Plan B... or C...or D?

Things aren't going so well in job-land. Don't worry, everything's still going well at the domestic violence shelter. Unfortunately, though, my work study position for this fall that has fallen through. I interviewed for the position earlier this summer in June, and officially accepted the position a few weeks later. But because it was a work study job, it wouldn't be starting until at least September 20th, when UC classes start. We agreed to get back in touch closer to that date, and left it at that.

A few days ago I sent the director an email about my fall work schedule. He responded by saying that there must have been a miscommunication and they had already given away all of their work study positions for the school year. As disappointed as I am, I have little recourse in this situation, and my only real option is to move on and try to get another work study job. I applied for about 8 other positions last night in a frantic effort to find another placement before school starts, so here's hoping thousands of my peers are not in the same boat!

And in other news, remember the receptionist job that I had for about two and a half weeks in August before I quit? Well I've been waiting for them to mail me my last paycheck for about two weeks now (I had even enclosed an addressed, stamped envelope in my resignation packet to make this a little easier). After about a week of a checkless mailbox, I sent the owner an email to find out if the check was ready for me to just pick up. When my email went a week unanswered, I called to see if I could pick up my check. But after getting a busy signal even after business hours, I knew something was up. I went on their website to look for other options to contact them, but when I typed in their web address, the site was "under construction" and "offline." I mentioned this to a friend of mine who was online at the time, and she searched for the company on the BBB's website. I had actually researched the company through the BBB a few weeks earlier, and their profile was "under review." This time, though, the BBB reported that the company had apparently gone out of business on August 25th--just 3 days after I submitted my letter of resignation.

No wonder I wasn't getting any response! I immediately emailed our attorney, who advised that while I could sue the company, I would have very little chance of collecting, even if I won the suit. There are so many other vendors, property owners, and businesses with an interest in this case, that my part-time paycheck would probably be pretty low on the list. Bummer.

I'm pretty upset over this--I feel betrayed, duped, and hundreds of dollars poorer, that's for sure! I filed a complaint with the BBB, who referred me to the Department of Wage and Labor. I don't imagine it will change things much, but I feel better to get it out there.

All things considered, I'm just glad that I trusted my instinct and didn't stick around to see the business' collapse. I'm sticking to non-profits from now on, and I hope nothing like this happens again!