I want to know how one spends $150k on a wardrobe.  I mean, I understand that they shopped at places like Nieman Marcus and Saks 5th, but those style suits she's wearing,  cost maybe about $1000 each.  She'd have to have bought 150 suits!  I mean, what did they do, buy 80 suits, 80 pairs of designer shoes, and $60k on jewelry?

It's sick...$150k could have helped a lot of people.    

Gee, my boss disappeared for a whole week this summer.  I left Friday night with a pile of stuff I needed him to sign and approve on Monday in order to make deadlines and when I came in on Monday he had changed his schedule to read "VACATION".  Apparently he decided to grab the kids and run to the beach for the week.  

Must be nice for him, but without any other authorized signers in the office I had to call brand new clients and tell them we had to postpone things because the Pres was unexpectadly called away for a "family emergency".  

I hate when he doesn't note on his schedule that he's out of the office for something, but his random trips or long weekends are a real pain in the butt.

I've had my share of micromanagers in my life, but I have to say I'm hating this style more.  The Passive Aggressive manager.  He won't come right out and tell you what he wants, you have to guess.  When you are wrong, then it's a matter of your work level or ability, not that he already had the whole thing worked out in his head the way he wanted and neglected to tell you.  

He's the guy who wants to appear like he cares about his employees so he puts YOU in charge of buying them all individual birthday cards and gift certificates for places they like so he can sign it and look so nice, yet if he doesn't get around to signing the card until the day of the birthday it is suddenly your fault that the card will arrive a day late.  

He's the guy who praises you to your face and then belittles you to your coworkers.  

He's the guy who is silent through every major success you have, every time you do a fabulous job on something, but gets snarky and sarcastic with you if he catches a small mistake.

He's the guy who ignores your ideas and suggestions until he realizes you were right, then announces your changes and ideas to the company....as his.  

He's the guy who tells you that you have a 75% chance of getting the promotion into the job you've been doing for 3 months since the seat was vacated (along with your own) and then up and hires someone without even letting you know that they decided to interview.  (though you know because you've seen the resumes left on printers, and you've gotten each of these interviewees coffee or water while they wait)

He's the one who looks at your project list and sees how incredibly swamped you are, and then questions you when about your ability to multi-task when you can't get to HIS project right this second.  

He's the guy who abuses that one line in your job description the worst: Other -projects as needed.

He's the guy who signs my paycheck.  He's my boss.  He's the president of the company so I can't complain.  And I would rather have a micromanager.  

Oh be soooooo careful with bosses like this.  Bosses who can't give you concrete examples of what they want or expect are BAD NEWS.

Here is my suggestion.  Schedule your own meeting with her.  Sit her down and say "I am really struggling with your expectations of these meetings of ours and it would really help me if we could use this time to go over exactly what it is you are looking for."  There is nothing wrong with asking for specifics.  Tell her what you THINK she wants and ask her if this is correct.  Remind her that as much as you would like to you can't read her mind and you just can't anticipate what she wants yet as you are still pretty new.  Let her know that you've seen how disappointed she looks when you present your work and would like to figure out exactly what her expectations are.

She sounds like a major micro-manager.  What's worse, a micro-manager who won't even tell you what she wants.  These types of bosses can lead to trouble...bad reviews with no explanation, bad projects because they don't trust you on better ones, you need to iron out any misconceptions between the two of you.

I know it can be scary with her being the boss and all, but how can you assist her if you don't know what she wants?  It's perfectly reasonable to ask her to explain to you.  It's also covering your own butt.

Well, since your boss knows you read his e-mail you might as well confront him about it, because he WILL know that you have seen it.  By not confronting him about it he may think that you have something to hide.  Confronting him about it (in a professional way) will make you look more adult, professional, etc.  

I would do this as soon as possible, the longer you wait the stranger it will look.  Also, I would take a few minutes to go over the past year in your head, looking for things that maybe you missed, issues he has had with you, things he may be referencing.  Take those things and find a professional way to respond to them.  If this is all news to you and your boss has never really said anything negative, go to him with that.  Say you don't want to wait for your review to talk about it.  You work hard and have no idea if he's unhappy about something until he says so.  Why wait until your review to dump it all on you when he could simply been up front about it to begin with and given you a chance to improve.  Doing it this way is like passive aggressive sabotage.

