💾 Archived View for sud0nim.smol.pub › new-job captured on 2023-03-20 at 17:29:14. Gemini links have been rewritten to link to archived content
⬅️ Previous capture (2023-01-29)
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So I got a new job at the local, small-scale hardware store.
Roomie has been working there the past 6 months or so and has really enjoyed it. There were a couple other times when spots had opened up and he had urged me to apply, but each time I found a different excuse to not do it.
One major reason I didn't apply earlier was that I really loved working for my parents, my job as a general laborer at their horse boarding facility was emotionally rewarding for me and it helped them build their dreams. Most of the time they just needed someone who could use a shovel reasonably well, better than the 14 year old neighbor-boy but without the added cost of bringing on a professional. Being a college student with fluctuating levels of free time, it just made sense to work for them. I could help out more when the work-load of school was light, and take the time I needed to for studying without it being an inconvenience. Plus the work was pretty fun for me, I love working with my hands, so chopping down dead trees, digging trenches, and putting together new equipment was a lot of fun. It also reinforced my work ethic, since any time I slacked it would negatively impact my parents, I never really slacked, and if I found myself doing so, I would tell them to cut an hour off my time worked.
I've been working there for a little over a year, but it's only been the past couple months I've really wanted to find a new job. Over the summer there was always plenty to do, but we finished most of the major projects, and with the tractor being in and out of the shop, we couldn't do certain projects without it. Certain days I would drive up to them, only for them to scratch their heads and look for things for me to do. It's one thing when I know I'm making a big difference, but when they have to look for chores that they would have just done themselves, it makes me feel like a spoiled rich kid living off my parents' hard work. Plus the commute being ~45 minutes started being more of a pain with the rise of gas prices.
So when Roomie frantically texted me that there were 2 openings and I should apply, I did. A lot of the knowledge I gained working for my parents was fairly pertinent to a hardware store: fixing water lines, basic electrical work, using power tools, etc. However something I didn't expect was feeling comfortable advocating for myself. When I was building my resume, it didn't feel like I was lying when I wrote my qualities. When I was being interviewed, I just told the truth, told him my strengths and weaknesses, but didn't feel nervous. I normally hate having attention on me so this felt kinda weird. I guess it reflects the contentment with myself that I've been feeling for the past few months.
I started on Tuesday of last week and have worked the majority of the days since then. Most of the people there are pretty nice, Todd is a little quiet, but he seems satisfied with how I've been performing. I'm still forming my opinions on Mike and Jane, the head managers. They've been nice, but certainly act more above us than the other managers at the store. Part of it is the age difference, they're both at least 60 where everyone else is in their 50s or bellow. I've just continued to show them both respect and work hard, which seems to be working.
The work itself is pretty simple, the cash register is still a little confusing with all the various menus, but I'm getting the hang of it. Right now I'm manning the Christmas light section of the store which has been a lot of running back and forth to our overstock to look for spare lights. I've also gotten the chance to help a few customers in the store which has been pretty fun, it feels good helping people find things.
The days haven't been dragging as much as I thought they would. At my parents I would regularly work ~5 hour days which felt pretty long. So when my first shift, lasting 8.5 hours, flew by I was honestly surprised. Something about the rhythm that you fall into just makes the time fly.
It's been cool working with Roomie. He already told the coworkers quite a bit about me so I didn't need to introduce myself a ton. We've been able to help each other out a lot, we have pretty good nonverbal communication after living with each other for a while, and one of our managers finds our friendly bickering hilarious. It's been good seeing more of him, for the last while he's not been doing too good and we haven't been hanging out that much, so seeing him at work when we've been scheduled together has kept our moods high.
So far I like my new job!