I’ve recently run into a little problem in my job search.  It’s a worrying trend, akin to refusing to hire someone unless they already have a job.  There are a number of places I’ve applied where they want me to make a commitment to them, regardless of whether the job is being offered or not.  Now, objectively, if I’m not working for them (yet), then how I spend my time is none of their business.  If I need to spend my time working at another job, or looking for another job, they’ve got to understand that.  Especially in the case where they are only offering minimum wage or commissions-based part-time work, they can’t expect that I’m not going to keep looking for something supplemental.

However, I can also see it from their perspective.  They want to know that the person they are looking to hire is, in fact, available for precisely the times that they need.  To the best of my knowledge, I unfortunately am quite available.  However, I’m not in a position to promise all my time away, especially if nothing is guaranteed to me.*

The problem is that there are so few jobs and so many job seekers that an employer can afford to, excuse the phrase, mess with us a little.  Yeah, that’s not their intention, but that is the effect it’s having.  There are people who can demand a take-it-or-leave-it response and tie it to don’t-call-us-we’ll-call-you.  What are job seekers going to do?  It’s not like there are oodles of other opportunities where they can go to if a few potential employers are being difficult.

If it was just one place doing that, then fine.  I can swear up and down that if Employer A wants Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays from me, then I can give it to them.  The issue is that several employers are doing this, and if Employer B wants my Mondays, Tuesdays, and Wednesdays, I can’t negotiate.  I have to choose one or the other, and I don’t know if either commitment will actually lead to a paying job.  The employer is the one in a position of power, and in a take-it-or-leave-it situation, the only way I can hold true to my word after a first offer is to Leave It.

A potential employer has said to me, in an interview, that she needs to know she can count on me for X number of hours each week.  If I tell her “no,” I’m not getting the job.  If I tell her “yes,” then I have to keep my word, which is really difficult when I know I have to make the same promise to someone else tomorrow.  Again, none of this has gotten anywhere near an actual job offer.  I’m running out of hours to promise people.

If I had it my way, I wouldn’t be dealing in promises at all.  Work is an exchange of labour for money.  All I have to offer is my time**, which is all being occupied for free.  Employers (who have the money) can haggle.  I can’t, because I have to promise my time and efforts up front.  I am giving away all I have in exchange for hypothetical money.  Again, if it were just one or two places that did this, I could shrug it off and look elsewhere.  However, it’s a rising trend*** and if it continues, we’re in trouble.

*Been there, done that.
**In which to do work.  So, it’s labour.
***Or, at least one that I am encountering increasingly often.

-Tamara Hecht