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I interviewed for a job.

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Anonymous

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I interviewed for a job. Sounds okay but they want 8-5. Also work every other weekend and Holidays. I have a child and didn’t mention that but is this too much? It’s definitely not work/life balance but I guess the demands are what they are. Not sure what to do.

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  1. Regina Brown

    Well, it was only an interview. Wait until a job is offered before make a decision...

  2. Shelly Edwards

    It was only an interview at this point. If they make an offer, take that as an opportunity to try to negotiate a schedule that works for you. If they are not willing to alter the schedule, then you can always decline the offer if the hours don't fit your life.

  3. Anonymous

    Different places will have needy schedules.
    If it isn’t something they are not willing to negotiate, keep searching. I made the mistake of accepting a job with a demanding schedule. I tried to negotiate in the beginning but, they didn’t go for it. It wasn’t worth the stress.
    You are a capable person. Something that fits your needs will come along!

  4. Anonymous

    If 8-5 doesn't work for your family and life you might consider looking for something more part time or more flexible since if this is too much you will end up having to quit.

    It's important you understand your limits and your needs.

  5. GirlBossanova934974

    Just my opinion, I would contact the company and tell them the job is not for you as I am not sure you will last a few months on this job. The only 2 things that you might consider that would make you want to pursue this job are: 1) A large paycheck 2) You really need this job right now.

  6. Anonymous

    PLEASE keep searching. It sounds like you are actually looking for a pt. time position, and if the employer tells you their needs, believe them. The last thing they want to is to spend money and time training you for you to quit b/c it isn't what you are actually looking for in a job.

  7. Susan Holland

    It depends on the industry and the position you interviewed for. Not every job requires that much time. It really depends. But if you are struggling with this then my gut says it may not be for you unless you really, really need work right now. Can you tell us more about the industry and the job?

  8. Anonymous

    it's 40 hours/week. What do you mean by "that much time"..? it's no more than a Mon-Friday job, just arranged differently.

  9. Anonymous

    It’s hospice care so it’s typical to work like this. That I understand. But yes it would be leaving home at 7:30 and be home at 6. Plus every other weekend and holidays. If you were waiting for referrals to go through you may not leave exactly at 5. Yes they were up front. I appreciate all that. They are great ladies but indeed reviews did say managers only care about them and I did get that vibe as I asked to leave early on one day to take my kid to her sport event. They said ok but they really didn’t like that idea. It felt like “how dare you ask this” and they became extremely uncomfortable. It’s hard because it is a great opportunity.

  10. Anonymous

    I say a hard "no". Because if the other person doing the other shifts, opposite weekends, if they take a vacation, call in sick...that would be you covering.

  11. Tara Stepanian

    Sounds like you've already made up your mind that this isn't the right fit. Keep looking for something that brings you joy.

  12. Diane Cohen

    NONONO! 8-5 is going to be 7:30-6, etc. I was offered a position like that and turned it down. Came to find out that it had turned over 4 times in 6 months!

  13. Anonymous

    if you have child care and will get days off during the week (when doing your weekend)--and extra pay for holidays...is that so bad? I work in healthcare and did this for years. I loved having a weekday off. working weekends wasn't a big deal for us and my spouse or mother in law watched kids. I got extra holiday pay , nice too! This is a full time job, but the days are different...so you have to decide what type of FULL TIME job you want. You say this isn't work/life balance but it's still 40 hours/week, arranged as you describe. You can still have life balance with this. Many of us in healthcare (working in hospitals, nursing homes, etc) do it every day. Up to you.

  14. Martha Marin

    Work/Life balance is determined individually. It’s great that they are being up-front about the schedule, now it’s up to you to decide if those are terms you’ll accept or not. Don’t be afraid to negotiate (every other weekend ok, but no holidays, for example), some companies have elasticity that way.

    If in the end you decide their terms are not agreeable to you, thank them for the offer and move on in your search.

