Approaching New Employment

[Lissa Kristine]

I'm looking for some advice as to how I should approach new employment opportunities after my last daycare disaster.

My last day at my current daycare is tomorrow (January 5). I am not leaving voluntarily. (Not that I don't want out, I just wanted something else before I gave notice).

We found out Tuesday that the closing of the school has gone through. Come Monday, my current job will be under new ownership/management- and under a new name.

Parents were notified Tuesday and Wednesday about the changes. In addition to the director leaving, half of the staff is being let go to make room for the new owner's staff that she's bringing in from her other daycare. This includes myself and a teacher who has been there the ENTIRE time any of the children were enrolled in the school. (We already have one child confirm she will be withdrawing in February when she's 18 months, and two families also claiming they are pulling their children.)

[We also have three families who still don't know about the changes. Two are part-time students who, due to the Holiday and weather, have not been in this week. The other is a full-time student, 7 months old, who is home sick after spending half of the break in the hospital. Come Monday morning, these parents may come into a center where they don't know the people taking care of their children.]

My boss says she didn't fight very hard for me because she says I'm uncooperative. I don't deny it. However, the times I'm not eager to jump in and listen to what I'm told to do are when I'm told to do things such as:

-Take the children outside by myself when I have yet to be fingerprinted.

-Put blankets on children who are under 12 months which is a violation of state regulation.

-Only use bleach and water solution to clean when the state mandates the use of a soap and water solution BEFORE using bleach

Not that the new owner knows any of this. I was not given the chance to advocate for my position at this job. (I actually was looking forward to the new owner since it seems that she actually knows what she's doing; her other daycare is very "clean" in regards to violations).

I just want some advice as to how I should approach new employment when they ask why I left my last position.

[racemom]

On the application I would state center was closed, which is true.

Have you talked to the new owner to see if she has any positions at either daycare available? If she is bringing staff from the other daycare, she may need to fill positions there.

[Mom2Two]

Have you talked to the new owner to see if she has any positions at either daycare available? If she is bringing staff from the other daycare, she may need to fill positions there.

Yes, if you kinda liked working there but didn't like the rule violations, maybe talk to the new owners. Maybe they think just like you.

[Lissa Kristine]

Yes, if you kinda liked working there but didn't like the rule violations, maybe talk to the new owners. Maybe they think just like you.

That's kind of what I was thinking when I saw the new director's other school, but I don't think that's going to work out.

The new owner/director came by yesterday after my shift ended. It just happened that I was able to stay late yesterday (not to work; my former employer refused to pay me for all hours worked. I will be filing a claim for unpaid wages this weekend when I can sit down with my personal records and my pay stubs.) I asked if I needed to stay, but my boss told me that the new owner/director was only there to talk to HER- not other staff members.

To be perfectly honest, I'm not convinced my boss was being honest with me about that. Every time she wanted to talk about the center changing ownership, she chose to talk behind closed doors. I only found out the center was changing ownership after reading the letter she sent to parents. She didn't bother telling me anything directly.

I think my boss purposely wanted me out so she could give the new owner information about me without me being able to give my side of the story.

Reasons my current boss dislikes me:

- My boss tells me to complete a task I am either currently doing, or am about to do. I confirm that I heard her and am doing it. She tells me, again, to do the task. Repeat.

- I ask why we are gathering coats for a fire-drill, or why we are moving the evacuation cribs out and putting babies in them BEFORE pulling the fire alarm.

- I flat-out REFUSE to put an infant in a crib with a blanket since it is a state violation and I was the one who had to deal with the state inspectors' lectures as neither the director nor the assistant director is ever around when the state comes in.

- My boss asks for my hours every week. I report the hours I have worked to her down to the minute. She refuses to pay me for all the hours I work (again, I am filing a claim for this). As a result, I refuse to work a minute outside of regularly scheduled hours because that's all I know I'll be paid to work.

- After verbal reminders that I need to be fingerprinted failed, I started leaving fresh notes on my boss's desk almost daily for two weeks. (Whenever I saw the note gone, I replaced it with a new one). My boss refused to acknowledge the notes, and never gave me the proper forms.

Thing is, most days, I'm really flexible about the hours I work. Even on Thursdays when I have to get out of work earlier than usual for a pre-scheduled appointment, I actually have a 15 minute window to stay late if needed. However, I do expect to be paid for the hours I work. I'm also ok with not taking a lunch break, but if I am working- even if it's just doing some light cleaning and keeping an eye and ear out for children who are sleeping- I expect to be paid.

Unfortunately, I feel that even if I went to the new owner/director and inquired about a position, my old boss has already painted a negative picture about me, and the new owner's judgement has been clouded.

I have a feeling that with the major staff changes combined with lack of proper notice, several families will be leaving the center.

[storybookending]

Sorry I read your other thread before this one. Sounds to me like this is a blessing in disguise for you. Most professional people can read through when someone isn’t good at their job and is feeding them a line of bull. It sounds like the new owner has owned another center in the past and knows how they run. It is possible she cleaned house with the staff because she knows that things are not being run correctly and wants a fresh slate. I would probably do the same if the staff I was inheriting was as bad as you describe. I would still probably request a one on one meeting with each staff member if I were her but she didn’t so maybe you need to be the one to initiate it. I would not go into the meeting pointing fingers or badmouthing your old boss/staff but just mention that you would love to stay on and that you were excited when you found out owners were changing because you were looking forward to working with professionals and hoping it would bring great changes.

Also parents always say they are leaving but probably won’t. Esp once they realize that these changes are going to benefit their children. It isn’t the new owners fault there wasn’t advance notice. If she has any ounce of professionalism she will apologize for the previous owners childlike behaviors and point out the positive changes she is going to make to make the place better and safer for their children. They might walk if she’s doing something crazy like changing the prices by a lot but otherwise they probably won’t leave.

[Ariana]

Probably best to get out of there! If you old boss got in the ear of your new boss it might not be good for you and you’d be fighting an uphill battle. You could always email the new boss and request a meeting and explain but its not something I would do personally.

Just tell the new employer that the daycare closed and all the staff was laid off and current owners previous staff brought in. Totally true and legit.

[Lissa Kristine]

That's what I did at my interview this morning (before my last shift at the daycare from h***). I mentioned that I was the last one in, so I was automatically the last one out.

The new owner did come in and meet with everyone else- except me. I'm still convinced that my boss wanted me out so she could get her side of the story.

I really don't want to be here today. Why bother? This is a week day I could be using to apply for a new position.