Everybody has to know by now how impossible it is to get a job in this country, ESPECIALLY as a teenager. I finally manage to obtain a job at a local craft store in early October. It's low pay and really boring, but it was alright. They even said they'd upgrade the ancient registers and adopt a scanner system. Unfortunately, I never got to try that out.
A local computer chain called me back about an application I submitted months ago and wants me to come in for an interview. I agree, the interview goes smooth. Awesome.
They set me up for a second interview. It goes poorly...apparantly she told the wrong person to interview me. Mistake corrected, I'm in for a THIRD interview with the right manager this time. That goes alright. The next day, without any kind of warning, a 4th interview is scheduled. That was with the store manager. That was just a stupid waste of my time. He asked 3 questions and I was on my way.
Finally, the 5th interview with some random guy. AND, unbeknownst to yours truly, I had to go take a drug test immediately following that interview or I was not going to be accepted. Well...let's just say I have problems with that in one way or another and waste 3 friggin hours at that testing facility.
Ultimately, the drug test returns negative for everything (which was obvious) and I am hired. I write down my available hours for work and am told to give a letter of "2-week notice" to my current employer. Yea, that happens and I leave the craft store finally. That felt good, because I got to leave that place RIGHT BEFORE Black Friday and started at the computer store RIGHT AFTER. Not like the craft store would have had any people camping outside, but whatever.
So, Monday. I go into work. I work. Do I utilize my 125+ WPM typing skills which was super-important on the application? No. How about my years of Tech Support experience? Not at all. Any of those programming languages I know about come in handy? Of course not. You know what DID come in handy? My upper-body strength. That's right. All I did was lift boxes all day.
Did I mention that I had to work in clothes one level down from a full business suit? Nice shirt, khakis, tie, dress shoes? Right. It makes perfect sense to have me move crates and such in nice clothes. I didn't even touch a computer the entire time there on my first day. I hoped it was just one of those days.
Guess not. Apparently I'm not ALLOWED to touch a computer in that store. That's not my DEPARTMENT and thus I know nothing about it. It's really smart. I guarantee I know more than the guy that can't even speak English working in Systems.
So yesterday, the General Sales manager calls me into his office to discuss my hours. By "discuss", I mean he'll ask me a question and I answer it directly without any extra stuff. So "What is your availability?" Well... I'm AVAILABLE everyday. I don't WANT to work everyday. But I can't say that.
Nor can I say that I can't work past 10:00. OR that it's not going to be possible to work over 25 hours a week with my schedule. But no. I'm not allowed to say that. So, to prevent my working FORTY hours a week, I e-mail the head of Human Resources. I tell her the circumstance and basically give the ultimatum "Adjust it to this or I'm gone".
I'm gone :<
I still have no idea whether or not I was a seasonal worker in the first place. It's quite annoying. I asked several times only to be ignored. There was a form I had to sign that had something about being laid off on the 15th of January, but I still wasn't sure since I was going to be "in-training" until late December.
So, back to the craft store goes Squeek. At least I can start again there after the winter break. I don't even care about money. I just want to have work. The work there is boring, but since I know more about computer-related stuff than anyone else, I can end up teaching everyone else how to use all the new equipment. It may or may not turn out all right.
Um. Wow. What was that, a 2-3 page rant about absolutely nothing? I hope you enjoyed not reading it and skimming down to this last line of text here.
~Squeek
A local computer chain called me back about an application I submitted months ago and wants me to come in for an interview. I agree, the interview goes smooth. Awesome.
They set me up for a second interview. It goes poorly...apparantly she told the wrong person to interview me. Mistake corrected, I'm in for a THIRD interview with the right manager this time. That goes alright. The next day, without any kind of warning, a 4th interview is scheduled. That was with the store manager. That was just a stupid waste of my time. He asked 3 questions and I was on my way.
Finally, the 5th interview with some random guy. AND, unbeknownst to yours truly, I had to go take a drug test immediately following that interview or I was not going to be accepted. Well...let's just say I have problems with that in one way or another and waste 3 friggin hours at that testing facility.
Ultimately, the drug test returns negative for everything (which was obvious) and I am hired. I write down my available hours for work and am told to give a letter of "2-week notice" to my current employer. Yea, that happens and I leave the craft store finally. That felt good, because I got to leave that place RIGHT BEFORE Black Friday and started at the computer store RIGHT AFTER. Not like the craft store would have had any people camping outside, but whatever.
So, Monday. I go into work. I work. Do I utilize my 125+ WPM typing skills which was super-important on the application? No. How about my years of Tech Support experience? Not at all. Any of those programming languages I know about come in handy? Of course not. You know what DID come in handy? My upper-body strength. That's right. All I did was lift boxes all day.
Did I mention that I had to work in clothes one level down from a full business suit? Nice shirt, khakis, tie, dress shoes? Right. It makes perfect sense to have me move crates and such in nice clothes. I didn't even touch a computer the entire time there on my first day. I hoped it was just one of those days.
Guess not. Apparently I'm not ALLOWED to touch a computer in that store. That's not my DEPARTMENT and thus I know nothing about it. It's really smart. I guarantee I know more than the guy that can't even speak English working in Systems.
So yesterday, the General Sales manager calls me into his office to discuss my hours. By "discuss", I mean he'll ask me a question and I answer it directly without any extra stuff. So "What is your availability?" Well... I'm AVAILABLE everyday. I don't WANT to work everyday. But I can't say that.
Nor can I say that I can't work past 10:00. OR that it's not going to be possible to work over 25 hours a week with my schedule. But no. I'm not allowed to say that. So, to prevent my working FORTY hours a week, I e-mail the head of Human Resources. I tell her the circumstance and basically give the ultimatum "Adjust it to this or I'm gone".
I'm gone :<
I still have no idea whether or not I was a seasonal worker in the first place. It's quite annoying. I asked several times only to be ignored. There was a form I had to sign that had something about being laid off on the 15th of January, but I still wasn't sure since I was going to be "in-training" until late December.
So, back to the craft store goes Squeek. At least I can start again there after the winter break. I don't even care about money. I just want to have work. The work there is boring, but since I know more about computer-related stuff than anyone else, I can end up teaching everyone else how to use all the new equipment. It may or may not turn out all right.
Um. Wow. What was that, a 2-3 page rant about absolutely nothing? I hope you enjoyed not reading it and skimming down to this last line of text here.
~Squeek
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