All I can do is my best

My job interview yesterday started off great, and then ended poorly. The experience was a first for me and I hope to not have any more like it.

The first 45 minutes went wonderfully. The two women who will be sharing the administrative assistant that they're looking to hire were giving the interview together. They were both warm, friendly, and approachable and so I felt almost instantly at ease. I thanked them both for delaying the interview by a day for me. I then answered all of their questions easily and it felt more like a relaxed, normal conversation than a formal interview (although I was careful to stay on topic and professional). It seemed easy.

Then, just when I thought we were wrapping up (and silently congratulating myself on how well it had went!) they told me the interview had a second part. They took me to a little cubicle in the back maze of offices and sat me down at a computer. They handed me an envelope with 3 tasks in Excel that they wanted me to try to figure out how to do. Then they said to print out my results, put them in the envelope, and drop them off before I left. Gulp.

I've used Excel quite a bit at my current job and my last one, but I'm far from being an expert at it. Clearly.

The first task wasn't too bad. I managed to figure that one out pretty fast, but the second one stumped me. It was basically asking me to filter and sort the information on a large list of fictional students, and then do a mail merge with a form letter to be sent to each student's home address. I tried for 45 minutes and it was no good, I couldn't quite make it happen. It was 2:30 by then, which was the time I'd told my boss I'd be at work, and I still had a 30 minute drive to get to work. I had to go. So I only got one task of the three done.

I won't be getting that job.

You guys, I've been feeling terribly low over this whole situation. I was disappointed, and what's worse, kind of embarrassed. I feel like I let myself down.

Two friends (one a professor from the local university and the other has a Master's degree in Computer Science) told me that it was a really difficult task to ask someone without any special training to do, so that made me feel a tiny bit better. I asked the advice of the one who's a computer whiz as to how I can best go about learning to really use Excel, whether I should take a class or buy books or what. She suggested free YouTube tutorials. I plan to get on that starting next week, once I finish feeling bad and taking a few days off to relax.

I don't want to have this happen again, as I've put several resumes out there for Administrative Assistant positions. Wednesday's experience left me with the feeling of being caught with my pants down. I didn't like it at all.

Discouraged

Last Wednesday I had an interview that I really hoped would be my ticket out of my current job situation. In the two years  that I've been looking for a new job, I've never had an  interview quite like this one, in that when I left I had absolutely no idea how it had gone or what my chances were. You may recall that it was a bookkeeper/secretary position at an elementary school.

The principal who interviewed me was a middle aged woman, conservatively dressed, polite, and careful. I liked her well enough. She was clearly doing a lot of interviews because one woman was leaving when I got there and another was waiting to go in to her as I left. Also, the people in the office asked me if I was "Sarah" and when I said no, they checked a schedule and said that "Sarah" was someone who would interview later that afternoon. So just like I had feared, there were probably dozens of other applicants. The principal asked me about 10 questions, most of which were pure useless drivel. Here's a good example: "What does professionalism mean to you?"  Even she looked bored by the whole process. I don't think I did badly, but I don't think I stood out in any way, either. And seeing as how she said I would hear by the beginning of this week if they were going to make me an offer, and it's Wednesday afternoon, I'm pretty sure I didn't get it.

I'm trying not to be too disappointed. Even if I had been offered the job, the base salary was too low and I would have had to talk them into more money to be able to accept it. Without a couple more dollars an hour I would be forced to stay on part time at the bookstore, and I really don't want to do that. And it would be a 30 minute drive each way as opposed to the 10 or 15 now. But damn, I'm tired of looking for a new job! It's been a small second job in itself: checking job postings almost daily, sending out letters of interest and resumes, interviewing (if I'm lucky),  and then all the waiting, which for me is the worst part. All the while, I continue to plod along at a job that I've actively disliked for years now. When will it all end?!

I'm feeling kind of fed up with the whole process, to be honest. How do you all cope when you feel stuck and discouraged in life?

