This by far will be the most out there post I have posted to this blog and it’s because I just feel like venting about the unfortunate things that happen in my life. Ahh 2018, what a year! When it comes to work, 2018 has been by far the worst. I started the year off working at a sporting goods store.
Which back in December I applied and was hired for an Assistant Managing Job. The Store Manager told me that after the store moves locations in January I would then begin as an Assistant Manager. Note that I have previously worked for the company for 3 years. So I sucked it up and I got used to the job again. I worked endlessly moving the store with no complaints. Sadly, like every other job I had to deal with employees that just didn’t want to work. As a 31-year-old, I was over the slack lazy worker that stands around and makes jokes and jokes you for working. What could I say I was new and the Manager didn’t say much to them anyway even when she was working with these employees. After the store was finally moved to the new location, I began to notice a change where my hours were being cut down to less than 16 hours a week, and of course, all the other managers owned the hours. The worst was working with the ones that would sit around and complain about the hours they had. I requested more hours, but the Store Manager just hired more people instead. I gave the Job until April when all I got was complaints that my sales were down, but in my defense, I was barely working, and when I was in their store it was dead. I would have three to four-hour shifts where only a handful of people would come in the store. But I got written up because of my sales numbers. It was at this point I decided that I needed to make a change. Normally I would have given two weeks notice, but my schedule had me off 9 out of the next twelve days and the Store Manager was on vacation. I know it was wrong to just leave, but I wasn’t working anyways.
There was a job working for a restaurant and it was more hours and better pay, so, yes I took it. Does this make me a Job Hopper? Maybe? Anyways I started training there and again back with people that didn’t want to do their jobs, people calling out every day and I’m left to pick up their slack. What does this mean for me? well, I have to work twice as hard while other workers played on their phones out of sight. This time I didn’t have the experience for Management, so I am left starting from the bottom. I can’t say this job was any better than the last. Yes it paid a little better and I had more hours, but here I was doing other peoples jobs because they were lazy. In fact, the mess they continuously made gave me twice the work and the other person in my position which was Maintenance worked when it suited him, and he left well before his shift ended and stood around talking, how do I know all this? Because he trained me for a week and I watched him.
Sadly by the time July came around my body had enough my previously injured/ broken hand had become a pain. When I lift too much with that hand it loses feeling, and I can’t lift anything or it becomes really painful to use, and on top of that my back was a wreak due to all the bending. All of this slowed me down. I was being worked to death, and even though I was upfront with my injuries Management didn’t seem to care. I wasn’t 19 I was 31 years old and I had wear and tear. Don’t get me wrong I will work hard, but day after day of picking up the slack of young 19-year-olds it was killing me. I was walking into work doing things one-handed, and it hurt but I came to the conclusion that I couldn’t do that type of work anymore. I spent my life since I was 15 doing physical work and it killed me for a while that what if I couldn’t do it? So I called the Store Manager and I resigned from my position. Maybe if the people at that job actually did their jobs I wouldn’t have had to do multiple jobs at once.
So we come to now almost the end of December and I haven’t had a job since July. I am in the understanding of what I physically can and can’t do, but that doesn’t stop me from applying to physical jobs. If I leave out those two jobs this past year then it looks like I took the year off, but if I keep them on my Resume it looks like I can’t stick to a job. Looking for a job is a full-time job. I have spent so much time walking into business talking to Managers, calling on the phone, applying to multiple positions with the same company and nothing had come up until someone from a pet company called me for a sales job. I had the interview over the phone and I felt I did well because I was offered another face to face interview a couple days after Christmas. Now, of course, I was nervous no matter how many times I do it or how many times someone tells me not to be, I get nervous. Either way, I know to show up early. I have to say I felt judged before the interview even started.
