<p>So as I mentioned in my earlier thread, I work as a marketing consultant for a fairly large company. </p>
<p>I have a desk in the marketing departament, however, I do not report to the head of the marketing departament, instead I sort work directly under the owner. So I have a lot of freedom and I am generally assigned a task and left alone. </p>
<p>However, increasingly, I been given these insanely hard tasks, like formulate marketing plans and implement them, I love my job but I am worried that I am getting too into it…</p>
<p>I go to college and I work every other day part-time but whenever I have free time I get suck in it. There will be days where I stay up all night writing emails or doing whatever. I am sort of under this firm belief that I NEED to produce results and do that, I need to put every single minute of my day towards that. I am in like the “trial” period or whatever, so my wage isn’t high either. But I want to be hired offically and end this “trial” period ASAP. </p>
<p>So I work my ass off, I put in about 15 hours in at the office but when I also work 25-35 additional hours a week on my own(not paid)…</p>
<p>So how do you deal with this? My boss never said anything about deadlines but I just have desire to maximize my work…and the stress is really getting to me…I guess it is all about this precieved notion that if I don’t produce results, then I would fail, and eventually fail someone who give me a chance…</p>
<p>Taste of the real world Wahoo. But keep this in mind. If the cost to perform these tasks and additional responsibilities to your employer (even at part time) is ZERO, then the number of these tasks, and the complexity and amount of work to complete them approaches …Infinity.</p>
<p>You are doing these things to get in a good light, and to secure the full time position (hired “officially” as you said). That is the prize. You are either willing to make those sacrifices now for future gain, or you are not. If you are working directly for the owner, you already have a leg up on any potential competition.</p>
<p>Is this person aware of the voluntary time that you are putting in? Are the projects you are completing done professionally? Even if the hard work you are putting in does not equate to securing this position, you are gaining valuable experience. This experience is probably worth at least 0.5 GPA!!! Maybe more. Keep that in mind.</p>
<p>You can only do so much, there is a limit on the number of hours in a week that you can devote to this. You seem too young to be stressed out over this. Try this. Imagine that you are doing the same thing, but instead of trying to secure THIS job, you must do it to MAINTAIN a job, and that the income does not set you up for your future, but is responsible for developing and maintaining a lifestyle for not only yourself, but a spouse, and kids!!!</p>
<p>This is what being an adult entails. You are getting an early peek.</p>
<p>Given that I find “the real world” about an order of magnitude less stressful than undergrad life, I’m not going to patronize/condescend to you by telling you about how you’re learning about the real world. I do think that the experience that you’re getting is worth a minor GPA drop, easily.</p>
<p>I would say, have a friendly conversation with your boss about the expectations of your position. Explain about all the voluntary work you are doing, but make sure not to come off like you are whining or expecting a cookie (I think tone, body language, and wording are the most important factors for this). Ask how many hours/week boss expects you to work on this, and explain that you might appreciate at least some informal deadlines so that you have a clearer idea of expectations. Productive discussion with managers is a good skill to learn early, I am finding!</p>
<p>While your work ethic is commendable, understand that there is a point of diminishing returns. If you are not physically or emotionally healthy or never get the chance to unwind or step back, the quality of your work will suffer, as will your productivity - you might be putting more hours in, but they will be less efficient hours.</p>
<p>Wahoo - There aren’t enough hours in your LIFE to read all the books and articles that have been published on this topic. Pjp116 and Jessiehl are correct of course. But I suspect their advice isn’t a complete solution for you. So try this:</p>
<p>If a good friend was in this situation and asked your advice, what would you suggest to him/her?</p>
<p>Good luck with this problem. It’s part of professional life for sure. But you’re young and have lots of time to find a solution what works for you. Better now than when you’re thirty five!</p>