‘Was I hired by mistake?’: New hire starts their first day only to be sent home because nobody knew they were coming, they start questioning whether they should quit

Author image for Bar Mor Hazut
Bar Mor Hazut • Senior Editor
Sep 25, 2024 9:00 AM EDT

The first day of starting a new job is not at all as exciting as one imagines it to be. You always expect it to be a great new adventure and that people will welcome you with open arms, but that is often not the case. There are so many logistics when it comes to adding a new employee to a company, that the first day is usually just a chaotic bureaucratic mess, and you might go home at the end of the day and question whether or not you made a mistake.

The important thing to remember is that everyone feels this way on their first day, and possibly even on their first week. It would be best not to be so quick to judge a new workplace and give it time to prove itself. Many people recommend waiting at least three months to see if your new job is a good fit, so definitely don't give up after only one day.

That is the advice I would give to the employee in this story, who felt like their new place of work was extremely unprepared for their first day at the job, which made the new hire question their decision. Scroll down to read the full story. After that, click here for a story of a roommate who locked her food at a party to stop others from stealing it.

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    Cheezburger Image 10408013056
    via AndreyPopov

    This image is for illustration only, and the subjects are models; the image does not depict the actual subjects of the story.

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    WAS I HIRED BY MISTAKE?
    via Gremlinsblood
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    I became employed a couple of weeks ago. A part time position at a local university. It's not an awful job and pays well. But here's the problem. I don't think
    via Gremlinsblood
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    they meant to hire me. I think someone jumped the gun and sent an email and made a phone call before their were supposed to and now nobody wants to admit they sed up.
    via Gremlinsblood
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    They set my first day up on a Thursday. I was sent home an hour and a half into that shift because I wasn't actually in the system. If you're not in the system you can't get a campus ID
    via Gremlinsblood
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    which means you can't get into and out of building or clock in and out. Turns out that my paperwork hadn't actually been processed yet, Why would you hired someone without
    via Gremlinsblood
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    processing the needed paperwork at the same time? Possibly because the person that made the call didn't know that the decision hadn't been made yet. They saw the paperwork and assumed that it was a done deal and made the call.
    via Gremlinsblood
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    I've been working for two weeks now. On a two week check I should have seen 59.5 hours. Two 29 hour weeks and an extra 1.5 for that first sed up day. I was paid for 30.5 hours. They
    via Gremlinsblood
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    missed an entire week. So, Is this the time clock system that sed up or is this some weird passive aggressive step? A "d th by a thousand glitches" sort of thing.
    via Gremlinsblood
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    • IndependenceAny796 22h ago You got a check for your 1st week plus the sw up...you next check will include the second week plus this week...it sounds like payroll is 1 week behind your schedule, which isn't uncommon.
    via IndependenceAny796
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    InnocentHeathy • 13h ago This. If OP reads their paystub, it probably lists the first week as the pay period. The second week will be on their next check.
    via InnocentHeathy
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    Gremlinsblood OP 12h ago We get paid every two weeks. The last pay day was the Friday before I started. The next payday would have to have three weeks pay.
    via Gremlinsblood
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    Nrh0505 • 12h ago Typically for payroll, when you get paid on a Friday it does not include any days you worked that same week. It is for the 2 prior full weeks. So based on when you started I would imagine your first check will have 1 week, and the next check will be normal with 2 weeks on it.
    via Nrh0505
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    blahblah5454 12h ago You need to look at the actual dates listed on your paystub to see what period you were paid for. Like everyone else is saying, this check is most likely just for your first week. Your next check will be for your second and third weeks, and so on. This is typical for most positions that are paid hourly.
    via blahblah5454
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    greenlungs604 • 22h ago In my experience in corporate type jobs. The place has never been fully ready for the new hire. Sometimes new hires won't have their login IDs for weeks after their start date. Literal weeks of "training" without the actual ability to login. It's wild.
    via greenlungs604
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    Joelle9879 22h ago If you've been working 2 weeks, your check was probably only for a week. Pay periods usually end the week before the pay goes out. So your next check should be for a full 2 week period. Look at the dates and ask HR if you still have questions and they should be able to tell if your check is wrong or not
    via Joelle9879
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    BrainWaveCC • 22h ago Information Technology Just ask about the paycheck without making (or hinting or stating) any assumptions about why. You have a job, so be happy about that. If you think it's not stable, keep looking, but don't create a self-fulfilling prophecy by constantly looking at the whole thing as a mistake.
    via BrainWaveCC
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    ChibiOtter37 22h ago I've started at least 3 jobs that didnt have anything ready for me the 1st day. There was one job in particular that took an entire week before they sorted everything out and they just had me review SOPs the entire time. If they are short staffed, they may not have a new hire as a priority on their things to do.
    via ChibiOtter37
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    coatlicue94 22h ago • If they did hire you by mistake, well that's on them, I think you should enjoy that you got the job. Pretty lucky of you I think lol However I would definitely ask about the paycheck because getting half your pay is not right, and maybe it wasn't
    via coatlicue94
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    a mistake that you got hired, maybe they were just disorganized. I would ask them to correct the paycheck and see what kind of response they give you.
    via coatlicue94
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    NatoliiSB 19h ago I wouldn't read into it. When I was hired as a Pharmacy Technician Trainee, neither my manager nor the Store Manager knew what or how to handle the initial onboarding process. I had to call support myself in order to get my log-ins for the computers and time clock straightened out.
    via Gremlinsblood
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    Wondergirl327 • 21h ago Shows them that you are an amazing "mistake"
    via Gremlinsblood
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    qtipheadosaurus • 21h ago There's too much hands on administration involved to hire anyone by mistake. It takes a ton of interdepartmental coordination to onboard new
    via qtipheadosaurus
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    employees and every hop can hit a snag. So your experience is par for course. Congrats on your job!
    via qtipheadosaurus

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