Hopeful

This past Friday, on the day of the blue moon, I had a job interview with the principal of a school where I'm hoping to get a job! It's a clerical position with a very low salary, but I'm hoping that since I'm more educated and have more experience than the job requires I can get enough money over the base salary to make it possible to accept the job. That is if I get offered the job!

I think the interview went well. My friend who's a teacher at the school thinks very highly of the principal and has recommended me highly to him. He seemed like a very nice guy--young, passionate about his job, and invested in making a difference in the lives of the kids at his school. I felt very comfortable during the interview--there was also a lady there but I can't remember what, exactly, her job title is. They were both easy to talk to and asked fairly standard questions. I hope I made a good impression.

Speaking of making an impression......I'm not a girly-girl kind of woman. When I'm not at work, my typical attire consists almost entirely of jeans, t-shirts, comfortable walking shoes, and little or no make up. Even at my job as one of the managers at a bookstore, I try to lean towards the "casual" side of "business casual" as hard as possible. So getting extra dressed up is a big deal for me. For the interview, I wore a business suit with a skirt and low heels, and I had to go out and buy new hose. (I hate wearing hose and tend to make runs in them after just one wearing). So I bought a pair of thigh-highs thinking they would be cooler in the summer heat than full-on pantyhose. Well, after the interview was over and I stood up and shook hands with the principal, I felt the top of the hose on the left leg start to roll down a little bit. I just barely made it out the door before they rooooolllllllled past the bottom of my skirt, and by the time I made it to my car the entire left side was flapping at my ankle! Thank goodness it didn't happen until I was out of sight! Smooth, huh? LOL!! I guess I'll never manage to be very ladylike!

Nerve-racking

Well, as I mentioned in my last post, I've been interviewing for a new job. Last week, after a one-on-one interview with the Executive Director of the agency where the position is located, I got a call back requesting that I come and meet with "a few members of the board of directors".

A few members. Okay. Sure.

When I got there, I was directed to a room where nine people were seated around a table waiting to ask me questions! Holy Moly! Talk about a nerve-racking experience!!

I had already had one hell of a morning, trying to get ready and get to the interview on time. First, I discovered that the hose I had on had a run in them. Luckily, I had a brand new pair still in the packaging to change into....except, when I went to put them on (in a huge rush) one of my fingernails snagged them, creating an even bigger run in that pair! So I had to put on the original ones with the smaller run and hope no one would notice. (I don't normally dress up that much for the bookstore. I hate wearing heels with a passion, and my current job involves too much walking on a daily basis to ever wear them. So hose are not an item that I have in abundance in my wardrobe!) Okay, so then I was dressed and about ready to go.....and I couldn't find my keys!! I tore through the house, looking...looking....looking.....finally, out of desperation (the clock was ticking by this time) I grabbed a spare car key we got when we bought the Scion. Okay, finally I was ready to go. I headed out the door, only to discover it had started to pour rain. I went back inside for an umbrella....which I couldn't find either! I ended up putting a plastic bag over my head!!!!!!!!!!! And arriving at the interview exactly one minute late. Whew.

Then I discovered that there were nine people waiting to ask me questions. It took an hour, during which I felt the nervous sweat rolling down my sides. I was so happy to get the hell out of there when it was over! What a morning!

But, I must have done well. The Executive Director called me yesterday and told me that the board had voted to move forward with my hiring!! I have to supply them with 3 professional references, and at some point next week after they've been contacted I'll be sitting down with my potential boss to iron out the last details of my contract.

So, wooooo hoooooo!!!! It looks like I'm getting a new job!

As soon as everything is finalized, I will share all the details here on the blog. For now, it's enough to say that I'll finally be using my degree in Human Services, it will be only 32 hours a week (four days, Tuesday through Friday from 8am-4:30pm), the pay will be a bit better than I'm making now working a full 40 hours, I will have state benefits and health insurance, and no more working nights, weekends, or holidays!!!! I'm just thrilled.

Especially now that the nerve-racking interview process is over!