Switching my job preferences...

I applied for certain dept but didn't realize and want to switch my job preferences. Should I just show up to open interviews on Sunday and explain or try and contact HR today as it is Friday and doubt I'll get a phone call back...Anyone have any insight? Thanks!

Both, in a polite and straightforward manner.

Is it just me, or does this seem to be a recurring theme here? And not for nothing, but wouldn't it kinda look careless that people screwed up their job application? Shows a bit of lack of attention to detail, or possibly carelessness. But that's just my two cents.

That would be a concern for me if I were in a position to be interviewing/hiring staff.

For this kind of job, I think it's quite reasonable for people to change their preferences as they learn more about the roles and responsibilities, especially for brand new folks. Many of these people are kids, and many of these jobs are the kind of thing that you uncover details as you go along the process. I.e. you might find out some kind of "holy crap I didn't realize that" about the position you originally wanted, or conversely, learn something really cool about a different position. To hold have these folks beholden to only their first choice is risking putting them in a job they will hate, which is likely a disaster for everyone.

Suffice to say, if you do plan on switching, you should avoid the "that role sucks, so that's why I don't want it" stance, and instead play up the "After doing some research, I discovered X about this other role Y, and I feel that it more closely matches my interest and skill set" angle.

Again, in a polite and straightforward manner.

You could always ask suggestions from John Pra.....oh wait!

Itslucas23 is not new to working at Cedar Point. He was a concierge in 2012.

A) These people are not kids, they're, legally, adults. It's not unreasonable to expect them to know what they have chosen to sign up for. If they are sufficiently immature that they cannot or will not agree to the choices they've already made, well....too bad, so sad.

B) That said, the "After doing some more research...more closely matches my interest..." approach is okay, though it begs the question of why that research wasn't done before applying for a job. I applied over several years before being offered a job; I knew full well what I was agreeing to when I accepted a job at the park.

Yeah, they are kids, and you're attributing a level of experience and wisdom that just doesn't exist in people at that age. Your approach appears to be to simply file them away in the circular bin, wasting the potential. It's a good thing you're not in human resources at CF.

Pretty much. If they aren't sufficiently competent as to fill out a simple form on which their future with the company rides, I'm not going to have much faith in them being able to do the actual hard work of having a job.

Harsh, guess you never got a break in life.

Not sure what getting "a break in life" has to do with expecting someone to know what they're signing up for before they sign up for it. Not saying they have to know every last detail of every last duty: just saying they should be doing so with a general sense of what the choices entail.

Someone who applies for a job at an amusement park and indicates they'd like to work in food operations or in games, then turns up for an interview and tells the interviewer they've changed their mind and would really prefer rides or hotels, well, they're demonstrating poor decision-making skills.

The world is not so black and white as you seem to think it is, as there are other scenarios than the end all conclusion that "they're demonstrating poor decision-making skills." In fact, someone who realizes that they would be in the wrong job after learning more information is doing exactly the opposite. It's called pivoting or persevering to do what's right given changes in the status quo, and is actually a sign of exceptional decision making skills if done for the right reasons.

Considering there's potentially 6 MONTHS of time between when the application was filled out and the park opening, there's plenty of opportunities for someone to change their mind about what they want to be doing. It's a long drawn out process overall where people's lives can change, along with their job preference. I agree with Scottyf that saying you feel like you can do better in a different department says a lot about you and how you look ahead at what the season will be like.

To you, it says that. To me, it doesn't.

If I'm doing interviews for food ops, and I have one person who comes in and tells how much they want to work in food ops and what they can bring to the job, and another person who comes in and tells me oopsie, they couldn't be bothered to familiarize themselves with the various job options available and have subsequently decided they don't want to be in food ops...

...I want the person who showed initiative and foresight.

Well, then I say it's a good thing that instead of someone who can only see black and white, those folks will have an actual HR rep that will likely be impressed with their candor, honesty and self-reflection.

itslucas23, you have a few options on how you could proceed, so good luck. Let us know how it goes.

You call it candor, honesty and self-reflection. I call it poor decision-making skills, self-entitlement and a lack of commitment. We'll have to agree to disagree.

The End!

I think it's a comparison of what's best for everyone vs an ideal that can't be sustained. I think we should agree to disagree.