Potential Dilemma with a potential job and non-horsey hours.

Perfect_Pirouette

Perfect_Pirouette

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Ok so i have my share horse 3 days a week, twice during the week and one day of the weekend. He's kept about half an hour from where i live and about 10-15 mins (depending on traffic) drive from the city centre which is normally where i work.
I've been temping for the past couple of weeks and luckily it is literally just down the road from yard, so although i don't finish til 5.30, i'm normally down there by 5.40.
ANYWAY, I applied for a permanant job the other night and it's quite good money, the sort of thing i'd quite like to do. On the initial advert it didn't mention hours. Anyway got a phone call asking me to go to an interview tomorrow, i agreed. They said they'd email me directions and an additional job spec which they did. And on the additional one it DID mention hours and it's 45 hours per week, which i'm assuming is a 9 hour day and also that ' the candidate has to be flexible to work some evenings/weekends if needed' TBH i don't know if i would have agreed to go to an interview had i known it was gonna that. I really dont wanna have to work evenings/weekends if i can help it, for the simple fact of the horse.
I really don't want to give him up, in fact that's the absolute last thing i'd want. But i don't know if his owner would be happy if i couldn't get to the yard til say 6 every night and then on the occasional saturday (my day) if i do have to work have a member of staff do him for me and me just go and finish him off and ride in the evenings.
I love his owner, i really do, get on so well with her, but the only thing is she's a teacher and the latest she ever gets to the yard is 4.30 and i think she kinda has the view that everyone keeps those hours of work but unfortunately that's not the case 9-5's or 8-5.30's etc are quite common. I deally i want a 9/5 job but obviously if i can't get one with those hours then tough. I'm worried she may think i won't have enough time for him.
Not really sure what point of post is but basically, does anyone else work long hours during the week and do you cope?
I probably won't even get the bloody job, but i'm just worried if on the very off chance i do, it's gonna cause problems. I really don't want it to though as i can just go and do him in mornings and thengo in the evenings to ride like i'm doing now hopefully.
 
Yes, I do, and yes, it is fine.

Firstly, check that they are not including your lunch break in those 45 hours - some places are advertising those sort of hours but including lunch breaks. Secondly, all professional jobs you go for will, without exception, have the evenings and weekends clause. Not many invoke it, though mine did/does.

In your shoes I would go for the interview, mention nothing at all about the hours, then if and when they offer it to you ask for more info before accepting.

Frankly, and this is going to sound awful but I'll say it anyway, you need to get a grip on what is important right now. You are a grad with good degree but no work experience. If you sacrifice the horse now for a couple of years to get on the career ladder, so be it, horses will always be there. If you sacrifice the career for a horse you don't even own, you're a fool.
 
If you're worried why not have a chat with her before you go to the interview? I work 9-5 but I do sometimes have to stay late and it has been known that I don't get to the yard until 7pm. Someone gets horses in for me in the winter, in the summer they stay out until I get there and it's not a problem.

Its probably a bit different being a sharer, but if someone at the yard can bring him in etc so his routine isn't too messy then I don't see the problem.
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I work seven days a week at the moment and it is difficult. The thing that I hate most is having to work weekends, knowing everyone else is enjoying time off with their horse, hacking out together, going to shows, etc... I find that quite hard and can't wait until i'm in a position to change/decrease my hours. But then, the way I see it... I'm putting in the hours now, whilst building my career, to be able to have the luxury of owning horses and spending quality time with them in the future... perhaps this may be something you have to consider?

You need to find out exactly how much weekend/evening work you'd be expected to be doing before you can make a proper decision. If it just occasional then it would be possible to work around it, but if it's going to be a regular requirement you need to think about either how to deal with it or whether you want the job at all.
 
I work shifts so my horses are used to stumbling out of stables in the dark at 5.30 some mornings, or being brought in early - whilst they like routine they have learned to adapt. The only thing I am specific about is feed times - if others are to be fed earlier I like mine to be given something, even if it is only a bite of hay - and when I do mine in the mornings I feed everybody else's.

This is really down to the owner and whether she is happy for her horse to be worked or dealt with slightly later in the day. As much as you like the horse and your current set up, if the job is the one you want then go for it - there will be other horses.
 
Sorry I have to agree with spotted cat on this one. You can't possibly give up the chance of a good job because you have a share of a horse. Good jobs are hard to come by these days.
Early spring summer I work an average of 50 - 60 hrs and I manage to do the horse dog cats and if my hubby and son are lucky I will cook him some dinner,do the washing,clean the house etc etc
It is do-able but you need to speak to the owner and let her know what is going on if you are fortunate to be offered the job.If she is not happy about it you will have to walk away. Who knows you may earn a fortune and be able to buy your own horse and keep it in assisted livery !
 

You will be very very lucky if you find a job that you want to do, with good money and good prospects straight off as a graduate.
Finding something that also has 'horsey' hours is nigh on impossible.

Yes, you can go with a 9 to 5 but unless you show that you are willing to work outside these hours and give a commitment to a job over and above the basic, I think you will find you won't progress as fast as you want to.

If you want the job & it has good career prospects, you may have to make some sacrifices in the short term.

For what it's worth, last winter I had 3 horses on DIY and worked 8-6. My horses were ridden & mucked out in the AM before work. No problem.
If it is not your horse then that might be difficult but it is worth chatting to the owner about if before dismissing the whole thing.
 
