This year is a little different

Just a little barometer on the job market.

I worked for a delivery company over the holiday season last year as a driver's helper. It was a decent job with a little heavy lifting and lots of running. It was supposed to run from Thanksgiving to Christmas, but went into overtime because of all the snow we had last year.

I received an e-mail that they were hiring again for the holiday season, and had an interview on Tuesday. I don't know how many people they interviewed last year, but there were 20 of us there on Tuesday, and there are many more appointments over next two weeks. And something they didn't mention in the ad is that they are paying $8.75 an hour instead of the $11 they paid last year.

They also anticipate fewer hours this year since folks may be shopping/shipping less this year. The hours are not guaranteed, and are adjusted daily to meet their needs. We are kind of at-will employees. It worked out OK last year, but who knows what this year would be like.

I mentioned that I was planning one day off the first week of December, and they freaked out a little bit, saying they would need to check with a supervisor. So they can't promise the number of hours, or even that we will be working each day, but they can't work around a day off with two months notice. And in this climate, they can afford to be this way.

Still hoping I get the job.