  15. Anonymous

    Without knowing what the job is this is hard to answer. Is 8-5 including an hour break for lunch? If so then that's 40 hrs/week which is standard. If this is an office that is open on weekends and holidays then it's a fair expectation to expect everyone to cover some weekends and some holidays. If this is a schedule you can't make work with your other demands then it sounds like you'll need to decline. If you're looking for something more aligned with your child's schedule perhaps look at what your local school district is offering. That way you'll have the same schedule as your child, or pretty close to it. Good luck with your job hunt.

  16. Anonymous

    There's no one universal correct answer here. The only one is what works for you - for your family, for your career goals, for your happiness. We don't know what position or industry this potential job is; many jobs require weekend and holiday work (emergency services, medical, hospitality, service, the list goes on and on) and many require long shifts (again, often medical, emergency, etc). So we can't say if this is a "bad" or "good" schedule. Without all of this additional info, quite honestly, any advice given here is useless. You need to look at your own circumstances and decide if this is workable for you.

  17. Anonymous

    I took a job that offered work/life balance, but it was not true. I work from home but I am expected to answer emails and phone all day and all night. Also, they expect that I attend early meetings 7 am and late meetings 7 pm sometimes on the same day, so I work 12 hours. I have a family and this does not work with our schedule. If the job is already telling you the hours will be long, don’t take the job because they may add in extra hours and expectations. I am miserable, I hope you find something better.

  18. Christina Navarro

    So the 8-5 part sounds right, but working every other weekend and holidays definitely wouldn't work for me and my family. I would send the recruiter an email asking about flexibility in these cases or the reason behind it. Also, I'm assuming you'll be paid hourly not salary so you get overtime pay for working weekends and holidays.

    Don't get me wrong. If I was in need of a job and this was the only one presenting itself, I would take it, but if you have options, I would reconsider. This sounds like a really good way to burn out employees quickly but again, you have to consider the priority of this job.

  19. Tiffany

    As a mother, this sounds challenging for a 8-5 schedule but weekends/holidays. You should be upfront with the employer to see if there’s some flexibility with your schedule. I don’t know how old your child is but if they’re school age, you have to account for their school schedule, summer/spring/winter breaks and the inevitable sickness every child has during a school year or daycare exposure. Whenever an employer tells you a schedule add some more time onto it for unexpected work situations (extra workload/projects), commuting, children being children and so on. Personally, if the employer shows no flexibility then I wouldn’t work there. It sounds stressful as a schedule and you would have no work life balance. You have to weight the pros and cons.

  20. Crystal Howell

    You maybe looking for a remote position that works with your schedule, this schedule with a babysitter will take your first paycheck? Keep looking, indeed has a section that asks hybrid or remote? Good Luck

  21. Anonymous

    Don't take the job!

    Let someone else, who'll be grateful to have a job, take it. You obviously want to be catered to. What about all the other current employees doing the job/hours now?

    The employer deserves employees who want to work on the terms their business requires, not on the terms the employee wants.

  22. Anonymous

    In my opinion,, to the post directly above me from Anonymous, your reply was rude.
    She is asking a question and all you had to say was that she should look for something that would be better for her life/work balance, which would have been a gentler way. We do not know her situation. If she were to take this position, it might prove to not be a good fit. We have all been there with these kinds of decisions.

  23. Anonymous

    I agree, it is a strange response. "You obviously want to be catered to, employer deserves employees who want to work on their terms". Those are punitive thoughts. We can do better, here. In fact, we should do better, here.

  24. Julie E

    Being a mom and not wanting to work weekends when she's already put in a 40 hour week is not wanting to be catered to. They're asking her to work above and beyond what is a normal work schedule. Your responses was quite rude. Not everyone wants to be a workaholic. Work life balance is important to a lot of us.

  25. Anonymous

    I totally agree! And if you see my answer below, I said, as well, that her comment was rude.

  26. Anonymous

    I do not appreciate your negative response. It seems judgmental and harsh. I single parent. I have a lot to think about and to consider. I've also worked for schools where family comes first which I never took for granted. I am ethical and overly loyal to the point I didn't have any boundaries and it was not fair to me or my personal life. My daughter also deserves to have a Mom who is present and capable of taking care of her needs. When you are older you have more responsibilities that do not only cater to work. This is a lot of people's dilemma. I suggest you grow up!

