I sent my resume into a very successful financial company through some connections. They called to offer me a “entry level management position”. The first interview they let me know it was for an assistant branch manager. I learned that they have a union for non-management positions only, and there was a very uncomfortable conversation with the CEO where he said working with men and women is different. That mean can be a real boys club, speaking derogatory and such and he said working with women is challenging because you can't insult their cooking for example. YES HE REALLY SAID THAT. And then he went on to talk about how women are on display and talked about how you can look at them but it has to be as a person and you have to push the other thoughts to the side. He also said they “were like a family, being brothers/sisters and letting people cry on your shoulder.”
The second interview, they let me know the position was officially “Associate Manager” Which had combined duties of several of my previous non-management positions. With the addition of loan work. They clarified, that no employee would be directly under me, instead saying I would be responsible for whoever I worked with on a given day, given that my position would be floating as needed to a number of locations. no hire/fireing power. Nothing to do with employee reviews. No scheduling, as that was done by the “assistant branch manager”
They also said it would be a first time having two associates and that my schedule would be chaotic, in so much as I would not know where I was going to work from, from week to week. That I would have to leave my direct supervisor alone unless the branch manager of whichever location I worked at was not assisting me within a THREE WEEK period otherwise I would be causing them a lot of grief and souring my relationships with my coworkers.
Final straw for me was they offered 35k/year. After the CEO boasted about having record profits 4 years in a row. Salary, expected to work 45 hours/week, and covering saturday hours as well. I asked for 41k/year and they stone-walled saying “we already raised it”. From the pits of hell apparently because the entry level pay with no prior experience for an assistant branch manager in the area is 35,000 according to bls.gov. They would not meet anywhere in the middle. I have extensive experience in this role except for the loans,(they said it only takes 2 weeks to train on loans) and they also wanted me to sign a non-compete agreement. FOR 35,000 a year! RIIIIIGHT. I made more $$ as one of the entry non-management positions at my prior place of employment in a more poverty-stricken part of the United States. The CEO was very anti-union in the chat as well. He said there are emails regularly about jobs posting. “those are not for you .Those are union jobs. Once you're in management you don't want to work a union job. Its just less money for you. People stay in management once they are in”
Theres so much nonsense I'm wondering if they violated the equal employment opportunity by biasing against men and women in the work place. Or what about their sexual harassment talk? (I am a man for the record) or what about this associate manager bs? This does not sound like any type of manager to me. To me it sounds like they are giving manager title to avoid the union and to avoid paying overtime which I think is illegal. Oh and the non-compete agreement is only legal here if you make just under 35k/year or more if that tells you how shady this is.