I was, until two days ago, working at a grocery store chain as a cashier. You can read about my frustrations with that job on my other post. I feel like an expendable cog in a massive machine at that job, and you can tell that even the managers think all of the “smile every day” and “we’re a family!” bullshit they feed us in training is just that – bullshit. You can hear that they’re literally reading off a script when they feed us this nonsense, and it really underscores how little they care about us as employees. I have experience in senior management at a nonprofit, so I just kept thinking to myself during the training and at work: “I think I’m better than this.” And then I realized: “Everyone here is better than this. We’re worth more than this.”
But during my break at the grocery store, I got a call offering me a job I interviewed for at a no-kill animal shelter as the office coordinator. I’ll be the person taking all the phone calls and coordinating pet surrenders and giving people information on adoptions, as well as balancing the books and doing general administrative work around the shelter.
The interview for the animal shelter job was so much different than the grocery store job. They didn’t just read pre-written questions off a piece of paper, they actually wanted to know about me as a person and as a professional. They actually listened to me, and when they called to offer me the job, they sounded genuinely excited to be offering me this opportunity, and they expressed their excitement for working with me.
As soon as I got the call, I went downstairs to my manager immediately and quit on the spot, letting her know I’d be willing to finish out the week, but that I wouldn’t be coming back. (Nicely, of course, even though she’s a nightmare to work for and didn’t deserve the courtesy of finishing out the week.)
I’m so excited, you guys! I feel like I’ll actually be doing something meaningful, helping animals find good homes. Honestly, fuck corporate America.