it’s your Friday good news

by Alison Green on October 8, 2021

It’s your Friday good news!

1. “I just wanted to share with you some really wonderful news. It has been a somewhat bumpy path, but I am so excited to finally be here. My industry was hit pretty hard by Covid and my company did some layoffs, salary cuts, and hours cuts. Thankfully, I was not laid off, but did have my salary cut in July of 2020 and a few months later had my hours cut as well. It was rough and demoralizing, but I decided to make the best of it. I sat down with my manager when the salary cuts started and explained that I totally understood the position the company was in, and that I knew there would be no raises that year, but that I knew we would make it through this and that when we come out the other side, I wanted to position myself to be promoted in my department.

We worked together on certain skills and things I needed to grow and improve in order to be eligible for a promotion. I really buckled down and put in a ton of effort, and in April 2021, the company was able to restore our full salaries and hours. I asked my manager if we would be doing reviews soon, and they were pushed back due to our busiest season and some projects on my manager’s plate. We finally met in August for my review and I got a lot of positive feedback, but nothing specific on the promotion other than that my manager needed to meet with leadership to discuss company financials.

It took over a month, but this week, I finally got the news that the company is promoting me, that I’m getting about an 8% raise, and I am thrilled! I have worked really hard, and it feels so good to receive the recognition (and corresponding pay increase) that goes with that.”

2. “I wanted to thank every single person in this community as well as Alison for their amazing insight, empathy, and specific advice. I’ve been reading this blog for years and, it has truly helped me progress.

So, amazing news! I was hired as a contractor to work at a large financial investment firm almost a year ago to date. They usually analyze their contractors quarterly based on performance and offer us a “conversion” to be hired on as actual employees. That conversion was delayed for many months because of the pandemic. I knew it was going to come back eventually because of how well the company treats us and because they sent us home first week of March to protect us. I worked hard, networked, worked on a few projects that went live amongst a few states, helped problem solve, asked for coaching opportunities, trained 6 new hire classes, created job aids, etc.

I was officially hired on as an employee back in November. I had to pass 3 licensing tests. It was brutal not only studying but losing friends who did not pass. I got through it and passed my last test early January. It feels wonderful. I worked in my old position as licensed for almost 3 weeks, but I have now been accepted into an “apprenticeship” program where they train me in a new position! It comes with a bonus and, if I perform well, this will become my new position with a 7% raise.

I am incredibly happy to have an amazing company that pays and truly cares about their employees. Years ago, I thought I was going to have to be a lifer in the food service industry. I dont ever look down on anyone that is, but I also did not want that to be my life path. I had no idea how I could ever break out of that. Alison, just reading all the advice you have given has helped my translate my food service skills and reframe them into great interview talking points. I am incredibly grateful, and I know that I deserve this. Thank you.”

3. “I wanted to thank you for what a valuable resource that your website has been for me. I have been especially grateful for the Friday Good News posts, and I finally have some good news of my own!

My first real office job out of college was a customer service position that I took to escape retail. It was in an industry that had absolutely nothing to do with my niche liberal arts major, but thanks to your tips about cover letters, I was able to highlight my transferable skills and got the job!

After a few promotions, including one that got me mostly out of customer service, I hit a ceiling. No more opportunities for growth, and the benefits weren’t great either. I was considering moving on, and then I had a health issue that required surgery. I decided to stay put for awhile and maybe change jobs once my medical leave was over. Then the pandemic happened, so I stuck it out a bit longer because I was working from home and still had some lingering health issues, and my employer was very flexible. That flexibility ended over the summer with mandatory return to work full time, despite the delta variant. That was it, and while I had been occasionally putting in an application here or there, I ramped up into a full-blown search.

I read up on your resources and cast a wide net. It took a long time to hear back from anyone, so the Good News posts were so encouraging while I got crickets from employers. Finally, I got a few interviews, asked the magic question, and got to choose between two job offers! Both of them were in a completely different industry, but they were impressed by my materials and interviews. When I put in my notice, I got a tempting counter offer, but thanks to what I’d read on your website, I realized that what they were offering wouldn’t fix everything I was unhappy with.

