Prince

I need a job.

Not an uncommon notion. However for me, it does raise some concerns and worries, the pussified European male that I am. I recently got my work permit, and while I am eager to find work and make money so I can afford all the simple things in life, I am oddly enough scared shitless of it. Kind of. Let me explain.

I've been living in America since April, and everything's so new to me. I'm 26 years old, and I've never had to write a check before. Back in the old country, I was accustomed to using a debit card, or more commonly using direct transfers (for which there were no fees). Now I have a checking account, a library card, a Social Security card, and perhaps one day a driver's license, once I figure out all these funky new traffic regulations I am not used to. Like turning right on a red light. Groovy, man.

I've had many jobs before, back "home", but it was different there. Looking for work, I always knew precisely what my capabilities were, what I could do and not do. I knew what the expectations were, and whether I could meet them. But here, it's like a clean slate that I don't want to get all messy. The first thing that bothers me is the lack of job security. As I understand it, and please do correct me if I am wrong (I'm just learning these things), in America you can fire your employee whenever you feel like it. You can even fire them without any real reason, should you want to. This to me is not only scary, but rather unfair. Back in Europe, I could at the very least be certain that I would not go to work one morning and come back in the afternoon without a job. I could be certain that if my employer didn't like what I was wearing or how I lost my temper with a customer and told them to fuck off, I'd still at the very least get a notice, and not fired on the spot. And if I did get fired, I could at the very least sick the Department of Job Security on them.

I've heard that nurses are in great demand in the States right now. Regardless of this, I keep reading journals of nurses who work under shitty administration, get fired for the most ridiculous things, and in one instance a new personnel administrator fired the entire nursing staff, just to get "new faces" in. If there is a shortage of something, should you not try to make it work? Would it not be in an employer's best interest to keep an employee for more than a few months or years at a time, rather than be breaking in new people all the time?

Well, on to the practical issues that worry me. I apologize in advance for this may turn out to be a long read, but hopefully someone will be able to point out my misconceptions to me.

1) Language. English is not my native language. I speak English extremely well, but I have not had to use it in "business life". I've only used English in social situations, not customer service, or the like. Since because of my lack of training I am looking at Internet support jobs at the moment, this worries me even more. I mispronounce things now and then. I say "very-'z-on" when I'm supposed to say "ver-i-z'n". I pronounce thermometer as two words, "thermo" "meter". I make mistakes like these all the time now that I use English more than I used to. Not only that, but I dislike speaking on the phone because native Americans speak so quickly, that I've trouble understanding them over the phone. Throw in an accent, such as Texan or Mexican, and I'm at SUCH a loss. Would an employer not find it to be imperative that their employee can understand the customers without constantly asking them to repeat themselves?

2) Cultural differences. The word "sir" doesn't exist in my native language. People refer to you either by your name, as "you", or don't refer to you at all. I'm a little uncomfortable using the phrase "sir", not to mention "ma'am". I don't know when I am supposed to say "ma'am" and when "miss". I don't know how often you are supposed to say it. Because it is not natural to me, if I end up having a conversation with a customer and not say "sir" even once, does that make me rude?

I've also been told by my wife that it isn't polite to ask about pay when you're applying for a job. I've a hard time understanding this, but I am trying to. Why would I not ask how much they are prepared to pay me, especially since they never seem to mention it when they put an ad in the paper. Where I come from, you either put the hourly rate in the ad, or you mention it early in the conversation when interviewing an applicant. I don't understand why I am not supposed to ask; after all, how much they are paying is relevant to me.

I worry about being discriminated against because I'm not an American. With all these unemployed people out there, I worry that they can always get a "better" employee, someone who has the most basics of the culture down, and can speak and understand the language flawlessly, and therefore they can treat me as they wish. I know these concerns of mine can be rather silly, but they are valid worries all the same.

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