Dealing with Employment #8220;Bait and Switch#8221;

Dealing with Employment #8220;Bait and Switch#8221; Dealing with Employment #8220;Bait and Switch#8221; Have you been hired for a job only to find that your duties are completely different than what you signed on for? If so, then you may be the victim of an employment bait and switch. If you were initially promised exciting and high-profile projects at the time of hire but end up stuck performing daily menial tasks it may be time to make some moves to improve your situation. First things first, you need to figure out whether or not you are really in a bait and switch situation. There is a chance that you are first expected to work your way up to your promised position; sort of an evaluation period to gauge your true abilities. It may also be possible that your boss was not adequately aware of the duties that the position entailed and, thus, mistakenly informed you of a false set of expectations. Regardless of the cause, you should begin your investigation with a heart-to-heart with your boss. The conversation should be simple: “I expected to do this but am actually doing this.” Bring up the official job description for which you were hired and get your boss’s thoughts on what is expected of you and when you can start working the more desired tasks. Make sure you express your motivation and enthusiasm for the original job description and send out feelers to find out what you can do to get where you want to be. This talk may be all you need to set things straight. But you don’t need to rely on others to get you where you want to go. Take some initiative of your own and tackle some of the issues that necessitate some of the menial aspects of your job. Try to automate tedious processes or at least make them more efficient. You may also create your own projects to solve more complicated problems around your office. If your boss is unable to help alleviate your issues, consider approaching your human resources representative about transferring to another department or team. You may even have the recommendation of your current boss if the bait and switch was unintentional. This approach alleviates the hassles of performing another job search and may place you in a position more suited to your interests, goals, and strengths. The option of last resort is to quit. If you can find no suitable alternatives within your current employer and your boss is unable or unwilling to accommodate your needs, you may need to find another job where the job description matches reality and you don’t have to work so hard to feel fulfilled. Unless you signed an employment contract obligating you to work for a set amount of time, you should have no problems exiting your undesirable position with no professional repercussions. Never settle for an unfulfilling job and/or one that doesnt offer a challenge, especially one you’ve been tricked into accepting. There are always better options for those who are patient and persevering enough to brave the job market for more fitting employment.