BACKGROUND:
August 29th I interviewed for a job and did so well, I was almost hired on the spot as I “check all the boxes” for the position. The interviewer could barely sit still and literally kept saying “you’re perfect!” but they still had some Interviews left.
September 6th (Wednesday) I’m verbally offered the job as “(interviewer’s) favorite!” but for less salary than I expected; I countered and they accepted my counter-offer, so I accept the job. They also insist that I take a week off from previous job and start on September 19. I then say that I assume I will get a written offer soon, and the interviewer agrees.
After a day or two, no offer letter. (Interviewer is busy.)
Another day or two, still no letter. (Slammed busy!)
Finally last Wednesday at around 8pm (keep in mind a week after I accepted the job), interviewer texts me: “can you let me know what you are looking for with this offer letter? We’ve never done this in the 18 years we’ve been in business.” (PS: it’s a small business run by husband and wife. Including them, myself and other staff, our office is only 5 people).
Um, WTF?!
I play dumb and essentially say something like “well, my last 3 employers sent me one to sign that outlines salary, PTO/sick/vacation etc., so I just figured it’s common practice.”
Interviewer then says they’ll type something up, but it’s obvious they’re annoyed about it. I relent and suggest that I don’t need a formal letter, that a simple email with job details would suffice (I just want written documentation!)
I get this via text in response:
“All I can really tell you is 90 day probation, paid holidays when our office is closed and a $(amount I wanted) salary
I cannot remember, but I think you get one week of vacation after a year”
!!!
Um, okay. I’ll take their word for it.
I started yesterday and the job is a clusterfuck. This career requires extreme details, logistics and multi-tasking, so “time is of the essence” is key. It’s clear that the previous employees (a team of 2) checked out months ago, so I must refer to no less than 3-10 resources (programs, emails, paper files, phone calls, etc.) just to get a status on a file and try to put out any fires before they spread and a deal is delayed or lost altogether.
Shitshow aside, I HAVE YET TO SIGN ANY ONBOARDING PAPERWORK!! Like, not even a W9!
How do I approach this? What if I find out I get no PTO or sick or vacation time? This isn’t my first retail job at 16, FFS. My last 2 jobs gave me 10 days vacation and 6 PTO/sick per year paid, PLUS federal holidays off, paid, right off the bat. Should I tell them as much and walk if they don’t give me some time off? I could really use some insight (well, I guess “out”sight since the Redditverse is chiming in.) It could be a great job after the dumpster fires are out. They obviously really want me to work there, so I have some leverage (BONUS POINTS: interviewer mentioned lunch with a client who knows about me and was excited I was hired). The pay is great, I have a beautiful office and the owners are really awesome, chill people that I genuinely like, but there’s , right?
Edited for spelling: fat fingers on mobile.