Series of unfortunate job events undermining the will to be an employee

I have many reasons to blog. One reason is to expand my blog into a cool value addition website with interesting tools and features that will make it a profitable venture. The other is to reflect on my own thoughts about my career and the world around me. But while one reason may get you started there are other reasons that will keep you going.

The series of unfortunate work events explained below have undermined my will to be an employee for anyone but myself. To be an entrepreneur is the desire and the goal, but the path to accomplishing it will require me to practice providing immense value to the world.

I have worked in the best and the worst jobs I could have ever imagined. But nonetheless what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger.

Hence, I am also actively seeking employment currently in order to collaborate with leading companies and organizations to accomplish massive value-adding projects.

My blog will remain a side project and will continue to grow with my career. In this case, I hope my article helps people to understand possible career challenges working with new people. This could also help answer your question on how to choose the best job for yourself.

Choosing a career is more of a challenge in today’s competitive age, where income doesn’t grow much. Though I would not like to advise you on which career to choose, I can help you in your quest in understanding how to choose the right career. If you push yourself out of your comfort zone and fight Akrasia, you will have a successful career in any field.

What is the perfect job?

As a 30 year old professional who has lived and worked in Italy, India and the UAE, I know that job security is a very important factor for many. However, I was interested in finding the perfect job.

Finding any job should not be a problem actually. You have a price on your experience, convince them that you are worth more and you get paid more. Even when your skills are not at par you can always get hired at a lower pay if you just search enough. I have however aimed at gaining vast experiences across organizations and roles to understand this properly.

Currently, I hope to start a new career with my blog experimenting with Tech, marketing, and other past experiences. My entrepreneurial spirit though came from a peculiar person, I worked with 2 years back. I would realize my vision of my perfect job while working at a place where no one would want to work at.

Why choose the self-sufficient career path?

To not be dependent only on your primary job but to have your own little side venture.

Blogging my thoughts should ideally enable me to build my ideas over time. From Blogging about Entrepreneurship and Investing earlier, I finally decide to blog about another part of my life.

There is a popular idea going around advising graduates to work in different companies and roles in the first 10 years of your career. I have successfully done that and have compiled some tips to get a better job and career.

How to choose a job or a career?

Aim to work at a:

• prestigious company,
• fast growing company,
• start up no one has ever heard of,
• foreign company,
• sales role,
• job everyone wants to do,
• job no one wants to do etc

This way, you gain a wide range of experience that would not be possible if you were constrained to one particular type of company.

Step 1: Work in a well-established company for a glorious career

If you had worked your first 10 years in a nice well established company and then decide to take up freelancing as a consultant, you would probably have a lot of difficulties in getting yourself all organized to do a wide range of tasks by yourself. Though you would be really good in the key aspect of your job, you would not have enough experience in some other aspects of working unsupervised.

Hence, optimistic me likes to cling to this idea, as I have managed to have a wide range of job experiences across the spectrum in my brief career so far.

There is a reason a prestigious company has earned its name. You work with them, and they do ensure you your payment when it’s due. They keep you motivated and you try your best to work as much as possible for them.

Of course, many people may have a lot to complain about their jobs in big prestigious companies. You may not always get along with your team and supervisors and those can be legitimate reasons to shift your job in good faith. You still get paid your salary and everything happens in good faith and we all go about with our lives.

Step 2: Push yourself out of your comfort zone for an antifragile career

The situation is different when you work at a company no one has ever heard of. The only reason you would want to even do such a job is when you seek to be a spartan fending himself from a wolf in the cold.

At Mercer, I had met a very talented young Italian colleague who had worked at a place no one has ever heard of. She told me that the experience really helped her to look at work from an ownership perspective.

It all made sense after I finished my work at Mercer Milan as an Investments & Retirement Consulting Analyst. The experience at Mercer made me really confident and eager to gain more experience in Italy. I was prepared to even work outside Milan as my Italian had really improved thanks to the awesome guys at Mercer, Italy.

Step 3: Work at a place no one has ever heard of before

Before I begin venting out my frustrations working with this person, I have to also say that working with Max allowed me to understand people better. It is in times like these that my mind begins to process strategies across a broader horizon of possibilities. Working for an unreliable employer always has you on alert mode.

