I got my very first day off today and gosh I am exhausted...I 've been sleeping in for almost the whole morning and early afternoon.
I wake up and check my bank account and wow, they 've paid me like 178 $ for at least 8 days of working on a row!
??? I was shocked and almost chocked my lunch.
Have been immediately going to send mails to those I know as I still have no salary slip or a pay stub received by Mail or E-mail, aside of the fact that they do a direct deposit to our bank account, so my friends, all of whom Canadians and working, telling me that it might be due to the differences in they pay roll back and the starting working week for department stores and/or in retail sector, that they now have paid me just half of what I am supposed to receive per full week or a bit more or less than a few days. So let's hope that is the case or I can't hardly make the ends meet while I thought I 'd be able to at least pay the rent. :-X
And while I am working so hard that just in like 10 days at work, I 've my own "clientele" coming and asking for me and my advice!
My supervisor has introduced me to the General Manager of the store and also I met the Marketing Director who was happy with my "advice" and things I did notice which he didn't himself! :
and I hope/suppose they might want to keep me even after the season.
The other day I made a remark about me loving to work on a different floor and in a dept where I like their stuff and I was surprised yesterday to find out that I wasn't schedule for work ON that certain department for the whole next week!
So, I better do it good there too.
Co-workers are all fine, there are two who are not that fun and kind of "spying" on me and sure are jealous and dislike my presence, but I made them more jealous by my new schedule and the special attention I receive.
In the meantime, what I do is to be (as I am by nature) protective and really kind and fun to all my new and other "seasonal" co-workers and kind of taking a few of these new young girls under my attention and give them pep talk and help them put aside their fears and not be shy and just go for it. This way I help them to be "strong" and "confident" and also create a fun friendly more than just " colleague" environment as to be a real team and so whoever with any bad intentions can be left out and immediately traced and taken aback!
Well, believe me, in that sense, I am not only very kind but also FEROCIOUS!
And the girls all like me a lot and I like them too and we try to help each other and teach each other things we know.
I am also introduced to many of the other floor managers and I suppose I may stay there even after the holiday season, unless I will go looking for a job at other department stores or hotels or just keep looking for an office job.
A gay friend of mine has been so helpful to look for jobs for me while he is at work and has time to spend and he forwards me the links and tells me how to handle them, but sadly I don't have time to send out resume and/or letters. This is the first time I log on here after I started to work.
I do now understand why it is so important to have a Canadian Job experience... because things work out differently and may not seem the same.
The hierarchy is totally different than what I am used to in the Netherlands where the boss/employee relationship for example is much more closer and people have more time to interact or speak to each other.
Here, it seems as if those who do the "office" work, do disappear a top of a pyramide like Illuminati who you hardly see or notice and have "air" and all the power to " send you home" at any given time for any given reason while in Europe, at least in the Netherlands, things are not so easy and the boss is closer to you and you see them more often and everybody is practically similar and doing the same job.
But also the rules, the communications and all are slightly different and I can tell that for thsoe who come here from Non western countries, not used to the culture here, it is definitly important to adjust and acquire such job experience.
But people are nicer and those who work hard, are noticed fast and are recognized too which isn't the case in many other countries where it doesn't matter who you are and what you do as long as you you just keep your voice down and hide your talents and do just the job and go home.
Anyway...
I will update more sooner or later again ...
Have a great time all of you ...
Cheers,
C