Thanks for the replies-

Lexidhb- She is quite good and will swap days if needed i think as we've swapped days this week, i'm doing friday instead of thursday so i can go to the interview after work.

jupmthemoon- yes i'd neer disrupt his routine. I have no qualms whatsoever about going to do him in the morning i.e muck and turn him out, do haynets etc as thats what im doing at the moment and then paying the £1.90 for staff to bring him in about 4 and feed him, put him away etc and then me just go down about 5.30-6 and ride. I'm doing all that now and would be fine doing it long-term, i'm sure she'd be fine with it too, hopefully! It's just in the winter it'd be a bit of a pain etc but would have to deal with it.

Think im just gonna wait and see what they say in the interview before i decide anything.They did seem really keen on me though and she kept saying how she'd shown the MD my CV and he really liked it and thought i'd be suitable :-/ so you never know, i am frantically applying for similar roles atm that ARE 8-4 9-5 Hours so you never know there either. Meh, dunno how im gonna cope when i go to get my own again, althogugh im guessing it'll be easier as it'll actually be mine so can do what i want when i want to an extent.
 
Oh, what a dilema, personally, I'd say there will be other jobs, though no doubt I'll get shot down in flames.

Seriously, check the hours, that's a long week, though I don't know what sort of work you do. Also the evenings/weekend thing - is it realistically the sort of job where you'd need to do that or are the employers just covering themselves for some 'Once in a blue moon' eventuality?
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Unfortunately, if you're doubtful, any decent interviewer will pick up on it and you won't get the job anyway. You could always treat it as interview experience and ask questions if they make you an offer.

Good Luck!
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A lot of places put that in job descriptions just to cover themselves in case it's needed, if it was a regular thing it would probably be described as that, so I wouldn't be too worried about it. Don't forget that if you are expected to work late, the chances are you will be able to start late or have and early finish another day so it could work to your advantage if you can have a morning/afternoon to ride when you wouldn't normally, epecially in the winter. The 45 hours is probably gross (i.e. includes lunch - companies do that to reduce your hourly rate so they can pay you less overtime if you work any extra.) so depending on the work and if they're flexible you could take a shorter lunch break and finish earlier.

I have a sharer who changed jobs after about 6 months and now works funny hours and days and we fit it in somehow. He's actually getting ridden more now as when we both worked 9-5 it was always a quick 1/2 hour in the school after work but now she has days off in the week and I have weekends he usually gets 4 days of good riding and the 30 minutes after work on my days as well! Talk to his owner and I'm sure you can work something out that suits both of you.

I think that for most horses, routines are often more important in the owners' heads than to the horses - mine gets fed when I can get there, and comes in when I call him. The only thing that is important is getting him out early as otherwise he's grumpy, but it doesn't matter if it's really early so again he fits in with us. If I have to go to work early he goes out sooner. My old boy was the same as well, as long as he wasn't left in for too long, he was happy to do the rest as and when.
 
i have been in my current job for 3 months and it had the usual evening/weekend clause but i haven't had to work a minute overtime yet!

my hours were originally 8.30- 5.15 but i have managed to get them changed to 7.00-3.45 which is much better for doing the horses!
my boss had no problem with this as i have to talk to people all around the world so can actually work in my favour if i have to ring Pakistan/ India etc.
 
I'd say in your position in this climate you need to put the job before some elses horse to a certain extent. To be honest at my job interview it was stressed that eves and weekends would be needed - turned out it seems like this may just be 2 weeks out of the whole year when we have events on! I don't have a horse but do ride some else's 3 times a week - I'm lucky as the owner turns out and brings in and I rock up at about 7 in the evening to ride, muck out and put to bed. On my days ponio has dinner at anywhere between 8 and 9, on owners days it's prob around 4.30-5. Ponio just has to cope, and he does! (wel actually he's broken at the mo! But not because his dinner was late). Go for the interview and see what the company are like then make a decision. In your position to make things a success career wise some would say that the job is more inmportant regardless of hours or location - if you found a job in a different city then share horse would have to go!
 
I echo what the others have said - in these times, a decent job being offered to you isn't to be sniffed at!

Those hours don't seem too bad to me (although as above, check about lunchbreaks being included, that'll make it better!), and the evening/weekend clause is a standard one.

Ask them at second interview/job offer time how often it's likely to be required. Can you see a reason why it might be the case? Is it a deadline driven job or does it deal with customers/markets outside standard office hours?

I doubt the horse or sharer will mind much if you're getting there later, as long as he's on the same routine.
Think very carefully about letting a share in someone else's horse effect your career - the horse could be sold next week, and where would you be?
 
I used to work early, late and overnight shifts for a yr and a half and had my horse on DIY. If on early shift paid someone to put her out in morning, on late's asked or paid someone to bring her in and with night shifts went down after a sleep and paid someone to put her out in morning.

I now work all over the place e.g. hour or more's drive away, till 5- 5.30pm so usually get down to yard 6.30- 7.30 ish, shes used to it. Only problem will be winter if she's last one out in field looking a bit miserable, but quite often people bring her in for me.

I'm sure the owner wouldn't mind if your down a bit later as long as horse is well cared for. I have a sharer and she generally goes down later too and we have set days but swop to suit each other. Agree with others not to let a good job go because of share horse though, especially at moment.
 
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