  27. Anonymous

    First, congratulations on getting the interview. Many people don't even pass that hurdle. Second, you always have the choice to walk away if the job does not fit your personal needs to be most successful. That doesn't mean there's anything wrong with the job, or there's anything wrong with you. It just means this is not a good fit for you. Be very grateful that they were honest with you during the interview process. Many places end up being a bait and switch. If your job hunting, you probably don't have time to waste if you've already decided this is not the best dynamic for you. The worst thing you can do is to go through all the interviews and assume they're going to negotiate something different at the end. That happens rarely IRL unless you're going to be a senior leader. Learn what your negotiables and non-negotiables are and your job search and develop the ability to communicate them with companies. Then the two of you make a mutual decision about whether or not positions are for you. You probably could have screened this out with the recruiter.

  28. Anonymous

    Yup. They didn't have a recruiter.

  29. Anonymous

    I think that's an awful lot to expect of an employee. I manage a division of 120 staff, and I wouldn't want them to work the hours above, because that leads to burnout and staff turnover. I would pass on this opportunity and find something that has better work/life balance.

  30. Anonymous

    I like this post - glad you posted!
    I think you have to get a lot of clarity on what it is that you want/need as your goal right now. Employer/employee relationship is like any relationship - it will work best when it works well for both parties. If one party wants more than the other party is willing to give, it might work for a little while but then it won't work any more. If your ultimate goal is survival right now and you need some cash, then you can be willing to negotiate, with the understanding of what you give up in order to get the cash you need. But you have to have the plan for what comes next, because it won't last. Sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do, no shame in it and we've all had to at some point. Alternatively, you might try to find another position - there are a lot of jobs out there with companies who don't require weekends and holidays, or if they do, you have other free time during the week, to make up for it. I believe in you - trust your self and do what's best for you right now, whatever that is.

  31. Anonymous

    Thanks for the thoughtful response. I worry my child would suffer and she's already had to when I worked. They are a nice group of ladies to work with and great company but reviews have mentioned the management does not accommodate for families and expects you to do what they want and their hours and really don't care about the employees family needs.

  32. Anonymous

    Is this an hourly role or salaried?

  33. Anonymous

    Hourly

  34. Anonymous

    It is not the only job out there. If it does not suit or fit your needs then you can pass. Another option would be to take the job temporarily until something better comes along.

  35. Kim Raper

    You have a wide range of responses here and at least one was completely unhelpful and out of line. It sounds like a position that is unlikely to be a good fit give the range of hours and days. There are many jobs out there, maybe not the ones we really want but certainly ones that could better serve your needs as an employee and a parent. You do not need to sacrifice yourself or your family for your job and should go with what is comfortable for both you and your family. Best of luck.

  36. Anonymous

    Yeah I think it may be alot. Good money. That's my dilemma which I need but sounds like a quick burnout.

  37. Leonor Fitzgerald

    If the position does not meet your work/life balance then do not take the position. However, I don't understand what is too much. In reference to hours, depends do you get a long lunchtime. Can you take shorter lunch and leave earlier? Is it work every other weekend and Holidays? Do you get paid overtime or do you get another day off during the week when it is your weekend? Or is it the time that you would spend away from your child? That answer is dependent on your family dynamic and needs. Many families work those hours and on holidays or on weekends. For myself, I make family a priority when we are together. It's the quality of the time we spend together that I focus on, not the extra hour a day I have to work.

  38. Anonymous

    It sounds like no you may not leave early. You may stay after depending on when referrals go through. You do get overtime on weekends. Definitely time to spend away from my kid.

  39. Valentina Huang, MBA, SHRM-CP

    If the job is not what you are looking for, you don't have to accept the position. Keep looking.

  40. Krystin Morgan

    It wouldn't be the right schedule for me, either. It's totally fine to decline to move forward if this schedule doesn't meet your needs.

    That said, they can hire for whatever parameters they want and likely will find someone who can do that schedule. That person just doesn't have to be you! :)

  41. Maria Paula Calvo

    It seems that you are doing a good job in finding out how life in this company would be, congratulations! That is an important part of the decision for taking a new job or switching companies.

