Part-Time job question

[JohnnyDrama]

I've got an interview for a part-time job tomorrow. If I am hired for the job and they tell me the hours I am going to work, is it a really bad move to ask if I could change the hours a little bit (for example, they give me a shift of 6am to 12pm, but I ask if I could change it to 8am to 2pm)?

BTW, this job is at Target. I need it to earn some extra $$$.

[Mr Unoriginal]

Well they may tell you to piss off if you are being a pain from the get go. But an important thing to remember is if you let them walk all over you from the start, then you are doomed to be their bitch for the rest of your working there.

[Scrubking]

You set the hours that you can work, not them. If it were up to them you would work 14 hours a day with no pay.

[JohnnyDrama]

You set the hours that you can work, not them. If it were up to them you would work 14 hours a day with no pay.

So basically, they would ask about my availability during the interview, right? Hopefully that's the case.

[imacheapasstoo]

If you want to get and keep the job, then your best bet is to tell them the hours you can work and ask whether their available hours would fit yours. It's best to give them a reason as to why you can't work certain hours, such as school or other jobs or whatever. If you tell them you won't work, say, Friday nights because you want to go out and party, you'll lower your chances of getting the job.

Be professional and eager (but not too eager) when you talk to them. If you're willing to work with them and are respectful in your requests for certain hours, they'll be more willing to work with you.

These suggestions come from someone who has probably more work experience than 90% of the people on these forums. Yes I'm an old fart. But I'm an old fart who has never been fired or laid off or let go for any reason. Now please excuse me while I go find some wood to knock on.

Btw, good luck on the job interview. If you get the job, let us know when the games are expected to go on clearance. :D

[SolinariDotCom]

When I worked part time - I took the hours assigned to me, unless requested off.

I didn't have any obligations at the time, so it was irrelevant.

That is, except those 3PM-6PM shifts on Sundays.. fuck that..

[dragonzknight]

i worked at target during the summer and they pretty much assigned me hours, but you specify what hours you can work when you're hired. You're expected to work on 3 of the 4 weekends of the month because thats their peak hours. during the interview i would say you're open to working anytime availiable.

[Scrubking]

If you want to get and keep the job, then your best bet is to tell them the hours you can work and ask whether their available hours would fit yours. It's best to give them a reason as to why you can't work certain hours, such as school or other jobs or whatever. If you tell them you won't work, say, Friday nights because you want to go out and party, you'll lower your chances of getting the job.

I never understood that, and for the record you don't have to tell them why you can't work certain hours. It is your right to get a job with the hours that fit your schedule not vice versa.

Information is given to employers on a need to know basis. Never tell them more than they need to know, and never volunteer info.

Frankly it doesn't matter cause eventually they will ask you to work hours that they know you can't work and then threaten to fire you for not coming in when they need you. It happened to me before, and the employer knew from the getgo what days I couldn't work and he still threatened to fire me. I told him to shove it and fire me if he wanted to, but he didn't. I ended up quiting later on anyway.

It is very rare to encounter an employer that doesn't think they own you when they hire you. You need to stand up for you rights and not let them walk all over you - cause they will.

[JohnnyDrama]

If you want to get and keep the job, then your best bet is to tell them the hours you can work and ask whether their available hours would fit yours. It's best to give them a reason as to why you can't work certain hours, such as school or other jobs or whatever. If you tell them you won't work, say, Friday nights because you want to go out and party, you'll lower your chances of getting the job.

Be professional and eager (but not too eager) when you talk to them. If you're willing to work with them and are respectful in your requests for certain hours, they'll be more willing to work with you.

These suggestions come from someone who has probably more work experience than 90% of the people on these forums. Yes I'm an old fart. But I'm an old fart who has never been fired or laid off or let go for any reason. Now please excuse me while I go find some wood to knock on.

Btw, good luck on the job interview. If you get the job, let us know when the games are expected to go on clearance. :D

i worked at target during the summer and they pretty much assigned me hours, but you specify what hours you can work when you're hired. You're expected to work on 3 of the 4 weekends of the month because thats their peak hours. during the interview i would say you're open to working anytime availiable.

Thanks for all the info; hopefully I'll get the hours I want, but I am definitely open to working almost anytime (except overnight). If I do get hired, I'll become one of those Target spies floating around here giving out info on clearance items, hehe. But in all seriousness, thanks a lot for the help.

[imacheapasstoo]

I suggested that it's best to let them know why you can't work certain hours because some employers (the better ones anyway) will make note of the fact that you can't work certain hours when you have valid reasons, such as school or other jobs. It's certainly possible to say, "I won't work such-and-such hours period" or "I won't work such-and-such hours because I want to spend that time surfing for CAG deals." But if you instead say "I can't work such and such hours due to school obligations or after-school activities" then the employer will get a sense that you're more honest and forthcoming. If I were an employer interviewing 2 people, and only one gave me a legit reason why they couldn't or wouldn't work certain hours and the candidates were the same in all other regards, I'd hire the one who gave me the legit reason.

No the employer doesn't own you once you accept a job offer, just as you don't own the job. But if you want to keep a job and establish good references for future jobs, it's necessary to *try* to be flexible with the employer and be respectful in doing so. If you're not, there will be others lining up for your job.

[Scrubking]

Not wanting to work a certain day cause I don't feel like it is a LEGIT reason. The employer doesn't dictate what is legit or not. :roll:

[JohnnyDrama]

Even though I said in my previous post that I'm not open to the overnight shift, it's a big possibility that I might work that shift anyway (just graduated from school, looking to get some work experience). In that case, would a valid excuse for changing hours be something like:

"The reason I might need to change hours is because I would need a ride to get there, and the person dropping me off might be available at a different time than what Target gives me"

I know it sounds really cheesy and stupid, but it's the truth. If the shift ended at 6am, that would be good for me. If I get a shift ending between 1am and 5am, I'm screwed.

[Scrubking]

Just tell them you need a shift change cause of personal reasons - need to know basis remember?

The more you tell your employer the more they have to use against you, and they will use it against you.

If that doesn't work start looking for another job with hours that you want.

[imacheapasstoo]

Even though I said in my previous post that I'm not open to the overnight shift, it's a big possibility that I might work that shift anyway (just graduated from school, looking to get some work experience). In that case, would a valid excuse for changing hours be something like:

"The reason I might need to change hours is because I would need a ride to get there, and the person dropping me off might be available at a different time than what Target gives me"

I know it sounds really cheesy and stupid, but it's the truth. If the shift ended at 6am, that would be good for me. If I get a shift ending between 1am and 5am, I'm screwed.

What about something like, "I may need to change my hours due to limits with my transportation. I might not be able to be here until <insert time here>" or "My ride would only be able to pick me up at <insert time here>."

I have to respectfully disagree with scrubking's comment that the more an employer knows, the more they'll use against you. I think scrubking has worked for some horrible managers in the past. I've always been open and honest with my managers/employers, and so far none of them have used my honesty against me. Quite the opposite... they've always worked with my schedule as needed.

Employers don't need to know every nitty gritty detail of your personal life, nor do they want to know every nitty gritty detail. But employers do appreciate people explaining why they're limited to certain hours. Ultimately it's up to you to decide what you tell the person interviewing you. But speaking from my own 18 years of job experience at many different companies, being honest will get your further in your career than will hiding information or being deceitful.

Now when you're in the corporate world there's a lot of evil plotting and backstabbing, but that's for another thread. :D :D :D

[Scrubking]

There is a difference between being honest and volunteering information.

And I never said to be decietful.