Falling Behind on Blogging

Sorry for not updating the Great Employment Experiment lately. I started it two days behind, then tried to catch up, had some busy days with the family that left me more behind, then felt kind of hopeless. Here's my abbreviated employment wrap-up just so I don't feel like I have to dig myself out of this ever-deepening hole and therefore psych myself out of posting at all.


Day 3:

On this day, I grabbed a pile of resumes, wrote the following on a small sheet of paper: the names and numbers of two references, the addresses of my former jobs, and the phone numbers of my former jobs. In retrospect I'd suggest writing down three references, and your pay rate from hire to leaving each job. I have no idea why places ask for your former rate of pay, but I never remember it and it always annoys the crap out of me, so write it down now

Then I drove around from 10am to 4pm. I picked up applications from places that weren't hiring and took the time to fill out applications for anyone who was, or who didn't immediately tell me they weren't. I asked to talk to managers when I handed in the apps, and if they weren't available asked when someone in charge of hiring would be in. I wrote everything in a notebook, including times managers would be in and their names. I found a lot of places weren't hiring, but I felt good about the time I put in.

Day 4:

Didn't work on job stuff due to hanging out with my Dad.

Day 5: I went to check on the application I'd put in for Sonny's and found that while they weren't hiring, they  would keep me on the top of their pile in case they need someone soon. The manager really liked me and I liked him and the restaurant, so it was disappointing that the timing didn't work out. I also did my first real day at the gym (warm-up, weights, cardio, then yoga) and my dad and I went to The Museum of Southern History. Kind of funny, kind of awkward, kind of informative, and kind of terrible. Worth the $3 admittance, though!

Day 6:

We went to the roller derby! No job search 'cause it was the weekend and I was lazy. I think I did my taxes that day, so that was some (eventual) money in my pocket.

Day 7:

Spent time with the family, worked out, watched some NHL playoffs with Dad. Dad spent the whole day tending to his grill, smoking beef back ribs, pork spare ribs, and a Boston butt. Lots and lots of red meat.

Day 8:

Today! This morning I filled out an online application for VyStar because when I visited them last week they told me all their hiring was done online and they didn't have physical applications nor did they even know if they were hiring. Knocked that out, shaved and dressed for a couple drop-by interviews at two Chili's locations, and tried my luck. At the first I had the same story as with Sonny's. I'm obviously great, they'd love to hire me, they don't need anyone now, they'll be in touch. Both managers in this position have said that no experience isn't a problem and is sometimes a good thing, as servers sometimes bring bad habits from their old employers. I thanked the manager and went to the Chili's a bit closer to home. The good news is that they were hiring, because the manager was in an interview. The bad news is that I couldn't stick around and meet up with the manager because I had to get the car back to Dad for his blood test. I left my resume a copy of my application from the previous Chili's since they'd run out of copies and couldn't print more and, oh look, I'm just so prepared.

The bad news is that when I called later in the evening, I spoke to someone who told me that if the manager liked my application, he would call me. Now, I have no faith in myself on paper. I could get a job at a hotel with this resume, but to show someone how great I am for this unrelated job, I need to see him or her in person. So I am going to be annoying and disregard that advice from the phone, dress up to apply and interview again tomorrow, and show them just how much they need me. Honestly, I hate to think of them wasting time on other, far less awesome applicants, heaven forbid they actually hire one of the losers. So I'm going to stick my neck out and do this. For them.

I'm kind of nervous about it, though. I know I shouldn't be. I'm also planning on applying to the Outback that's a bit farther away from the house, the Japanese restaurant on San Jose, and maybe Carrabba's. Yes, I know that last one is way out of my league, but I'm going to try everything, darn it.

I still have some applications I haven't followed up on, but they're not for jobs I'm particularly jazzed about. If they call, they call. At the moment I'm really not desperate enough to reach for something that doesn't excite me. the opportunity to learn more about banking/credit unions by working at VyStar is exciting. The chance to wait on people in a restaurant, running around and making cash every day is exciting. I'm not sure I want to risk my happiness on getting a paycheck just a week or two sooner than if I'd held out for something more enjoyable, and as I don't have any huge bills coming up, I'm not overly concerned. I do have to pay my student loan and gym bill, but they're less than $100 a month together.

That's one of the reasons this wasn't the best time to do The Great Employment Experiment, I guess. I'm not desperate. I'm not that hungry for it. I want and need a job, but if I slack I can get by for a bit. Sorry! I'm just not as motivated as I need to be to really tear it up like I usually do. I'll try to be helpful and continue this series anyway, and I appreciate everyone who's following along. ^_^