Adventures of Interviews

Last week I applied for a job at a local group home for people with developmental disabilities.  On Monday I stopped by the home and filled out an application for the position of direct support person.  Tuesday, I went in for an interview.  This was when things started to look bad (for me).  I always arrive early for interviews.  Its shows respect for the interviewer that I am on time.  I was five minutes early that day.  I sat and waited.  My appointment was for 1pm.  Finally at ten after one, the lady doing the interviews walks in.  "Sorry I am late.  Just give me a couple minutes please." she said.  Then continued to her office and begins gossiping with another lady sitting in there. 

Ten minutes later.  It is now 1:20pm.  I sat there for twenty-five minutes before she called me in.  She pulled a chair up to her desk and offered me a seat.  She copied the appropriate documents needed for a new hire.  Then she began the normal interview process of asking weird questions that are meant to give the interviewer a secret look into the interviewee (don't even think that's a word, oh well).   Her phone rings.  She answers it.  I sit for another five minutes.  Finally, she stands up and says I have to take a test.  She sits me down at a table and proceeds to talk me through the test.  It is a reading test.  A really easy one.  Apparently they want to make sure I can read.  I took the test and gave it to her.  I passed of course.  Then she said I had to come back the next evening to observe for an hour.  Not a problem.  Before I left she gave me a print out of the upcoming training if I were to be hired.  It was going to start on the same day that I was going to be out of town for my sister's bachlorette party.  I told her that I would not be available that day and she let me know that we would work it out. Then I left to go home. 

There was no talk about money, benefits or even scheduling.  When they do this it makes me uncomfortable because I feel like they are hiding the fact that the money will suck and so will the scheduling.

I went back on Wednesday to observe.  The girl that I followed around was nice and so were the gentlemen who lived there.  The job seemed easy enough.  I would get used to it the longer I was there. No problem.  I asked the girl if she liked working there. She said yes.  Then I asked about scheduling.  She laughed and said the schedule, even though it comes out for the whole month, changes day to day.  Nope, I cannot deal with an ever changing schedule.  Not with four kids.  This shows bad management in my opinion.  Plus the hours were really weird.  They had no set schedule.  It was a hodge podge of hours.

I talked about it with my husband who would like for me to work.  I don't mind going back to work but I don't want to hate the job.  For some reason people just don't understand that.  Jason even mentioned that it would not be worth it if the scheduling was so whack.  With a family you have to be constant.  You can't keep changing everything around on a day's notice all the time.

Friday I received a call and was told that on Monday (that would be today) I was to come in and fill out the new hire paperwork.  I nicely told her that I still have many questions about the position.  The most important being money and scheduling.  "Well, what do you need to know?" was the response I got to that.  Really?  I mean really?  Come on, how do these people get hired!!!

I asked how much pay was.  Minimum wage.  What?  Ummm... no way!  Don't get me wrong.  I'm not above minimum wage.  But I do have a state certification as a nurse assistant.  I have experience.  I asked if there was a way to have a higher pay and she said no.  She did ask if I knew about their sign on bonus.  Which from what I was told was a couple hundred bucks that you would receive after a year's worth of work.  Nope, not happening.  I politely turned down the job stating that I knew I could get paid more elsewhere and she thanked me for being honest. 

Honestly, I was bummed about this because the job would have been great if the management and money would have also been great.

So no job right now. 

I am sure there are some out there who will tell me that I should just take the job.  I love it when people tell me what I need to do.  But I went with my gut on this job.  One bad sign.  There is always an ad for help for this company.  That shows that they cannot keep their help.  Second bad sign.  Management was late for the interview.  She is lucky she showed up when she did because I was counting down to fifteen after and then I was leaving.  Third bad sign.  Workers speak badly about scheduling or people quitting.  Fourth bad sign.  Low pay for what the job entails. 

I will find something.  Soon hopefully.  But I want to make sure that what I find I will like if not thoroughly enjoy.