Wednesday, February 11, 2009

Job Hunt Update

Still unemployed. I got a call at 10:20 yesterday morning for an interview at 11:30am. I was up at Ken's house when the call came in so I had to rush home, find some interview-appropriate clothes to wear and get out to the valley in an hour. I actually really liked the office and the people I met. It's funny - I can almost always tell when they want to hire me. I absolutely love interviewing. Call me crazy, but it's gotta be the years of experience on the other side of the interview table as either the hiring manager or the human resource representative. And I think having that experience always makes my interviewers just a little nervous.

The interview went very well and in closing, they both got really serious, and started fidgeting. The head of the company looked at me and said, "Now that we know we really want you, we're afraid we wont be able to afford you. What are your salary expectations?" I told them that ideally, I'd be making what I was at my previous job, but that realistically, I'd be willing to drop down no more than $2 or $3 an hour. Unfortunately, they were hoping to pay someone about $12/hour and that is just far less than I'm willing to settle for. It's too bad really. They marketed the position as an Office Manager and the job description is consistent with that title, however, because the incumbent sits at the front desk, they want to pay a clerical/receptionist salary. It feels great to be wanted so much and it was the boost in confidence that I need. But, I wish companies realized that you get what you pay for. If you want a quality, trustworthy, dependable, hard worker who will stick around and continue to take on more, you gotta give them reason to stay. They've had a lot of turnover in this position and I'm not surprised. They simply don't pay enough for the duties assigned to the position. Sounds like a great office and I was a bit disappointed, but with the flexibility they require (working late evenings and some weekends with minimal notice), I wouldn't even be able to get a second job. Oh well... NEXT!

Yesterday afternoon, as I was sitting out in front of an elementary school waiting to pick up my friends kids (she's on bed rest and her husband was out of town), I got a call from the hiring manager for a position I applied for at Washington Trust Bank. She had "a couple questions" for me, but it turned out to be an initial screening phone interview. Um, I wasn't really prepared for that as I was sitting there watching for KL's kids. I told her that if I seemed a bit distracted, that was the reason and she didn't even offer to call at a more convenient time. Oh well... I guess I'll know next week if I move on to the interview round. As much as I love interviews, phone interviews are not nearly as fun.

Still applying for lots of jobs, but the market is difficult. The guy I interviewed with yesterday said they ran their ad for one day only and had nearly 120 applicants. There is a lot of competition out there and I certainly don't envy companies who are trying to fill positions. On the up side, there are a lot of quality people out there to choose from, but on the down side, it really is a lot of work reviewing applicants and deciding who to interview, conducting all those interviews and then closing out the recruitment, sending letters, etc.

I'm trying to remain calm and trust that I'll find something, but I'm worried I may end up having to settle. I heard on the news the other day that over 300 Million Americans have been laid off in the last year. Daily I hear about another company going under and laying off hundreds and sometimes even thousands of employees. A friend in the Seattle area told me yesterday that his company just announced 10,000 layoffs nation-wide. I've been to the WorkSource office twice and both times, found myself in the midst of such a diverse crowd of displaced workers (from entry level to business executives who are used to a 6-figure salary), waiting for computers, classes, fax machines, resources or other assistance. It breaks my heart. Some of these people have been out of work for 6 months! I don't even know how they live on their measly unemployment checks for that long. Many of these people have families to provide for, mortgages, debt, kids in college, etc. I'm blessed that I don't have those things. I have a substantial amount of debt, but it's just me and I live in a tiny one bedroom apartment. A good friend of mine filed for bankruptcy last week. I have kicked around the idea of doing the same. Without the monthly payments on my debt, I'd actually be able to afford to take a lower paying job.

The other day, I half-jokingly said I was going to get a sharpie and some cardboard and go find a busy intersection to stand and try my luck at panhandling. The very next day as I was driving to the library, I saw a man with a cardboard sign that said "Laid off. 2 Kids at home. Short on rent money." It was sobering... I'm blessed that I have such a wonderful group of friends here that have offered whatever assistance I need, from a place to stay rent free until I find something to monetary loans. Some people really are not so lucky. It breaks my heart.

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