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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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

164 replies

Sunnysideup95 · 26/07/2023 13:16

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

OP posts:
Blogswife · 27/07/2023 06:09

They let you down Op. The very least they should have given you is an induction and basic training , The other staff sound demoralised and they didn’t treat you well . Look at it as a learning curve and next time you are offered a job , ask for a job description and question what training you’ll be given ,
Oh and make sure they pay you for the days that you worked.
Good Luck

AlanJohnsonsBeamer · 27/07/2023 06:14

Oh god, I was made to do cold calling once. It's absolutely anxiety inducing for me. I had several people threaten me over the phone. Never again.

It's a hard job, OP. Some people are great at it, but personally, I would leg it out of there.

Bansheed · 27/07/2023 06:27

I am in two minds. First, it isn't the job you signed up for. Second, I can't see how you need training for this, it is more of a personality fit.

If you don't like it (I wouldn't) I would just leave. I too have left a recruitment agency as I hated it.

Don't get caught up in whether it is fair or not. Life is too short. Chalk it up to experience and now you know that you don't want this type of job.

Jazzybean · 27/07/2023 06:35

You’ve dodged a bullet. It doesn’t sound as if they ever intended to give you the original job and were looking to get a shit job filled on the sly.

Any decent company would give you some basic training - what happens for example when someone asks you a question that you can’t answer? You at least need an induction about company policies and procedure.

Eskimal · 27/07/2023 07:17

I’m glad I don’t work with you. You sound really arrogant. Read the other things OP has said and have a bit of empathy.

guzzleandstuff · 27/07/2023 07:18

Think of it as an extended interview for a job that turned out to be not a good fit. Rather than blame the company as being shit, think that you had an insight into an area of employment that you discovered is not for you. But it's useful to know about - it gives you background, it'll help you understand the workplace.
Thank them, move on. And good luck, it's tough going out there.

Hoppinggreen · 27/07/2023 07:23

Canthave2manycats · 27/07/2023 00:05

Oh please - there is some utter bollocks being posted on this thread!!

Any half-decent organisation should provide induction training! I sold advertising in a shitty local paper after I graduated and even there I got training!!

At the very basic level, there should have been some 'sitting with Nellie', to see how other people do it. A script should have been available to guide you what to say @Sunnysideup95. It's not recruitment in an agency anyway - it's sales, and cutthroat sales at that. All of that as an aside to not placing you in the job you applied for in the first place!!\

I'm sorry that this has been your first workplace experience but there's a lot of shysters out there. I think you are best off out of it. You did nothing wrong and don't let anyone make you feel that you did.

You could always register with a different agency for temp work. That would help you gain experience. See if you can find out which ones have contracts with local big companies/public bodies. Often these temp assignments can lead to permanent jobs, and even if they don't, then you have some experience to move forward. Very best wishes x

Slightly confused why you are quoting me there when I was agreeing that a decent company would have provided at least some basic training.

BHRK · 27/07/2023 07:26

Don’t take this to heart, you’ve escaped a terrible job. Time to move onwards and upwards. Look for something else and good luck

TeriblePerson · 27/07/2023 07:30

Some posters were being bitchy and unkind to you OP.

Find a better job!

DinnaeFashYersel · 27/07/2023 07:37

It is admin and it's typical admin for a recruitment agency.

3 days is long enough to see if you are the right fit - it's not a complicated job.

Now you know that this isn't right for you you can apply for different roles.

Dust yourself done and get back applying.

AlanJohnsonsBeamer · 27/07/2023 07:55

RosieBurdock · 26/07/2023 14:48

I had bait and switch done to me 30 years ago for a summer job. I got a job with Holland and Barratt Wimbledon, then when I turned up they informed me I wouldn't actually be based there but would be travelling around to any branch that was short staffed. I was sent here, there and everywhere. Guildford and Virginia Water were two of them. Wish I'd told them to stuff it, as I could easily have found another summer job, but I was young and naive back then.

