Multiple interviews in one week... How to handle current job?

January 8, 2016 1:39 PM

Hi all! Around 6 months ago, I took on a contracting/freelance (they use the terms interchangeably) position at a large company. Sadly, they have no intention on making the position permanent for any of the contractors in our department; this is in addition to me feeling the company isn't the right fit for me. As a result, I've started applying to other jobs. It's going surprisingly well and I've nailed down two interviews thus far... the problem, you may ask? How the heck do I get time away from my existing job?

Everything was fine at my current position for the first few months. Sadly, things took a turn and it started to sink in how poorly they treat their contractors. I don't even have a real desk to work at. It's more like a wall with a weird skinny table attached and no storage. It's completely segregated from all the full time employees, it's in what would be considered a hallway, it's right next to the break room and any time they get shipments of merchandise or need to store decorations/marketing pieces/etc. anywhere, they toss it right up against my "work space."

I guess I don't blame them too much... What was supposed to be a 25 hour a week job has often only been 5 hour a week job, often no hours at all. So if I'm not there, why not just store the crap where they can find space, eh? lol Additionally, I usually don't know until half way through the "day of" if I need to be at work or not. Rarely do I know ahead of time. It's like being on call all week and it's frustrating and just not what I signed up for.

I've tried talking to them about certain things, but they aren't receptive. It just isn't the right place for me, so I've started looking into jobs that I can really put my 5 years worth of marketing/pr/design experience into. I had two great phone interviews at nationally-recognized companies that are dedicated to making a difference in peoples' lives (in two very separate nonprofit sectors). And I'm really excited. :)

Sadly, I haven't had work at my current company in almost 2 weeks due to the holidays and they finally have me coming in on Monday. I have two interviews: Interview X is Tuesday morning and Interview Y was requested to be around 3pm Wednesday afternoon.

I already accepted the invitation to Interview X, but for Interview Y I said I wasn't sure if I could make my job availability work that day (haven't heard back from them just yet). So I'm crossing my fingers, hoping he can work something else out. I have a feeling it will still need to be next week sometime, though.

How do I nicely handle telling my current job I've got a few things going on? They get so testy with me when I'm not at their beck-and -call, lol, so I don't know what kind of excuse I should give that would be acceptable. Any thoughts are greatly appreciated!

On a side note, some more info: I don't get any benefits or vacation days, and I am a W2 contractor under an agency that handles the big company's contract employees. I am not under an actual contract, and am an "at will" employee who has the freedom quit whenever I would like. If offered another job, I will offer to stick around for two weeks to wrap things up.


And WOW, I just realized how long this is... You all have my apologies!! I went on a "little" rant there! ;) Thanks again!

posted by theshmeek to Work & Money (13 answers total)

I found the best tactic is to say, "I have an appointment, I should be back to the office by X." After all, it's none of their business what you're doing and besides, what are they gonna do? Fire you for having an appointment?
posted by lock sock and barrel at 1:49 PM on January 8, 2016

I'd book the interviews with no requests for rescheduling. Don't miss your chance to be considered. Tell your current employers that you have some appointments scheduled and that you will be unavailable from X time to Y time. You're a contractor. You can do this. Just announce it to your supervisor ASAP and if they ask you about details (which is highly inappropriate and unprofessional) tell them that they're appointments of a personal nature and you're prefer not to discuss it. No need to offer more info. They'll probably assume it's a medical thing.
posted by quince at 1:49 PM on January 8, 2016

You owe these jokers nothing. They don't have you on a set schedule, you can simply tell them your availability for the week and leave it at that.

5 hours a week and they can't even give you a schedule? That is some bullshit right there.
posted by Ruthless Bunny at 2:43 PM on January 8, 2016

Your whole post is really apologetic and minimising of a terrible work situation you're trying not to inconvenience. You owe these people nothing and if your boss tries to make you feel badly about your need to take hours off, fuck that. Just tell them you have doctors appointments.
posted by DarlingBri at 2:51 PM on January 8, 2016

I totally agree with you guys... I really don't owe them anything and definitely need to grow a pair. I'll be the first to admit I'm a passive person and don't like upsetting anyone. I think if I'm going to be successful in my work I need to get over that!. Sometimes it just takes some wise words from a few strangers to give you some much needed confidence and validation. ;) To all who have commented thus far, I truly appreciate it!
posted by theshmeek at 3:10 PM on January 8, 2016

In most situations, as a contractor, that means that you get to set your own hours, if they want to control your hours, they need to HIRE you as an employee....

