My experience working in civil service...

[Relacklabrudder]

i was in technical line as senior engineer, ok pay is not dat gd. but life is stable come 9am knock off 530pm. got once a yr idle trip to europe by company.

 

then i think perhpas it is time for me to try management but current no management positions la so decide venture into civil service.

 

the current company also not expanding in my area of work and i feel most of time not doing much or learning much, becoming very lazy.

 

oh by the way tis company i joined since graduate for nearly 6 yrs.

 

then there was advert for assistant director. looks damn big but not much salary increment.

 

i got the position after 1 interview mmm...very suspicious but it was willing to wait 2mth notice. best thing is during interview they did not even say what they do.

 

The contract offer say 1 yr contract as with all civil service and convert to perm 1 yr later if good. it is big if

 

in fact it belong to small instituiton inside a big 'umbrella' statboard, so dificult to get info on it.

 

i report to lady supervisor.

 

1st day work the director already yelling away. then from there it is down hill. the director will yell and criticise everybody in morning and run the institution like a stock exchange. he will say thing like 'give this guy the work la, he is paid $xxxx'

 

i spoke up and the directordislike me from there on.

 

my lady sup is so scared she will pressure me to details correcting my punctuations and spelling , grammar which i felt is totally humiliating.

 

she dun know anything so she will major on the minor things. very sianz...

 

needless to say after 1 yr they decide not renew my contract.

 

so i jobless.

 

they did not even forewarn me or even give me warnings as such , just say contratc not renew 1 month prior to end of contract and justify with lousy reasons.

 

this even cause me to lost a job offer in between the 1 yr tenure even though lower paid as i tot i had a future in tis govt insititution, had i known i would have hop off.

 

tis event happen few yrs ago, last i heard this stupid director was asked to step down before his retirement age due to too many complains against him liao.

 

but still it made a mess of my life.

 

as i think back, would i have make a different decision? i mean life is very very stale at the 1st company, but nice colleagues, ok boss but not learning much or doing much, and a management position came along....how i know it was like a 'trap'

 

 

anyway manage to pick myself up and went back to technical line but was arduous journey ut dats another story....

 

thing is would u choose stability and monotony over change, risk taking, possible failure?

 

 

 

 

 

[Silver_blade]

We all go thru some bad patches...be in it civil service or private sector...there bound to be bad bosses. We cannot expect every one we meet are nice. Have fun in your next job since you have moved on from that previous job.

 

[Babyt]

the above is written by an ex-director? the english full of tense and grammer mistakes.

[Jman888]

the moral of the story?

[Thargor]

My take is...you are still young and think the world owe you a living.

 

I know you probably will not listen to advice but I will say it anyway, you should look inwards and ask yourself, are you really as capable and outstanding as you think you are?

 

And for pete's sake, not asking you to write perfect English...but at least write decent English.

[RadX]

the moral of the story?

 

if it ain't broke, dun fix it....ie, if job stable, mai kk n go for other things...'the grass is alwes greener on other side' as they say

[Mockngbrd]

it cannot be helped one

[Jman888]

the above is written by an ex-director? the english full of tense and grammer mistakes.

 

 

writing in forum and business different mah, my boss like to correct my english too which i learn a lot from them, they are ang mo so i gladly took their advice

[Jman888]

if it ain't broke, dun fix it....ie, if job stable, mai kk n go for other things...'the grass is alwes greener on other side' as they say

 

 

exactly what i was thinking

[Sosaria]

I can sympathize, but isn't the situation you described just like all working situations? Got to know how to handle people, and tactfully, if such person is your superior. There are books written on this, verbal self-defence, how to avoid people unfairly piling work on you, etc.

 

Since you know it is 1-year contract, this is the period you must wayang a bit... even you don't like the place, it's best to look out for another job while you are still holding down the current job. Less pressure on you.

 

About the grammar and english, yes, no surprise - especially if you prepare documents for discussion by senior people. There are a lot of people in senior ranks up there who are 'old-school' and very particular about proper language - not just in public service but stat boards and linked companies. It's a mark of proper education and sharp mind, so to speak, in their view. Writing must be done carefully to avoid giving the wrong meaning and also defensively to protect yourself in future if some issue crop up.

[Calvin79]

in Life they always say, u nvr try u nvr know...

so at least u tried... and u know hahaha

[Requiemdk]

Bad bosses are a dime a dozen these days. It does make me wonder at least - where the hell do these people come from and how on earth do they get into such a position?

 

Anyway, my take is that one should be glad to have a stable job. If the job doesn't allow you to learn or grow as much as you want to but gives you free time, then one very good option is to go and learn things in free time given to you. Why do people expect satisfaction and fulfillment to come only from one's job these days???

[Solar]

i think this is your first contract job.... even though they may say they will definitely renew before your contract ends, NEVER believe them.

start looking for new job at least 2 months before it expires. you will not be caught into this situation.

and who knows, you'll find an even better job during your search.

 

 

[Porker]

Never believed in joining civil service sector and never will.

 

Don't think much of them either. Have dealt with them extensively and the things they say and the things they do are really mind boggling

[Stratovarius]

This is the risk everyone must take whenever they change job (unless you already know the bosses in the co.). To get out of your comfort zone and to hop into a new work environment is not easy. I took the risk a few months ago and still adapting in the new environment. It's a risk worth taking if your current job can't satisfy you. However, i will not take a contract job no matter what. I just feel insecure.

[The_Bear]

A job is just a job.

[Ingenius]

My take is...you are still young and think the world owe you a living.

 

I know you probably will not listen to advice but I will say it anyway, you should look inwards and ask yourself, are you really as capable and outstanding as you think you are?

 

And for pete's sake, not asking you to write perfect English...but at least write decent English.

i second that.

[Theobserver]

I have always say that...if you want to be a good boss, just don't do the things all your ex-bosses do that have irritated you...

 

Having said that, it is always difficult to be a boss, especially when they have to answer for the losses or bad publicity suffered by the company. But I do not really agree that a director should comment on things like let this guy do it since he is paid so much. In the first place, the director is paid the most ! Having work in the civil service before, I always feel that in civil service, the junior ranks always get the most blame and get penalised the most when something happens. Also the perfomance appraisal is not handled objectively and unfairly in most cases. During my time there, there are people championing for upward appraisal as well, of your superior, but this is always being passed over, for obvious reasons.