I’m thankful that I have a job I like, with nice coworkers and an awesome boss. I guess I also get a fair bit of leeway, being a rare part-timer amongst full-timers, and being a student. If I need to change up my hours or take study leave, it’s never a problem. I get to pace my workload, and in return I’m always happy to pick up more hours as needed or stay a little later.

One of my friends just got a job at Savemart, which is pretty neat. It’ll give her some solid work experience, it’s close to her house and the hours are regular – a damn sight better than at her old telemarketing job. Back in school, I wanted to break into retail SO MUCH. I was sick of working with food and just wanted to work in a shop. But I never got anywhere near, and then I landed an ever better job – in an office – and haven’t looked back. Now I think about it, hospo tends to pay better than retail, and I would have been a useless salesperson anyway.

Being an entry-level sort of job though, has its downsides. She can’t smoke inside, obviously, but was told to not even bring her packet of cigarettes indoors! There’s the usual no texting, no slacking off talking, and a bit of a grilling about future plans. Like, what do you want to get out of this? How long do you think you’ll stay here? Why? You think you’ll be here for the next two years?

I guess in times like these employers can push the limits and be as picky as they want, and people will put up with it to ensure they have a job – at least until something better comes along.