Tuesday, November 8, 2005

Second step in the right direction

Went to my interview today. Actually, I prefer to call it an appointment, since the thought of an interview sends me into irrational panic, and is one of the reasons I decided to go the temp route, anyway. First I filled out a TON of paperwork. By that time I needed to pee but I didn't want to interrupt the process by having to excuse myself. So on we went to the Word, Excel and typing tests, and my bladder gave a little shudder when she told me I'd have 30 minutes for each section. Those Word and Excel tests are so cool! I did pretty well. I don't know everything about the programs, but I know quite a bit. I choked a bit on the typing test, even though I had two practice sessions. I know I can type 60 wpm, but with this test it was fifty-something with 6 errors, calculating down to 47 wpm. Oh well. No biggy. Then I spoke with the woman who is in charge of placing people in temp positions, and it went well. Then I talked to the woman who is in charge of finding permanent placements for people, and this went a little more like an interview, but it went very well. It got a little sticky but it turned out just fine. In my last job (the one from home) I didn't make much money, so she said she'd have a hard time asking employers for what I was asking for now, because they'll ask what I made at my last job. So I had to get into my personal situation a bit: I worked full time when I first had my son, then when we were laid off I was home with him for the first time and loved it. Then I got the opportunity to work for my old bosses, from home, part time, plus I had a fiance with a full time job, so I had the luxury to work for less money in these circumstances. She liked this explanation very much and was sure it would do the trick. BUT then she asked if I still had the other person with the income (which is relevent in that it explains why I need a higher paying job again), and I answered no. Before I could explain further she said, assuming we had broken up, and in the spirit of sisterhood I'm sure, "good, I hope you kicked the bum out!" To which I had to reply, "actually, he passed away". Could I mortify my interviewer MORE?? She felt terrible and could not stop apologizing, and I kept saying it was fine and I could have perhaps presented it a different way so that wouldn't have happened like that. All in all, it was fine. She did say that this information might be useful to show that I'm serious about needing a position and good pay, as I now am the main supporter of myself and my boy. She loved my resume for the content and it's presentation (which my Allie wrote for me but for which I took credit), said I had a lot of skills, and that when I went to a company they'd probably fall in love with me and want to keep me. Which is what I would love to happen. Then I left but I still had to pee, and I couldn't find a restroom in the building, so I had to rush home rather quickly.

I feel so bad for her though. She's probably still kicking herself.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Good luck. Maybe this will motivate her to spend extra time on you.