That said, let your current job know what your availability is and do the interviews with no guilt.
posted by HuronBob at 3:32 PM on January 8, 2016

At one of my contracting gigs I used to laugh every time I sent off a request for time off. Because despite the fact that I was asking nicely the fact is they couldn't deny me because I was simply telling them I wasn't going to be there. My boss even laughed about it once.
posted by lester at 3:36 PM on January 8, 2016

I find one of the nicest things about being paid hourly is the ability to simply take time off when it suits ME. My workplaces have been fine with this, and there is a bit of give-and-take over important meetings and deadlines etc, but for me it has been nbd.
posted by GeeEmm at 5:31 PM on January 8, 2016

If they had been treating you with all the respect you deserved, you [i]still[/i] wouldn't need to say anything beyond "I won't be in until 11:30 Wednesday" or whatever.
posted by mister pointy at 7:34 PM on January 8, 2016

I'm a contractor. Just book whatever interviews or other jobs you want. Why do you have to check in with them? Send them your availability for that week in advance if you want. They call you up the day before to ask you to work? "Sorry but like it said in the email I sent you, I am already booked tomorrow. My next available day is ____".

You're talking about a handful of hours here, a small client. It sounds like your real problem is you have failed to set boundaries. Maybe it's worth it to keep this client if you do that better (ie. schedule you in advance, in writing, around YOUR schedule). Maybe it's worth it to put up with it for substantially more money. Part of being an actual contractor is setting the clients expectations and making them adhere to your own personal boundaries/policies.

And of course, you can just walk away, as a contractor you can 'fire' them if it's not working for you.
posted by bradbane at 12:10 AM on January 9, 2016

I agree, I have failed at setting boundaries. However, they've made it abundantly clear that I am to work around their schedule and be their top priority. I'm a "W2 contractor" (aka, the worst of both worlds... haha), so I guess they feel they can treat me as their employee, without having to give the respect they give to their full timers. I'm forced to work in their office on their equipment... They don't allow their contractors to access the network directly or the vpn from home. It's suffocating, to say the least.

If I were making a significant amount more than I'd make going full time somewhere else, I'd consider hanging onto it. But I don't, nor do I like the environment. It's very much like being surrounded by the mean girls in high school, but more well dressed than back when I was that age. ;) I think my biggest mistake was taking the position because I was SO excited about how great that big company name would look on my resume. You live and learn, eh?

I'm definitely going to move on, just trying to figure out how to remain professional, while doing what I need to do. The posts here have certainly given me the kick of confidence I needed, though!!
posted by theshmeek at 11:00 AM on January 9, 2016

They cannot set your schedule. You are NOT their employee, you're a contractor who is free to set your own schedule, and work when and WHERE you please.

I learned this the hard way, but it's fact. Educate yourself on what it means to be an Independent Contractor in your state. It's eye-opening. In addition to informing them of your schedule for the foreseen future, you can inform them that you've been doing some reading and will no longer perform all your duties on their schedule, in their office, or on their equipment but expect to be paid for your documented hours just the same.

Good luck with the job search!
posted by SoftSummerBreeze at 7:30 AM on January 10, 2016

This is where it gets hairy. I've 1099'd for a variety of companies before and never had this issue, but it seems they believe this activity is ok because they have their contractors employeed as W2 through an agency that handles our time sheets, paychecks, etc. This is my first time being a "W2 contractor" and not a 1099. What rights does a "W2 contractor" truly have if they're beating the system by making us look as though we're employeed? (Serious question here, I'm baffled.)
posted by theshmeek at 11:38 AM on January 10, 2016