I would like some opinions on a job for which I applied.

[elocs]

I quit my last job at the end of May. I was just sick of it and couldn't stand the thought of coming into work. So one day I just quit, told my boss that I wasn't happy. He liked me a lot and thought I was a great worker and he took it well, saying that he believed everything happened for a reason and the important thing was to be happy--that it was just a job.

I really did not make much money at all, but it is just me and my expenses are small and I have enough put away to last maybe 6 months if I did no work at all. I thought about maybe taking the summer off and enjoying some time when I am still in great shape at age 55. If I saw any job that interested me I would apply for it, but I would not do an extensive "my god, I need a job right now" search.

So a few weeks ago I saw a job in the paper that interested me at one of the nation's largest health service companies. I applied online and didn't hear anything for a week and a half until they called and wanted to do a phone interview. After that they wanted to do a face to face interview and asked if I thought I would pass a background check and a drug test and I told them no problem. I downloaded their 15 page application packet and one of the questions was about if you had ever been convicted of anything, but it was not entirely clear to me since every other time I have been asked that question it excluded routine traffic citations. I asked the HR woman about it and she insisted that they wanted to know everything I could remember. I said that I knew I had gotten a ticket 10 or 11 years ago and simply paid the fine and that I had gotten one 27 years ago and did the same thing and I've had no reason to remember anything about them since. She looked at me like I was nuts to even question it and told me to put down everything I could remember.

Then I got onto the interview after taking a long personality test that you would have to be a moron if you couldn't figure out how you should answer ("Most people at work only do the minimum work required". "It's ok to take small things from work if you are not making much money".) Now I am applying for a night job in their warehouse and had an appointment for an interview at 1 p.m. The first question I got was, "Why are you here at this interview?" I basically said that I saw the job in the paper and that I had experience and believed I was qualified. Apparently that wasn't the answer she was looking for (I remember getting that from college professors on essay test answers), sot she asked again, "Why are you here at this interview?" I must have come up with a good enough answer the second time because god knows I couldn't tell her what I was really thinking.

The rest was just your run of the mill, canned BS interview questions. It was a nice place and she was really nice enough, but to tell the truth I just had a bad personal feeling about it. First, for me, is the privacy thing. I'm ok with the background check and the drug test, but their attitude is that they want to know everything about me and everything that I have ever done (if they could legally polygraph people I'm sure they would have me strapped up). The place is a pharmacutical warehouse and so it is surrounded by a huge fence and lots of security. I'm sure there are cameras everywhere and you couldn't scratch your "ear" in privacy (I wonder if they have cameras in the bathrooms?).

This is a good job and considering the state of the economy it might be hard to pass up except for this feeling I have. So do I go with logic and common sense, or my gut feeling?

[bluedigger]

1. Always trust your gut!

Well, unless you are the Leader of the Free World or something...

Sorry, I couldn't resist.

Normally, I would tell a prospective employer that I felt was that intrusive to piss off, but in this case I guess I can see their needs being pretty justified. I mean, it is a pharmacuetical warehouse, eh? They can't just hire anybody with a pulse off the street. Why is it a good job? Will it be more challenging and fulfilling than the one you left? Better pay, benefits, hours, commute? Not sure this is any help, but my bottom line is that life is too short to not enjoy getting up and going to work every day. If you can afford to be choosey, than be so!

[yellowdogintexas]

2. if you hate it, you can always start looking for something else then go to

that one.

[elocs]

3. It's funny that I heard from a friend that I haven't talked with for a month.

I had wondered what her opinion about this since she has worked for hospitals and also in the pharmacuetical industry and she told me that I wouldn't like it because I am too laid back. She said your every move will be watched. So that reaffirms what I felt.

I had thought about a line from the old show "Alf" when he said, "Your eyes may deceive you, your legs may fail you, but its your stomach that really gets you into trouble. My gut has failed me before, but I think in this case as you say, life is too short. I can always do something else and it's nice to be in that position.

[raccoon]

10. Don't take it if your gut tells you no!

BTDT, out of desperation. Luckily you aren't desperate.

As another poster said, you can look for another job. But you might suffer work trauma from this job. BTDT, too. It takes a hell of a long time to get over. If you ever do.

[NV Whino]

4. When in doubt, don't.

[harmonicon]

5. do you think you might like the job?

If so, take it, and if it's not working for you after a month or two (or, if it's really really awful, after the first few days), just quit. Tell them that you thought you'd give it a shot, but it didn't work out. Then the next job you're applying for, you don't even have to list it in your work history if you don't want to. If you feel like you might as well be working, but don't need the money just yet, why not add a little to that money and stop working again if it's not what's right for you? Almost all job applications are complete bullshit. I had to take one of those absurd "tests" for a minimum wage job once. I also think the questionnaire is there more to weed out the liars, because they'd find anything really awful through a background check anyway.

[Tuesday Afternoon]

6. Keep Looking.

fuck 'em. :headbang:

[quiet.american]

7. Sounds horrible. I would keep looking. nt

[RebelOne]

8. If you think you will like the job

and the money and the benefits are good, I say, go for it.

[Corgigal]

9. what I would do

I'm 50 years old and jobs are getting tough to come by. If I was offered that job I would take it but only plan on working it until the holidays.
Then in the fall I would start looking around again to see if I can have another job locked up by the beginning of the new year. I probably wouldn't like that job either but knowing I only plan to do it for a few months, if the pay is reasonable would allow me to show up in the first place.

Good luck with your decision.

[elocs]

11. Thanks for the responses and input. My own gut feeling has not always been dependable

without at least a second opinion. I really did want an opinion from the friend I had not talked with in a month and she called last night. She has had experience with the pharmaceutical industry and she said I would not be happy there. I would not like being watched every moment and being afraid if I happened to eat a bagel with poppy seeds. I realize that kind of company needs to maintain that level of security and having to know everything about you, but I'd like to hold onto a measure or what remains of my personal privacy. I realize that everything there is to know about me is probably out there in different places, but god forbid when all of that information is someday pulled together into one place.