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[ktun 0]

Hi all,

I have a bit of a dilemma,

I was offered a job at a bank here. It was the first job I applied for and the first I interviewed for. The location is great, 5 minutes drive from home, the hours are great. But, the pay is pretty bad. Meaning that once the taxes etc are taken out, I'll barely be bringing home enough to cover the car loan and a couple of other bills, definitely not enough to be comfortable with. The other problem is that the manager who interviewed me told me that benefits would start immediately and that they would subsidize a significant proportion of this. Now I have the pre-employment paperwork from the main office, it states that there will be no benefits for 90 days and that there is no subsidy! This is really putting us in a difficult situation. With the insurance situation, it is almost to the point of not being able to to afford to work there. They promised me rapid career progression with increased pay, but since they also promised me immediate subsidized benefits which have now fallen through, I am wondering whether their promise of rapid career progression will fall through too. I am due to start on 24th July and wonder if I really should bother starting there? I have put in applications other places and am waiting to hear from them. I really need to be working since we've taken on this car loan, we will not be able to pay the bills if I'm not working.

My husband and family tell me just to do it and view it as a stepping-stone to something else. But I don't want to get into this job and then be trapped there. I guess I'm finding it hard to reconcile to working at a minimum wage job again, being turned down for jobs I could do with my eyes closed. It is very disheartening with a Masters degree and 3 years teaching experience. I just don't seem to be able to get the break that I am looking for.

How did you do it? How did you manage to 'make it' here professionally? And any words of wisdom on the bank job, greatly appreciated.

Thank you

Kate

[Nicola&Matthew 0]

I'm in the same boat, I would take the job but only as a temporary job just to get the $$$$'s in. View it as a stepping stone to getting something bigger and better for the future.

The other problem is that the manager who interviewed me told me that benefits would start immediately and that they would subsidize a significant proportion of this. Now I have the pre-employment paperwork from the main office, it states that there will be no benefits for 90 days and that there is no subsidy!

Call up your interviewer and explain the situation and explain what you were told. There could be a misprint on the contract. You don't have a lot to loose and if they don't give you what you were told you should get look elsewhere.... Let them know that! Be assertive, seems employers like that over here!

Good luck!

[gtigiant 0]

yep, call them out on the promise that was not delivered. also you can quit a lot easier here in the US then you can in the UK. You are not under contract. Most places accept two weeks with no issue, and many (especially in a retail based environment which bank branches are) are used to people just calling and saying I am not coming back. So take it and use it for what it is, a way to start an employment record in the US.

[Reba 2]

I'd talk to the person who interviewed you and remind them of the promises made and show them the paperwork that contradicts it. They probably don't even know themselves how its supposed to work.

I can understand the humility of having to take a minimum wage job after having such secure and well paying jobs at home. My last job in Canada I'd worked there for 13 years, had 4 weeks vacation time, plus sick days, full medical and dental benefits, and I was making 52k a year plus bonuses. My first job here I was making 5.75 an hour, no benefits, no meal breaks!, and no vacation until after 1 year (I managed to stay there all of 3 months )

My second job was marginally better, at least for wages, but the company and the job sucked big time. I quit that one after 4 months.

Now I'm working only 8 to 12 hours per week at $8 per hour not even making enough to buy food and put gas in my car. No benefits, no bonus.

There's just no jobs here where I am. So we have to suck it up and do whatever it is we can get I'm thinking of trying to look for a second part time job, just so I have some "extra" money. My car needs repairs.

*sigh*

[ladybutterfly 0]

Yep, another similar situation here. If its your first job in the US then go ahead and take it and you can always continue looking for another job after a few months. It seems to be easier to be able to find employment when you are already employed. Use this job as a stepping stone and to gain experience of working in America. I also was making double what I now make back in the UK but I know I wont be here forever and like someone else says, it seems to be alot easier to leave jobs here than back home.

[Kez/JWolf 6]

I had to take a job with a Temp agency just to get a reference in the US... I to have a BA(honors) and 15 years work with the UK government... After 3 months of doing the most deadend jobs I was offered a post in my current job... so for me it was worth the backward step just to get ahead...

Good Luck

Kezzie