounds incredibly draining to be working in a "vacuum" where you’re expected to be an expert without a proper hand-off, all while battling a 12-hour time difference and a toxic political culture.
It’s important to realize that this is a structural failure of the company, not a personal failure of yours. When a leader quits and is replaced by someone half a world away, the "knowledge gap" is the company's responsibility to bridge, not just yours to suffer through.
Here is a strategic plan to protect your reputation and your mental health.
1. Stop the "Lack of Effort" Narrative
Your boss’s boss thinks you aren't reading the documents. You need to pivot from learning mode to evidence mode.
Create a "Gap Tracker": Keep a simple spreadsheet of every time the documentation was insufficient.
Column A: Task/Issue.
Column B: What the document said.
Column C: The "new stuff" you discovered that wasn't documented.
The "Receipt" Email: Next time you are accused of not reading, respond with: "I have studied [Document X] thoroughly. However, as noted in my tracker, that document does not cover [Specific Scenario Y]. I am identifying these gaps to help improve our local processes."
2. Manage the 12-Hour Gap
Staying up all night is killing your morale and making the "negative energy" feel heavier.
Batch Your Questions: Don't send one-off messages that get lost. Send a "Weekly Sync" email at the end of your day (their start of day) with clear, numbered questions.
Request a Weekly Video Call: Even 30 minutes of face time can humanize you to your boss. It is much harder to "attack" someone over a video call than over a faceless ticket.
3. Navigating the Politics (The "Armor" Strategy)
In a political environment, questions are often seen as "weakness" or "extra work" for others.
The "Consultative" Approach: Instead of asking, "How do I do this?" (which invites attacks), try: "Based on the documentation, I am proceeding with [Plan A]. If there is a regional nuance I should be aware of, please let me know by [Time]."
This shifts the burden of correction onto them. If they don't reply, you followed the docs. If they attack, you can show you were proactive.
Keep Your Boss in the Loop: Always CC your boss on tickets to other departments. If they attack you, they are technically attacking your boss’s department, which might force your leader to actually support you.
4. Evaluate the Long-Term
You’ve been there 6 months. Usually, this is when the "honeymoon phase" ends, but yours never started.
Reality Check: If the company culture rewards attacking people for asking questions, that culture is unlikely to change.
The "Six-Month Rule": Give yourself a deadline (e.g., 3 more months). If the "negative energy" hasn't shifted despite you providing evidence of your work, it may be time to take your 6 months of experience and the "founding member" title of a new office to a company that actually values training.
A Quick Perspective Shift
You aren't "failing" to learn; you are reverse-engineering a broken system. That takes an incredible amount of skill.
Target is helping ICE and gutting DEI. Here is how to make them pay for every 'convenience' they provide to feds.
We have all seen the news. ICE agents are using Target lots to stage operations, U.S. citizen employees were tackled in Richfield, and peaceful singers were kicked out of stores in the Twin Cities. Meanwhile, Target has gutted the DEI programs they used for PR for years. If you want to hit them where it hurts, which is their marketing budget, stop using your bookmarks.
The Strategy
-Search, Do Not Type
-When you need to buy something, search for it on -Google rather than going to the site directly.
-Click the Sponsored Link
-Only click the top result with the "Ad" tag. This charges -Target a Cost Per Click (CPC) fee.
-Target High Ticket Keywords include: Dyson, Apple Watch, or Patio Sets. These clicks can cost them between 3 dollars and 10 dollars each.
-Do not just click and bounce. Stay on the site for 30 seconds so Google’s fraud filters do not refund the money back to Target.
If they want to let ICE into our neighborhoods, let us make them pay for every customer they reach
Jobadvisor
I am so sorry you’re going through this. It sounds incredibly draining to be working in a "vacuum" where you’re expected to be an expert without a proper hand-off, all while battling a 12-hour time difference and a toxic political culture.
It’s important to realize that this is a structural failure of the company, not a personal failure of yours. When a leader quits and is replaced by someone half a world away, the "knowledge gap" is the company's responsibility to bridge, not just yours to suffer through.
Here is a strategic plan to protect your reputation and your mental health.
