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So, I'm looking for work. I've been teaching English to students in Japan and I continue to do so, but the nighttime hours really bite the wax tadpole, plus it's hard to get enough hours to pay the bills. I'm tired, and it's rough to be underemployed.
I recently interviewed with a gentleman who runs a company here in my town. Names have been changed to protect the guilty.
My wife saw a "Now Hiring" banner on the outside of a building a while back and mentioned it to me. I called the number, and they suggested I bring a resume down, so I did. The next week i got a call from "George," the owner. He wanted to talk.
I gave him some of my background, told him what I was looking for, and expressed to him that I was not looking for a position in sales or marketing. He invited me down to chat with him.
George spent about 30% of his time showing me his operation, but I found it odd that he spent another 30% selling me on selling, and basically making the point that all business is driven by sales. Red flag No. 1. The other 30% of the time he spent selling me on the fact that my skill set (quite extensive, if you know me) was basically worthless to him, and that I'd be considered 'dead wood' in his organization until I began to show results. As a result, I should expect minimal compensation. Red Flag No. 2.
After taking a battery of rather odd psychological tests, I returned the following week for another interview. George outlined the responsibilities he had in mind for me, which included organizing and running a retail outlet for his products, increasing his eBay sales, supervising his two hired hands, learning a new accounting system and implementing it, and supporting his sales people in the field.
As for compensation, he told me that several of those areas would have commissions attached to them (that sure sounds like a sales job to me!), but that my base rate would be: minimum wage. George explained that this was his way of "incentivizing" me. Minimum wage in Utah is $7.25, which means an annual salary of about $15,000. By the dessicated skull of Mogg's grandfather, ain't nobody got time for that. Red flag? No, that was a flipping daisy-cutter.
The last time I earned minimum wage was in 1972, as a college student in my first full-time job at a pizza joint - for you history buffs, it was $1.65 at the time - and when I took early retirement from my career in 2006, my salary was approaching... well, let's say that for Utah I was probably in the top 10% of wage-earners.
What would have been more ethical from the get-go would have been to say, "Thanks for your interest, but all I have at the moment is positions in sales and marketing." I could have said thanks for your time, and moved on.
What torqued my cork is that George thought I was stupid enough to be manipulated into taking a job that I had specifically said I wasn't interested in, and pliable enough to accept his horsecrap about my skills being worthless. The fact that he even offered me a job was an indication that he thought he could profit from having me around; I learned long ago that if a salesman sells you something, at any given price, he's either making a profit or the sale benefits him in some way.
The next day I called him back and politely told him:
Of course, those were not my exact words - but I did say in no uncertain terms that my skill set was not to be had at fire-sale prices. Hey, if I want minimum wage, I'll go work at Walmart - at least there, they make no pretense about the work being anything but mindless drudgery.
In the end, I'm glad I decided to pass on this "opportunity." I would not have enjoyed the work, and i would have felt like a milquetoast sellout. Serously, I'd rather flip burgers than work for someone that disingenuous and tightfisted.
Gah.
I recently interviewed with a gentleman who runs a company here in my town. Names have been changed to protect the guilty.
My wife saw a "Now Hiring" banner on the outside of a building a while back and mentioned it to me. I called the number, and they suggested I bring a resume down, so I did. The next week i got a call from "George," the owner. He wanted to talk.
I gave him some of my background, told him what I was looking for, and expressed to him that I was not looking for a position in sales or marketing. He invited me down to chat with him.
George spent about 30% of his time showing me his operation, but I found it odd that he spent another 30% selling me on selling, and basically making the point that all business is driven by sales. Red flag No. 1. The other 30% of the time he spent selling me on the fact that my skill set (quite extensive, if you know me) was basically worthless to him, and that I'd be considered 'dead wood' in his organization until I began to show results. As a result, I should expect minimal compensation. Red Flag No. 2.
After taking a battery of rather odd psychological tests, I returned the following week for another interview. George outlined the responsibilities he had in mind for me, which included organizing and running a retail outlet for his products, increasing his eBay sales, supervising his two hired hands, learning a new accounting system and implementing it, and supporting his sales people in the field.
As for compensation, he told me that several of those areas would have commissions attached to them (that sure sounds like a sales job to me!), but that my base rate would be: minimum wage. George explained that this was his way of "incentivizing" me. Minimum wage in Utah is $7.25, which means an annual salary of about $15,000. By the dessicated skull of Mogg's grandfather, ain't nobody got time for that. Red flag? No, that was a flipping daisy-cutter.
The last time I earned minimum wage was in 1972, as a college student in my first full-time job at a pizza joint - for you history buffs, it was $1.65 at the time - and when I took early retirement from my career in 2006, my salary was approaching... well, let's say that for Utah I was probably in the top 10% of wage-earners.
What would have been more ethical from the get-go would have been to say, "Thanks for your interest, but all I have at the moment is positions in sales and marketing." I could have said thanks for your time, and moved on.
What torqued my cork is that George thought I was stupid enough to be manipulated into taking a job that I had specifically said I wasn't interested in, and pliable enough to accept his horsecrap about my skills being worthless. The fact that he even offered me a job was an indication that he thought he could profit from having me around; I learned long ago that if a salesman sells you something, at any given price, he's either making a profit or the sale benefits him in some way.
The next day I called him back and politely told him:
Of course, those were not my exact words - but I did say in no uncertain terms that my skill set was not to be had at fire-sale prices. Hey, if I want minimum wage, I'll go work at Walmart - at least there, they make no pretense about the work being anything but mindless drudgery.
In the end, I'm glad I decided to pass on this "opportunity." I would not have enjoyed the work, and i would have felt like a milquetoast sellout. Serously, I'd rather flip burgers than work for someone that disingenuous and tightfisted.
Gah.
