I’ve been an out-of-work IT professional for six months, and I’m considering taking a temporary retail job this holiday season. Will it hurt my ability to find a job in my field — at the appropriate level — if I have a menial retail job on my résumé?
You’re more likely to get hurt with the stampede of door-buster holiday shoppers than take a hit to your image with prospective employers. And by the way, retail work isn’t “menial.” It takes a lot of skill to maintain a courteous, helpful demeanor while secretly wanting to close a cash register drawer on the fingers of some crazed shoppers. Millions of people are underemployed in jobs that are merely a temporary means to make ends meet. Employers understand the realities of the economy and for many, the work ethic that stringing together a bunch of temporary jobs demonstrates could be an advantage.
I work in retail, and the store manager asked for volunteers to work on Thanksgiving, offering to pay triple time to those who do. There weren’t enough volunteers, so he required several people to work, and I was one of them. I’m hosting a family and don’t think it’s fair. Can I refuse?
Of course you can refuse — but chances are you do so at your own peril, because he very likely can fire you for refusing, unless there’s an employment agreement stating a policy to the contrary. Typically everyone who works in retail knows a requirement of the job is to work holidays and weekends, to serve and assist those who typically toil away in 9-to-5 jobs from Monday to Friday. You should have known what you were signing up for when you took the job, but if it isn’t worth it to you, you’re free to make a different choice. Before you tell your boss to take the turkey and stuff it, are you sure you are thinking this through clearly? Someone is willing to pay you triple time to avoid the Thanksgiving forced family stress, while millions of people would be happy to succumb to a tryptophan-induced coma to escape weird Uncle Al and the family drama!