I was part of the Social Media team. Despite the fact that it is an amazing field, both fun and serious, I had the most horrible work experience, and mainly due to the management. See I came from France with some confidence in me, a lot of luggage and ideas, creative ideas. I wanted to boost things up. I wanted to do what I came for: add a value. It worked for the first two months, and for a reason, I did not have the encouragement I needed to do more, I even was criticized, and not in a teaching manner. It was some king of passive bullying from my manager.
I then started working closely with a senior member of the team. I was doing his job, writing all the report from beginning to end, managing even a team when he was on holidays one week before the due date of the presentation. I was learning things by doing them on my own, and there were no recognition what so ever.
One day we had to meet with him and top management to set objectives and do an evaluation. He told me in order for me to become project manager I needed to improve in some fields. I thought yes this will finally (after 1 year and a half) my first constructive evaluation. I told him, let’s take the example of the last project I managed from the beginning to the end (presentation to client included) what did I do that I need to improve? He said actually said “nothing” it was perfect. (long and awkward silence) I understood that it was all a scene to make me not ask for a promotion well deserved. I understood that there was no future there for me, and I needed to find an out.
I only started looking for other jobs when I saw that 70% of the team was leaving Social Media team. My situation was a bit more complicated and my management knew that. They knew I needed a work visa to work in there. They knew it was not easy for me to change, so they took advantage of it. Very little pay for the work done, they knew it I knew it and yet no one could do anything about it except me. I realized it was not worth it to pay that price, to play with your career, and to feel that crappy for a visa. I loved London, I had all my friends and life over there. Coming back home was very scary, the culture is different. But all in all I would rather be home than abroad working as a modern slave. I came back home and was very surprised. I have an amazing job, managing a team now, working for my country and creating value in my country with my beloved ones. I have no regrets what so ever leaving London.
All I can say about that team (and that team only as the other team I joined for a very short time was very nice and welcoming) is that they made a fun field felt like horror to their team members. Creating a lying and abusive environment, having a manger, not a leader, but a mean jealous very unattractive (personality wise) manage a young team full of hope and ideas. This only my personal opinion, but in a team of 8, 5 felt the same way and 5 left the team. If I can say one thing to that manager, is that you thought me one thing, the kind of manager I would thrive NOT to be like.
