Chapter 725: The mother's workplace dilemma
Song Yue is 33 years old and is the mother of a four-year-old girl.
My previous job was as a logistics supervisor in a medium-to-large enterprise, but I had to resign after I became pregnant and had a child.
Neither she nor her husband are native to the capital, and both her parents' home and her husband's home are quite far away from the capital.
After she gave birth, her mother from her natal family and her mother from her husband's family came to take care of her and her child for a while, but they soon returned to their hometowns.
Since no one could help her take care of the child, she had to raise the child alone for four years, and she had been away from the workplace for more than four years.
In fact, she has been trying to find a job since her child started kindergarten at the age of two and a half.
First, the family expenses are too high. The children and their living expenses require money in everything. It is difficult to even make ends meet relying solely on her husband's salary.
In the past few years, much of their savings have been used to cover daily expenses.
She was eager to find a job to ease the financial pressure on her family.
Moreover, she was not willing to be a housewife forever, away from the workplace and society, and living in a daze.
Her life wasn't supposed to be like this.
But over the past year or so, she has had great difficulty finding a job.
It would be impossible for her to find a job with similar size and salary to her previous unit.
She applied to many companies that were recruiting for positions she had held before, but the result was that she almost never received an interview call.
She applied for some entry-level positions in small companies, but the situation was still not ideal.
Some people asked her to go for interviews, but in almost every interview she was asked questions that were difficult for her to answer.
For example: "If the company has an urgent project that requires you to work overtime for a month, and there is no one at home to help take care of the children, how would you solve it?"
For example: "Children will need their mothers' company many times during their growth. Will you take frequent leave because of your children's affairs, thus affecting your work?"
For example: "You have not worked for a long time. Compared with those who have been working all the time, what do you think are your advantages?"
For example: "How long do you think it will take you to keep up with the fast-changing pace of the industry? Will you be distracted by taking care of your children and unable to focus on learning and improvement?"
For example: "Are you planning to have a second child? If you get pregnant right after joining the company, the company can't afford the cost."
In fact, these are already considered polite.
She also encountered some interviewers whose words were not just sharp, but rather suppressing and humiliating her.
She sometimes wonders why men who are married and have children don’t have to face these questions during interviews?
Sometimes, it can even be considered an advantage for a man to be married and have children in the workplace.
During this year and a half, some individual companies expressed their willingness to give her a chance, but almost all of them required her to work overtime or work a 996 schedule.
Song Yue was full of helplessness. She had to pick up and drop off her children every morning and evening. This work model was contrary to her real life and she simply could not balance it.
When Song Yue received the interview call from Huanxing Manhua, he did not have high expectations.
Especially since the company had just been established and the interview time was strange, she was a little hesitant.
But this office building is quite high-end and in a good location, so nothing should go wrong, right?
Moreover, the location of this company is not far from her home and her child’s kindergarten, which makes it very convenient for her to go to work and pick up her child, which makes her somewhat tempted.
There is also a flexible working system mentioned in the recruitment information. I wonder what kind of flexibility it means? Do I need to work overtime frequently?
She decided to check it out.
When she arrived at Huanxing Manhua and entered the office area, she could tell that it had just been renovated.
Looking at the interviewer again, she turned out to be a young lady in her early twenties? !
Zhang Xueyan smiled and said to Song Yue: "Hello, please sit down."
"Hello."
Song Yue sat upright and entered the interview state.
"Could you please introduce the main content of your last job?"
Song Yue answered Zhang Xueyan's questions seriously. He first pointed out his job position, then listed the key work content and his own problem-solving ability. He tried to be as concise as possible and highlight his own strengths.
Zhang Xueyan has carefully read Song Yue's resume and has a general understanding of her previous work situation. Now, through her explanation, she is observing her language organization ability, communication skills, adaptability, etc., as well as her sense of responsibility, professionalism and teamwork ability.
Zhang Xueyan asked again: "You used to be a logistics supervisor. Now we are recruiting for administrative and cashier positions. The job content is different. Do you think you are qualified? What are your advantages?"
Song Yue thought for a moment and said, "I think I can handle this position. My previous work experience has equipped me with good organizational and coordination skills, which are equally important in administrative work. I also have resource management skills. Administrative and cashier work also requires the management of office resources and fixed assets. In addition, logistics work is service-oriented and must meet the needs of employees in terms of work environment and life. Administrative work also requires providing services to employees, such as optimizing the office environment and protecting employee welfare. I have enough service awareness, which will help me do a good job in administrative work."
After a pause, she continued, "In my previous position, I had to manage logistics expenses and other tasks. I have a certain level of financial awareness and fund management concepts, and I have some understanding of the expense reimbursement process. I also have a good understanding of the basic logic of financial work. These abilities of mine can be well transferred to my new position, and I can do a good job in administration and cashier work. These are also my advantages."
Zhang Xueyan nodded and asked Song Yue a few more questions.
The two communicated for half an hour, and Zhang Xueyan already had a basic understanding of Song Yue's work ability.
She has also interviewed two mothers in the past two days. At present, Song Yue has the best overall qualities, so she thinks she can be given a chance to try out the job.
However, there needs to be a two-way choice between companies and employees.
Then, Zhang Xueyan gave Song Yue a general account of the basic situation of the studio and its salary and benefits.
When Song Yue saw that Zhang Xueyan was so young, he guessed that this might be a startup company founded by young people.
Now hearing Zhang Xueyan say that the company's boss and shareholders are all college students, she thought to herself: It is true.
However, the cost investment is quite high to rent such a large office in such a high-end office building when just starting a business. I wonder if it is because the boss is too young and has no concept of cost control, or because he has sufficient funds and does not care about these things?
When Song Yue heard that the company's flexible working system only meant no mandatory clocking in or out, no 996 work system, and only required completing one's work within the specified time, he got really excited.
Isn't this her dream job?!
Finally, Zhang Xueyan said, "If Sister Song is interested in developing a career in our company, you can come over tomorrow at noon to complete the entry procedures."
There are only three people in their studio at the moment, so there is no need to go through the one, two, three, and four interview process like some big companies do when recruiting people.
When you meet a job applicant who you think is suitable, you can discuss cooperation matters directly with the other party.
Except for recruiting assistant painters and those who needed Su Xing to make the final decision during the later stages of the job, as for the administrative and cashier positions, Su Xing let Zhang Xueyan decide for herself who to keep.