I'm sitting here in my exercise pants and Diet Coke gray t-shirt with a bemused and confused smile on my face. My belly's full of homemade pasta primavera with seasoned chicken legs and in the past 29 hours I have lost the chance at a great job, got a job downtown, and was rejected from a job.
What?
I sent out 9 resumes/applications at the beginning of the month. 1 to an editorship, 1 to an expensive apartment complex, 2 to Starbucks, 1 to a hospital data place, and 4 to hotels around the area.
I heard back from the Expensive Apartment Complex and one Hotel Downtown and one Hotel Closer to Home. The Apartment Complex was the furthest away but with the best pay and esteem. The Hotel Closer to home was the most ideal commute-wise and feel-wise but the worst pay and hours. And the Hotel Downtown was in the middle of wage and location.
So here's what happened:
I had a decent phone interview with the Expensive Apartment Complex, a stellar 1st interview in person with the people I would be working with who were bubbly, loud, and super friendly to me, and then I choked in my last interview. I was told (via phone from yet another person in the company) that it was the final interview and that the other people had great things to say about me. So I went in relaxed. Too relaxed. I thought that the job was mine and it was simply a formality. No. My interviewer was the head of the region, asked me tough questions, and while she was pleasant she wasn't overly warm nor responsive. I talked too damn much out of nervousness and noticed that I had been slouching to one side of the chair. She said I'd hear back in a week--not a good sign.
With the Hotel Downtown I thought I had my worst interview. It was only the 2nd job interview I had had in 4 years and I found myself unbalanced when he asked me preference questions like salary and times because he had said on the phone that it was 1 job with set hours already decided. He called me Friday and I didn't bother to call him back until today. Surprise, he was calling to offer me the job! I was so taken aback that I didn't get all of the information. 4 days a week, about 30 hours, better pay than my last job, bonuses to come.
With the Local-ish Hotel I was 15 minutes late to my interview. The directions were insane and yes, I was early. Park in the parking lot, on the left side, an alley/street, up stairs, door on left. To the left was just some trees and garbage bins so I went right. Not there. I asked the lobby guy and he said walk through the parking lot ALL the way and then it's on the left. I did. I ended up in an entirely different shopping center. Turns out I needed to take the left side all along because after some stairs down, behind the trees, there was the tiny pavement/alley that didn't look like road, steps, not more stairs, and there it was, door on the left. Dear Lobby Guy, you should have told me it was around the corner.
When I finally got there (I have NEVER been late to a job appointment) she was already interviewing (for a restaurant position) a 30-something woman with a kid and talking like they had been chatting for quite some time. I thought SHE was the one who was late. Then she made me wait for 5 minutes to print something. I jokingly asked if a lot of people get lost on the way to her office and she laughed and said all the time. The interview went really well and I had her laughing at some points. She said the people in charge of front desk hold the next interview, implying to me that she's the crazy/not crazy step and the other departments do the actual interview. A man in a suit was after me (same job?). I'm actually shocked that I was rejected. Was it me being late? Were there better candidates?
So that's my story. I start Friday but I'm still hopeful about the Apartment Complex job saying 'yes' before then.
0 comments:
Post a Comment