Author: Olivia

So I'm working for my sister's friend who is also my landlord. Part of staying at my new place I was informed I'd have to do some work around the trailer and the rent will be cheap. Awesome, sounds fair to me. The second day of living at my new place he asks my sister if I want to do some work for him. Since I moved I don't have a job so I took him up on it. She told me to call him and talk to him about it. So I do. Here's where I need help. The conversation went like this, “I need more room in my basement so I'll want you to dig it out. It'll be general digging. And it'll be when I'm there so I can supervise it. It should take about 20 to 30 hours to complete.” Another key aspect he lives in…

Someone I know works for a well-known exercise gym/franchise. I just learned that this person is “required ” to be at work 30min before every shift as part of “protocol.” This is unpaid. Is this legal?? If so, I am baffled. Companies always preach about “time theft” from the workers. Rules for thee, I guess.

I interviewed for an internship as a therapist at a clinic. I'm doing a masters in social work and have a solid background in working with troubled kids already, and have some really good certifications to boot. I'm also a bilingual English-Spanish speaker and am near the top of my class. The manager told me “we usually pay interns minimum wage ($7.25) but we might be able to give you $10. I have a family to feed, bills to pay, and student loans building up, and I told them this. I told them it wasn't worth my time to make that little. Fast forward a few days. I get an email from the same manager saying he and his colleagues reconsidered and are willing to pay me $22 per hour. Always argue your worth, because someone might recognize it. Also, I know that not all internships pay. It's worth arguing…

I've posted here a few times this week and I want to say thank you to everyone who gave me great advice to draft a resignation letter. I'm happy to report that I quit. No notice. Goodbye forever. Have fun picking up the slack of a failing role that I was drowning in. The moment I left the building after quitting, it was like every muscle in my body relaxed. I had no idea I had been so physically tense from the stress I was under until the tension was gone. I feel like cooked spaghetti noodles. I woke up today and made my partner and I breakfast, started on some chores I had been too depressed to handle, and am now starting a 1000 piece puzzle. I haven't had a hobby in years. I can stop obsessively checking my phone for the next email or call to come in.…

People are taking on huge debts and are killing themselves for University degrees to make $20K more than a high school student. Yes; these careers have benefits and room for growth, but the starting pay has not increased significantly in 20 YEARS!!! Remember; “starting pay” is also when you have the most debt and the least stuff. Please note: basic houses in my neighborhood have gone up BY $1,000,000 in the last 20 years.

I am currently unemployed and in need of a job by the end of this month. 1 month ago I interviewed for a position for an executive cafe manager. The first interview was on a Wednesday, 1 week after they emailed me. It went well and they offered me a second interview. I dropped other prospects after that as to not string them along. Second interview is on a Thursday of the next week. That goes well and I am given money to go to the cafe to try product. He wants me to see what it’s like and if I am truly interested and then to write him an email about my experience. After that I am offered a third interview and to go meet one of the current managers. She paints me a story that they are desperate, I am the perfect fit she says. That she really…

This thing, why is it that basic jobs want years of experience when they always say they are willing to train the right person? I've never understood when jobs say x amount of years preferred and when you actually show you have relevant training, they say forgot all your training because this is how we do it here. Why bother to ask for prior training if you're just going to train a person on how to do the job anyway? I personally haven't been to any job that has used my previous experience and just let me do the job without training me how they want it done. How many others have been through this or experience this yourself?

Do you give two weeks notice? I usually don’t unless I really liked the people I work for but that rarely happens. I just tell them I quit at the end of the day and walk out. If they say hey we need two weeks notice I just laugh and ask if they give a two weeks notice before firing someone.

I’m so sick of these companies using me, bullying me and acting like I should be great full to be living in poverty. The big contractors in Nashville have made ridiculous amounts of money in the last 10 years and they still will not budge on wages. They wonder why nobody wants to work anymore? Why do we show up late and call out? We spend all day commuting and working! And when we have time off we gotta work part time jobs to make it. Tradesmen in Nashville need to go on strike and demand to make a wage that allows them to pay for something other than a studio apartment.