"Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me."
- Common quote.
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The author was recently made aware of the following insanity from an interview process:
Candidate: "I like the offer. Just one problem. I cannot relocate now, my kids are still in school. However, if you can let me work from home - which is actually most commonly done in this industry - for only 90 days, then my kids could finish the school year and I could focus on the move then."
Hiring manager: "You know, were I in your shoes, I would simply disregard the final month or two of the kids schooling. They are in early elementary school, so it's not like it's important."
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Kind readers, there are some companies out there that are either too foolish to realize how interfering they are on a person, or are so arrogant that they do not care. Either possibility leads to the same conclusions, though.
A company that would make such a demand will invariably have unrealistic expectations. Even if these were met, it would spell certain doom for the employee the one time that the impossible could not be accomplished. For then, the impossible would be expected, and to fail to do it would be to fail in the job altogether. Then the termination process would begin.
Readers are urged to interview any potential employer as much as they interview you. Be on the lookout for position fit - for yourself. Nobody else will look out for you - particularly an unscrupulous company.
This is the kind of company that wants you to cancel your well planned vacation because the customer is more important. When you continue with your vacation, they claim you are not a team player. Been there, done that, time and again. Occasional I expect, and may accommodate, but every time?
ReplyDeleteHi, anon - thanks for reading.
ReplyDeleteSadly, you have hit the nail on the head. This type of company doesn't care if it is a well-planned vacation, a death in the family, or a sick child. Every "customer need" is "more important" because they (the company) plan to fail.
I wish companies like this did not exist but far to many companies see their employees as something to use and throw away when the time is right. As a perspective employee it is on you to interview the company as much as they are interviewing you. If the "fit" is not right don't work for the company it will not get better once they start paying you.
ReplyDeleteHi anon. Thanks to you, too for reading.
ReplyDeleteLike the previous response, you are dead-on.
Wow, it's like you were in my mind when I wrote this or something. I tried to say courteously what you said more directly.
If you are interviewing for a travel type position, make sure that you get a VERY CLEAR understanding of what their expectation is, and what they tell their customers. You may find yourself leaving on a Sunday morning to be there on Monday at 0900 (and the best ticket prices, gotta save money), and getting home on Saturday morning. Just enough time to do your laundry and head back to the airport. Not bad if it is one week a month, but if the travel is to be 80% or more, it can leave you at home barely 4 days out of a month.
ReplyDelete-Mark