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Prisoner#1 said: but it's worth it
so I started working for a company in april through a temp service, it's a large company and they do a lot of government contracts and stuff so I have like 4 interviews and beat out several hundred candidates for the job, only about 25 people made it and only about 12 of us are left because it's far from easy and the hours are long and strange, 5pm to 5am, 6 days a week currently... gets slow as fuck in winter
ok, so the company employs about 700 people between shifts, they have all kinds of strict rules, on my shift no one actually follows those rules, least of all myself, I always have my hands where they shouldnt be such as inside machines that are fucking up, one of the maintenance men catches me several times and at one point he calls me over to discuss something.... fuck.
so the guy starts asking me "why are you playing in the electrical panel on that machine" and I tell him that one of the contactors tripped and I was just resetting it to clear a problem, he then starts asking me who showed me and I told him it wasnt hard to figure out with they way they have it set up, he inquires about my history with machines and electricity, if I'm mechanically inclined and stuff and would like to take on some different responsibilities, the peak pay rate would be more than double if I I add in the benefits, nearly double if I exclude them... I'm like "fuck yeah!"
guy tells me the job title, to get on the company website and to apply for the job, that it's not open to temps but he'll put in a good word because he's been watching me closely for a couple of months including checking my regular work and talking to my coworkers, apparently all great reviews. he then informs me that the opening will be pulled in about 5 hours from the website so I have to do it from one of the computers in the shop
the next day he comes by and asks me if I applied, I answered yes and he asked me which computer I used since the two that were available were down all night, I pointed at one of the work machines, he fucking laughed, told me I cant apply for a job from a machine that mores holes and insisted I show him how I did it so I showed him
fast forward to last week, I'm called to the office, they send me to another office, my supervisor is there, he sees me coming, he throws his hands up and walks out with his head down, doesnt say a thing when he passes me and he's the kind of guy that cant help but say something smart assed. I'm totally fucked.
the two people in the office st me down and inform me that it's an interview for the job I applied for, I stop sweating bullets and start to panic, I'm completely unprepared. they give me the terms of the interview and then start the questioning, a fucking 2 hour Q&A interview about everything I've done within the company, past work and my future in the company. the one question that stumped me "so you were fast to rattle off what your strengths are, tell us what you believe your weaknesses are?", I hate that question, I never consider my weaknesses, as a kid I was told I can do anything I set my mind to and that's how I've lived and it hasnt failed me yet...
the interview it's self is over, they start telling me about the job and the duties I'd be expected to fulfill, I'll be running a machine for a week to see what it's weaknesses are, how it can be improved or modified to make it easier to operate for even an idiot, I'll be in training to be an engineers apprentice and to create machines... but wait, there's more... since I have good computer skills I'll be expected to also be an office monkey for 3 weeks of the month, I'll be drafting proposals, giving presentations in front of not just the entire work place but also the honchos in the head office so public speaking is essential
now here's the strange thing, for more than 3 months people I've never met have been walking up to me and talking to me, they call me by name, most are shop supervisors and a few are corporate monkeys such as the head of quality control who about 2 months ago marches up and says "pris, we have a problem with this, what can you do to change this" so I fuck with the program in a machine I've only been running for a month, make a few adjustments inside the machine and it makes the guy happy, he asks how long I've been with the company and I tell him it's been only 3 months and he's shocked, says he needs a few dozen more of me and he'd never have another quality issue
2 days later there's a dozen people in my department, they're checking parts, refitting machines with needed items and I'm being consulted on what I think needs to be done with a few of the machines, I mention a few things for my machine, the other one that's the companion to mine and tell them about an issue with a machine that I've never ran and is in a different department and I'm asked how I know there's a problem with it since I've only ever seen it in passing, I tell the guy that my parts come from 2 different machines, they produce identical parts for me, both are labeled as to their origin and what processes they need to go through, the parts from one machine feed through mine and are processed almost flawlessly, no issues that would make quality control cry with all the RMAs, the parts from the other machine makes mine have a fit, it requires me to make a number of adjustments to allow the parts to process correctly and I have to do some hand work to each piece in order for them to pass a quality audit. I was asked what steps I took to ensure the problem was from that machine, I borrowed some tools from one of the machinists and took measurements and thoroughly inspected the parts, compared them to the parts that run well
flash forward to 4 days ago, I'm in the office, paying for a couple of things I'm buying from the company, the woman I'm talking hears my name and says "you applied for that position in XXXX office" and I'm like 'whoa... everyone knows?' and she replies, "we're a big company but there's a lot of talk about you and it's hard to forget your name, you're a temp and you're making a lot of waves while most full time employees dont even make ripples, your supervisor also put in for you to be placed full time earlier than most but we havent processed the paperwork, it can be slow sometimes"
the next day I'm again called to the office, this time all the department heads are in front of the office, they wont even look me in the eye, the lady I spoke with the day before is there, I have a seat, she tells me I'm taking a drug test, mouth swab, I take it, she hands me a pile of papers to fill out, non compete papers, non disclosure and the like, I remeber hearing about people getting fired and retiring having to fill out these forms, I had done it once before before I was brought in as a temp, she then hands me more papers, it's a bunch of security and background check papers, I fill them out, she hands me a letter, it's a job offer, I fill out the tax forms, a few other things, sign an acceptance letter and she congratulates me for getting a position that a number of people were fighting for
I leave the office, and one of the department heads asks me how things went, since these practical joking bastards keep trying to scare me into believing that I've been fired I told him that the woman said I'll no longer be working in their shop... he frowns, says "that's great to hear, now you'll be getting fewer hours, working first shift and hating life with all those miserable morning people, you may even have to wear a tie"
now begins my new journey into the world of the office monkey, my peak pay will be $68k, it's nearly $100k if you include the benefits, I get holidays, I can accrue off days, one day for each month for personal time that can be sold to the company if I dont use them, they match my retirement fund by 120%, full medical and dental, loads of other bonuses, they'll pay for any college classes I want to take, profit sharing and stocks... better than union in benefits and no worries about strikes
tl,dr: I have a job, now read all that shit I typed out
Skimmed it, but got it! CONGRATU FUCKING LATIONS!
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