Haleh (the owner) was over an hour late to my interview. During that time, the current gallery assistant proceeded to spill all the tea with me about how in the past few months she has seen 6 people come and go, that the owner is verbally abusive and does not properly communicate what she expects from her employees, and how much the workload is. Even talking to Haleh I got the sense that she wants two employees to essentially operate as Gallery Directors/Managers while she stays home all day and paints. Scope of duties that she described are all-encompassing and way beyond the expectations of a Gallery Assistant, which would be fine if she wasn’t offering only $24/hr for the position and a title that does not match. Additionally, she was EXTREMELY hesitant on offering commission on sales, which “Assistants” are also expected to do. The “trial” period she described is three months, which is absolutely absurd.
After basically begging me to start the Tuesday after my Thursday interview, I informed her that I wanted to give my current employer a one week notice to maintain professionalism. I told her I would let her know in case I got the green light and could start the next week. She texted me on a Sunday (3 days after my interview) saying that she got the sense that I wasn’t interested in the position because I didn’t let her know immediately, that can’t wait around for me, and that she was retracting her job offer.
I have never seen such unprofessional behavior from an employer in my life. Biiiiig red flags all around. I know seeking employment in the Fine Arts industry can be incredibly tough, but this place is not worth the energy.
