BACKGROUND: I was an elementary school clerk and while I wasn't paid much I had outstanding coworkers, leadership, and flexibility for when things in my life got tough. Unfortunately, working with the school district, positions are determined by student enrollments. It meant for the 22-23 school year that my position no longer “existed” until the number of student enrollments were up. It is very likely that my position will exist again in October. Moreover, I essentially lost my job without any fault of mine except the school district itself. This has disrupted many of my plans as my husband and I are part-time UNI students (paying out of pocket tuition on 3 monthly plans ~$4000 per semester not including books, transportation, and parking costs) who recently bought their first home.
I enjoy Administrative work so I applied to my nearest university's Admissions and Records department. They offered the position at a measly $15.19/hr for 40hrs/week. Taking the position could be a good foot in the door to other positions with better pay and working conditions. After 1 year of full-time employment, the university will pay 6 credits per semester for myself and my husband. The opportunity to transfer and tuition assistance is the main reasons why I am considering the position. However, there is a part in the job description that makes me think that such opportunities will not come to fruition:
This position does not provide layoff rights and is contingent upon funding.
I am terrified of being newly hired, just to discover that I need to quit because my mental health is deteriorating from shitty work culture. On top of it, I could lose the job because of budgeting (doesn't always happen but you never know). Is there an appropriate way to ask “Am I going to get laid off in the future?” I want to be forthright with them that I cannot jeopardize finances because I just bought a house! I am open to negotiating my pay too because I have two years of recent experience working in Admissions and Records and even more experience working in office settings (4 years). What is the best follow up questions about potential layoffs, opportunities for lateral movement, and work culture? If I know that I can move into a position that promises me severance pay then I am open to taking a risk. Here's the questions I have so far:
- How do you and senior leadership respond to errors made in the workplace?
- What percentage of the team have personal commitments outside of work (pertaining to how flexible is A&R in allowing employees to make such commitments)?
Thanks!!