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Original poster

I went on a seminar that did the opposite of what it was for and now I feel rubbish

131 replies

Careerhelp · 24/09/2020 14:39

I did one of these little online seminars that was called Improve Your Confidence While Job Hunting or something. I ended up feeling even less confident than ever. We were told to do things like listing your achievements so everyone except me came up with things. I don't think I've achieved anything recently. Then we were all told to do some exercise and that Couch to 5K would change our lives. I have my own personal reasons for not wanting to go running.

I'm not interested in personal development advice here, I'm just annoyed that I wasted a few hours on this seminar.

Please cheer me up with tales of courses that left you none the wiser or did the opposite of what was supposed to happen.

A friend of mine once said she went on a time management course, and left early because she had better things to do with her time.

OP posts:

Amortentia · 25/09/2020 21:44

Was sent on a teaching in higher education seminar. Never taught before so was hoping for tips in planning lectures, tutorials and marking. It was an entire day of ' be nice and don't say anything that could be construed as offensive.' It was utterly pointless and quite unnerving.

MilkyBarsNTears · 25/09/2020 21:48

Hippy dippy Antenatal classes. Apparently if I had a detailed birth plan and did lots of yoga and breeeeeathed, birth would be natural and Lovely and empowering.

One emergency c-section later...

HidingFromDD · 25/09/2020 22:31

My ex MIL and her DH went on an assertiveness training course. Advertised as guaranteed or you could get your money back. I asked if she thought it had worked and she said no, so I asked if she'd asked for her money back and she said 'I didn't like to'.....absolute money spinner - If they ask for their money back the course must have worked

Paperdolly · 26/09/2020 19:52

Loving the last two. 😂😂. Sending hugs MilkybarsNtears. ❤️

HalloBrian · 26/09/2020 20:00

Our staff development day last year was basically a big telling off about professionalism: at 9am you should be sat at your desk, not walking through the door. Have good manners. Dont be on your phone all day...

As far as I was aware the team didn't have a problem with lateness and we had met all our deadlines so the whole thing felt really patronising and irritating. And clearly just done because someone had forgotten to arrange actual training for us.

I was so annoyed that after the meeting, on my way to the other office, I went and got my car cleaned It was my petty revenge. No one even noticed.

Chickentraybake · 26/09/2020 20:46

I once went to a solution focused therapy training it was so bad, the trainer showed us a homemade video that was beyond unprofessional. I was missing my sons year 6 assembly to attend - I left after the first break and went to the assembly. Guess what they still issued me with a full CPD certificate
Often counselling courses attract people who need to attend therapy but don’t want to. I have heard some counsellors with a real lack of self awareness, even to the point of being angry that it’s suggested they have personal therapy.
On another training it was a couple and they spent the last 1/2 hour arguing their point with a participant and the session had already gone over. In the end I just stood up and walked out saying I had to go, God knows how long the other participants stayed - it was just too much for
Me.

cheesecrack · 26/09/2020 21:25

Oh solution focussed therapy. Is that still a thing?

I remember I went to one in 2002 and the first thing we had to do was write down what someone who loved us would say.

I cried as I was single and very lonely at that point.

cheesecrack · 26/09/2020 21:25

Say about us

madcatladyforever · 26/09/2020 21:33

A bit like mindfulness which my GP is constantly mithering me about as an alternative to actually treating my medical condition.
I couldn't give two shits about mindfulness and find it absolutely useless for my actual problem.

madcatladyforever · 26/09/2020 21:34

Also "living in the moment" I guess that was what my husband was doing when he spent 5K on BDSM prostitutes.

QuestionableMouse · 27/09/2020 11:53

@madcatladyforever

A bit like mindfulness which my GP is constantly mithering me about as an alternative to actually treating my medical condition. I couldn't give two shits about mindfulness and find it absolutely useless for my actual problem.

I don't have time to find it right now but there's a recent study that found mindfulness can make depression and anxiety worse. It doesn't suit everyone.

GreenGoldRed · 27/09/2020 12:01

I had to do some professional training (requirement of my job). It had to be done in first 3 years of career. I had a baby midway in and was told I couldn’t extend time to undertake. I had horrible PND and was dreading going back to work. My lovely counsellor who had no experience of my career area encouraged me to go on the course at end of mat leave - his view would help with confidence.

He did not know my career I was literally humiliated every time I spoke. I was utterly broken by the end and nearly quit my job.

It’s 7.5 years ago (I’ve in fact gone on to do really well) and I still feel angry how I was treated. I should have complained, but at the time I was so broken I felt it was all my fault.

