OH REALLY? Off to a NO start...Red flags or just me - opinons

[Star*]

So I'm getting these mixed referrals from unemployment - I'm still trying for the CDL jobs - but now they've thrown in office work as well -

This morning I call a job =PT, office work, M-F 8-12 - pays 10-14 an hour call Mr. Stein - okay - there were 2 listed. So I do. There is an address listed and I thought I was in the general vicinity knowing where the road was.

I call and the conversation went something like this


Good morning XYZ CO.

GOOD morning My name is Star, I'm calling about the position you advertised for PT assistant. I'm looking for Mr. Stein (not my dream job but I'm upbeat and perky)

Yes - Which one?

Well the ad said to ask for either X or Y

Oh well I'm X

Very Good, May I ask a little about the job?

Didn't the paper say it's for an assistant?

Yes

Then that's what it's for.

Okay then. May I set up a time for an interview.

Do you know where XYZ Road is?

I believe I do.

OH DO YOU? Where is it?

OFf of ABC Road.

NO YOU ARE WRONG.

DO you know where BLH BLH bldg is?

Yes I do.

It's 2 lights past that, turn left, then turn left again. and we are on right.

Alright - thank you - what time would you like me there?

Anytime before noon.

Well thank you very much.


Okay - Now I'm all about INFORMAL and all -

But TWO RED FLAGS HERE -Or is it just me?

1.) RIGHT OFF THE BAT.........He yells - YOU ARE WRONG. (nightmares of my old TYPE A boss flash through my head) and I'm thinking is it just me being out of the work force so long or is this really a red flag.

2.) ANYTIME interview? What if he's conducting another interview? Am I just supposed to sit and wait? I mean - THATS kinda BS to me.....I don't want to be sitting there waiting - Is this more of a looksie looks interview for personal asst in a warehouse district?? And its a brothers run business?

I mean PT would keep my unemployment rolling until I could find my dream job - but I'm just wondering - Is it just ME and red flags here or do you see them too?

Oh and by the way - the ROAD????? WAS where I was thinking - and IT WAS off the road I told him - just a different way to get there. LOL>

 

[donna723]

Wow! He sounds like a hostile jerk! Rude and condescending to someone who is just calling for an interview? If that's any indication of what kind of a boss he will make ... RUN, STAR! RUN!!!!! Do not pass "GO", do not collect $200!

 

[Malika]

Ha, ha, he sounds French Sorry, couldn't resist that - no offence to the French people who visit here. There are lots of exceptions but this kind of rudeness is a daily occurrence here...
Well, maybe you have come into his life, Star, to cheer up this poor miserable fellow and inject a little light and humour into his darkened days On the other hand, as donna suggests, you could just keep on going...

 

[Star*]

Maliiiiiika - ROFLM eiffel tower off.....Okay - that needed a spit warning.

Donna & malkia - yeah this is what I was thinking too - TOO good to be true. 8-12 M-F.....pt work - good pt wage....I mean I have NO doubt I can run this place...but that? Yeah------exhale.....didn't want to go back into an office after getting a CDL anyway. BLARGH.

Thanks - thought maybe it was just me....guess it is no just me. I don't think he's French with a last name of Stein....but you never know. Stranger things have happened. Maybe on his Mother's side

 

[Hound dog]

Not just you. I'd keep on going if it were me.

 

[muttmeister]

Actually, I thought he sounded a little German. LOL

I once took a job at a place where, when I interviewed, I had a bad feeling that things were "not right." I was young and stupid (it was only the second real job I'd had). As I'm a teacher, you're under contract for a whole year. They offered me the job and, against my better judgement, I took it. It was my year in hades. If things don't seem right, run like the wind.

 

[KTMom91]

He didn't sound like he was very clear on what the job was, either. I would scamper right on past it.

 

[Steely]

By all means trust your gut-o-meter.............if I had done that my last 2 careers I would be in a much better place right now.
Keep rollin' right on by girl.........

 

[DaisyFace]

Well -

This could really go either way...

He's probably getting a ton of calls from a ton of....let's say....folks that aren't too bright. He doesn't know that you're not another run-of-the-mill idiot. Could be that you are just getting the "I'm so sick of these stupid phone calls" attitude, but the job itself is really OK.

or

The guy is a jerk and that's the way he behaves ALL the time. (He practically told you you were "stupid" right there on the phone!) In which case, you don;t want to work for him under any circumstances...

I say -

Go on in and see which it is. You are under no obligation to put up with anything. If he's a jerk in person? Get up and walk out!

 

[slsh]

Maybe he *really* needs that assistant!

I'm not big on grumpy people. That's why for the most part I like my profession 'cuz I don't have to deal with- people (grumpy or not), LOL. But...You could just go in and see how it feels. At part-time, if you got the job it wouldn't be a lifetime commitment. And if he continues to be grinchy as you get into the interview, you can always just wish him lotsaluck and head for the door.

 

[trinityroyal]

Star, you're getting internal warning bells for a reason.

His demeanour on the phone was definitely off. Also, "assistant" covers a wide range of responsibilities in an office, depending on the industry, number of people in the office, number of other assistants in the team, etc. If he can't provide you more detail than "It's an assistant job, so you'll be doing that", I would be worried. Even if it's a legitimate job, your boss may have wildly differing expectations from day to day.

When I was a slip of a girl, about 21, I got hired as a clerk for an Engineering company run by 2 brothers. I got a funny feeling during the interview, but I really needed the work. My first day on the job, I noticed they had rearranged my work space. Right out front, between their two offices. They could each see me from their desks. Fax machine on a high shelf where I had to climb, critical files all in the bottom drawer of the file cabinet. I realized they were getting a great deal of entertainment watching me climb and stretch and bend to do my work -- orchestra view when I bent down to get the files, then balcony view as I stretched to reach the fax. I lasted 1 week before I got the heck out of Dodge...

It might be worth going to the interview to verify your gut feeling, but I would be very careful...

Trinity

 

[Star*]

I called the Unemployment coach I have. Heres the skinny on the phat. IF I go? And the job "hires" me and I "refuse" the job because I don't like the man? I can loose my unemployment. Now considering this is a Part-time job? That isn't such a bad negative. However with unemployment being SO tight these days all this man would have to do is call to unemployment and say "I have Star's referral sheet here and we want her to start on Monday and she didn't show up?" THAT does count as a negative against my record, and I would loose my unemployment for refusing employment. Since I am on state extended benefits - I would loose them since the PT job is nearly as much as I am getting in weekly salary from the state. If they had offered to pay me MORE than I am making PT than I am getting from extended benefits AND two days later FIRE me for whatever reason and I can't prove that it was No fault of my own? I am just out of luck - with NO benefits coming in while searching.

SO this was a valuable lesson if for nothing else - in learning that I need to be VERY careful in trusting my intuition. I was ready to go, and need the money badly, but I'm still trying to get on wtih a CDL local company. This was just recommended by DEW unemployment because I have a business background and they figured at PT it gave me the ability to go look for driving job the other 1/2 of the day. True - but nothing like having an abusive boss to ruin your chances of ever being gainfully employed because you're in jail for slapping him with a bologna sandwhich.

 

[1905]

How someone treats a stranger is a pretty good indicator of what kind of a person they are. He blew off your basic information seeking questions, never answered them and told you you were WRONG. Oh heck no!!