Second job?

I had an interview today for a second job. It was really more of a meeting than an interview, it was with H&R Block who I worked for last Spring. They wanted me to come back this next tax season and I wasn't quite sure whether or not I wanted to. After my interview I was positive whether I wanted to come back, and quite excited about the answer!

The answer is no.

I will not be working a second job for H&R Block come January, and I couldn't be happier about it.

There are several reasons why. One of them is that I just want to spend more time with my wife and the other people in my life that mean a lot to me. Working two jobs would mean not a lot of quality time, and I love me some quality time. I'd always heard about those people who are workaholics and never spend time with their families, but my experience last year helped me understand them. The thing is, extra money is nice. Very nice in fact. But is extra money better than spending time with people you love? Heck no.

Another reason is so I can focus more on my job search. I've already posted about it, but I get my MBA in December and I'm going to start looking for a job hardcore come January. They say that looking for a job is a job in and of itself, and had I started a second job I would have a lot less time to spend looking. I'm excited to actually devote some real time to job searching.

I feel like I don't devote enough time to my current job as it is. Being an RD means only a little scheduled work time and a lot of unscheduled work and just spending time with people. Last year when I was working two jobs (and taking grad classes) I think I fell behind and didn't do the best job I could.

Spending time in a branch office today during my interview really reminded me what being in a tax office is like, and what H&R Block is like as a company. Don't get me wrong, there were some very good things about working for them. The people I worked with were great and we had some good times. The problems came more from the corporate side of things and just serving the public in an office like that. I like people, but I don't like having to sell things to people. I had plenty of that in my time in retail, and I ain't going back. I really don't appreciate how H&R Block sells additional products to their customers. A lot of the little commissions you make come from selling unnecessary financial products to people who shouldn't be buying them, and I refuse to do that.

Also on the corporate side of things, I dislike their compensation policies. I like to spend time thinking and talking about incentive management, and H&R Block does not do it well. They have a bonus available based on commissions, but it's a replacement commission type thing. You make an hourly wage but have the ability to "bonus" at the end of the tax season. The thing is, the bonus is just the difference between your hourly wage and the amount you would have made had you been straight commission. Therefore if you don't make enough commissions to exceed your standard wages you don't get any of them, and if you do make enough commissions to exceed your standard wages it doesn't matter how many hours you worked. Personally that makes me less motivated to both earn commissions AND work more hours. Maybe it works the opposite way for some people, but if there's a chance that I won't actually get the commissions I earn, I'm not going to feel super motivated to earn them.


All in all I just feel like a huge load has been lifted. My schedule over the next couple of months has lightened up as I don't have to worry about doing all of the training things that they make you do. Yeah, we'll have less money in the Spring. That's ok, we just might not go anywhere for Spring break and spend more time doing things that don't cost money. After all, the best things in life are free. By that of course I mean love and board games. Though come to think of it board games aren't free. But I have enough, I don't have to buy any more. We can just play them. Anyway... kind of wrote myself into a rut there... so I guess I'm done. Peace!