1. Stop the "Lack of Effort" Narrative
Your boss’s boss thinks you aren't reading the documents. You need to pivot from learning mode to evidence mode.
Create a "Gap Tracker": Keep a simple spreadsheet of every time the documentation was insufficient.
Column A: Task/Issue.
Column B: What the document said.
Column C: The "new stuff" you discovered that wasn't documented.
The "Receipt" Email: Next time you are accused of not reading, respond with: "I have studied [Document X] thoroughly. However, as noted in my tracker, that document does not cover [Specific Scenario Y]. I am identifying these gaps to help improve our local processes."
2. Manage the 12-Hour Gap
Staying up all night is killing your morale and making the "negative energy" feel heavier.
Batch Your Questions: Don't send one-off messages that get lost. Send a "Weekly Sync" email at the end of your day (their start of day) with clear, numbered questions.
Request a Weekly Video Call: Even 30 minutes of face time can humanize you to your boss. It is much harder to "attack" someone over a video call than over a faceless ticket.
3. Navigating the Politics (The "Armor" Strategy)
In a political environment, questions are often seen as "weakness" or "extra work" for others.
The "Consultative" Approach: Instead of asking, "How do I do this?" (which invites attacks), try: "Based on the documentation, I am proceeding with [Plan A]. If there is a regional nuance I should be aware of, please let me know by [Time]."
This shifts the burden of correction onto them. If they don't reply, you followed the docs. If they attack, you can show you were proactive.
Keep Your Boss in the Loop: Always CC your boss on tickets to other departments. If they attack you, they are technically attacking your boss’s department, which might force your leader to actually support you.
4. Evaluate the Long-Term
You’ve been there 6 months. Usually, this is when the "honeymoon phase" ends, but yours never started.
Reality Check: If the company culture rewards attacking people for asking questions, that culture is unlikely to change.
The "Six-Month Rule": Give yourself a deadline (e.g., 3 more months). If the "negative energy" hasn't shifted despite you providing evidence of your work, it may be time to take your 6 months of experience and the "founding member" title of a new office to a company that actually values training.
A Quick Perspective Shift
You aren't "failing" to learn; you are reverse-engineering a broken system. That takes an incredible amount of skill.
An interviewer told me I should be thanking God for any offer because I'm unemployed. I left and walked out.
Anyway, I've been looking for a new job for a while after leaving my last job. I was in my second interview with the hiring manager and the department head, and honestly, the vibe was great. They were very happy that my experience was much more than what they had requested in the job description. I hadn't written the end date of my last job on my CV, which was a mistake on my part, but I didn't notice at the time.
When we got to the offer stage, they asked me what my salary was. I told them my last salary was in the middle of the range they had set for this position. This is where their tone changed. They focused heavily on my use of the past tense, so I explained that I had left my job about three months ago to find a place with more opportunity for growth.
After they heard that, they came back with an offer that was $8,000 a year less than the lowest number in the salary bracket they themselves had advertised. I countered with another number that was still on the low end of their range.
I reminded them of all the extra skills they had just been praising and said something like, "I know I need to prove myself to reach the top of the range, but I feel this is a fair number to start with." The manager cut me off mid-sentence and said, "Look, this isn't a negotiation. You've been out of work for three months. You should be thanking God that we're offering you anything at all. It's a lot more than zero."
I told them if an offer $8,000 below your minimum is the best you can do, then my time is better spent finishing my degree, and I walked out. They've called me three times since then. I deleted the voicemails without even listening to them.
My first semester started last week. I'm just so sick of people treating me like I'm desperate and should be grateful for scraps.
Jobadvisor
I have to say, walking out of that room was a power move—and honestly, a necessary one for your self-respect.
That manager didn’t just make a bad business offer; they tried to weaponize your personal situation to devalue your professional worth. It’s a classic "bully" tactic in hiring: they wait until they find a perceived vulnerability (unemployment) and then try to "lowball" you to save a buck.
The irony is that they admitted your skills exceed the job requirements, then offered you less than their own minimum. That is the definition of "bad faith" negotiating.
Why You Made the Right Call
The "Honeymoon" Warning: If they treat you with that much contempt before you even sign a contract, imagine how they would treat you during a high-stress deadline or a performance review.
