I was told to job hop to make more money. It got me out of retail fast, and I've seen the state of the job market change. It's scary. It's never been this bad.
MUST SPEAK ENGLISH. MUST OWN CAR. MUST LIVE LESS THAN 30 MINUTES AWAY. MUST BE ABLE TO HANDLE A FAST PACED ENVIRONMENT. MUST WORK OVERTIME WHEN NEEDED.
(20$/hr and not a penny more don't bother.)
There's more. This list is just the recurring examples. The other ones are crazier. Straight up berating potential employees for daring to apply. The car thing really bothers me because gas and vehicle prices are way up in my area. Poors don't apply seems to be one of the new rules for most offices. Three of my friends have left my region, hoping to find less expensive housing too. They are all educated professionals. It's grim.
I've been to nine interviews this month. Owners/recruiters have started berating their previous employees, with me during interviews. I'm starting to feel like an unpaid therapist. It's so disgustingly unprofessional. How am I supposed to focus on the interview when my boss is busy acting like a child? It's nauseating.
The story so far:
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interviewed for a position selling furniture. Manager said I will only make minimum wage during the first month no matter what. No commission because I'm “in training”, even though I will be making sales during this time. Even though I have four years experience and the “training module” looked downright unhelpful. Manager also admitted that my fellow employees are allowed to sabotage me and steal my customers??? Yeah. No. I told them I'm not interested the day after they offered me the job, over the phone. I did not feel comfortable rejecting them in person.
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Interviewed for a scheduler/customer service position at a car wash and detailing company. Owner was a wacko. He wasted my entire interview complaining about his previous employees. Said none ever showed up on time, and he kept hearing “excuses” about vehicles being broken and kids needing appointments. Made it clear that he has fired multiple people and is fed up. Listed pay range 20-26. I had references on me and a great resume (he said it not me). His face visibly dropped when I said I wanted $25 to start.
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Interviewed at a building supply center for inside sales and consultation. They had a neat showroom…with a hole in the roof. Drip bucket and all. Shock of all shocks two of their employees recently relocated to Calgary, and the most senior salesman desperately wants to retire. Why do I know all of this? Well, the branch manager would not stop talking about how understaffed he is. He said “it's fine” that his workers left but he's in a “bad spot” and blah blah blah. Nobody wants to work anymore.
They're all so busy complaining about what they lost, but they don't want to do anything about it. Ugh.