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Career Frustrations

MONTANTK said:
This is something I still think about. I had a short stint in real estate just when prices started going crazy. I definitely agree that prices will need to come down. Luckily they’re not super crazy in my area depending on the neighborhood but I’ve considered getting a double for this reason. The only thing worse than the property prices are the taxes. Gotta love NYS
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It is an inventory issue driving prices up. There are way more buyers then sellers. Around here, every home listed is sold in 24-48 hours with multiple offers every time. Our average sale price is not really that high compared to a lot of the country. I wrote an offer for a client the other day on a home listed at 180,000. We had an escalation clause that would take us to 205,000 and still did not get it. The market is just insane right now but I honestly think it is headed for a crash if things don’t change.
 
Stryker said:
It is an inventory issue driving prices up. There are way more buyers then sellers. Around here, every home listed is sold in 24-48 hours with multiple offers every time. Our average sale price is not really that high compared to a lot of the country. I wrote an offer for a client the other day on a home listed at 180,000. We had an escalation clause that would take us to 205,000 and still did not get it. The market is just insane right now but I honestly think it is headed for a crash if things don’t change.
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In many of the areas it’s just not sustainable. People are levering up 3-4x or 2-3x on top of loan debt and the houses they’re buying still need tons of work. I’ve seen a couple agents posting about how they got 20+ offers on house which is madness
 
MONTANTK said:
In many of the areas it’s just not sustainable. People are levering up 3-4x or 2-3x on top of loan debt and the houses they’re buying still need tons of work. I’ve seen a couple agents posting about how they got 20+ offers on house which is madness
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Yeah it is because interest rates are still low and inventory is non existent. It is not hard to get that many offers in a busy area because there are just so many buyers and so few sellers. A lot of buyers are just throwing numbers at anything that pops up out of frustration whether they love the house or not. I hate that because I have always told my clients if they don’t love it and it doesn’t feel like home walk away. I think there will be a lot of buyers remorse as we move ahead. Foreclosures and new construction are usually what helps but no foreclosures allowed for them vet a year and construction material prices so high that new construction is down some too in our area. It’s insane.
 
jmix18 said:
In the same spot now... lost out on a job to my college roommate and teammate! Didn't know that he had applied as well and at the final interviews we ran into each other - hugged it out, (cuz after living together during college I'm not sure much could kill us.) - and I knew then that he'd get the job. He'd worked there for years, left, and now wanted to come back. Was crushed when I found out I didn't get it - and forced myself to be happy for him when he called me excited. (I'm happy for him - I am, just wasn't the plan that my family wanted.)

So I gotta figure that my time and work isn't done here. Figure if I dwell on it, then my work here will suffer as well as the relationships I've built. I don't want to become that bitter person that you sometimes see in jobs. The kicker here: The person doing the hiring is also a good friend of mine. We've spent hours/days having cocktails and talking about how awesome it would be to work together and even laid out those hypothetical plans on what we'd do and how it'd look as well as career ladder stuff... Have yet to hear from him about this which is what burns the most on this. So - haven't fully gotten over it yet as I continue to work through the interview process wondering if I said or did something wrong.. It will pass I know. Just stung pretty deep. So - time will pass and things will heal. Truly believe that we're placed in places to do certain things for certain times and when it's time, other doors will open.
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Your friend doing the hiring doesn't know how to handle letting a friend down. Give them a call and set up drinks and let him know you understand the decision and while disappointed you want to maintain the relationship. I handled something similar poorly as the hiring manager in the past and it took me a while to fix it. If you set up time to get together it will likely help things move on and it may open up new opportunities.
 