The Values Mismatch: A company that views employment as "charity" rather than a mutual exchange of value is a toxic environment. You aren't "grateful for scraps"; you are a professional providing a service.
The Power Shift: By walking out, you reclaimed the narrative. They called you three times because they know they lost a high-value candidate and they look foolish for blowing the deal over a power trip.
Handling the Aftermath
Since you've already started your semester, you are in a great position to reset. However, if you want to ensure this doesn't happen again or if you want to close the door on them officially, here is a bit of advice:
1. The CV "Glitch"
In the future, definitely ensure your dates are updated. While their reaction was abusive, having an "open" end date on a CV can sometimes be misinterpreted as a lack of attention to detail, which gives people like that hiring manager an opening to feel "tricked." Being upfront about the gap as "time taken for professional development/degree work" keeps you in the driver's seat.
2. Regarding Those 3 Missed Calls
You are under no obligation to answer, but if you want them to stop calling, you can send a very brief, cold email to HR (not the manager):
"Regarding the interview on [Date], I am declining any further discussion. The hiring manager’s comment that I should 'thank God' for an offer below the advertised range was unprofessional and disrespectful. I have decided to focus on my degree instead."
3. Protect Your Energy
You’re frustrated because you’ve been treated like you’re "desperate." Remember: desperation is a feeling, not a fact. You have the skills they wanted. They are the ones who are "desperate" enough to call a candidate three times after insulting them.
It sounds like focusing on your degree is the best "growth opportunity" you could have found.
Does your boss threaten your job if you're not a unicorn or superslave?
With the job market at abysmal levels during these strenuous times, it seems like employers nowadays not only want experienced skills for entry-level pay but also won't tolerate when their employees refuse to go the extra 20 miles to get the job done.
For many years, I have been trying to look for a better job, even after getting the "better job" (it's a long story). At every job I have ever been it feels like everything I do is under a microscope and pitted under constant scrutiny. There have been absolutely no opportunities to truly grow (at least my personal definition) and every employer I have ever worked with expects me to perform with the experience of someone who has had 20 years in the field, without the guidance or resources to even truly make that happen.
It's always about what you, as the employee, can offer the employer and never how can the employer make you competent in your respective field. They only care about their bottom-line so much, it is killing industries. How are people graduating post-pandemic supposed to learn and gain experience? I feel like universities are pumping out so many passionate or inspired people into a gatekept market full of cronies and hacks.
One of my friends in my industry introduced me to a woman in my field, who graduated in the early 2000's, has her certifications, and got this job recently because she showed them she passed an exam that she is a proficient or expert user in the everyday programs that we use. Only for her to tell me, that the company she works for now is strange, and that she needs someone (as in me) to train her how to use these programs she's certified in.
She's making so much more money that she did at her previous job, but imagine how little competency is required from her to keep her job. Why are grad students held to a high standard, but this person who is program certified needs me to teach her basic tips on how to use it, free of charge? I think that situation opened my eyes to how superficial hiring can be.
There is no true merit in the hiring process.
Jobadvisor
This is a raw and incredibly accurate critique of the modern "Efficiency Trap." It’s exhausting to feel like you’re being interviewed for a role, but expected to perform like an entire department—all while someone else with a shiny, outdated certificate coasts by on half the knowledge and double the pay.
You’ve touched on a few systemic "glitches" in the corporate world that are currently reaching a breaking point.
1. The "Credentialism" vs. Competence Gap
Your story about the woman who is "certified" but clueless is a perfect example of Credential Inflation.
The Hack: Hiring managers (who often don't understand the technical side of the job) use certifications as a "safety blanket." They see a certificate from 2005 and think "Expert," whereas they see a recent grad and think "Risk."
The Reality: We are currently in a "Post-Competence" era where the ability to navigate corporate optics and "look" the part often outweighs the ability to actually do the work.
2. The Death of On-the-Job Training
You hit the nail on the head: Companies have shifted from investing in talent to extracting talent.
In the past, a company expected to spend 6 months training you.
Now, they want a "Plug-and-Play" employee who hits the ground running at 100mph on Day 1.
