I acknowledge working outside of my knowledge base leaves me in a vulnerable position, but I am smart and confident. My self-esteem took a plunge after the meeting. I have never been let go for lack of experience, knowledge, or performance. While Donald did not use any of these reasons for his decision, I trusted they were significant factors in the decision process. .
Different Perspectives.
Donald and I looked at this situation from two different perspectives. I looked at it from an emotional standpoint and Donald viewed it from a business standpoint. Donald needs office staff to reach his long-term goals. Ideally if he could afford to keep Cathy and myself long term he would. With Cathy being able, to return to his office he had the opportunity to fill the gap created upon my departure. Cathy has more experience in the law field than I do, which in turn would free up more of his time that he otherwise spent training me. On the other hand, I felt we made a verbal agreement, which is the same as a contract. In our agreement, I am an employee until December, not until he found someone to replace someone or me with more law experience. I felt as though Donald was in breach of our verbal contract. While I could respect why he made the decision, I also felt Donald did not consider my feelings when he made his decision. I do not feel it is his responsibility to recognize my financial situation or consider my emotions, but I do feel he has the responsibility to uphold our agreement.
Response.
I took the time to think about Donald's decision. I wanted to frame my response in a manner of dignity and pride. I did not agree with his decision so I needed to communicate my feelings to him in a constructive way. Constructive meant reminding him of our agreement while not asking him to change his mind. I drafted an electronic message to Donald that indicated my disappointment in his decision. Reminding him of our agreement in July when I was hired, I also took the opportunity to remind him I declined an interview at a larger corporate entity.
