Interview for a job I don't actually want

[EmmaH2022]

I am sorry if this is really first world

I have been freelance for years. I wanted to improve things financially so have applied for one permanent job, all the while thinking, "I don't want to do this, why am I doing this".

I only applied for that one and the thought of going back to offices, meetings, blue sky thinking etc etc filled me with horror so I didn't even look the last two weeks.

I have today heard I've got an interview.

Shall I go? Shall I see it as temporary and a better way to secure a mortgage offer?

It's part time so I could keep my key clients. I do have to commute though, two or three days a week.

It's a good employer with good benefits, in terms of holiday, sick pay. The way things are going economically, it seems a good idea. If I am ill, it puts a bit of money on the table.

It was a choice that came out of fear rather than necessity. Just feel like the economy is a real worry and I saw the 90s recession as a teen. My sister went straight from school to years of unemployment.

my freelance work is a bit feast or famine. December is likely to be quiet. I enjoy it though.

i dunno. Any thoughts?

Perhaps if you go to the interview you can find out whether the culture is likely to be as annoying as you think.
I am freelance but sometimes I get quite nostalgic for photocopiers and broken printers that are someone else’s problem, and annual leave etc.

As you can keep your key clients I'd take it for the next 12 months and see how the land lies after that. The guaranteed income I think will be worth it over the next few months even if it just reduces the stress of the unknown. 12 months isn't that long in the grand scheme of things.

What have you got to lose by going to the interview?

I think you might find that offices have moved on a fair bit since you were last permanent.

I suppose the worry is, if I get the job and if it goes wrong - or if I just can't hack it - I lose them as freelance client maybe?

I have done some freelance work for them. it's a different dept in a big corp. I don't know anyone in this dept.

but I do already know that permanent staff are still subject to annoying corporate crap. Wondering in what way offices have changed?

I just tried on my interview outfit and got a strong sense of "I SHOULD do this". I suppose at this stage of life it's less stressful. I'm 46, I'm technically okay for money but that feels like a risky thing to say.

Also, the Dread the night before going in...the lack of sleep...if I don't have to go back to that, why am I?

confusing.

Do they offer a good pension? You’ve mentioned benefits etc and that is a perfectly great reason, tbh.

Look at it this way. If nothing else you get to put your face in front of some new people and potentially get contacts for more freelance.

The pressure’s off, isn’t it, because you already enjoy your current situation so you aren’t desperate.

(I just found out I didn’t get a job I’d gone to second round for, and whilst I’m mildly gutted - pension & benefits, mainly - I’m also secretly relieved at not needing to commute. I told myself throughout the interview process that it would only be helpful in terms of freelance contacts both if I got it (future clients if I left!) but also if I didn’t (be delightful throughout and hopefully more freelance work now instead).

But that’s if you get the job. You have nothing to lose by going to interview and it’s good practice and a chance to scope it out

Go! Interviews are a two-way street - you’re not committing to the job by going.

@EmmaH2022, Go to the interview. Worry about whether you want to job when that is actually an option.

The best job interviews are the ones when you don't fear not getting the job. I'd go and see what it feels like.

just see it as going for a chat with them

Do it, because you might get it - you are acting as if, if you got the job, they'd be privy to all of your secret reservations and all of your reasoning. But they wouldn't be. If you did get it, and hated it, you wouldn't be the first person to give up on a fairly new job, would you? If they're any sort of professional company, they know that already.

Thank you, all good points

NoSquirrel I am really struck by the "secretly relieved at not having to commute".

technically the pension is good but I only wanted a job to boost my mortgage application. The longest I'd want to do it would be six months. so I'm not likely to enter the scheme.

I do also have some dental work needing to be done, that's going to be a big bill.

i hate work so much.

OP I am in the same position as you. I am wondering if I should go to an interview I have on Thursday. I am currently in a job I have been doing for 10 years. I am anxious as to if the new job will be for me or not. But I've not got the job yet so will just go to the interview and then take it from there.

I went from self employed to employed three years ago, just before Covid, similarly for mortgage application reasons. There are pros and cons but I've found I really enjoy working as part of a bigger team, and getting to go to the office a couple of times a week suits me. Got the mortgage long ago but still here!!

It was also a relief to have a steady income during Covid and the time of economic instability, which might be useful if we're looking at a recession?

Is it in the field that you freelance in? Will they let you keep your clients?

Look into restrictive covenants before you sign anything in case you leave.

They mostly don't amount to much but I know a couple that have.

They are aware it's not the only work I will be doing. I was encouraged to apply through a mutual contact.

i went freelance in 2016 but did feel I had missed a boat somewhat, imagine if I had been working somewhere and got furloughed in lockdowns - that would have been fab.

I have replied accepting the interview.

Go for it then! Nothing to lose!

I'm freelance too and have spent a day this week sorting out incorrect payment from a major client. In the end I pointed out to them that they get paid for making these mistakes but I don't get paid to resolve them.

I do sometimes long for a job, where you are paid even if you have a slack day or are off sick or are just sorting out finance and tech hassles created by other teams, instead of getting on with your own work. Or, in the case of my last office job, being paid to spend half the time eating birthday cake or going for team pizzas. How we ever finished projects on time baffles me.

goldfinch I've never had a job like that. All my jobs have been constant "foot to the floor" types and high stress. Yes, there's occasional cake but usually eaten while working. I definitely don't miss sorting out messes made by others! 😂

What I meant was - being paid for sorting out other people's mess, instead of having to chase them on your own unpaid time which is what I've been doing this week.

The 'someone's birthday every day' company was unusual. But they drove me a bit mad.

Why am I doing this?

I wish I had never applied.

I am still in my pyjamas, I don't have to get on a train or listen to office crap.

Omg don’t go then. Jesus Christ

this made me LOL.