Job hunting = death

[glampenny]

 So job hunting is driving me bonkers. I now get to play the hurry up and wait game on a lot of schools I have applied for. Dams is not a position often posted and every person I swear is looking for a drama teaching position. But I have done all I can. Went to a few job fairs, applied for about 20 positions as of today and I'm keeping my fingers crossed. Neil then, I have been looking for local jobs, just to pay the bills and get me out of my current job. I have been there 6 years and still get treated like crap. My family has even started to mention how shitty I am treated. It pays my bills for now, but I am in desperate need of a new(er) car as mine is over 13 years old and has about 180k miles. Can't do that on my pathetic salary along with student loan payments. 

 

So I applied at all the Starbucks in town (all 5 company owned ones at least) to see if my six years at a licensed one could rank me a shift supervisor position. I got a call from one and I was super excited. I played phone tag with the manager for about 5 days and I kept things positive. Finally we set a time, right after I got off from my current job. Day of the interview, and I asked my coworker to leave a bit early, to look less like death and all. She let me go like 10 minutes early. I touched up my makeup and headed over. When I walked in, the managered asked if I was her interview and when I responded affirmatively, she commented on how early I was. And not in a positive way. The guy at the counter informed her of the time and I was a whole 3 minutes early. Not once, since I started seeking jobs in high school, has it ever been commented on how early I show up. I usually try to get places 5 minutes early. It's how I was raised and honestly what is expected of you in the real world. So right away I am on edge. I said some snarky comment about not wanting to get sucked into another project at work, I was nervous and sarcasm is my default when I feel even a little relaxed (honestly I thought I had this in the bag with all my experience so I was somewhat relaxed). Cue stink eye and nasty comment, and me flailing to find a response. Once the interview started the lady I was interviewing with, who seemed okay at first, kept the paper she was asking from and writing responses on guarded, like curled away from me, like it held some oh so important Starbucks secrets. I found this odd, but tried to stay up beat. A the interview progressed she started honing in on, and talking to deathsomeminors pointed made. Like so:

 

Interviewer: tell me about how you create relationship with your coworkers and how are they today?

Me: I talk and get to know them, find common ground and then I hang out a lot outside of work. The girls I worked with when I started, we are still very good friends, some I even consider best friends. The atmosphere is different now, since the economy went down and things are more stressful. 

Interviewer: And now with your coworkers and your relationships?

Me: I am good friends with most the girls and guys I work with, went to one of their weddings and I only have one I have a personality conflict with, but we still are ale to work really well with one another. 

Interviewer: What do you mean personality conflict? You fight with one another?

Me: Oh no. I never try to fight with my coworkers. I know what our differences are so I work differently with her so we can still have a good day, get customers their drinks and go home without any toes stepped on.

Interviewer: But you still have a personality conflict?

Me: Some people just don't mesh into the life long buddies. She and I still work well together. I know her strengths And her weaknesses and I try to work with her to compliment her strengths. I don't try to actively antagonize her. I know what about me rubs her the wrong way so I try to avoid it and focus on how to make the day a good one.

 

And so on. The interview was about half an hour. I realied after the fact saying personality conflict was a bad choice of words, perhaps personality differences or something. And our root problem, between me and this girl, she doesn't understand sarcasm and takes it to heart so everything I say to her is an insult, and I think she is a primadonna diva bitch who is used to getting her way because her mom is the manager of another department and people bend over backwards to accommodate her (and she's a teen still). But did I ever say thar in the interview, hell no.

Anyway, the interview blessedly ended, and then the manager opened her trap again and said something along the lines of " I am looking at a lot of candidates for this position, so if you don't hear fom me, it means I gave the job to someone else" or in non-manager speak "I hated you, don't expect a call". I thanked her for her time and went to shake her hand, a normal business practice. She barely touched my hand, no pressure applied and withdrew her hand as quickly as possible. Pretty much a slap in my face as she didn't even want to touch me. I walked out in a daze tring to figure out if the business world, outside of education, had changed so much in the years I had been at my other job. I've had some odd interviews in my day, group ones usually, they try to test your ingenuity, and how you think on your feet, but never anything close to this. 

Later in the evening I consulted my friend, since she had recently been interviewing to find jobs, seeing if my experience was now a typical experience. Not so much as it turns out. She and I decided even if I was offered the position, I was going to turn it down. After the last two insults of e interview, I didn't want to work for that witch. Later when my family asked me, I relayed the story, and they whole heatedly agreed. While I am now being treated like crap at my job, that woman was disrespectful and rude. No job from there. So now all my family and friends are boycotting that store because of the interview. 

I have been trying to keep my hopes up and I have decided to try and pursue higher positions within my current job as I have a few friendly coworkers in higher positions who might be able to help me. I am still constantly looking for teaching jobs, hoping for something better. Until then, I guess I'll keep hoping.