Omg, I worked for Holland and Barrett when I was 18. The WORST company I've ever worked for. It doesn't surprise me at all they did that to you - they suck.

Moveoverdarlin · 27/07/2023 08:01

I wouldn’t ask for feedback! They sound awful.

PopGoesTheWeaselYetAgain · 27/07/2023 08:05

Sunnysideup95 · 26/07/2023 14:02

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

I would find that very stressful too. It's a bit unfair that they've just let you go instead of giving you another chance. However, they don't sound like good employeurs. It's frustrating and discouraging, but in the long run you'll be glad you left.

Ginseng1 · 27/07/2023 08:09

This is a recruitment sales jobs. It's not admin. I got a graduate so called 'marketing' position with a recruitment company 30 years ago. Essentially like you I was given no training & a box full of cvs to call (in my case engineers) for contract positions. I hated it. We were measured in a) how many calls we made & b) how many contracts we secured & the value of them. 20 of us were taken on. 14/15 inc me didn't make it past probation. There was money to be made the successful ones did well (big commissions etc) but it's a sales job & that only for certain people!

StillWantingADog · 27/07/2023 08:12

I’m a recruiter (working in a nice firm, they did exist)
it sounds like you’re not cut out to be a recruiter but that’s not the point you took on a job in good faith which turned out to be different to what you were told. It sounds like you’ve dodged a bullet, loads of horrid recruitment firms out there.

onwards and upwards etc

schnauzerbeard · 27/07/2023 08:12

You wouldn't have been hired just to file paper work if you had got the first job. It would have been the same role.

Catspyjamas17 · 27/07/2023 08:13

Yes, I remember as a graduate a lot of "media sales" jobs being advertised which at first might sounds like "Ooh, media," but it was just cold calling and basically haranguing long lists of people.

Daisyhillsareblooming · 27/07/2023 08:19

I agree with the previous poster who said you probably were too polite to ask (bully) people into taking shifts . I wouldn’t take it personally.

Greenberg2 · 27/07/2023 08:19

Catspyjamas17 · 27/07/2023 08:13

Yes, I remember as a graduate a lot of "media sales" jobs being advertised which at first might sounds like "Ooh, media," but it was just cold calling and basically haranguing long lists of people.

I've been on the end of these kind of people but in a hard sell estate agency company. They want you to be absolutely horrible. It works in the short term though I'd never use that company again. They want you to bully people (although some people would say be persuasive or influencing but it's just a euphemism).

It's okay to be upset about being mucked about but it's also worth reflecting that you really wouldn't want to work for that sort of company again.

Cailin66 · 27/07/2023 08:27

Sunnysideup95 · 26/07/2023 14:05

@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

Most admin jobs require you to use a telephone. If you don’t want to do that you should make it clear on your application.

Soapyspuds · 27/07/2023 08:28

They should have been honest about what the job was and trained you properly.

They have probably made their mind up but make sure that you give them honest feed back. Do not be scared to tell the manager how it is. They are only flesh and bones just like you.

Gemst199 · 27/07/2023 08:29

Unfortunately this is a common 'scam' in recruitment - a job is advertised as admin but when you interview/start it turns out to be some variation of cold calling sales.
Don't feel bad that they let you go, and unless you are interested in sales be prepared to say no thanks/walk out on the first day. It's ok not to want to do that.

Imsureitsprobablymebut · 27/07/2023 08:32

What a rubbish company!

The problem/s lies with them, not you.

Leave and find a better job with an employer who knows how to treat staff - you will thrive x

Segway16 · 27/07/2023 08:32

ItsNotRocketSalad · 26/07/2023 14:27

Ignore the posters trying to make you feel stupid. The company is clearly shit and you dodged a bullet.

I agree.

There are much better admin jobs out there where you’ll get actual training.

Segway16 · 27/07/2023 08:33

Cailin66 · 27/07/2023 08:27

Most admin jobs require you to use a telephone. If you don’t want to do that you should make it clear on your application.

Yes but not cold calling.