Stryker said:
Yeah it is because interest rates are still low and inventory is non existent. It is not hard to get that many offers in a busy area because there are just so many buyers and so few sellers. A lot of buyers are just throwing numbers at anything that pops up out of frustration whether they love the house or not. I hate that because I have always told my clients if they don’t love it and it doesn’t feel like home walk away. I think there will be a lot of buyers remorse as we move ahead. Foreclosures and new construction are usually what helps but no foreclosures allowed for them vet a year and construction material prices so high that new construction is down some too in our area. It’s insane.
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New construction in my area has been chugging along but the only issue is most of it starts at the low 400s. The average is probably over 500. The new builds that start in the high 200s come with property taxes that are damn near the same as the mortgage
 
MONTANTK said:
New construction in my area has been chugging along but the only issue is most of it starts at the low 400s. The average is probably over 500. The new builds that start in the high 200s come with property taxes that are damn near the same as the mortgage
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Did I miss where you live? Is this your first house?
 
MONTANTK said:
I’m from Buffalo. It will be my first house
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Regarding first house purchases I would say don't get hung up on getting your forever home. It is much more important to become a homeowner and get on the homeowning curve. We have moved several times and leveraged increasing property values every time we did. For your first house I think it is unlikely to get your forever home so don't expect to.
 
Chef23 said:
Regarding first house purchases I would say don't get hung up on getting your forever home. It is much more important to become a homeowner and get on the homeowning curve. We have moved several times and leveraged increasing property values every time we did. For your first house I think it is unlikely to get your forever home so don't expect to.
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I’m definitely not expecting it. Looking for something that I can stay in for 7-10 years that won’t need a ton of work. Hoping I’ll be able to find that for under $250k
 
I’m in quite a different situation as I’m following my wife around as she goes through the process of becoming a physician. But there are some parallels! I am not debt-free, but am wrangling with the concept of going back to school for an MBA. It will likely happen, but right now since I can’t fully chart my career options while being tied to my wife’s, I am happy working in a role that supports our lifestyle and gives me purpose. Although I have worked for four different companies in the seven years since I graduated college, mostly due to moving around for my wife’s career.

On the home buying front, we bought our first home in Kansas City in 2017 knowing we could very well move in less than two years. There was no inventory in our ~$200K unless you wanted a big project. We settled about 20% over our initial price range. I had run the numbers and rentals in the area were just outrageous, so when we sold 20 months later, we made out ok (thanks in part to the ridiculous housing market). We were selling and moving back to PA for her to complete her residency, so again possibly only 3 years. And again we ran the numbers and decided to buy. And again we had to stretch our initial target upwards about 20% to find what we were looking for. Neither home was perfect, but we got something we’re comfortable in, within our budget, in the area we wanted to live.

Just remember what your ultimate goals are throughout the process. Stick to the things that will help you achieve those goals and you can’t go wrong!
 
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MONTANTK said:
I’m definitely not expecting it. Looking for something that I can stay in for 7-10 years that won’t need a ton of work. Hoping I’ll be able to find that for under $250k
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Don't move to eastern Massachusetts.

I thought we would be 7-10 in our first house and it wound up being 5 years. I thought our second house was going to be forever and things changed.
 
I jumped around quite a bit, every 1.5-3 years at the start of my career, mostly for the increase in salary. Same field and scope of work, just as I got more experience and letters after my name, I became more 'in demand', and when my current employer would only give e a 3% increase i had to go looking for the 15+%.

I finally settled in to my current organization as its a place people have worked for 30+ years, but then there's changes and its not as appealing for others as it once was, but for me ill try to be here until retirement.

Its tough at your phase but it sounds like while everything externally is checked off, theres something missing from and internal satisfaction. Sometimes that's changes, but sometimes people get stuck.
 
greekelite said:
I jumped around quite a bit, every 1.5-3 years at the start of my career, mostly for the increase in salary. Same field and scope of work, just as I got more experience and letters after my name, I became more 'in demand', and when my current employer would only give e a 3% increase i had to go looking for the 15+%.

I finally settled in to my current organization as its a place people have worked for 30+ years, but then there's changes and its not as appealing for others as it once was, but for me ill try to be here until retirement.

Its tough at your phase but it sounds like while everything externally is checked off, theres something missing from and internal satisfaction. Sometimes that's changes, but sometimes people get stuck.
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There is nothing wrong with changing jobs particularly because early in your career it can lead to larger increases but make sure you move toward a good situation not running from something.
 
