First Job

Sooo we've got our first job! At Hot Topic. Tonight was our second night working, and so far, we love it! Mae and I have been the only ones out (that I'm aware of.. though there was a moment of maybe a few seconds I lost..) and we seem to be doing very well.

But I'm afraid something is going to trigger one of us and we're going to switch and we're going to be "outed"--and the one who's out won't be able to catch up. Like.. what if Ellie pops in? And starts snuggling into the clothes? Or Myuu hides in the rack? Or Make starts speaking only Japanese to confused customers?

Straightening up the shirts and re-folding them and cleaning up the messes people have made is already making us struggle enough, because Nymph wants to take control and just clean EVERYTHING, but I have to keep an eye out for people who need help at the same time. And the only way I, personally, can start talking to people is to let Elyse dance around and distract me that way, and it's hard to keep her in line when she wants to just have a crazy dance party.

So how do I keep my job when everyone wants to take control?

I'm not much help because I'm wondering the same things too.. But just wanted to say congratulations on your job! And it's great that it's gone well so far! Best of luck!

Thanks! ^__^

We kept our job by communicating and compromising with each other, as much as they hated it at times. It's not like you were all gung-ho for every little stupid compromise and sh*t, either. Yeah, yeah, yeah, whatever.

Have a meeting with everyone. Discuss your concerns, your hopes for how you can all work together, and your wish to keep this job. Talk with your others about how they can help you, but also about how they need to hold back at times and let you do your thing. Explain that while you understand they are simply trying to be helpful, some of their actions may be frowned upon, and that not everyone might understand them or their existence if they accidentally find themselves "out". Right, try to create emergency back-up plans so that your others will know what to do just in case, such as pretending to be you, or calling for someone else, Like a protector, or someone who can better handle the situation, yeah, or even come up with excuses to use- ONLY in emergencies though (such as needing to leave on account of a personal/family emergency, you know, someone sick at home or in the hospital, something like that).

Let Nymph know that she can help with the cleaning and reorganizing, but ONLY when it's appropriate, and she HAS to let you judge the situation (such as if you have customers that come in). And let Elyse know that while she can help you talk to people, a dance party isn't appropriate at work, and she can't just go crazy. Let her know she can go crazy at home, but not at work. It is important to make a clear distinction between work and home, so that your others can know that they are not being robbed of their freedoms or any such thing, but that the outside world, especially when dealing with jobs, does hold restrictions, and they cannot run amok. Set up rules and guidelines and sh*t, and also let them know there are consequences for breaking those rules. Not necessarily from you, but FOR you (and them), in the sense of losing the job, confusing customers and making them complain, "scaring" coworkers, etc. Yeah, it's important to be gentle but firm in this situation. They have to know the harsh reality, but try to make it not as harsh by letting them help and be there with you, just within boundaries. Compromise each other, not just with each other. Help each other by using each other's strengths to overcome each other's weaknesses. For example, whenever Cassandra was forced to answer/be on the phone at work, I would be the one handling the phone calls. And if Cassandra got overwhelmed, or needed to not let herself get walked all over by a customer or a coworker (even a boss), I'd be there, to power through the rest of the day or to help her stand up for herself (respectably, of course, though I hate doing sh*t like that "respectably").

And when Cassandra would start to get stressed out over sh*t that wasn't worth it, we'd be there to help her not give a flying f*#k and move on with her day/shift. By the way- you're all f*#king lucky as h3ll. We love Hot Topic and would love to work there. We've applied before, but our only experience is in food service, not retail, so they didn't take us. Idiots. Yeah. We might not give a sh*t about much, but Cassandra and Kat are the best workers anyone could ever hire. They'll bend over backwards for any job, and they'll work hard and get sh*t done right no matter what. But anyway, congrats on landing a great first job! ~Luna ~L.C.

Thank you guys. We'll draft an inner contract for work, keeping what you all said in mind.