My hindsight improved drastically after working with Max. I now know 1001 ways how a person can lie about paying you.

Just last week, I was promised a deal too good to be true. Had heard from Mad Max after a long time since I worked for him in early 2015.

I had thought of giving it another shot and tried to contact him without success. Hence I took to social media , writing a bad review for his girlfriend’s beauty parlor business where I had worked for a month. My review was directed at Max and the owner girlfriend who I had worked for. Nothing too harsh, just explaining the facts and stating my wish to be contacted.

Quit your job in pride to salvage your career, if you get disrespected

Being mistreated by both of them upon asking for my salary after I had finally decided to quit, I tried a few ways to get back at them by posting the facts online.

My review was honest and it described my plight after working with these 2 specific individuals and how they threaten me every time I try to contact them. It is like they are convinced the law is in their hands as they are local citizens of Italy.

That is how much of a F they give about ME,

my MONEY

and my precious TIME

of 2 months commuting from Milan to Turin!

I knew it was pointless to get anything from these bunch of misers who spend 8000 € on a summer trip, but can’t pay me a NOT SO NAIVE ANYMORE foreigner, his meager salary.

Do not lose your mind becoming a Repo-Man

So alarmed with the bad review, I finally got their attention.

Max said he would drive by to Milan from Turin and pay me the small salary owed to me since more than 2 years. He said I would have to sign a document.

I said “Alright then, Will be waiting for you.”

He asked me for my address, and I told him I am at the same place I was staying earlier.

Soon I get a message from an unknown number.

The person on the other end is threatening me on Whatsapp telling me he knows where I live.

My TinTin in Italy Experience

He calls me an “Infame di merda”  and then says  “Sai come mi diverto a prendere a calci le merde come te”.

This guy called Antonio with this number: +39 3270494887 threatens to beat me up coincidentally as soon as I start bothering Max. Moreover, he tells me he knows where I live as soon as I tell Max where I live. I hate working with such Mafioso Italians who lack any honor of scamming a foreign professional with a scam finance business.

Yes, the Business & Finance Global Advisors was a collaborative project between me and Max, where I would be paid a salary. We had an interesting business plan that aimed at helping companies with bank guarantees so that they can fulfill capital requirements and raise financing from banks. I did accomplish a lot there mainly by myself and continued to work along with some clients even after our collaboration ended.

Why?

Because Max tried to indirectly fire me. He asked me to work from home and disappeared.

So basically, I was probably fired without notice or a really late notice.

My actual job was to find clients or business people seeking to buy these Bank Guarantees and Letter of Credits.

And I had done my job superbly well. Right from understanding the business and Industry even better than the guy who introduced me to it, I even remember warning him about the scams in this business right at the beginning.

Step 4: What to do when your job doesn’t make sense?

Somewhere deep down, I  had the hunch that I was probably in a scam myself.

Had good reasons to.

Nothing made sense. I told him that I found a client and he would give me a different work.

Having found clients seeking the financial product, I was asked to find suppliers of the product as well.

If I could find the suppliers myself, why would I even work for this guy?

This guy was more interested in grabbing contracts rather than the ability to service the contracts.

Mad Max and Donald Trump, Birds of the same feather flock together

Nonetheless, Max was a great Salesman. Would not classify him under the Ethical category, but that is like most Car Salesmen I guess.

Oh did I not tell you before that he sold Luxury cars to some really rich people?

This guy is an experienced salesman. Working with him for 2 months, an Indian Engineer with an Italian Finance degree starts doing a Sales job in Italy for Western Union.

Max likes a good deal and he is definitely much more empowered than me in this situation. He has money, connections, lawyers, rich friends, and plus he is an Italian local.

I tried to speak to a lawyer once, and she wanted 100 € to send a mail to him. Fortunately, my new flatmate at that time was a really nice  Lawyer fresh out of University. Full of strong ideology to do good. He helped me out for free and wrote a registered mail to Max.

The only catch was, that Max had to reply to it or even just receive it.

He hasn’t yet signed the document accepting the receipt of my registered post.

Lied to by my employer for the Nth time

So finally after my Facebook review, we fixed up an appointment to resolve everything. Once and for all with a transfer of my pending salary of 2 months of full legal work.

