The Tale of Wasted Time, or How I was looking for a job on ads

2024 Author: James Gerald | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 14:00

All of us at least once in our life found ourselves in a state of job search. They were looking for her with the help of friends, according to advertisements, through the employment center. I think everyone knows which of these methods is the most effective. I found out about this not so long ago.

Where can you get a job after graduation, when the diploma says "philologist, teacher of Russian language and literature"? Of course, to school. We, young teachers, are taken there with hands and feet. They are left alone with a crowd of idiots, entrusted with class leadership, which means responsibility for an average of 30 people, plus "homework" - daily preparation of lesson plans and checking at least a hundred notebooks with dictations, essays, statements. In short, you need to give yourself up to work completely, and the salary of a young teacher, that is, the rate is 450-600 rubles per month (I’ll say right away that I live in Volgograd, so the salary may seem unrealistically small to many). So the childhood dream of crossing out mistakes with a red pen followed by a deuce at the bottom and the signature "Very bad!" had to be buried.

An acquaintance arranged for me to work as a secretary in a company, which died suddenly a year later. I had to go out on the high road of real life - to look for a job myself.

I bought all the newspapers with ads and spent all day on the phone. To begin with, I sifted out all sorts of nonsense, such as "work in the service sector", "consultant in a cosmetics company", "salary of $ 500", "entrepreneurial young people are required for high-paying jobs," etc. Then I noticed that some ads are repeated from time to time at times, from newspaper to newspaper. I also considered them suspicious, thus further narrowing the range of my searches.

Attempt # 1

A sweet female voice on the phone asked everything about me, as if in confession. When I timidly asked about the salary, the voice sternly said that the boss decides after the interview. At the interview, I was handed a questionnaire, which I filled out for an hour, more and more imbued with the seriousness of the organization. Then I was sent to the room of a certain girl psychologist, who said that they needed responsible, communicative workers who know how to work in a team. She bombarded me with questions: what books I read, what films I watch, what cars and men (!) I like. She even asked me to look at a number of geometric shapes and tell me which one I associate myself with. At the end of the conversation, the girl got up and said that she needed to consult with her boss about my salary. A minute later she came back and said: For a probationary period, three months, the salary is one thousand rubles, and after the probationary period, one thousand three hundred. I was shocked, but for some reason said that I would think about it. At parting I was given a few more questionnaires.

My mistakes: Afraid to sound impolite and materialistic, I allowed employers to lead me by the nose, delaying the moment of reporting the size of the salary. But asking about the salary should not be ashamed, because money is the first (for some, the second, but not the last!), For which we all work.

Result: lost two hours of time, and time, as you know, is money.

Attempt # 2

There was nothing special in the next announcement, but the secretary "in secret" told me that the salary would be from ten thousand. Girls lined up for the interview, who were probably also secretly told about the high salary. My short dialogue with the boss was as follows. He:

- Well, who are you, what are you, what are you, who are you?

- I already worked as a secretary for a year, I know the computer well.

“You don’t need to know a computer.

- ?

- The main thing is to have a hanging tongue, to convince customers, to attract new employees by phone. How many people came for an interview today? About 60. And earlier, when I had my secretary Masha, 300 came, she could lure them over the phone.

- And what does your company do?

- And why do you need it? Well, for example, I'll tell you what medical equipment is, and what do you want with it?

- What about the salary?

- The salary will be big. Depends on your diligence. So I paid Masha 20 thousand each. And he even gave a ticket to the sea - free of charge.

And for some reason I didn't want to be in the place of Masha, who for some reason left such a monetary job. And my employer obviously didn't like me either. Too curious.

My mistakes: "bought" the message "in secret" about high wages. But the promise of a high salary without a requirement from an employee of higher education, work experience or any skills and abilities is sheer deception.

Result: Again, I wasted time. But she gained experience of communicating with charlatans-employers.

Attempt # 3

The salary was already indicated in the ad - from 3,500 rubles. Such requirements for a secretary as computer knowledge, communication skills and a pleasant appearance did not seem suspicious to me. The firm's office was very decent. The boss turned out to be a man of Caucasian nationality, similar to Karabas-Barabas in his youth. He looked at me slyly and asked: "Is it difficult to find a job now?" Then, after asking about my past place of work, he sent me to another office, where a certain Vova checked my knowledge of the computer. Then they said goodbye to me. And a week later they called and said that I was accepted. Joy knew no bounds!

But there were several "buts". No one was going to take me for a permanent job, the probationary period was not limited to anything, and the salary for this probationary period was set at a thousand rubles less than it was indicated in the ad. I didn’t sign any contracts, and I still didn’t have any records about my new place of work in my work book. That is, I kind of still remained unemployed.

My responsibilities included hammering prices and product names into a computer. And nothing more. From morning to evening, from eight to six, with only a short lunch break. The numbers began to dream at night, and the thought constantly itched in my head: did I get a higher education for THIS? The boss was very annoyed when I jumped up at exactly six in the evening and hurried home. After all, this meant that I did not burn at work, and even, oh, horror, was indifferent to her.

A month later, I ventured to ask about the official recruitment of me and about the promised salary increase. Of course, I didn’t beg for either one or the other. And a month later too. Then, having received my next salary, I left in English without saying goodbye. Since I do not have any rights, then there should be no obligations either.

My mistakes: their mass. I took the employers' word for it. She did not insist on concluding an employment contract. Didn't ask about the policy, possible sick leave, vacation, time off. I agreed to a lower salary, fearing that I might immediately be replaced by another girl looking for a job.

Therefore, now I know for sure that when applying for a job, you need to find out about:

- job responsibilities;

- position in the hierarchical structure of the company;

- provided resources (equipment, information);

- powers;

- - perspectives;

-conditions of work and rest;

- privileges.

Result: the game was not worth the candle. Lost several months of work experience, which was not recorded in the work book.

This is how my job search for ads ended ingloriously. Perhaps someone was more fortunate in this than me. But one thing I can say for sure: good (from the point of view of the solidity of the company and high wages) employers rarely recruit personnel through newspaper advertisements, because there is almost always a relative or acquaintance for a prestigious vacancy.