Enough Already

By Mary

Ok so today is the 18th already, and we have been working at getting a job at Harrah’s since the 5th. If that sounds like a long time let me explain the process to you.

Step 1. Show up at HR (Otherwise known as Human Resources)- Of course before anyone will talk to you, they have to have a job posting for the position that you are applying for. Fortunately Rex monitors that online so we knew going in that the jobs we wanted have been posted. Oh…it is May 5th.

Since there is a job posting, they let us fill out online applications. Since we had both filled out applications at this location before, we didn’t have to do the personality test again. That is usually done at this point also.

Step 2. We arrive at HR for an 11:00 AM appointment. Good thing we are always early because first we had to do a math test, then we had to watch a 25-minute video on an individual DVD player. They must have a bunch of them because at least three of us were watching at the same time. This video tells you about the Harrah’s corporation. Some of the topics covered are their benefit packages (which really sound great—too bad we are just summer help and not eligible). Then they go on to tell you, as a prospective employee, what Harrah’s expects of you. Those wonderful benefits do not come without great customer service efforts on your part. The video also contained a lot of general information about Harrah’s the Corporation. Now we are at the point where we do in fact get to sit down with an actual person from HR for a face- to- face interview. This composes of a list of questions that are standardized and asked of everyone that is lucky enough to get to this point in the hiring process. Now, based on your answers to the questions, you are cleared for an interview with a manager from the department you are applying to work in. The HR “Employment Specialist” is really helpful and wants to help you all they can so they very kindly provide you with a list of ten questions you should ask the manager you would be interviewing. A couple of examples of the questions on that list are: how will I know if I am doing a good job? And how far in advance do the schedules go up? The interview with the Department Manager is scheduled the next afternoon at 5:30. Oh it is May 10th.

Step 3. Ok we show up at HR at the appointed time and our good luck holds up…the Department Manager is on vacation in Hawaii. So we have the privilege of meeting with the Vice President of Table Games…oh joy!! Actually she seems to be a nice lady, but totally a company numbers cruncher. Rex mentions that this will be his third summer working at Harrah’s Lake Tahoe and it would be nice if there would be someway to avoid this long process since he only want a summer job and this process is more of a benefit to someone that wants to become a full time employee. Being the number cruncher she is, she immediately equates this long process with the cost it is to the company. So with any luck at all she will correct this problem. At this point in the process, if they are interested in hiring us, we should be given a written job offer. But, unfortunately, she does not usually do this…..remember the DM that is on vacation….so she forgets to give us one, but does verbally let us know that we will be going on to the next step, which is a group interview in front of a panel of three executives. This panel meets on Thursdays at 9:30 AM and since this is Thursday, May 10th, we now have to wait a week for this next vital step. And the bullshit keeps rolling on!!

Step 4. Ok so now it is Thursday, May 18th and we show up for the panel interview. This was originally scheduled for 9:30 but yesterday they called and said they had too many prospective employees for one panel so we have been bumped to the 10:30 session. Before going before the panel, the Employment Specialist gives us a pep talk consisting mostly of making sure we have big smiles and are upbeat and positive. There are eight of us going through this panel interview and we are all applying for dealer positions!! Wonder if any prospective dealers were in the first group. The first order of business was the executives introducing themselves and their titles. Next we all had to stand and introduce ourselves, and give a brief statement about our backgrounds. This is so much fun I can hardly stand it. Now the executives ask us each questions. Some examples: Can you think of the time when you went above and beyond to help a customer? If you have a player that has lost a lot on your table, how do you handle that? How do you manage to remain upbeat and enthusiastic day after day? Explain a specific stressful situation at work and how you handled it. Get the picture?? No fun and of course the perfect answer occurred to you half an hour later. We passed!! Only four more steps to go!! Since we passed this step, they finally sent us for a drug test. They do hair. They also gave us paperwork to fill out such as W4’s, etc, etc.

Step 5. Oh Good…time for orientation. It is scheduled for 8:00 AM on Tuesday, May 23rd. It lasts until 4:00 PM. I will update the blog on this Tuesday. I am sure everyone will be waiting for baited breath for that!! Rex’s quote of the day “This is a good explanation of the hoops you have to jump through at the Human Resources dog and pony show;”