living off of "potential"

well, i said yes to the job after drilling him on the details.

at first, there won't be benefits, sick days or vacation days. so i tried to negotiate and see if he would pay a higher hourly wage to make up for it. he refused and said he wanted to start me at $12 and see how it works out, a "probationary" period. i can take sick days and vacation days but they will be unpaid for now.

however i was very persistent about benefits and how i need to be able to make enough money to support myself. he was understanding and is "very open to  negotiations as things get underway". he said that the company will not provide benefits, but in maybe 6 months or so we can negotiate a higher salary to cover the costs of benefits, or maybe get some paid vacation and sick. I guess it all depends on how well I negotiate. ;)

I wasn't going to accept the job, because the thought of having a "career" that lasts forever but doesn't have benefits makes me nervous. however, he told me straight up that as the company grows (he just got a bunch of new jobs from
wayne county and the city of detroit that will last years) he wants me to be his right-hand (wo)man, and he anticipates in 3 years, we will be so busy that we'll
have to hire a secretary to take over part of my job, while I get more into the consulting end of things. He kept saying that the "potential is unbelieveable" and
that he promises I'll make lots more money as I am taken under his wing.

Well, maybe I'm gullible but that's good enough for me. I'll give it a try. If I get offered the zoo job, I'll tell him I need a pay raise or benefits, or I am
walking. ;)

In the meantime, I need to figure out what is "business casual" for that conference in Grand Rapids. Fortunately, my everyday work outfit is jeans and anything I can get dirty while playing in the greenhouse. :)

another twist to the job game

Mood: Confused

So I's calls this guy up, see, and I says to him "Hey man, who you think you're jimmyjackin'?! This independent contractor shizzat don't go down wit me, yo. It's my way or the high way, bizzatch!"

Not exactly, but close enough. I called and left a message saying that this whole contractor thing won't work for me and I regretfully decline the job. He calls back and talks to my mom and tells him that that's fine, he wants to hire me on as a real employee! A real life employee! With sick days and vacation and everything! Well not quite everything, I doubt benefits will be included but I have to call him back to figure it all out. Phew! So I guess I still can celebrate. Too bad I still want the zoo job, and a bunch of great jobs just opened up - a few wildlife positions with the State, another landscape job that's more labor than phones (a good thing in my eyes), and a few fed jobs. I still want the zoo job though. Look at me pout. What a baby. "I wanna feed the big kitties!"

independent contractor??!!

Well, so much for my newfound "employment".

He wants me to be an independent contractor working for him. All fine and dandy, I thought, until I spoke to a few friends of mine who were contractors. The truth is revealed about what it really means to be an indy contractor...

He wants to set my hours, teach me how to do things his way, and train me. I am supposed to work for him indefinitely, and go out to his office to work. For all IRS/government purposes, that makes me an employee. But by making me a subcontractor, he gets to avoid lots of paperwork and save money, and screws me out of many things. Supposedly subcont'rs get paid more because of the fact that they have no sick leave, no paid vacation, no benefits, nothing... but I don't think I'd be getting paid enough.

All around, it just sounds like a shady deal to me. To be subcontracted, it is generally expected that I am really good at something and have my own tools, methods and knowledge so I can seek out work from others on a project basis. Ummm... no, there's lots of training involved for me, and I am essentially his secretary. I mean, the other employees are self imployed for good reason - they are landscape architects and engineers. And the fact that he bad-mouthed another applicant to me for 15 minutes is unprofessional - and that's pretty bad coming from me!

Now I'm sitting here trying to think of a graceful way to decline the job, so that he will have another story to tell the next applicant about how much I suck. 

employment!

Dude!

I got a job! And it's almost local!

Sitting there at the coffee shop with my yuppie caramel latte, reading my Peter Jenkins book and dreaming of my upcoming road trip I am going to take down south next weekend, I was startled when my cell phone started vibrating at 8:30 at night. Area code was from either north or west of here... who could it be? I let it take a message. It was the guy from the native plant nursery!

I had all but given up on it, since it had been a few weeks. Guess some fantastic guy popped out of nowhere to interview, then turned down the job and now it gets passed on to me. I'm really excited about the possibilities of this job. My title is "restoration assistant" but it's essentially 50% office duties, taking orders, marketing, etc and 50% nursery management for native seeds and plants and/or environmental consulting work, with lots of opportunity to learn landscape architecture and stuff. So I guess I get to do a little bit of everything. The only part I am a bit nervous about is the fact that I am not actually employed by the company - in fact, nobody is. All the employees are "sub-contractors", and I guess that technically makes me self employed?? No benefits but the pay is way better than being a smoke eater in Montana, with guaranteed hours that the fire job couldn't promise. It's weird though, since I am a contractor I don't get a W-2 at the end of the year, and they don't take taxes out of my wages - I pay them seperately or something?? Not sure, all stuff I'll have to get answered tomorrow. It also technically means there is no job security at all, but I always like living dangerously so that's no problem. HA!

