To think this is unfair and that I wasn’t given a fair chance at my new job.

[Sunnysideup95]

Recently I started a new job at a recruitment agency, for what would have been my first proper job. I was interviewed for an office administration position. A few days later I received a call from them and they said the position has gone to somebody else but there is another department within the same agency who need an administrator and they could take me on.

On my first day I arrived and soon found out it wasn’t an office admin job but was to call up nursing staff and see if they were available to take a job in care home that the agency had on their lists. A lot of the times I was ringing up and they would say they are not available to work that day. I felt pressure as I was just given a list of names and contact numbers and had to ring anybody on the list. I had no training and nobody helped or really told me what I needed to be doing

A few days later I was called in to the office by office manager who said he had been listening to my calls and thinks I’m not right for the job. But I was never told what to say to the nursing staff on their lists and was just trying my best

Aibu to think this isn’t fair

I did try to ask for a bit of help or guidance from the lady who works there who I would have been replacing when she left but she just sort of laughed and didn’t really say much, I think 3 days into a job is not fair to say I’m not right, especially with no training

It sounds like they are doing you a favour!

You may have dodged a bullet there. They don't sound like good employers. I am sorry you have been treated badly though. Maybe doing some agency work yourself will help you to find something better.

To be fair you arent right for the job are you?
Maybe you would be with some help or training but they can’t or won’t offer it so you need to find something else

Did you ask for more feedback? Just saying you're not right for the role isn't particularly helpful for you.
I would be asking for something more specific and ask what support there is available to help you improve.
That is if you want to stay, though I'm inclined to agree with PP that this doesn't sound like a good working environment.

Leave. They don't sound like they actually care about training their staff. You shouldn't be left on your own to do the job regardless of your experience. Everyone needs guidance the first few weeks.

Unfortunately a lot of jobs in recruitment agencies are just cold calling. If they didn't train you properly then they are not a good employer and I would just go elsewhere, yes it isn't fair but at the same time you dont really have any come back after just 3 days.

Basically they want people who happily and naturally bully people into working when they don’t want to.

Thanks everyone. The role I initially applied for was for office duties like paper work, filing etc so was a different role to what I am doing now. I wasn’t told the job description until the day I started, I was just told it was an admin job in different part of the recruitment agency

I rang one of the nursing staff on the list and after I spoke to her the woman next to said ‘why did you ring her, she’s in Australia’ and then laughed. But how was I to know, there was nothing to say that on the list

As others have said, I’d ask for feedback regarding your telephone manner - sounds like this was the reason?

it wasn’t an office admin job but was to call up nursing staff and see if they were available to take a job in care home that the agency had on their lists. A lot of the times I was ringing up and they would say they are not available to work that day. I felt pressure as I was just given a list of names and contact numbers and had to ring anybody on the list. I had no training and nobody helped or really told me what I needed to be doing

From what you say, it was pretty clear what you were supposed to be doing.

Calling qualified people to ask if they were available on date A , location B, to do job C. With no training/help, I'd just have written my own own pleasant and professional script.

It's obvious many calls would result in "no". For reasons nothing to do with you so no need to "feel pressure".

How you responded to refusal reflects on the agency, and on you.

The number was a clue?

Could have been a mobile number and they are on holiday.

If the job was effectively just cold calling agency temps, then they shouldn't have told you it was an office admin job, because that's not really office admin.

They should also have at least pointed you in the right direction rather than just letting you get on with it and hoping for the best.

I suspect it was this - rather than just call up from a list and get to people on certain dates to certain location- actually talk them into doing it.

but it is part of an office admin role, most roles have a wide variety of tasks and you cannot just pick and choose to do filing, etc

I am a med sec, there is a lot more to office work than just shuffling bits of paper around and answering the phone😆

The number would mean nothing if you're working in an industry like healthcare where lots of the staff will be from overseas. Someone working in the UK for a year or two, which is often the case for agency healthcare workers, will often keep a mobile number from their home country.

My boss has actually been in the UK for about 8 years but his mobile number still has the dialling code from his home country.

It sounds like the agency wanted you to make a bit of a running start and show some initiative. So if the nurses you phoned responded they weren’t available today, e.g. ask if that was medium or long term unavailability or whether they wanted remain on the list to receive calls about work available in the short term, any work or locations they didn’t want to be considered for, and update the list accordingly. Were you doing that?

If you’re applying for office admin jobs, particularly in the recruitment industry, this sort of thing is pretty standard, they generally expect you to know at least the basics without extensive training. Is this a new industry for you? What has your previous experience been? What skills can you transfer from that to a role and industry which might suit you better than admin in recruitment?

@2bazookas yes was just mobile number, apparently she was on a long holiday in Australia but I wasn’t aware of that as nobody said or wasn’t on notes

Yeah I think they think I’m not being ‘pushy’ enough, if that’s the right word. apparently I’m just accepting that are not available on that time or date and they said that I should be encouraging them to accept the job but a lot of them are saying they’re already working elsewhere etc

@2bazookas I have said up the thread that the original job I applied for was for office duties such as paper work, sending out letters etc. no phone calls, in a different area of the recruitment agency. I was just told it was another admin job in a different department, then when I arrived I was told I would be making the calls

It depends what you think is on the calls they've listened to. If it's just you sounding unsure, that's unfair. If you were getting very stressed and being unprofessional, I see their point.

I've had to do this kind of thing at work myself and you do need to be quite robust if you're going to be constantly contacting people who will be perhaps rude and dismissive and generally not be receptive to speaking to you. It might not be the type of work you are suited to, which isn't a bad thing. Now you know.

Sounds like a shit job. You can do much better.

Yes, they should have trained you properly. It does sound like they wouldn't have been good to work for though, so onwards and upwards