CleanQueen123 · 27/09/2020 12:15

@ProudAuntie76 that's horrific. I've worked with a similar client group to the one you've described and every single family would have told me to fuck off or looked at me like I'd sprouted a second head if I'd suggested the way to solve all their issues was to chant affirmations over breakfast. A lot of them didn't even have food in the house for breakfast!

BeyondMyWits · 27/09/2020 12:21

I was sent on an outward bound course to improve my assertiveness and leadership qualities - never ever wanted to be "a leader", but manager had one of those progress or stagnate type leadership styles.

What happened was I spent a cold wet week crying in the woods and put in my resignation as soon as I returned. Improved my assertiveness I guess - but the only thing I learned was "I hate my manager and I am going to leave"

everybodysang · 27/09/2020 12:37

This thread is giving me flashbacks to very awful training course I have ever been on...

The worst was FISH! Has anyone done it? It was very popular at one point. At the time I was working for a large tourist attraction which was, at that time, sponsored by a large national airline... my dad also worked for that same airline but in a location 500 miles away and we both had to do the training. So did my mum who worked in the NHS.

There was a video of a fish market - in Boston? And there was a lot of shouting of FISH and just a load of absolute bollocks. I felt so mutinous and cross by the end and hated everyone.

What I remember most was that the trainer told us she'd called the number on a sticker on a back of a lorry - you know, the 'how's my driving? Call 0800 xxx xxxx'. And she'd told the person answering how well the lorry driver was driving and they were really shocked because they'd never had anyone ring up with something that wasn't a complaint. That training was nearly 20 years ago now and I still think of that every time I see one of those on a lorry...

Pelleas · 27/09/2020 12:38

I once went on a course at work that urged us to 'live each day as if it were our last'.

I was sorely tempted to say, 'OK then, I'm off, because I wouldn't be wasting my last day on this course.'

Pelleas · 27/09/2020 12:40

There was a video of a fish market - in Boston? And there was a lot of shouting of FISH and just a load of absolute bollocks. I felt so mutinous and cross by the end and hated everyone.

Oh, my goodness, I had completely forgotten that, but I have definitely seen it. I think it would have been around Y2K.

HelloDoris · 27/09/2020 13:05

Omg I've done the fish course.. Combined with Pickle..something about if a customer asks for a pickle then let them have it.. I forget but it was a mind numbing day..

Sidge · 27/09/2020 13:54

I’m a HCP.

Someone has decided that the volume and frequency of our safeguarding training needs to be increased. Now I know how vital safeguarding is, but talk about reinventing the wheel.... protocols haven’t changed. Referral processes haven’t changed. The fundamental material hasn’t changed.

Yet we now have to do 3 times as long each year than we did for no apparent reason that I can ascertain.

Thecurtainsofdestiny · 27/09/2020 14:01

I recently signed up for a webinar on the opportunities and barriers relating to online consulting.

I couldn't access the webinar.

cheesecrack · 27/09/2020 14:03

@Thecurtainsofdestiny

megletthesecond · 27/09/2020 14:12

We went on a "setting boundaries with customers" course a few years ago. We can get quite sensitive calls so there was a reason behind it.
However the course trainer got us to consider miserable things that had happened to us, yay, thanks for making me dwell on that during the working day. And he also presented the course as if anyone holding down a job wasn't struggling mentally (I was, massively)and it was the problem of "other" people who didn't work.

And a recent on-line course in resilience wound me up. Everything is in our control apparently. TBH I stopped watching it and still got 20/20 on the test.

DrDetriment · 27/09/2020 14:32

I used to have a high end, stressful corporate job. I was on a training course with people my level for leadership development. We had an open question session towards the end and I asked if the trainer had any advice on how we could all deal with the pressures of the job. I simply wanted to start a discussion on stress management but the trainer turned on me and started talking about what I could do to tackle my issues. He then got the rest of the room to start giving me advice on how I could handle my stress as apparently I obviously had a big problem with it but nobody else in the room did. They were all shouting 'advice' at me like 'have you thought about talking it over with friends'. I just sat there feeling worse and worse and then had to travel home on the plane with them all (the course was in Germany). By the time we got to London I was in tears and the colleague I was giving a lift to had to take me for a coffee to calm down. She said she was shocked how they all turned on me and that the trainer should never have allowed it to happen, but of course she was one of the ones that just sat there and said nothing. I still feel crap when I think about that course.

VodselForDinner · 27/09/2020 15:06

Bit different but I once went to a cookery course focused on healthy eating. The first (and only!) session I attended was all about the evils of meat, how terrible meat is for the planet, why nobody should ever eat meat, meat, meat, meat.
Basically, did nothing but think about meat for two hours.

I stopped for a burger on the way home.

fluffygreenmonsterhoody · 28/09/2020 22:46

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