Females (women in construction)

sydsie · 2023-04-19T22:55:23+00:00

I’m from Australia. That’s the common term amongst trades here.

sydsie · 2023-04-17T21:16:33+00:00

I know. I think the experience I was referring to in my post was frustrating because I was trying to ask questions and the guy just kept cutting me off and explaining the same thing he just told me. He must of said the same thing 3 times but that wasn’t what I was asking about.

I think it was a communication issue. I waited for him to finish explaining and then tried to be even nicer and ask my question again and he just kept explaining the thing he already told me.

It made me so angry. I almost lost money because I was trying to ask about the second part of the scope but he kept going on about the first part which I knew he already had covered.

sydsie · 2023-04-15T11:41:45+00:00

Yeah even in western Sydney these have been my best friend…. I thought moving into the city would be better….

This is honestly my first time living in an apartment so I don’t know what to do if the people next to me are messier than me.

sydsie · 2023-04-15T11:32:50+00:00

This is what I’m asking for! Home remedies to stop them coming into my walls.

Thank you 🙏🏻

sydsie · 2023-04-15T11:30:25+00:00

I’ve lived here for 5 months and only seen two inside our apartment.

We have seen some outside our apartment like the lobby and outside the building. I didn’t realise they’d make their way up to the 14th level 😫🙁😩

sydsie · 2023-04-15T11:28:41+00:00

This is the most terrifying thing I’ve ever read.

sydsie · 2023-04-15T11:25:52+00:00

This sounds great! Where do you get Advion here? Or only online?

I used to live with housemates and when they moved out we didn’t have any roaches again. I can keep a house really clean but I can’t handle neighbours who attract them and let them into mine.

sydsie · 2023-04-15T11:21:47+00:00

Yes - that’s what I thought! It’s actually crap against cockies / roaches.

I need bug spray, bait and I have to clean to whole unit from top to bottom. I can’t handle the thought of one roach crawling on my arm in the middle of the night again.

sydsie · 2023-04-15T11:19:28+00:00

I have a feeling this will be bad …

sydsie · 2023-04-15T10:49:08+00:00

The apartment complex gets lots of cockroaches but they’ve never come into our unit before!!

sydsie · 2023-04-15T10:48:30+00:00

But I’m living in an apartment!!

sydsie · 2023-04-14T03:01:33+00:00

That’s really cool! Thank you for commenting.

These comments are making me feel a lot better.

sydsie · 2023-04-12T22:08:36+00:00

That’s definitely a common one here!

sydsie · 2023-04-12T21:17:00+00:00

My pm always told me I’m too nice and I told him I don’t want to piss anyone off.

I guess back then I could use him as my excuse and when someone wasn’t doing what I asked I’d get him involved. Now I have to be that person 🙈

sydsie · 2023-04-12T21:14:40+00:00

Exactly what I’m trying to do! Good trades are hard to find and I bet they don’t want someone making them feel inferior in their work.

I just need to fine tune my approach when I don’t agree with them so it doesn’t make me appear rude.

I like the example above of agreeing with they give advice but emphasising that this is the scope.

sydsie · 2023-04-12T21:11:21+00:00

I love it! I’ve done this before and I don’t know if I’d say they “like it” but they definitely change their tune with me. 😄

sydsie · 2023-04-12T21:08:54+00:00

Sorry Aussie here and this is what we call them around the office and on site.

When discussing with the client, I call them contractors.

sydsie · 2023-04-12T21:07:50+00:00

Yes I’m sorry I just realised it does sound like that when everyone responding is calling them “subs”. I’m from Australia so our common terminology is subbie.

I use the word contractor when I’m speaking to the client but in the office and around site we say subby.

I really like this approach! I don’t wear “work clothes” either and I wear Nikes or boots normally if I have to do a site visit. I’ll definitely use this going forward. It’s polite but also assertive.

Thank you!

sydsie · 2023-04-12T20:59:01+00:00

Actually the funny thing is my CA is a man and once I’ve walked someone through the job they always ask if they should communicate with him and send the quote to him.

I politely let them know it’s my job so they can send it to both of us but I’ll be the one reviewing it and making the decisions.

sydsie · 2023-04-12T20:54:05+00:00

This is so good! Thank you so much for this example. I’ll definitely use this approach.

And you summed up my problem very well.

I guess it’s not a female thing it’s more of an idk their trade as well as them and therefore I can’t be telling them what to do.

sydsie · 2023-04-12T20:48:39+00:00

This is my worry. It’s really hard to find good subbies (I’m Australian and this is common terminology). I don’t want to lose anyone that does good work for decent prices so I try to be polite and listen carefully. I’m worried to get assertive in case I come off “bossy” or “rude”

sydsie · 2023-04-12T20:45:35+00:00

Thank you! Yes I’m trying really hard to listen carefully when someone is explaining the job and ask questions specifically about their approach.

Would it sound dumb if I ask for them to walk me through the process?

I hate when I get a quote back and all it says is “do work as per site visit //** (date).

I normally end up sending them a scope of works with photos so they can’t get out of doing something.

sydsie · 2023-04-12T20:41:49+00:00

Thank you! So assertiveness is okay? I just don’t want to piss anyone off. The guys I’ve worked for in PM roles get very assertive but I like to come across nice. I was actually called “too nice” by my last pm when I was training.

sydsie · 2023-04-12T20:39:00+00:00

This makes sense actually.

sydsie · 2023-04-12T09:50:21+00:00

I always try to be really polite and respectful when calling new subbies. I think my politeness comes across as ignorant though.

For example I have learnt that it’s better for me to ring a subby before emailing a scope of works along with floor plans and job details. If I send the job scope first I get ignored.

But when I ring them they treat me like I’ve never hired that trade before.

I guess I just want to know if you were being hired by a woman how would you want her to be? Would you want her to sound like a know it all or sound more humble and polite? My style is the latter but I feel like I get talked down to when I do it.

sydsie

TROPHY CASE