    On the other hand, it is also important to remember that you are the owner of the decision whether to take the job or not. If the conditions (in the broad meaning, not only thinking of the paycheck) do not match your expectations you can always let it go and continue looking for better options.

    It is truly up to you! Good luck :)

  42. rebahull

    I would not accept that job.
    You will be working 13 straight days 2x/month. That’s a lot. Pass.

  43. Anonymous

    That's what I think. It seems like its a good fit for someone with no other responsibilities. They said I could work from home on the weekend for now but if that changes I don't want to spend those days paying childcare for an 11 year old. Both managers were very nice and due to referrals you are not technically getting off exactly on time which is not the worse thing in the world but that's all extra added on then too.

  44. Anonymous

    Presumably she would have off another day during the weeks that she worked Saturday

  45. Melissa Verdoni

    clearly too much, i would never work weekends and holidays with kids ,,, with children it's a whole other game. schools are closed , ect ect.

  46. Anonymous

    Its a different ball game. I single parent too so its me and my child.

  47. Rosa Goes

    Lots of great advice. I would say it depends on your goals. If they are financial, then this would be a good opportunity until you reach that goal. But if your goal is to have work/life balance & flexibility (you mention your child), then the job is not a good fit. Like other posters mentioned, there is no shame and it's not the only job in town.

  48. Anonymous

    That's good advice. I do need finances coming in. Thank you.

  49. Anonymous

    I think you already know what to do. It sounds like you would be unhappy. I have worked jobs for many years 9-6 and every other Sat. You normally get 1 day off during the week if you are on for that Saturday as most companies don't want the over time . Ask them if this is the case if you get a call back , the you can decide. If the money is there, is it worth it to you ?

  50. Anonymous

    UGH, if I had another option I would totally not do this. Zero flexibility - I can put in the hours, but would really want to do it on MY schedule.

  51. Anonymous

    Wouldn’t we all? But it is THEIR job, not yours. If you aren’t interested, thank them and move on.

  52. Shelby C

    There is nothing wrong with thanking them for their time and withdrawing your application.

  53. Anonymous

    Not sure if you were aware up front (before you applied) but what you mention is a pretty standard schedule across several industries. A lot of sound advice here! Best of luck!

  54. Anonymous

    Thank you to everyone who spoke positive. It is a juggling act. I have no family around and live in a small town that does things a little backwards. No daycares and I don't find many want anything to do with a single mom so the support is very limited. I don't want to rely on childcare. I feel like I will get flakes. She is 11. But staying home that many hours would be no good for her mental health. When she was a baby I worked 12 hour shifts while she was in daycare. Always sick. She developed behavioral issues over that too. So thank you for understanding . Its not an easy task.

  55. surfnwrite

    What type of job is this? Salaried? Hourly? No way I would take a salaried position with that kind of setup.

  56. Anonymous

    As long as you are paid every penny for every hr you work it is up to you to either keep the job or change to another. No one can really say what is normal bc it depends on the job. Like hotels are open 7 days a week. Some businesses might be open 5 days per week but hire 7 day staff coverage to keep up with back end operations.

  57. Anonymous

    Presumably 8-5 with an hour off for lunch. There is nothing unusual about that.

  58. Shakia

    When it comes to your work/life balance being a single parent you know best! You didn’t mention your child? Why not? If this sounds like a lot to you for your household, I am pretty sure your gut instinct is correct. Good luck! There are jobs out there where this will not be an issue.

  59. Carina Davis

    Just ask yourself this, "Is this job going to create the quality of life I want for me and my children and does it work with our future plans?" If you don't feel this will cause long term issues for your family, the job represents your values and they value you enough to compensate you for the time away from your family they are asking for, then weigh the cards and decide from there. You could also do an old fashioned 10 level pro and con list: list the con and scale the negative factor on 1-10. 1 being the least negative and same for the pros list. Add it up, if the cons add up to higher than the pros it's a no, it the pros end up higher than the cons it's automatically a yes. Just be sure to consider long term possibility.

  60. Ruth Gonzalez

    Always listen to your gut. Sounds like your gut is telling you this is too much. I would agree.

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