The Fall & Rise of a Working Girl

Have you ever had a job where you know for a fact you're being taken advantage of but just couldn't say no? Well that was my life for a solid 7 years. It all started when a clueless girl (being myself) walked into a production company looking for a job, not realizing my worth just yet. I landed my very first job in the amazing NYC, I was excited and eager to learn. "Look mom I have a salary now!" Which was BARE MINIMUM for everything I was doing.

First Day

I held my head high and was ready to get started. My job was administrative assistant, I was hired to answer phones, keep track of meetings, order lunch for the office & keep the office supplies stocked. Well little did I know this company was about to bleed me for everything I had. My start time was 8AM which was standard and normal for the person who had to open the office, I was able to leave at 6PM most days. Now keep in mind this is a 10 hour day. Well my first clue that I was being taken advantage of was that I was rarely allowed to step away for lunch. When I say rarely I really mean never. I was to eat my lunch while working, (standing to be exact because heaven forbid someone walks in and sees the receptionist eating a meal!) In between chews I would run to the phone to answer because not one person was willing to cover me for 30 minutes. Also keep in mind that they were taking 1 hour pay out of my day because of "lunch". Well after lunch came the clean up, so I went from Admin to janitor in 5 minutes. Taking out the trash, doing the dishwasher, cleaning up the kitchen, and cleaning up after people. (ARE YOU KIDDING ME!) I did it with a smile on my face because I didn't want my boss to think I was ungrateful for this opportunity .

A few years later..

Well there I was 2 and a half years into my job and I was adding more and more duties to my check list. I was opening the office, ordering office supplies, cleaning up lunch, restocking the bathroom, making sure our clients were well fed & happy, on coffee runs, and not to mention the personal runs for my boss. In almost 3 years I had become the admin, janitor, client service manager, personal assistant & over all go to girl of the office. The first time I spoke up for myself I was shunned from my boss, if I didn't wanna do something she would silently punish me in petty ways. I picture her being the mean girl in HS honestly. It was finally my turn for a promotion, I was officially chosen! I was moving downstairs to our studios to work on set. It was so exciting, but boy was I in for a surprise.

The Tyrant

Well here I am working on set, and when people say production isn't for everyone boy were they right. I would start at 7AM most days and get out if I was lucky 8-9PM. Goodbye social life. Once again I was forced to eat at my desk and still get 1 hour taken from my paycheck for my "lunch." Well my supervisor now was one of a kind, she was what I would call ,Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde. One day would be filled with laughter, drinks, free coffees, and well friendship. Other days would be filled with screaming, rudeness, eye rolls & straight up disrespect. Most days I would cry in my friends office about how much I hated my life. My days were filled with anxiety & lack of sleep. Typing this story now has my heart racing from PTSD. Not to mention every director thought they were Michael Bay and amazing. They treated everyone like crap, they cursed at you, and made you feel 2 ft. tall. After only a few short months I went to the big boss upstairs and told her I couldn't work downstairs anymore. Here is when I finally was able to get into the field I wanted, Sales. Don't worry I was still the mat everyone walked on.

The Sales Rep that Would Do Anything

It was my time to shine, I had put in the hard work and dedication to my company where I was finally able to be trained in something I wanted. I wanted to talk to clients, take them out, go to lunches, go to parties, help my company grow. Well silly me, I didn't get any of that. Instead I was forced to send at least 100 emails a day for outreach to people I didn't know. I had to do so much research so my other coworkers could do the easy work and get commission on the jobs I actually had found. I had my own office I thought, so it can't be that bad. Look at that view, I have made it! The worst part about this whole story is that my company had really made me believe that I was moving on up and "happy". Well with the list of things to do was the endless list of what not to do: Don't reach out to these people they are my friends, don't talk to them we don't like them, don't start an email like that, I don't want you... etc. I finally got to the point where I didn't want to do anything because I was scared to be lectured.

The Personal Assistant

I was still a sales rep so to speak but boy did my boss give me a second title, personal assistant. I would pay her bills, book her vacations, call her doctors, I kid you not she gave me a whole week of just driving around her children. I didn't have to go into the office, AWESOME! (not) I was a babysitter of her children with the sales rep title being paid my salary to drive her child to practice. How did I get here? Who am I?

Finding My Voice

The one good thing I got out of this pandemic was my voice. After working from home for a year and being furloughed for 1 month I realized my worth. I finally came to realize what I wanted out of life, what I wanted for my future. This job was no longer healthy for me mentally or physically. I finally had the guts to look for another job & leave the company I was so loyal to for 7 years. I decided this wasn't enough for me. Being the go to girl wasn't my style anymore, I wasn't learning anything new. I wasn't growing as a person, if anything I was becoming more hateful of human beings. That isn't me, that no longer was going to be me. I put in my 2 weeks and was free. I left my job with a Sales Rep title but in the end my responsibilities were: Sales, Personal Assistant, Social Media Manager, Client Services Manager, Office Manager, and a sucker.

My Advice

Don't wait like I did, get out now. Know your worth, know that if you feel like something isn't right it usually isn't. It is ok to finally say the words NO. It is finally time for you to figure out what you want out of life. It took me working for a normal company to know I made the right decision. Wait we have actual meetings on a calendar, we have tasks, my boss doesn't ignore my emails & texts anymore. WOW. The time is now people. Be who you want to be.