The article I just cited a few posts above showed up in my SmartBrief on Your Career daily digest. They have a bunch of topics, and they are free, For example, I subscribe to Your Career, Leadership, Retirement, the American Chemistry Council, Shale, and Sustainability.

Check them out here: www.smartbrief.com
 
Stryker said:
Yeah it is because interest rates are still low and inventory is non existent. It is not hard to get that many offers in a busy area because there are just so many buyers and so few sellers. A lot of buyers are just throwing numbers at anything that pops up out of frustration whether they love the house or not. I hate that because I have always told my clients if they don’t love it and it doesn’t feel like home walk away. I think there will be a lot of buyers remorse as we move ahead. Foreclosures and new construction are usually what helps but no foreclosures allowed for them vet a year and construction material prices so high that new construction is down some too in our area. It’s insane.
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We see the same here. I am a part time realtor and I'm generally not taking new clients unless they're direct friend/family. Selling a house is easy but buying? I'm not willing to encourage my clients to do some of the things other realtors are.

Skipping inspections, offering100k over asking (that happened here VERY recently on a house priced at no more than 300k), etc. No thanks. Most realtors aren't advising their clients properly of the fall out that will come. And it is coming. Just a matter of when. It might be the tax hike you weren't expecting, it might be price crashes, it might be that all of a sudden your newly renovated house needs repairs that would've been caught with an inspection. It might be that you need some of that cash all of a sudden that you used to make a huge down payment so your house would appraise for the bank.

They're all after the almighty dollar and thankfully with this not being my full time career I don't have to feel that crunch at the moment.
 
Reframmellator said:
"I was a young guy, married with a baby, living in a fourth floor walkup with steam heat, working at the GE Aircraft plant in Lynn, MA. I came home with my paycheck and sat down and looked at the bills. My bills were $3/week more than my paycheck, so I looked ahead and the bills were $3/week more than my paycheck for as far as I could see. I decided that couldn't continue. So I went back to school at night."

When he retired, he was the CEO of Honeywell.
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Allow me to start by saying I understand your frustration, and sympathize with you. I am in the final 3 weeks of my contract, and at this time, I have a few leads but nothing concrete. I am the DC area and there are a lot of jobs, but one needs very specific tools to apply for them. I have most of those tools but my resume betrays me - it shows that I am old and would likely either demand too much in salary or have only a few years of employment (both of which are to some extent true, but neither of which is 'automatic').

I have a bad habit of loyalty to my clients and employer assuming that my value is equally respected by them - this will be the 3rd time that my loyalty was rewarded with, well nothing. I was once out of work for 6 months - it's troubling, and I am already sleeping poorly. I don't want to end up eating into retirement funds/investments now which would make me end working more later (with less return on new investments) - but I may have no option.

So to you, and to me, either rewrite the resume, learn a new trade (or new tricks), or prepare to move/find a new 'thing.' If you are young enough, get back in school Cyber/computer is the way to go. If you are willing, elder care is a field that is going to explode - as the population continues to age.

Good luck to you and everyone who is or may be experiencing this today or in the future.
 
etakmit said:
We see the same here. I am a part time realtor and I'm generally not taking new clients unless they're direct friend/family. Selling a house is easy but buying? I'm not willing to encourage my clients to do some of the things other realtors are.

Skipping inspections, offering100k over asking (that happened here VERY recently on a house priced at no more than 300k), etc. No thanks. Most realtors aren't advising their clients properly of the fall out that will come. And it is coming. Just a matter of when. It might be the tax hike you weren't expecting, it might be price crashes, it might be that all of a sudden your newly renovated house needs repairs that would've been caught with an inspection. It might be that you need some of that cash all of a sudden that you used to make a huge down payment so your house would appraise for the bank.

They're all after the almighty dollar and thankfully with this not being my full time career I don't have to feel that crunch at the moment.
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You are 💯 correct. Too many agents are about their bank account and not providing the best advice for their clients.
 
