I’ve been in the professional job hunt for a couple of years; I’ve been single a lot longer. I
bet you can guess where this is headed. I’ve realized that hunting for a job is way too close to internet dating for my tastes.
You read a description, feel a spark of interest. Write something carefully worded in response and send it. Wait for a response… and wait… and wait. Then after a certain amount of time you hear that they want to meet you or you don’t hear from them till much later after they found someone else.
You pick just the right outfit. You’re nervous so you show up a little early. You’ve brought questions to ask and expect to answer a bunch in return. You spend time with this person-getting to know the front that you show on a first date… trying to be as close to their perfect match as possible while trying to gauge if this is “the one for you.” You spend some time, you say, ”It was nice to meet you,” then part ways. Then you wait to see if they want to see you again.
And wait to see if you found “the one.”
Well, I haven’t decided about the job world yet, but I’m not going to keep putting on “the face” for future dates. I’m going to work at being my charming, funny, curious and sarcastic self. And I’m not going to keep seeing someone just because they seem to be interested in me. I’ve got varied interests, so we should be able to find something to talk about.
And just an FYI, if you don’t like Star Wars and Doctor Who, you won’t make the cut.
I don't interview well. I get nervous and blank out on the examples they want. Maybe I should stop trying to be what I think they are looking for and be what I really am: a librarian in need of a library...with a lot of quiet enthusiasm and a good sense of humor about life.
Showing posts with label joblessness. Show all posts
Showing posts with label joblessness. Show all posts
Sunday, April 8, 2012
Sunday, February 5, 2012
What the hell happened?
Note- I actually wrote this over the summer. I have since been back to Cincinnati to work at the Halloween place again (Hello ladies) and have since found a job... but more about that later. This was supposed to be the beginning of a book, but I find writing in blog form less daunting and scary. Stranded in Hazard is about me (of course) living here in the Hazard, KY area. The ups and downs--things I like and the things that confuse me. That said... my intro to how I got here.
I’ve been more or less unemployed for the last 2 years. It’s the classic scenario that sometimes happens… I had a great boss; she was one of the best women I’ve ever worked with. Management wanted her someplace else, and even though she didn’t want it-she was forced to move.
Let me back up a little. Hi, my name is Alita (pronounced uh, lee, tah) and I’m a librarian. I love working with the public, there are so many interesting people with amazing questions. I was a teen librarian for just over five years. I’m a pretty affable person, I can accept/work with anybody. I don’t have to like someone to work with them. This is part of being an adult. That said, I did not like the new manager (for the sake of anonymity, I’m going to call her Stephanie.) I gave Stephanie a good three months before deciding I didn’t like her. She decided right away that she didn’t like us; she wasn’t there to get to know us, she hated if we got too loud and God forbid if we laughed.
Not long after Stephanie got there, she made it very clear that there were a few of us that she disliked even more than the rest and that we had to go. So there I am, with a target on my back trying to fix everything she decided was wrong, so I wouldn’t get fired. Let me say right now, that I am not perfect. I’m a fat, occasionally bitchy smart-ass with a strange sense of humor and little tolerance for people who are mean or ignorant on purpose. But, I’m also very patient, empathetic and give great customer service. Oh and have a hard time being on time, but I’m working on that.
Then Stephanie found the one thing I couldn’t fix. I can’t fix teenagers. I cannot make teenagers come to the library; especially those that get more allowance than I make in a year, who don’t need to come to the library because they can buy whatever book, movie or video game they want, who don’t need to come to the library because they can drive the car they got for their birthday to the local mall and hang out with their friends. No matter how often I visit their school and tell them about the fun stuff we do at the library—I cannot make teens come to the library.
So with the job market the worst it had been in a very long time, I got fired. I applied for unemployment and cursed Stephanie a lot. I cried a lot. I slept a lot. I have applied for so many jobs; I don’t remember most of them. I applied at those places that will hire anyone (or so it seems when I’m a customer)—grocery stores, big box stores, Wal-mart, Target, Starbucks. Nobody wanted to hire me. I spent time volunteering to fill some of my time and put anything on my resume.
I ended up working some temporary seasonal stuff, like the Census and a Halloween store then I got a part time job at a library. It was actually the library where I had my first librarian position, and I was so grateful when they hired me back that I cried (granted I’d been crying a lot, but this was because I was happy.)
So I spent my 20 hours per week at the library, the rest of the time, I looked for another part-time job, or a full-time job and worried about money. The money thing had caught up with me, mortgage, credit cards, home owner’s insurance, electric bills, phone bills, you name it, I was behind.
