Monday, April 14, 2008

It Was Too Good to be True


GAAAAHHHHH! My plan is not working.

I am so disappointed with the job offer. I went to my interview today, and it went fine as far as interviews go. I put down on my application that I’m all kinds of flexible, you know, so they’d want to hire me. I also stated that I’m looking for 30-40 hours, full time -right?

Well, they said that they can probably accommodate my request for hours, but that they don’t offer associates “full time”. That means I can work full time hours but I won’t have any benefits!!!

Translation: they want me to be their little bitch and work for nothing. Sounds great! I'm supposed to "keep in touch" and let them know what I decide.

WTF?! I can’t believe they can get away with that. I’ve never come across this practice, but I guess I’ve never been out job hunting with the express goal of insurance coverage. For me, retail is not a dream job. I can do it, and do it well (how hard is it to run a register and assist customers, I mean “guests”?) but I don’t love it, so without the key IVF benefit I’m not exactly all that interested.

So of course, you'd assume that I'm going to tell them to take a hike, right?

Well…maybe.

If I get all optomistic I can imagine that it’s possible I could work there for a few months and the part time/full time situation could change. I’m assuming there would be a 90 day waiting period before becoming eligible for benefits regardless of my employment status. So if I go work there for three months and by some twist of fate I’m able to switch to “full time” it wouldn’t have been a waste...I know, I know, it's a long shot.

Or I could be rational and forget it. I probably should keep looking for another company that covers IVF without the excessive game playing. I have a short list, but most are corporations that I wouldn’t necessarily be qualified to work for, it's hard to morph my Design background into other job sectors.

I guess the big question is…am I willing to take this job for a chance at the insurance that would give me a chance at having a baby sooner than later? I feel like if I’m not willing to do just about anything, than I must not want it bad enough which in turn makes me feel crazy. When is enough, enough?

7 comments:

Kim said...

That really just stinks! I hope you can find a solution and some insurance!

Anonymous said...

That is too bad. I have considered doing the same thing, but then I figure IF would be a preexisting condition, so it wouldn't matter anyway...is that not how it works?

sara said...

Oh...that's terrible about the full time hours but not benefits. Companies seem to be doing that so much these days. I hope that the infertility insurance fairy pops up soon, I'm still looking for her. She sure likes to hide! I hope something turns up soon :-)

Barb said...

Ah your last paragraph. Such is the shit of IF.

I'm sorry about the company. Yes that's legal. They can give you close to overtime hours as long as they don't go over a certain amt of hours in a certain time period. It's ridiculous.

I would offer you some info on my company since they do have some IF coverage through the higher bracket insurance, but I fear they might try the same thing. They do have depts that would use your specific skills, but it's very difficult to get into them, and I'm not sure you'd like it.

Barb said...

P.S. If it IS my company you're talking about in the first place, then it would probably take you much much longer than 3 mos to get full time status in retail. They try to avoid giving people full time... unless you were able to super impress them with your intelligence and the fact that you have a degree and get on the fast track to a manager status.

Stephanie said...

Yeah it does stink. I guess I'm just going to have to do it the old fashioned way, save, save, save -wait, wait, wait.

Isn't it pretty, I don't think IF is pre-existing if you don't lose medical coverage before hand, as with any condition. But I'm not positive.

Sara, I'd love a visit from the infertility insurance fairy or better yet, the plain old fertility fairy. Both would be good!

Barb, yeah, it is shit! No, it's not the same company. Although Dr. B did mention yours. I had already applied to the appropriate design department a long while ago, but never heard from them. Not the easiest company to get in to! Oh well.

Soapchick said...

Stephanie - so sorry to hear about this situation. I hope the savings plan works out sooner than later. If I win the lottery I will pay for your IVF!