Let me paint a picture; Like I said I showed up early about 20mins early the interviewers weren’t even in the room yet, so I waited patiently for them. I was always told being 15 mins early is on time, but the interviewers weren’t even on time. I ended up sitting there for 30mins as one stumbled in after another. There were four of them and none of them looked professional, they all looked like they were hungover. They came in joking about things that I had no clue about. So naturally, I looked dead or lost, which I was because they were making inside jokes about each other. I mean come on How am I going to understand what they are saying? After they all sat down they were all at different tables. One guy is sitting behind me, two were in front of me, and the other one was on the far right of me. I assumed each table was a different step of this interview. The guy behind was just making jokes the entire time, then the guy in front of me was serious and focused and the women in front of me had a mixture of joking and serious, lastly, the guy on the right of me didn’t say a word. When the interview began the woman was the one talking the entire time unless the guy behind me trying to make a joke or something.
There were 3 scenarios that were only about the store, which at the beginning of the questions she made it clear that they would be asking me questions to get to know me as a person. Note that the store hasn’t been built in the area I live in yet, so I have yet to experience a store like this before, ever! So, of course, I had to go off of past experiences. The first question was about greeting the customer. I, of course, asked if this was a role play and she said it didn’t matter just tell what you would do in the scenario. So, I said how are you doing? Asked if they need help with anything, I even cracked a joke about greeting their pet. And of course, mister chuckles behind me had to chime in. The Second question was helping an older lady with cat litter. I said to introduce myself, and note that the women interviewer said it would be okay I didn’t understand the types of cat litter. Which I thought that was implied, so my answer was to ask if they are looking for a certain type of litter because some cats do better with others, the price, to make small talk with the customer make them feel welcome and if she needed help moving the bag. The Last question was about ringing someone up at the register. And before the woman interviewer did her sales pitch on the discount card I beat her to it, I said to ask if they found everything alright and if they were interested an awards card, and I offered to bring their items to their car. Now, the woman interviewer began to correct me saying I don’t ask to take their stuff you just do it, now how was I going to know that? then she went on about the awards card like she was trying to sell me. The entire interview lasted less than ten minutes and there were no questions getting to know me at all. Now how are you going to get to know me in three questions? Did I give a wrong answer here? It took me a while to get to know my girlfriend, so how did they think they knew me so damn fast? Again I have never worked at a pet place, does that mean I never had a chance? So without saying anything to each other they all knew I wasn’t moving on, maybe chuckles behind me gave a signal or something, I don’t know. I could be wrong, but they did mention they call their customers Neighbours, and perhaps they were waiting for me to mention that, but that’s insane to ask someone to remember to call someone something that you don’t normally do in that setting, and to not hire me for it would be idiotic.
Anyways, I knew I didn’t get the job as so as they asked if I had any questions, like how am I going to ask questions when I don’t even know if I got the job? Was I supposed to assume that I got it and then ask when I start? But as I walked out I heard them laughing again, so they were assholes and weren’t professional at all. Look this was a losing situation here. Let’s face it they made up their minds before the interview began. No, I didn’t talk much and wasn’t chatty, but they made that difficult, to begin with. Again they were all talking and joking about personal stuff which leaves me out in the dry to even try to be social. Their jokes were about each other, I don’t know them and they know that so, of course, I waited quietly as they talked like a bunch of high schoolers. Then when it all began you had two people that were quiet, serious and focused, and two that were joking around. How was I supposed to act? I was the only one professional in that room. The questions didn’t remotely describe me at all as a person, judgment much? Oops, I forget there was a question about a co-worker taking money. I mean that question alone is a setup. Of course, I can’t allow a co-worker to take money from the register, I have to let a manager know about it, but they made it sound like telling on them was dishonorable. Is this what interviews are like nowadays? As you have read I didn’t get the job, yes it’s 2018 employers don’t even have the balls to tell me to my face, they have to send a rejection email.
My final thoughts are that I should have gotten this job easy. They are looking for minimum wage sales employees. I have over ten years experience, I have had to deal with customers in almost every job I have had since I was 15. I was nice, respectful and I answered every question with knowledge, I was humble and looked them in the eye. So the year 2018 has been the worst for me when it comes to jobs. Pray, I find something early 2019. Sorry for the length, I hope everyone has a great New Years!
In Between the Words 