Can’t Work on Saturdays. Employer Turned Off-Any Suggestion
Chen, I cannot work on Saturdays for religious reasons. I offer to work every Sunday and every legal holiday. As soon as the employer hears this they are no longer interested in offering me the job. I do not want to mislead the employer by not saying anything about the scheduling issue. For this reason I am forced to think about retraining in a different profession. I would much rather stay in pharmacy. Have you any suggestions how I can handle the scheduling issue?
Answer: Two things come to mind.
1) How is your timing— when do you tell a potential employer that you cannot work Saturdays? And how are you expressing it? Without knowing when in the process you pop your schedule requirements, consider when in the process you would tell a potential employer. Is it after they are attracted to how well you would do the job & may be a fit for the company, or is it early on in a first conversation when they hardly know you? This is a great example of where you want to liken a job search to dating. Would you tell someone that you have a requirement that you can’t hang out with them on Saturdays for the rest of their life when you first meet them? I can think of one pharmacist I helped recently whom an employer just loved and was willing to accommodate the schedule she requested.
It seems like you are open to accommodate working on any other day of the week. Perhaps you could propose an alternative. Start with the benefit first, ie: “I would be happy to cover every Sunday and holiday. I have personal commitments where I am unable to work on Saturdays. Would that be something we can work out?” You don’t need to bring your specific personal reasons into the conversation & mention religion, unless you really feel compelled.
2) It is important not to mislead the employer. So, if you know upfront that it is a position that requires Saturdays, and after some fact-finding, you find out the reason for this requirement is because no one else can cover it currently (or that your working on Sundays or holidays does the place no good, because they aren’t even open on Sundays or holidays) & you know for sure the pharmacy would not accommodate, then look for pharmacist jobs that do not require Saturdays. There are definitely such positions out there.
Without knowing more about your experience and what you desire, perhaps you need to make concession with the type of setting & geographic location you will accept working in. Check out some of the jobs we are connected with and see if any suit your needs. We don’t advertise everything, so feel free to connect with us directly. Good luck to you!
