Cruise ship job offer rescinded

I was offered a job by Lindblad cruises, which I discussed here at length. The job offer came after 3 or 4 phone conversations, but no face to face meeting. That seemed odd to me, since they are in Seattle and it wouldn’t have been difficult for me to come to the office in person. I was invited in for an orientation, and to fill out new-hire paperwork, they bought me a plane ticket to Mexico and provided an itinerary. I was provided with a uniform and a safety program (dvd and notebook) and told to complete the safety quizzes, get a physical exam and take a piss test.

After the orientation I returned to the office 2 more times, on Friday to drop off some documents, and again on Monday to turn in my piss-test receipt and my physicians “fit-to-travel” form.  I had spent the better part of a week preparing my life for 2 months away, as well as shopping for items required (battery operated alarm clock, etc…) for the trip.

On Monday I was told that they’ve decided, after meeting me that I didn’t fit with their needs/expectations of someone who would be successful on their ship, 12 hours a day, no more than 9 consecutive hours off at a time, for 2 months straight, with limited access to employment development and opportunities for job growth. Of course I find it odd that they chose not to meet me BEFORE offering me a job, and more than a little rude that they required me to jump through all sorts of hoops BEFORE telling me that they didn’t think I’d work for them.

In today’s tight job market it is dis-empowering enough to send out dozens of resumes and not hear anything back, or to meet for an interview and get no feedback (or job offer), but to be given a written job offer, told to prepare for work, and then be effectively dismissed without being given any concrete or specific reason seems unnecessarily cruel. Of course, if I were the company attorney, that is likely how I’d recommend them to proceed, but being legally safe is not the same as being sensitive, or polite.

I am bruised from this experience, but not exactly crushed. While I certainly need some income, and anything would be better than nothing, I wasn’t exactly excited about the pay rate or the hours, despite being thrilled with the location. My parents never warmed to the idea of me being away from my kids and family for months at a time, but my family here in Seattle was just settling into accepting it as a condition of me getting an income.

There could be a variety of reasons for their decision, ranging from my blog post about the job (cruise companies can be VERY protective of their brand identity), to my discussion with the HR person about my compensation goals and opportunities for advancement, or my discussion with their safety team about the discrepancies between their safety program and the quiz given to test knowledge of safety policies and procedures.  I didn’t even get into what I think about cruise ship pollution  in any way, except to acknowledge that I had heard that their company makes an effort to be seen as “Greener” than most in the industry Of course I’m sure that their attorneys advise them against giving any further information, it couldn’t possibly benefit them, from a legal perspective.

Anyway, no one likes whiner or a loser. I never intended this blog to become a record of my travails, but since I posted here about the job, it made sense to post here about the job going away. I have no intention of discussing all of the jobs that I DON’T get, or of my hardships getting back on my feet.

On a related note, I’d like to request that people treat me like a toddler, a small child. I am sort of done getting sympathy for my business having failed, for me losing this opportunity. I am requesting that if you have something you’d like to express, I’m interested in congratulations and recognition for how far I’ve come, rather than how far short I’ve fallen.  Think about a child learning to walk, with every step they fall, and get back up again. Responsible adults look and say “My, what a good job you’ve done taking that step”, “That was really impressive, how far you walked when you tried so hard” We rarely walk around behind a child and say how sorry we are every time they fall. Let’s take the focus off the falling and put it on the walking. I’m trying to get back up, and I do appreciate all who recognize what I was successful at, and where my successes will be in the future. Of course, if you’d like to reach out a hand for me to grab, and help pull me up, that would be best of all!

 

Comments

[Jefe Birkner]

SOMEONE using the e-mail address msmith@gmail.com (Mike Smith) posted an inaccurate and snarky comment on this post.
I might have left it stand, except that when I tried to contact this person, "Remote host said: 550-5.1.1 The email account that you tried to reach does not exist."

So, Mike, if you have something to say, please verify that you are REAL, and have some valid knowledge about the topic you are commenting on, and I will let the post through.

[Career Search]

Thanks, I really appreciate your willingness to help out. I will definitely keep you posted!