I just finished my first week at my new job (with more money and better benefits!) and I’m really excited about the work! Thank you for all of your wonderful advice, and thanks for sharing the Good News posts. I don’t think I would be where I am today without the knowledge you’ve shared.”

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{ 26 comments }

{ 26 comments… read them below }

    1. Radio Girl*

      Yes, they are. Everyone Letter writer showed patience, hard work and diligence. Kudos to all!

      2. Squirrel Nutkin*

        I agree — I feel like all of these letter writers helped make their own good fortune! Bravo/a/x, everyone!

  2. CaughtOnCandy*

    I didn’t send anything in officially to the good news section, but my good news today is that I got a promotion and start my new job Monday! I definitely used resources from this website over the years to get better at working in an office environment and am so excited to transfer to my new position. Just a bit nervous about feeling out the new boss and their new style.

    4. Bayta Darrell*

      Congratulations! It’s hard getting to “learn” a new boss, but I’m sure you’ll do great!

  3. not a doctor*

    I didn’t send anything in, but I do have a bit of good news I wanted to share! Earlier this week, I discovered my boss had left me out of a piece of work I really should have been included in. For any other human alive, this would probably be a mistake, but she’s *extremely* deliberate and meticulous about these things, and there have been some snags in my part of this project, so I started worrying she was more unhappy with me than she’d let on.

    In my pre-AAM life, I probably would have said nothing and tucked it away to stew over for the next three months, or freaked out at a coworker. Instead, I made myself sleep on it, and the next day, I brought it up with her in the most professional, “What Would Allison Say?” tone I think I’ve ever used. And it turns out I was almost right: she DID deliberately leave me out… not because she was upset, but because she thought it would be a waste of my time! So we’ve agreed that she’ll keep me in the loop about relevant work whether or not I’m doing it, and I’ll gladly stick to prioritizing the things that matter.

    1. Captains of Bureaucracy*

      I love this news. I find this stuff far harder than a resume or job interview. Well done!

    2. SansaStark*

      It definitely helps to channel Alison when you have a tough/uncomfortable conversation on your hands! Good job!

    3. Squirrel Nutkin*

      Wow, that’s awesome that you managed to take something that could have been majorly upsetting and turn it into a productive conversation. That must feel GREAT!

    4. Bayta Darrell*

      Congrats on handling that so well, and for doing such a good job that your boss values your time so much!

  5. Bookworm*

    Thanks as always to the LWs for sharing. Nice to go into a 3 day weekend in the US with some good Friday news. :)

  6. nnn*

    Thank you, Alison, for not making this post all italics like previous Friday Good News posts have been! I find large blocks of italics difficult to read, especially with serif fonts, so I’m very happy to be able to read this one with less effort!

    (In terms of long-term planning, if you’re ever looking at updating your CSS, you might consider not making the blockquote tag italics by default – an indentation or a slightly different font colour would be friendlier on many people’s eyes)

    1. David*

      Agreed, I’m also not a fan of the all-italics. In fact I put a little script in my browser that changes the formatting of blockquotes on this site to de-italicize the text and add a bar on the left like I’ve seen in many other places. (It’s not perfect, but it mostly works well enough.)

      Don’t get me wrong, I love the site overall! The formatting is a super minor issue for me. But to whatever extent it matters, I’m definitely on team non-italic.

      1. nnn*

        David, would you be able to share that script, or a couple of keywords to get me started on googling my way there? Italic blockquotes are something I’ve really struggled with since my head injury, and I never knew there was such thing as a script to change it!

    2. Ask a Manager* Post author

      A reader emailed me and pointed out it’s hard to read — and they’re right! I usually use italics to set the question off from the answer, but there’s no need for that here since there are no answers. I’ll do it like this going forward.

  7. Peter Piper Picked a Peck of Pickled Peppers*

    I also have a good news update which I’ve been meaning to share for a while :) I’m going to make an effort to email Alison this week!

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