March 22nd

Beth Vs. The Job Market

Round 1 -
From Craigslist I sent my resume to...
1) law office in Tarrytown - didn't hear back.
2) promo supplies company in Ossining - interviewed, they liked me, then didn't like me when I said I'd be leaving, then called and said that they would hire me because they really needed someone but only under the condition that I'd have to be let go if they found someone who could stay longer. I said I was waiting to hear back from some other places and we agreed we'd check in next week. I never called him back but he never called me back either.
3) band in Pomona - interviewed, they liked me, then didn't like me when I said I'd be leaving, then called about an hour after I left saying, "We'll take you for as long as you can stay," but by that time I decided I didn't want to sit in the basement of this guy's house by myself. So I declined.
4) mom looking for after school help - didn't hear back.
5) an after school science program - called and they said they weren't looking for anyone anymore.
6) a tutoring company - emailed, got a questionnaire to fill out, got depressed about not having really worked with kids since high school. The questionnaire is still sitting in my drafts folder.

Lesson: 1) I really like working with kids and I got really sad when I realized that I haven't really done kid stuff since high school. I can see myself working in some kid/education/non-profit field when I get back so maybe I should try to focus on getting a job with that. I don't have to feel bad for not taking two jobs I could have done really well at with nice people. Change and challenge are good things too! 2) I should either include the whole "leaving in June/July" thing in the cover letter and/or start going through temp agencies.


Round 2 -
Submitted a resume and cover letter for a temp position at a well known children's education through media non-profit - submitted my resume, was never asked for an interview.

A quote from Erica, "I know a bunch of people who applied there after college and didn't hear back from them. It's a really popular place. Who knows, maybe they only hire people with puppet experience, because they can."

Lesson: Not every employer is going to realize how cool I am. And that's ok. Also, I've never officially been an "Administrative Assistant" who pretty much own the world of temping.

Round 3 -
Made a call to the Ossining School District Human Resources Dept. and picked up a substitute application. Returned it that afternoon, arranged for an interview.

Some quotes from the interview:
"I looked at your resume... so what are you trying to do?"
"I see you said you would sub in the high school. With your physical appearance do you think that maybe some people there might think you were a high school student?"
"I mean, it's $99 to get fingerprinted and I can't guarantee how much you'll work. And if you come back in a year I'm pretty sure you'll have to get fingerprinted again. Are you sure you want to do this?"

She was really nice and didn't mean to sound mean at all. I'm just so used to hearing people who are excited about what I want to do, she kind of bummed me out.

I told her that I understood the costs, but for me, I thought the benefits outweighed the costs and, yes, I was sure I wanted to do this. I got my fingerprints done on Tuesday and after the board meeting (tonight), I'll be on the list of possible subs to be called up for grades K - 8.

Lesson: Not every interview is going to make me feel like I'm the perfect candidate for the job. And that's ok.

Round 4 -
Back to Craigslist. Send my resume to...
1) NYC temp agency ad - got an email reply saying it was received and someone would be in touch. No one called.
2) NYC temp agency ad - got an email reply, then a phone call, had a nice interview, did some computer tests, and then got a job for the day as a receptionist at Bank of America on the 31st floor of 9 West 57th. More on that later.
3) NYC temp agency ad - got a phone call from someone else as the same company as 2) a couple days later. (Neither ad had a company name.) I didn't call him back but I figure it's ok since I already had an interview set up with someone at the same company.
4) Scarsdale kid gym ad - didn't hear back
5) Teach for America temp ad - didn't hear anything for a while, thought they weren't interested in me. Then got a request for an online interview, did the online interview. Then got an email last night saying I was hired but that I had to attend the mandatory training session on either the 23rd or the 25th. I replied today saying that I was going to be away from the 23rd to the 27th days but if there was any way to still keep the job I'd really like it. He said if I could come in Monday at 10pm he would be able to excuse me from the training, I said my flight landed at 9pm so I would definitely try but couldn't really promise anything, then he said how about Tuesday at 10pm, I said yeah, definitely, thank you, see you Tuesday at 10pm, then he wrote back and said he meant to say 10am, I said, ok, cool, see you at Tuesday at 10am, then he wrote back and said, I think I need to change it to 10:30am and I said, ok that works too. One thing was interesting was the formality of the emails. They went from "Hello..., All the best," to "Hi..., Thank you," to "Hey..., Thanks,"

Lesson: Even if an organization has online interviews and mandatory training sessions, on the other side is still a person who might get am and pm confused and can end an email with "Thanks,"

Round 5 -
Finally registered with a NYC temp agency for non-profits. Erica had suggested it but the pull down questionnaire I had to fill out was too intimidating for a while. Erica helped me through it. I got a phone call from a guy there yesterday while I was eating lunch at a Subway on my way to Boston. The phone conversation was actually really exciting because he was asking questions about the Union and Party in the Park and he wasn't just asking how many words I can type in a minute (69 with 1 error is how I tested at the first temp place) and if I know Word (I do), Excel (I do), PowerPoint (I do) and Access (I don't). He also asked what kind of worked I was interested in and said something like, "I see you have a lot of event planning experience." I said from what I understood administrative assistants were in the most demand but I would definitely love to be involved with even planning if possible. We set up an interview but I had to call him back today to tell them I'd have to reschedule it because I got the Teach for America thing. He sounded genuinely happy for me which was cool. Another thing that is really cool is he wants me to submit a new resume using a template he sent and I feel like it's been a "What Not To Wear" episode for my resume! My resume now looks clean, clear, uncluttered, and professional and not this juvenile, thrown together, bulky resume.

Lesson: I shouldn't let myself be intimidated by pull down menu questionnaires asking about my work history and computer skills. I think I like this temp agency idea. It's like the Career Resource Center I never went to into college!


So... Here's where I stand -

Ossining Sub - I can start being called tomorrow for subbing but I have no idea how much work I'll get through that.
Standard Temp Agency - They got me one job so far, and called to see if I could do a longer term one which I couldn't because I'm going to Madison. They asked if I would be checking my messages while I was away and I guess will keep looking.
Teach for America - I start on Tuesday at 10:30am. The position is only for 15 hours a week for 2 weeks but at least I'll be able to say I've worked for Teach for America which is pretty cool. By the way, I have no idea what to wear.
Non-profit Temp Agency - Once I get my TFA schedule (next Tuesday) I'll reschedule my interview and then hopefully get some work through them. Maybe even event planning!

So that's me and jobs in New York.

Next time I'll write about my day as a Bank of America receptionist.

And how I'm pretty much fluent in Thai now.