Stryker said:
You are 💯 correct. Too many agents are about their bank account and not providing the best advice for their clients.
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The worst part about that is that it 100% goes against the Code of Ethics we all have to adhere to IMO because the client HAS to be #1 and that is absolutely not happening
 
The best time to look for a job is when you have one. I'd reach out to a recruiter and have them look for opportunities. If the recruiter has, or can develop, a relationship with the appropriate hiring manager(s) or HR contacts at the 2-3 companies you mentioned, he might be able to get you an interview even though they have no open/active job requisitions.
 
pattyboy21 said:
The best time to look for a job is when you have one. I'd reach out to a recruiter and have them look for opportunities. If the recruiter has, or can develop, a relationship with the appropriate hiring manager(s) or HR contacts at the 2-3 companies you mentioned, he might be able to get you an interview even though they have no open/active job requisitions.
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Like most everything else, there are good recruiters and bad recruiters. I do not intend to paint all recruiters with the same brush. I understand @JB was a recruiter in a former life, so I am sure he is a more authoritative source on this topic than I could ever be. At a minimum, I would suggest you understand the differences between a retained search firm and a contingency search firm. If the latter, there are certain questions I would ask before working with them. I've found this book to have a really good explanation of recruiters, and he has an unconventional take on the job search as well. Understand it was written by the head of a retained search firm.

https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/rites-of-passage-at-100000-to-1000000-john-lucht/1119877335

I've had eight job searches in my career, voluntarily and otherwise. If you're looking for a way into a specific company, my experience has been that the best way to get an introduction is through your network. Of my seven company changes, six came through my network, and one by answering a trade magazine ad. I probably contacted over eight hundred recruiters during my searches, and that led to one job offer. There were two other situations in which recruiters contacted me about an opportunity. I think that's more likely to lead to something meaningful than reaching out to a recruiter. If a recruiter thinks you're a potential fit somewhere, (s)he'll find you. BTW, my statistics are not too far from the overall numbers of how professionals find jobs. But it is a numbers game: the more lines you cast out, the more likely you are to land a big fish. Just remember that some areas have more big fish lurking than others.
 
MONTANTK said:
New construction in my area has been chugging along but the only issue is most of it starts at the low 400s. The average is probably over 500. The new builds that start in the high 200s come with property taxes that are damn near the same as the mortgage
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I am in Clarence. Try to get a starter house in Tonawanda, West Seneca, or further in the country like Akron, or Corfu. Our real estate is finally blowing up. My first house was 950 sq feet in Williamsville. Now I live in a nice house not huge in the epicenter of the real estate boom. Be patient. Life changes all the time.
 
etakmit said:
The worst part about that is that it 100% goes against the Code of Ethics we all have to adhere to IMO because the client HAS to be #1 and that is absolutely not happening
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Again we are are on the same page. I agree totally.
 
wubears71 said:
Yep. It was as recent at last year with Covid. I considered a complete career change. It was absolutely soul sucking how bad things were. I felt hopeless. I spent lots of time thinking about whether or not this is what I want to do. Then, I realized that I love what I do but hate the environment I do it in.

As cliche' as it sounds, networking saved me. I put feelers out there with the people I knew related to my industry. One of the benefits that came out of Covid is the ability to work anywhere due to remote work capabilities - all that is required is a laptop and a good internet connection.

Four months later, I am in the best place I've ever been career wise. It's been a true blessing. I just needed to figure out what I really wanted to do and then work those connections. My current job was not posed anywhere that I would have found via job boards or company websites. It was all word of mouth!
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this reminds me of something I have observed many times- it is who you work with more then what you do. Simply having people appreciate your contribution is priceless.
 
nu720 said:
I am in Clarence. Try to get a starter house in Tonawanda, West Seneca, or further in the country like Akron, or Corfu. Our real estate is finally blowing up. My first house was 950 sq feet in Williamsville. Now I live in a nice house not huge in the epicenter of the real estate boom. Be patient. Life changes all the time.
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Hey a fellow Buffalo member! I’ve been looking at Tonawanda but a friend just bought a house there and paid $80k over. Still going to try there or Kenmore most likely. I do like West Seneca (I live there now) but it’s a little expensive. Definitely going to consider Akron as well although it would be a hell of a drive for my girlfriend to get to and from work
 
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