Interview Went Well, But CEO Wants Me To Work A Day -FREE (company, salary)
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It's called job shadowing, and it's in the best interest of both the prospective employee as well as the employer. Schedule it for a day you would be off at your other job, so as not to lose paid work. I've done it with several companies for a one day stint, and I believe it saved me a lot of headaches in the long run. Sure, you will not get paid, but you will avoid a lot of strife if the job ends up sucking. If after four hours you say to yourself, "this frickin' sucks", let them know and then leave. No harm, no foul, and everybody wins! Enough with the "slave labor" notion. Look at this as an opportunity that not many people get.
I would think long and hard and figure out if you would want to work with and for someone who does this kind of thing. You are interviewing him as much as he is interviewing you. I own a growing business with 10 employees. I would never do something like this.
Absurd. I'd tell him that you won't do that, as your time as is too valuable and that you expect compensation for your work.
It's called job shadowing, and it's in the best interest of both the prospective employee as well as the employer. Schedule it for a day you would be off at your other job, so as not to lose paid work. I've done it with several companies for a one day stint, and I believe it saved me a lot of headaches in the long run. Sure, you will not get paid, but you will avoid a lot of strife if the job ends up sucking. If after four hours you say to yourself, "this frickin' sucks", let them know and then leave. No harm, no foul, and everybody wins! Enough with the "slave labor" notion. Look at this as an opportunity that not many people get.
No. Job shadowing is what a high school or college age student does to explore career opportunities. SHe is being asked to DO the job for the day. She is being expected to work.
If you're being expected to work for free the appropriate response is "F-You... Pay me".
Don't let employers walk on you. In small companies try employers want people who will be invested and work hard and people who present their own perspective.
I'm amused by the naivety of some on here. You see this same naivety in every thread on this Employment forum and it echoes one concept: "Bend over and take it up your tukhus without the lube " because the employer said so..."because if you want that job..... that's what you need to do." BALONEY...DON'T LISTEN TO THE FEARFUL SHEEP ON HERE. Listen to your gut. Your gut is telling you "that's not right...where there's smoke there's fire." Go with that. CEO is trying to play you.
Exactly the sheep on here seem like they do anything their paycheck cutter requests of them. Sorry we have labor laws, and they must be followed. Some people actually have integrity. I turned down a job like this were they wanted me to do a mock day. Best decision ever, I ended up getting an internship with a bank, and that was fully paid.
This happened to me last summer, except it was supposed to be for two 4-hour shifts. I did it and everyone - the staff, the patients, the doctors - loved me, so I thought nothing of it when the managing practitioner asked to pay me off the books until my background check came in. I worked for him "off the books" for a full month - from mid-July to mid-August - and then, suddenly, was let go because the practice could no longer fund the position. Come to find out the managing MD replaced me with his wife, and this summer, they're magically looking for help again -- dollars to donuts whoever they hire works "off the books" from mid-July to mid-August and then is let go.....
Learn from my mistake, OP. Set clear boundaries and stick to them. If, after your first test day, they ask you to do another test run, even if it's paid but off the books, say no, or at least say that you're not comfortable without a written offer. Sure wish I had done so; I passed up a better-paying job during that time period because I thought I was as good as hired.
This happened to me last summer, except it was supposed to be for two 4-hour shifts. I did it and everyone - the staff, the patients, the doctors - loved me, so I thought nothing of it when the managing practitioner asked to pay me off the books until my background check came in. I worked for him "off the books" for a full month - from mid-July to mid-August - and then, suddenly, was let go because the practice could no longer fund the position. Come to find out the managing MD replaced me with his wife, and this summer, they're magically looking for help again -- dollars to donuts whoever they hire works "off the books" from mid-July to mid-August and then is let go.....
Learn from my mistake, OP. Set clear boundaries and stick to them. If, after your first test day, they ask you to do another test run, even if it's paid but off the books, say no, or at least say that you're not comfortable without a written offer. Sure wish I had done so; I passed up a better-paying job during that time period because I thought I was as good as hired.
Well..there now...this is exactly what I'm referring to. There was an entire thread a while back on indeed.com about how this is common with dental assistants and hygienists. There are other occupations and fields where employers try to get away with this type of schlock.
I would do it in a heartbeat if it got me closer to a job I wanted. I worked for "free" via volunteering while in college for years. It served me well. I also agree with others here who note the potential opportunity be trained in a new skill set. That's a freebee for the potential employee.
Absolutely not. And especially if you'd be giving up paid work to do this "free day". In my 18+ years of working, I've never heard of someone asking me to work for FREE for a day to see if things work out. We're not talking about automobiles here. If the hiring person can't figure things out after several interviews, and can't stand the thought of the three month trial period, then that's too bad. You take your chances. And that goes both ways. In my state, you can be let go at any time and you can quit at any time as well.
Also, is this arrangement in writing?
Plus, unless the company says that a job is in the offing at the end of the freebie, then they just received a day of labor without having the compensate. Time is money, even if they feel your time isn't.
Absolutely, do NOT work an entire day for free. It's just ridiculous, don't be that desperate. I could see, coming in for half a day and "shadow" but not sit down and actually do the work. If they are that cautious about hiring the wrong person then their hiring practices suck and need to be evaluated.
And yes the dental field is rife with this practice. I spent a day "shadowing" at an Orthodontic office for a working interview for an Assistant position; I'm not an assistant and so I would be learning a whole new language essentially, I agreed figuring it wouldn't hurt to learn some new skills. Offered no pay for the 9 hour shift, supposed to follow around one of the assistants to learn/train prior to getting an offer. The Dr. had me assist him with one patient and when I didn't hand him the mirror quick enough (he had just held his hand out and gave me no direction as to which instrument he required), he gave me a nasty look and snapped his fingers. Surprisingly, they called me with an offer and I kindly said "Thanks but no thanks." I needed a job, but not that badly.
Not necessarily, and not likely in this situation. This could be considered an unpaid internship (even for a day), which are legal, as long as they meet the criteria. It really is dependent on the specific tasks they will be doing. Since the OP would be training for that day (as they couldn't know the job on Day 1), it seems to meet the criteria.
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