The day of the appointment, he sends me a picture of a thermometer with a temperature. I said, sure if you are sick, take care and see you later this weekend then.

My Facebook review would have almost worked if Max had not decided to remove all the ratings from the page to hide mine.

They have a really high stake on this business but still have decided to not pay me anything.

More of an ego issue for him to meet an Assertive Indian I guess.

Finally, on the weekend, he tells me that he made a complaint on me for extortion. All of this is happening in Italy in 2017 guys. If you have any doubts about foreign workers being underpaid in Europe, let me tell you they also don’t get paid in certain cases.

On top of it, you may get threatened when you try to contact them.

Developed world problem is being lied about your job description, but in this case, I was lied about my Job description, my job salary, and almost everything!

It was like I was part of this big scam, that didn’t go well due to my ethical standards of not writing a fake email to a client or lying on the phone.

Step 5: Freelance and new job applications: Understanding Upwork & LinkedIn

Let us not blame Europe for this as this was after all a place no one has ever heard of. Meanwhile, Upwork an unethical freelance website that not only siphons a 20% fee + 4% VAT on low-paid jobs likes to tweet about justice and work ethics without ensuring me my payment is submitted over their portal.

They banned me for asking for an outside payment on their chat. I am fine with that, but I want my payment for the work already submitted. The client could take advantage of this Upwork fiasco and decide to ignore my messages because he is not obligated to pay me anymore as I am banned.

So Upwork punishes me by removing their responsibility to ensure my payment but nonetheless wants a 20% fee when the client pays me.

Very well then Upwork, let me reach out to all freelancers seeking to use your service. And let me tell them how you like to operate.

How they can lose all their money just for typing their Paypal email on chat. The level of prioritizing silly compliance like a permanent ban on typing your email or Paypal is unbelievable.

I thought I was going to lose my pay for a challenging Conjoint Analysis project done with full satisfaction from the client. Fortunately, the Client was very kind to pay me nonetheless.

Unfair commissions on Upwork & Uber

Upwork will have its 20%, the American government will have its 4% VAT, the transfer companies will have additional percentages from currency conversions, bank transfers etc.

Having paid all my dues to the above for the last time on Upwork, I am back to blogging again.

Cunning Max and the misplaced kindergarten teachers working in the compliance team at Upwork will receive attention here. Upwork banned me PERMANENTLY for bad Behavior after all. 

So what does the versatile graduate living on the edge do now?

LinkedIn: Makes you more qualified if you pay them

Just did 2 interviews in the last 2 weeks. Since I was leaving for India, I decided to push the peddle on the job application process.

Yes, by paying LinkedIn a fortune for its premium program.

LinkedIn and its unethically high premium charges and benefits will receive another blog someday. I have been applying for jobs on Linkedin with a basic account that convinced me that I am an Idiot. Once I pay LinkedIn I am suddenly smarter and more qualified for many jobs.

Why should I not blog about this when they ask a huge fortune on a subscription basis for this privilege?

Do not restrict yourself to LinkedIn. Lot of other job websites around with much lesser competitive job market. Moreover, apply directly to big companies. May take you more time, but take advantage of that barrier to entry!

Conclusion: What is important in choosing a career?

• Control: A job that teaches you enough and allows you to quit and start your own gig when you desire
• Assertiveness: A job that allows you to question everything you do without worrying about hierarchy
• Experience: You can read and learn from other people’s experiences, but experimenting a little with your own career may be better for you in the long term
• Trust: Trust leads to better life satisfaction. But a little distrust and skeptical thinking can save you a lot of trouble.
• Optimism: No pain, no gain. Even the worst job or experiences can unlock unknown potential in you that can take you places
• Best practices: Aim to work at a leading company or organization to learn the best practices that you can strive to attain
• Wealth: Everything is easier if you accumulate more wealth. That is why the rich get richer.

The world has never presented itself with this many entry barriers for the economically challenged to find a job. Nonetheless, I have begun blogging and learning to code better on web applications. Hopefully, I will succeed in scaling up my own little business into an empire one day. Afterall, some jobs are headed towards extinction and I would like to be as antifragile as possible.

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