All about my job search
The short version of my job hunt status is that I'm supposed to have a 4th interview sometime soon with a PR agency. In many countries, after four meetings our children would not only be engaged, but the exchange of donkeys would have been negotiated and the bridal veils sewn. But there you go.
I don't mind, though, because I'm enjoying my time off, especially now that I feel no panicked obligation to apply for every job out there. If they offer me the job -- and I will be very surprised if they don't, after all that -- I'll almost certainly take it. It's the kind of PR I want to do more of, an opportunity to build a new part of the business, radda radda radda. Plus it's not a multi-hour trek into the hinterlands like my sister's job. And after three interviews, I've now met all of my potential coworkers. They seem competent and friendly, which are the two basic things you look for in coworkers.
The only circumstance in which I would not accept this job is if they tell me I have to wait 6 months for my vacation time since
no employer is going to stand between
me and
my beach trip. I want to be very clear on this point.
So that's the current status. Over the past 2 months I've applied for maybe 40 or 50 jobs, talked with about half that number of people, and interviewed with six companies.
My other interviews: Weird, weird, weird
I interviewed with one agency that had moved into their office space right behind a collapsing dot-com. The dot-com people had fled, leaving all of their pricey industrial-chic furniture, so the agency didn't need to redecorate. I went in there and seriously felt like it was 1999. I didn't get that job because I don't know enough about natamycin spores and whey protein, if you can believe it.
Another place, a big financial information company, smelled like chocolate because of a nearby factory. The HR person I met lived near her work and said, "It's actually kind of gross to wake up to the chocolate smell every day." I managed to restrain myself from telling her what you wake up to when you spend your childhood next to a mushroom farm.
For that interview, they had me sit in a conference room and every half hour on the half hour someone new would come in to interview me. This went on for 2 1/2 hours. None of them appeared to have coordinated with one another, so every conversation was the same. "I don't know if K. told you anything about the position, but here's how I would describe it . . ."
At another place, the HR person made me fill out a 4-page application form including the name of my high school principal. I was about 75 percent through and suffering badly from hand cramps when she said, "Oh, don't worry about the rest" and whisked me away to her office. It was snowing outside and her office was nearly dark. She sat, silhouetted against the window so I couldn't read her expression, and fired about 50 questions at me in maybe 25 minutes. She would cut me off if my answers were too long. I didn't get that job, but as you can imagine I don't mind too much.
The quiet end of the job-hunting spectrum
When I was looking for jobs last year, it was more like, go online, look for anything remotely PR-related, do some searches. Something would come up that was a two-hour commute, and something would come up for door-to-door vacuum cleaner sales. And most sites would come up with zip. I'd call people to network and everyone would say, "Well, you know, CVS is headquartered in Woonsocket. Maybe you should try them." I'd be done with my job-hunting by 11 a.m. and say to the cat, "Oh, what shall I do with the rest of my day?" Much more laid-back, though much more frustrating. I was very lucky to get a job so quickly, AND have it be someplace I really liked.