And besides, if you go to your boss with this he may say that it wasn't him making the negative reports, but the other manager...then you at least know where the problem is coming from.  

Trust me, doing nothing and sitting on your hands until review-time is the worst thing to do.  You have to protect your job and your work-image, especially at this weird time.

So if you look back at some of my other posts you'll see that I've been gearing up for my annual review and possible promotion.  I left no-so-subtle hints as well as blatant requests that I would like them to hire a receptionist so that I can finally focus on the big, important, deeply involved projects that I have going on right now.  These projects are why I enjoy coming in each day, they challenge me.  The other stuff I could care less about.  

So they love me, they went on and on in my review about how fabulous I am, how great I'm doing, how much they love having me here....then despite the fact that I don't make even close to the average for someone in my position, despite the fact that they have almost doubled in the amount of business they are doing, despite the fact that my workload has almost tripled, I got a 4% raise and told that they will not hire a receptionist and if my big projects are getting in the way of my receptionist duties that I can just stop working on the big projects.

I'm the office administrator.  I was told when I was hired that my position was approximately 20% receptionist duties, also I was told that there was enormous room for growth.

I have seen nothing.  Now more than ever I am being disrespected, referred to by staff to clients as the "receptionist" and am quite upset.  I don't look forward to anything about my job anymore.  I come in to work and go through the motions. I have no more drive.  

Needless to say I am searching for a new job.  I just can't go on working somewhere that they don't appreciate me.  In the meantime I'm just trying to get by, not get in trouble, do the minimum, and get out without burning too many bridges.

Any advice or uplifting success stories would be really helpful right now.  Please?

It's never fun to be in this situation.  I've been there twice and both with very different endings.  
One situation I suffered in silence, trying to get as much done as possible, letting my boss know how swamped I was (yet they didn't seem to understand), and tried to find ways to prioritize, etc.  Eventually I ended up getting in trouble and written up because I couldn't quite finish things on time, or small mistakes were made because I couldn't focus my full attention on them.  Eventually I ended up leaving the company because my boss was always yelling about it and never offered any help, even when I asked.
The second situation I kept in constant contact with my boss.  I would send him reports every other week even though he never asked.  My reports would be short and sweet so not to take up too much time, but would consist of a list of projects I was working on, how they were going, who asked me to do them, and when they were due.   This kept him in the loop 100% of the time so he could see how swamped I was.   After a couple of months of this and seeing how stressed I was he pulled me aside, let me know how much he appreciated my dedication to everyone and my desire to be everything to everyone...then gave me his permission to start telling people NO.  NO, I can't help you colate and file that paperwork...see Dick if you have a problem with it.  NO, I can't create labels and send out a mass mailing to 400 people...see Dick if you have a problem with it.

If you keep your MAIN boss informed of what you are working on he'll see that is really isn't about prioritization or laziness, or anything like that.  Send him these reports for a month, two perhaps, see if he responds to it.  If not, then go to him and let him know that something needs to be done.  Bring up your solutions again, ask for imput.

If after this he STILL doesn't seem helpful or concerned....find a new position.  Your bosses job is not only his own work, but to manage you.  If you need help and he won't help you, he will NEVER get any better and only YOU will suffer for it.

Thanks everyone, those are some really great ideas!  I think I'd have to skip over Administrative Manager as my manager is the Finance & Administration Manager and he may not care for the title...a little too close to home.  

I do like the Communications Manager, or Coordinator...my degree is in Mass Communications so that could work.

Thanks you guys!  

I've been with the same company for over a year and a half and my second review is coming up next month.  Last year they raved about my work and gave me a 5% raise.  This year I'm hoping for a raise AND promotion.  It's not that I'm greedy, I'm just doing three jobs at once now and can't juggle it all.  I'm trying to find an appropriate title for what I could continue to do (assuming I get promoted and they hire a receptionist or secretary to take over the receptionist and basic admin stuff).
Things I'm working on continuously:

Creating Marketing campaigns
Communicating with clients
In charge of the client management system
Now in charge of creating a documentation stragety and policy
Going to be in charge of the new SharePoint document system as well as data migration
Proofreading all proposals prior to delivery
Management of the contract process, execution and announcement
Weekly newsletter creation
Proofread and make adjustments to Monthly Network Systems Support Reports to 10 biggest clients
Event management (internal and external)
Facility management
Creating and executing teambuilding exercises and days out
Creating and managing first ever intern program
Finding and tracking continuing education training options for employees
Manage the company phone system/server/training
Assisting Consultants with various projects as needed