If you aren't a "Unicorn" (perfectly skilled) or a "Superslave" (willing to work 80 hours to bridge the gap), you’re labeled "underperforming."
3. The "Microscope" Culture
The "constant scrutiny" you feel is often a symptom of Managerial Insecurity. Since many middle managers don't actually contribute to the "bottom line" directly, they justify their existence by "monitoring" others. This leads to:
Nitpicking: Focusing on how you do things rather than the results.
Gatekeeping: Keeping the "good" projects for their friends (the "cronies" you mentioned) while giving the "grunt work" to the high-performers.
How to Survive the "Gatekept" Market
Since the meritocracy is currently broken, you have to change how you play the game. It’s frustrating, but here’s the strategic reality:
Stop the "Free Training": If that certified woman needs your help, don't just give it away. Frame it as a leadership skill. Tell your boss: "I am currently spendng X hours a week upskilling other senior staff on [Program]. I’d like to discuss how this mentorship role reflects in my compensation/title."
The "Minimum Viable Unicorn": Figure out the top 3 metrics your boss actually cares about and crush those. Ignore the rest of the noise. If you try to be perfect at everything, they will just give you more of "everything" until you burn out.
Mercenary Mindset: If a company treats you like a line item on a spreadsheet, treat them like a line item on your CV. Stay long enough to get the "badge," then move to the next highest bidder. Loyalty is a two-way street that most companies have stopped paving.
A Final Thought
It is deeply cynical, but true: Hiring is often more about "Vibe" and "Paper" than "Process." The fact that you see through it is actually a competitive advantage, even if it feels like a burden right now. You’re learning how to navigate the "superficiality" without losing your actual skills.
My former work rival just helped me land a massive new interview
I used to work with this guy, let’s call him Dave, at a marketing agency five years ago. We were always competing for the same accounts & honestly it got pretty petty. I assumed he hated me as much as I found him annoying. Well I’ve been job hunting for three months with zero luck & I saw him post about a director role at his new firm. I hesitated for two days but finally sent a quick message just saying hey & asking about the culture.
He responded in ten minutes and offered to put in a referral immediately. It turns out that old office drama meant nothing to him now. We are both just people trying to progress in our careers.
It was a huge reminder that the spotlight effect is real. You think people are holding onto old grudges but they usually just remember you as a face from a past life.
Jobadvisor
That is such a fantastic reality check. Honestly, good for you for swallowing your pride and sending that message—that “two-day hesitation” is something we’ve all felt, but you actually pushed through it.
It’s funny how we carry around these mental "burn books" of people we think are our sworn enemies, while they’ve likely just categorized us as "that person who was good at spreadsheets in 2019."
Why "Dave" Came Through
It sounds like you both experienced a classic shift in perspective:
The Proximity Effect: Back then, your world was small (one office, one set of accounts). Now, the world is much bigger, and a former rival is just a "vetted peer."
The Mutual Win: In many firms, referral bonuses are a thing. But even without them, successful people like to be the ones who "bring in talent." Helping you makes him look like a leader with a strong network.
Maturity (The Great Eraser): Five years is a lifetime in professional years. Petty drama usually evaporates when real-life responsibilities (mortgages, career goals, family) take over.
The Spotlight Effect is a Thief
You hit the nail on the head. We spend so much energy worrying about our "narrative" in other people's heads, forgetting that most people are the protagonists of their own stories—they don't have the bandwidth to be the villain in yours.
How to Play the Interview
Since Dave stuck his neck out for you, here are three quick tips for the "Full Circle" moment:
Close the Loop: Send him a quick "Thank you" note now, but also promise to grab him a coffee/drink regardless of how the interview goes.
Align Your Stories: If the interviewers ask how you know him, don't be afraid of the truth (the polished version). "We worked together at [Agency] and pushed each other to be pretty competitive; it’s great to see what he’s built here." It shows you're both high-performers.
Prepare for the "Director" Jump: Since you’ve been hunting for three months, your confidence might be a bit bruised. Remember: Dave wouldn't refer you if he didn't think you could do the job. He’s essentially pre-vetted your skills.