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Job interview and Occupational Health interview today

Martian Tom

I have another job interview this morning, at the place I worked before I took my current job.  I enjoyed working there, not least because I could walk to work (just over a mile from home), and only left because I took on the role of full-time carer for my mother during her final illness.  It's the first non-direct care role I've had an interview for for several years.  It's a care charity, but this is an office role.  They asked for experience in care and admin work, which is why I was short-listed - though my last pure office role was in 2004, so I may be a little rusty with the programs they require familiarity with: Excel and Outlook.  I guess I could soon bone up on both.

If I'm offered it, I'll have a difficult choice to make.  Before Christmas, I was offered another role as Learning Support with PMLD at a local FE college.  I've got that in the bag.  But with two offers, I'll have to give serious consideration to the pros and cons of each - and they kind of out-balance one another.

The College is term-time only, so gives long holidays (two months in summer).  But it's more traveling, and there's more difficulty with parking as there's none on-site.  It'll mean trawling back-streets for a space, and probably a 15-minute walk from there.  Bottom line is, I'll have to keep the car, with attendant running costs, and it'll make for a longer day (an hour, or slightly more).  The College is also front-line work with PMLD, so feeding, personal care... but I don't mind that, and it can be very rewarding work.

The other place is a charity, and they do great work.  It'll be the usual 9 - 5 routine that I like (the College is 8.30 - 4, so pretty much the same), but 28 days a year annual leave against the College's 14 weeks.  It's office work, too.  I used to enjoy that, to be fair, as long as I was left to get on with my work and didn't have to engage in the other stuff: small talk, banter, office politics.  I'm not sure how I feel about returning to a sedentary occupation, too.  I'm sure I'll be good at the work.  But I doubt it'll give the same level of satisfaction.  On the other hand, it might be good to give direct care work a rest.  I suppose I'll get a better idea after today.  And I might not be offered it anyway, in which case it won't matter.

Basically, if I get both offers, it'll come down to: more cost and hassle with traveling with the College, but lots of time off in a more rewarding job; or cost-free walking to work at a place I like, but back in an office (even though the work will be care-associated).  I'll also get free lunches at the place today - cooked on-site.  In both, the money is the same - though at the College, that'll be for 38 weeks instead of 52, so I'll actually be getting paid a higher hourly rate for the role.  About time I had a care role that paid a salary more commensurate with the responsibility involved with the job!

I have a DBS already for the College job, so could pretty much start straight away.  I'd have to wait for one for today's job - up to 12 weeks.  I can't see myself returning to my current job, so it could be a long wait on UC.  My sick note runs out on 2nd Jan, after which I get zero sick pay.  I'll either have to leave through ill-health, or just renew my note and play it out until they let me go.

I also have Occupational Health ringing me later this afternoon to check in and see what they can offer.  Don't really know what to tell them - except I don't feel like going back just yet.  Although I suppose that at least knowing I have a new job to go to means I can return a little safer in the knowledge that it's only short-term.  I spoke to my Employment Support Adviser at The Shaw Trust about the issue, and he reckons just stay off sick.  Why take the chance of going back to more passive-aggression - even if the end is in sight? 

Stuff to think on.

I'm terrible at decision-making.  Why do I have to wait for ages, then get two interviews at once?  Always the way it goes...

Parents

  • Thanks for your good luck wishes, Sunflower and Ellie.

    I think I have my answer.

    I was interviewed by two very nice and personable, but very honest and stressed-out women - one of whom would be my manager.  She made no bones about the huge stresses of the job, the constantly shifting priorities, the innumerable variables.

    I said to her it sounded like she needed someone to hit the ground running.

    'I'm not even sure what the ground is,' she replied.  She then gave me a long litany of things that can go wrong that could throw the most important part of her job - the rota for the entire staff in the house - into a nose-dive.  She told me there was enormous pressure, and just as a job seemed completed, something usually came up to mean it would need to be done again: medication not arriving, surprise appointments, booking transport that then became unavailable on the day, staff going sick at a moment's notice, senior managers demanding stuff, constant complaints about things that they had no control over.

    'Some days, I suddenly realise just before hometime that I haven't had any lunch.  Some days, I boil the kettle all day and never get to make a cup of tea.'

    She said there were often sudden emergencies where staff would be called in from home in the evenings to rejig the rota, or rearrange services.  The extra time could be taken as time off - when any spare time became available.

    'It's called an admin job... but it's not a normal office job.  There's so much more to do.'

    I think it would be fine if I could learn it all before fitting into the role.  But in those circumstances - and for minimum wage - I think I'd be heading for crack-up very quickly.

    The College it is, then.

  • in reply to Martian Tom

    That's great - you can opt for the college with no regrets - the job you were interviewed for today sounds horribly stressful! 

    Hope all goes OK with Occ Health. 

    ()

Reply Children
  • in reply to Martian Tom
    Martian Tom said:
    The OC woman said that she will compile a report and send it to me first, before it goes to my managers, for my agreement.  She said she's going to stipulate that she doesn't believe they're supporting me enough in accordance with my needs, and will quote the Equality Act and the Disability Act... and she will tell them that they really need to find out more about the condition they're meant to be in the business of dealing with.

    Hold on to the above Mr T and keep reading it..

    For every *** in the world....there is also someone who has your back....

  • in reply to Sunflower

    Whoa!  Just got off the phone from the Occy Health woman.  She was great, actually, with a good understanding about Asperger's.

    She told me something that sent my blood pressure up.

    In spite of all I've told them at work about my condition and how it affects me, and notwithstanding the fact that they specialise in autism... the message they sent to OC was that they wanted us to have a talk so a suitable way forwards could be figured out.  She said that, from the tone of the message she received, it seemed to her that they aren't sure what to do for the best.  She said, though, that they'd also sent her a copy of my job description, highlighting that part of my job role was 'dealing with challenging behaviour.'

    You can probably imagine my reaction to that.  She agreed with me, too.  'I don't know why they said that,' she said.  'Unless they don't really have a proper understanding of autism.  You can deal with challenging behaviour from service users.  But it's a world of difference from dealing with bullying and harassment from a work colleague.'

    Exactly!  And the first thought that came into my head?  That they're trying to build a case against me on the grounds that I can't fulfill an important aspect of my job role.

    I really can't believe they could do something like this.  Or maybe I can.  I'm a liability to them now.  A problem that needs to be dealt with quickly, and move on.

    The OC woman said that she will compile a report and send it to me first, before it goes to my managers, for my agreement.  She said she's going to stipulate that she doesn't believe they're supporting me enough in accordance with my needs, and will quote the Equality Act and the Disability Act... and she will tell them that they really need to find out more about the condition they're meant to be in the business of dealing with.

    I'm still shaking with fury now.