Currently my title is Office Administrator and I work the reception desk.  My job description does NOT include about 70% of what is above and is really that of a general office admin person (supplies, phones, greeting, kitchen, copying, etc).  I have a bachelor's degree, have managed people before, and am plenty qualified to do all the above....I just don't know what you would call that position.
It's not really marketing, it's sort of operations, sort of client communications, it's a hodge-podge of a group of different jobs.   (We're a small company that is growing rapidly in number of clients and work, just not employees to compensate, so everyone wears a lot of hats)  I want to grow and stay with the company but I just can't do all my work AND have the basic admin duties.

So what is my title?  Any suggestions are helpful.

First, your firm may have to follow a certain policy of advertising a position for a certain amount of time before they can fill it from within.  However, they may not like to promote from within as well, which is something I just can't wrap my head around.  
If I were you I would go to the office manager and remind them that you are interested, that you would like to at least interview for the position and then if they continue to ignore your request I would meet with them again and ask point blank WHY.  Is it something that you are not doing in your job that makes them feel you aren't going to do well?  Does the job specifically require a bachelors' degree and why?  Is there something you could be doing to help make you more prone to be a candidate for the next opening?  

There is nothing wrong with wanting to further your career, especially if you are staying within the same company.  Going to the right person may be key.  Is the office manager the only person you can go to?  What about the person who is the manager over the empty position?  Can you go to them?  Perhaps the Office Manager has something against you or doesn't want to lose you in the position you are in now.  If you get nowhere with the OM, go to the next level.  

I just read the article on Desk Demon titled “How to Answer the ‘Why were you fired?’ Question” by Jonathan Walker and I have to say I’m very disappointed and also very insulted.  Mr. Walker states that while being fired is a common thing, happens to everyone, he gives horrible advice and makes wide assumptions.  

For Example:

Do Not Say Bad Things About Your Employer:    Ok, you don’t want to be too negative because, yes, you will sound whiny and negative.  So tell me how you would explain that you were being verbally and emotionally harassed by your employer to the point that you were losing hair, sleep, getting sick, feeling nauseous every time you entered the building and finally had to go to the company lawyer to look for help?  How would you give that a positive spin??

Do Not Blame It On Anyone, Especially Office Politics:  Again...same situation...female boss harasses Employee A.  Female boss was just hired and is best friends with owners of the company and their family.  Employee A had worked with female boss in another job and knows for a fact that boss lied on her resume.  Shortly after being hired female boss fires three single mothers and then targets Employee A.  Female boss threatens, harasses, lies, accuses, calls Employee A names when alone.  Employee A goes to company lawyer and claims harassment.  Lawyer takes 1 week to "investigate", says it isn’t harassment because both boss and employee are female, and two days later employee is fired on trumped up charge of not returning a customer's call but lawyers cannot produce voicemail or e-mail or any other proof of this.   So how would you describe that scenario to a potential employer?  How would you spin that so you aren’t blaming the firing on anyone??

Be Honest and Don’t Keep Anything Hidden:   Right there you are contradicting what you have been saying.  If it wasn’t actually something you did that got you fired and you can’t say bad things or blame it on anyone, then you would have to lie. Wouldn’t you?

Don’t Blame Incompatibility with Your Boss or Coworkers:  Ok...this is the one that is insulting.  Mr. Walker says in the article “If you were a good employee, you should have found ways to befriend your co-workers and boss. Being nice to everyone, no matter what their office rank may be, helps you handle difficult situations. Employees who get fired because of their incompatibility with the rest of the working team only prove that they are immature and have social issues.”   So, if I understand this correctly, my inability to get along with my boss who was horrible to me the moment she stepped foot into the building, harassed me, called me names, threatened me, accused me of ridiculous things, etc,  was all due to the fact that I’m just a bad employee?  I'm immature and have social issues because I just couldn't get along with my boss no matter how much I tried? I'm a very likeable person, I'm a very happy and upbeat person, and I get along very well in 98% of all situations.  But because in this circumstance I was not able to win over a harassing and nasty boss that makes me less of an employee???  So the fact that in my last two jobs I have taken I have been given very substantial raises, praised by coworkers and bosses, given promotions....it’s all a fluke?  