That was about five months ago, then I got the Notice of Intent to Foreclose. Holy Shit, they are going to take my house! I knew it would happen, but it is a punch to the gut when you get that letter. I knew what I was going to have to do… so I let my boss and the Human Resources Department know, and then I started packing.
…And now I am living with my mom and one of my brothers (also unemployed, but a little less educated than me) in Eastern Kentucky.
We went to the grocery store yesterday, we decided to drive the truck (it’s mom’s truck because she paid for it, but it’s still in my brother-in-law’s name and Joe uses it to get around till he fixes his car) it’s older, but not old enough to be cool, faded red with one grey door and loud. I asked for the keys, to which I’m told, there aren’t any. Turns out, the door key is hidden in the truck “In case we need to lock it” and the ignition key broke off in the ignition (I’m hoping this has been fixed by now so no one will steal the truck.) So we just start it and go. I suggested taking my car, because “what if someone steals the truck?” “Look at it, who is going to steal that truck?” “I just don’t want to get stranded in Hazard, oh wait I already am. And wouldn’t that be a good name for a book?”
I’ve been more or less unemployed for the last 2 years. It’s the classic scenario that sometimes happens… I had a great boss; she was one of the best women I’ve ever worked with. Management wanted her someplace else, and even though she didn’t want it-she was forced to move.
Let me back up a little. Hi, my name is Alita (pronounced uh, lee, tah) and I’m a librarian. I love working with the public, there are so many interesting people with amazing questions. I was a teen librarian for just over five years. I’m a pretty affable person, I can accept/work with anybody. I don’t have to like someone to work with them. This is part of being an adult. That said, I did not like the new manager (for the sake of anonymity, I’m going to call her Stephanie.) I gave Stephanie a good three months before deciding I didn’t like her. She decided right away that she didn’t like us; she wasn’t there to get to know us, she hated if we got too loud and God forbid if we laughed.
Not long after Stephanie got there, she made it very clear that there were a few of us that she disliked even more than the rest and that we had to go. So there I am, with a target on my back trying to fix everything she decided was wrong, so I wouldn’t get fired. Let me say right now, that I am not perfect. I’m a fat, occasionally bitchy smart-ass with a strange sense of humor and little tolerance for people who are mean or ignorant on purpose. But, I’m also very patient, empathetic and give great customer service. Oh and have a hard time being on time, but I’m working on that.
Then Stephanie found the one thing I couldn’t fix. I can’t fix teenagers. I cannot make teenagers come to the library; especially those that get more allowance than I make in a year, who don’t need to come to the library because they can buy whatever book, movie or video game they want, who don’t need to come to the library because they can drive the car they got for their birthday to the local mall and hang out with their friends. No matter how often I visit their school and tell them about the fun stuff we do at the library—I cannot make teens come to the library.
So with the job market the worst it had been in a very long time, I got fired. I applied for unemployment and cursed Stephanie a lot. I cried a lot. I slept a lot. I have applied for so many jobs; I don’t remember most of them. I applied at those places that will hire anyone (or so it seems when I’m a customer)—grocery stores, big box stores, Wal-mart, Target, Starbucks. Nobody wanted to hire me. I spent time volunteering to fill some of my time and put anything on my resume.
I ended up working some temporary seasonal stuff, like the Census and a Halloween store then I got a part time job at a library. It was actually the library where I had my first librarian position, and I was so grateful when they hired me back that I cried (granted I’d been crying a lot, but this was because I was happy.)
So I spent my 20 hours per week at the library, the rest of the time, I looked for another part-time job, or a full-time job and worried about money. The money thing had caught up with me, mortgage, credit cards, home owner’s insurance, electric bills, phone bills, you name it, I was behind.
That was about five months ago, then I got the Notice of Intent to Foreclose. Holy Shit, they are going to take my house! I knew it would happen, but it is a punch to the gut when you get that letter. I knew what I was going to have to do… so I let my boss and the Human Resources Department know, and then I started packing.
…And now I am living with my mom and one of my brothers (also unemployed, but a little less educated than me) in Eastern Kentucky.
We went to the grocery store yesterday, we decided to drive the truck (it’s mom’s truck because she paid for it, but it’s still in my brother-in-law’s name and Joe uses it to get around till he fixes his car) it’s older, but not old enough to be cool, faded red with one grey door and loud. I asked for the keys, to which I’m told, there aren’t any. Turns out, the door key is hidden in the truck “In case we need to lock it” and the ignition key broke off in the ignition (I’m hoping this has been fixed by now so no one will steal the truck.) So we just start it and go. I suggested taking my car, because “what if someone steals the truck?” “Look at it, who is going to steal that truck?” “I just don’t want to get stranded in Hazard, oh wait I already am. And wouldn’t that be a good name for a book?”
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)