Actually I have two reasons why I am nervous about taking the job. First, is what happens in 4-6 weeks if I get offered the zoo job? It's a tough choice, and I'd feel like an ass if I quit. I think I have a decent chance of getting the zoo job, too. Much better chance for me to make more money with the landscape job and more varied with duties, but then again how often do you get a chance to work in a zoo!? And I have to say I am very used to working for governments. My other problem is that it's located in the boonies, out past Ann Arbor and nowhere near any places I'd really like to live. Being a young, single female I need opportunities to stalk my prey (men) and there's not much of that going on in the farmland out near Manchester. It is very gorgeous out there but right now I'm too social to live by myself in a rural town. I could live in Ann Arbor but I was starting to get excited about moving to Royal Oak or Detroit, or even to Brighton or Walled Lake to be closer to Tara and Jenna. I need workout buddies! I know I'm just being whiny and picky but I'm nervous and that's what happens when I have to make a big decision.

Then again... I can finally move out! And get a dog and a nice bed and get to unpack all the crap in boxes in my room. Use my new deluxe toaster!

Figures that was actually getting somewhere with regards to a job with Outward Bound. I mean, not like I was offered a job or anything but there was positive karma! I think I'd really enjoy being a wilderness instructor, and maybe some day that will happen. Us crazy humans live a long time, so unless I kill myself doing something crazy and dangerous (sometimes i think it's not that unlikely hee hee) then i have plenty of time to do everything!

the whim of the day

I'm really starting to dig this new haircut! I was going to grow my bangs out but I always end up cutting them in the end (voluntarily or not). I'm hopefully going to be modeling for an art project for Heather this week and, even though it supposidly involves powder and cloth (?? Heather help me out here! what the heck are you going to do to me!?) and I get really dirty, at least my hair will look good.

Well, there was snow on the ground until a few hours ago. Will probably come back again tonite, since it's supposed to snow again. I hate this phase, where the ground is no longer frozen and everything turns to mud. At least I can trail run in the snow if I felt so ambitious. Still a few weeks before the mountain biking trails are good to go too. I've resorted to my old workout videos that I haven't touched since high school. Cardio Boot Camp, b*tch!

I've got to make some executive decisions soon. I haven't heard from the Montana fire guy yet, he was out of town but I thought he was supposed to be back by now. I did leave a message... I want to call to see what's going on, but then again I don't want to call because I'll have to decide whether or not I'm going. I'm leaning in the direction of no right now, because it's too sketchy not to have a guaranteed 40 hr work week on a $10/hr job. I mean, one week without work, and I might not be able to pay rent or eat! I am eagerly awaiting the arrival of my job-hunting books from Amazon.com so I can figure out what I am doing wrong, and figure out what exactly I want to do. My latest plan has me excited - get a job with Outward Bound. I took the initiative and called them today, and the internships are filled (they only paid $300/month anyway) but they have various support jobs (dog caretaker for the sled dogs, cooks, logistics) and once you get in through that, you can eventually make your way up to instructor. Being a wilderness instructor would be wicked cool! Voyager OB is based out of Minnesota and Montana so that would be fun too. Also looking at jobs as a tour guide. I figure I like to travel, so maybe I should try a new approach to job hunting. A job also opened up at the native plant nursery in Ann Arbor, so I might put in for that too. I do like landscaping still too, and if Tim stops being a jackass then maybe I can find out if he wants me to help him out with projects this summer.

Thinking about beinga waitress. Yikes! Me, a waitress? Hell has not yet frozen over, because I haven't actually applied yet, but it is an option. I like people, and I know a lot of the guys that eat at O'Tooles where I might apply... the only catch is that you must wear a schoolgirl plaid skirt and a tight white shirt. But I've got "assets" that will help me get better tips <wink>. And Hooters is coming in soon also... Although I detest Hooters for claiming they are a family establishment (I would never take my kids there), I know how well those men tip! Chuck told me to try being a bartender somewhere - since I took a class - but ehhh maybe I'll start small and spill food on people first, before I start spilling bourbon and whiskey.

May be going up north this week or weekend, or maybe even see what kind of cheap flights I can get to southern destinations. If I could I'd go to Peru or Belize but I'll settle for Key West or anywhere close that I can just swim in the Ocean...