So, while Mr. Walker’s advice may work for some out there, he insults those of us who have fought hard and struggle continuously to get past the humiliating and sometimes infuriating experience of being fired.  Not all of us who have been fired were treated fairly, not all of us were fired for something we actually did or did not do.  Some of us were actually...gasp...victimized by those who fired us.  So how should we respond to that question?  Where is our article?

So, the key factor would be that I said I would be happy to take either 1 or 2 (the combination job wouldn't be all my work, just the upper-level admin and some light marketing, the rest would be handled by a receptionist and the outside marketing company).  We spoke at length about my interest in the position, my experience, my capabilities and my shortcomings.  When I left the "interview" (though it was set up as an informal meeting, spur of the moment), the president said they were still talking about the options, what they wanted to do, and they would let me know what they decided and talk with me further about it.    

I was giving them plenty of time because the execs work VERY slowly on this kind of thing (hell, it took the CEO two weeks to decide on a holiday card she liked and I had already narrowed it down to three options for her).  It took five months for them to promote the most senior consultant into a managers job, which was a simple and obvious decision.  So you can see why I haven't really pushed the issue over the last two months.

Also, the main reason why I didn't want to force the issue was because at that same time the company went through a survey of clients and employees to see where we could improve and where we were fine in.  Because of the survey results the execs have come to the realization that they may need to rethink the entire structure of the company, growth potential, training, and many other things.  They had scheduled a Leadership Retreat for the execs to get together to discuss the options.  Considering the fact that they were looking at a complete company reorganization I figured that they wouldn't want to make a decision on that one position until they knew where they were headed.  Silly, naive me.  Now the retreat is two days away and they've made a mad dash to interview everyone and their brother for this position.  They even had one interviewee back who didn't wear a suit, bring her resume, or have anything prepared for them.  Can you imagine?  

Well, I know I should say something, but I'm afraid now it will be too late and it will sound more like I'm being an entitled snot.  Any suggestions as to how I should approach this?

I have been working for a small company for over a year.  There is very little room for growth in the admin side just because of how small it is, but it's growing quite a bit right now thanks to a large amount of new clients.  For the entire time I have been working here I have received rave reviews, gotten a 7% raise, and been given a larger work load because of my work ethic and quality.  I have also done a lot of work for our very young marketing manager.  He and I had not always agreed but we always worked well together.  He began to pile quite a bit of his work load onto me and I found my creative ideas being used under his name.  Before I could say anything he up and quit.  The president then brought me into his office and said that he and the CEO were considering three options in regards to the now open position because they knew how much I was helping him with.  1.  Giving me the job (I have a degree in Mass Media so I could do it if I wanted to), 2. Creating a new position for me that would encompass much of what I do now and much of what the marketing manager did and farm off the direct marketing to an outside firm, and 3. Just hiring a new marketing manager.   They also asked me to help finish quite a bit of the projects that he had been working on before leaving.  This has lead to an enormous amount of work for me, 50+ hour work weeks with no overtime (thanks to being salaried) and lots of added stress (I even came in for three days when I had a fever).  
Now it's been two months, I'm still doing all the work, still incredibly busy, my quality of work is suffering because of the amount of work I have to do, and I've noticed that the CEO and President have had 4 people in to interview for the position.  Now not only am I supposed to greet these interviewees, get them coffee, and introduce them to the executives, but now they want me to call the recruiter to schedule second round interviews.

I just don't know what to do.  I love the people I work for but I find mysef stretched incredibly thin, sick, exhausted, and very very insulted.  Am I out of line to think that since they had given me a 2 out of 3 chance of getting a promotion that they should at least confir with me as to what they are thinking?  Since I'm doing enormous amounts of work that is out of my job description should I be compensated more than just a Thanks and a pat on the back?  I think I would feel better about it if they would just involve me in the process, let me know what's happening.  Am I just feeling too entitled?  I can understand if they want to hire someone with a lot of experience to do the job, but shouldn't I be kept in the loop on this?  
I've spent most of my adult life sitting in a cubicle with no privacy and doing the work of two to three people, and the opportunity to have a real title, my own office, and a clear set of duties was getting me very excited.  At 30 I felt it was about time all my hard work was seen, appreciated, and rewarded.  Now I feel like I have had the rug pulled out from under me and a knife stabbed in my back.  

I need advice, please!