I was nineteen and interviewing for an IT job at the turn of the century. The interview was going very well. I was outwardly sporting a polite smile, inwardly cheering myself on how well the interview was going, and then:

Interviewer: “… just one final question. If there is a server outage at 7 PM at night, and you got a call, would you be willing to come back into the office to resolve it?”

They seem like such a nice employer, so I’d be happy to support them in good times and bad.

Me: “Sure! These things happen—”

Interviewer: “Excelle—”

Me: “—Actually, sorry.” *I’m not finished!* “I can only come in if I don’t have Uni that evening. I go part-time two nights a week, and I can’t miss that.”

The interviewer looks down and shuffles some papers with an evil smile.

Interviewer: “…I’ll give you another chance to answer that question. If there is a server outage at 7 PM at night, and you got a call, would you be willing to come back into the office to resolve it?”

Why is he asking again… Oh. There is an uncomfortable pause as my future boss is still sporting that evil smirk. Out of sheer nineteen-year-old naivety, more than any other reason, I say:

Me: “Um… I… guess… I would… come back into work?”

Interviewer: “That’s the correct answer.”

I missed Uni the first time I got a call. The second time I got a call whilst in Uni, I didn’t pick up the phone. I got the evil eye the next day from all my coworkers. I started calling all the IT job agencies that same day and received two offers within two weeks, literally offering me double my current pay.

If you want shift workers, pay for them. Or at least, respect my boundaries.