"Welcome to MusicTown. May I service you?"
Instead of being told, "You're overqualified, thanks but no thanks!" ... I go in for new employee orientation on Monday evening at Big Blue Home Improvement Store.
The hiring process was simple:
- fill out an application online, with a relatively quick multiple-choice quiz as part of it (If in situation X, is Y or Z the better choice?)
- phone call two days later to schedule an interview
- interview with HR person at store, second interview the next day with an assistant manager
- call a week later to come in for a pre-hire drug test
The interview questions were scripted (as expected for a large company), the people I talked to were quite friendly, and it was about as painless as any hiring process I've ever been through.
Oddly, I *don't* know what department I'll be in yet - the HR person hasn't decided where she wants to put me yet (a lumber manager expressed interest), and corollary to that is not knowing what kind of compensation they're going to offer. I asked for a reasonable rate (about half my hourly rate at the Real Job), and would probably settle for a bit less. I have a firm lower limit in mind, though.
I was impressed with the benefits package for part-time employees, too - optional medical/dental/vision coverage, basic life insurance, 401k with matching (they'll match 1:1 for 3%, .5:1 for another 2%, and .25:1 for 1% more, meaning a total of 4.25% for 6% of my money), and a stock purchase plan, along with employee discounts and paid vacation.
I find it odd that people are griping about how hard it is to find work when it took me less than two weeks to get a second job with benefits available...
Face it, you were a shitty banker anyways.
1 year ago
5 comments:
Well, if the process at the blue home improvement store is anything like at the orange one, its actually easy to get a job there, the turnover rate is GInormus. The problem is the rate of pay, in many cases its less than steller unless you have background to offer.
I would chalk it up to high turnover rate if I hadn't been seeing the same faces on a regular basis for several years.
I'm not expecting big bucks from this; it's a way to make a little extra cash without flying my desk - a change of pace. As to background ... I CAN do most anything home-related. Some of it I like more than the rest. :-)
I expected YOU to have background, I was referencing the rest of the world.
I made a much better than minimum wage rate working at the service desk, but they matched my pay from the job I was coming from (and I have customer service and computer skills coming out my ears). Alot of my co-workers weren't so lucky, and although most of the departments had a stable core of workers who were always there, the rest of the employees came and went with distressing regularity.
On the other than you could have a nice stable store by you that doesn't have the problem at the same rate, which would mean its great to work at, so good luck!
Sounds like a perfect second gig for you! Of course, you should've done it in time to get a staff discount on all the crap you just bought...
Good luck, and who knows, maybe a career change is in the offing! :-)
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