Today I mailed a Tuna Fish Sandwich!
Yes, yes, I know I haven't blogged in several days here, but looking for a job is more of a job than an actual job! I have been going faster than the north end of a moose going south trying everything from looking at various sites on the internet, going to career counseling, re-doing my resume (again!), calling people, writing people.. and figuratively biting my nails!! - I'm going so fast, I passed myself in the hall!
A few nights ago I attended a seminar on 'aging gracefully' (HA!!!) given by a woman in her late 70's with a Ph.D. in Psychology. I forced myself to go since some of my Red Hat Society ladies were also going and also because I thought it would do me good to get out and mingle a bit. The woman giving the lecture was SO DAMN ACADEMIC in her speaking manner, I almost fell asleep! And it seems her true goal was to sell her book! However, sitting next to me was a woman who happened to be a career counselor! Lucky break for me! We got to talking, and she told me to send her my resume so she could review it. I was rather worried as to what charges she would hit me with for this service, however she assured me she would do it for free! Gads, did I meet a Guardian Angel?? So we met two nights ago, and she spent over 2 and a half hours going over my resume with me! Well, let me tell you, this was the most valuable information I've had in a long time! I used to do other people's resumes for a living when I was a data processing recruiter, but somehow it's always hard to do your own! She opened my eyes to the flaws and problems with mine. Anyway, we had a wonderful meeting, and I went home enthused and with renewed hopes that I am not a lost cause after all!
Last night I burned the midnight oil starting on this project of re-arranging my resume. Already sent some out today, and lo and behold, already have had some responses! Today I had 2 more interviews with AGENCIES, and, I say 'Agencies' with a roll-my-eyes facial expression as I am sooooo jaded and worn out with the agency routine! You go in with a job in hand that they advertised, and then when you get there, they say '"oh, that one has been filled'" or "Oh, that one is on hold".....!!! HELLO??? Can we spell BAIT AND SWITCH????... Then, despite however detailed your resume is, you have to fill in their god-awful epic JOB APPLICATION papers!! Never enough room on them to sqeeze your whole telephone number in, and then you have to REPEAT everything that is already on your resume! Oh, and did I mention the tests they make you take??? Doesn't matter if you took the exact same test just an hour before at another agency down the street, you STILL have to take THEIR tests~~ Today I spent over 2 hours at each agency, repeating almost identical paperwork and tests! Will somebody PLEASE start a clearing house for this type of data where you could take fresh tests maybe once every one to three months and use those for any and each agency!???
At the first agency I went to today, I also had to do a spelling test, a grammar test and a math test! Being math is not my strong point, I scribbled like crazy on the back of an envelope trying to get my half-century brain cells to work out the answers to the 4th grade math questions!
I finished witht the first agency around 3:30 pm and had to then dash across the other side of the financial district of San Francisco in the windy rain to try and make the 2nd interview at 4:00 pm. I had all of $1.47 in my wallet, and I was starving by now, having only dashed out the door this morning with a cup of coffee in my stomach. And in my checking account was the grand sum of $3.87!! So not only did I not have TIME for lunch, I also had no MONEY for lunch! Dashed into a Walgreens and grabbed a pre-packaged tuna fish sandwich and an orange juice and wrote Walgreens a check, knowing that by tomorrow I'd have funds in my account. Ok, so I take off doing my power walk down Montgomery Street, trying to eat the soggy sandwich at the same time. While doing all this, I realized I needed to mail an envelope, so I stopped at a mailbox, and opened the box to drop in the envelope, but.......... Instead of dropping in the envelope, I dropped in my tuna fish sandwich!!!! ACHHHH!!! Now I had nothing to eat 'cause I mailed my lunch!!! Crap.
A few nights ago I attended a seminar on 'aging gracefully' (HA!!!) given by a woman in her late 70's with a Ph.D. in Psychology. I forced myself to go since some of my Red Hat Society ladies were also going and also because I thought it would do me good to get out and mingle a bit. The woman giving the lecture was SO DAMN ACADEMIC in her speaking manner, I almost fell asleep! And it seems her true goal was to sell her book! However, sitting next to me was a woman who happened to be a career counselor! Lucky break for me! We got to talking, and she told me to send her my resume so she could review it. I was rather worried as to what charges she would hit me with for this service, however she assured me she would do it for free! Gads, did I meet a Guardian Angel?? So we met two nights ago, and she spent over 2 and a half hours going over my resume with me! Well, let me tell you, this was the most valuable information I've had in a long time! I used to do other people's resumes for a living when I was a data processing recruiter, but somehow it's always hard to do your own! She opened my eyes to the flaws and problems with mine. Anyway, we had a wonderful meeting, and I went home enthused and with renewed hopes that I am not a lost cause after all!
Last night I burned the midnight oil starting on this project of re-arranging my resume. Already sent some out today, and lo and behold, already have had some responses! Today I had 2 more interviews with AGENCIES, and, I say 'Agencies' with a roll-my-eyes facial expression as I am sooooo jaded and worn out with the agency routine! You go in with a job in hand that they advertised, and then when you get there, they say '"oh, that one has been filled'" or "Oh, that one is on hold".....!!! HELLO??? Can we spell BAIT AND SWITCH????... Then, despite however detailed your resume is, you have to fill in their god-awful epic JOB APPLICATION papers!! Never enough room on them to sqeeze your whole telephone number in, and then you have to REPEAT everything that is already on your resume! Oh, and did I mention the tests they make you take??? Doesn't matter if you took the exact same test just an hour before at another agency down the street, you STILL have to take THEIR tests~~ Today I spent over 2 hours at each agency, repeating almost identical paperwork and tests! Will somebody PLEASE start a clearing house for this type of data where you could take fresh tests maybe once every one to three months and use those for any and each agency!???
At the first agency I went to today, I also had to do a spelling test, a grammar test and a math test! Being math is not my strong point, I scribbled like crazy on the back of an envelope trying to get my half-century brain cells to work out the answers to the 4th grade math questions!
I finished witht the first agency around 3:30 pm and had to then dash across the other side of the financial district of San Francisco in the windy rain to try and make the 2nd interview at 4:00 pm. I had all of $1.47 in my wallet, and I was starving by now, having only dashed out the door this morning with a cup of coffee in my stomach. And in my checking account was the grand sum of $3.87!! So not only did I not have TIME for lunch, I also had no MONEY for lunch! Dashed into a Walgreens and grabbed a pre-packaged tuna fish sandwich and an orange juice and wrote Walgreens a check, knowing that by tomorrow I'd have funds in my account. Ok, so I take off doing my power walk down Montgomery Street, trying to eat the soggy sandwich at the same time. While doing all this, I realized I needed to mail an envelope, so I stopped at a mailbox, and opened the box to drop in the envelope, but.......... Instead of dropping in the envelope, I dropped in my tuna fish sandwich!!!! ACHHHH!!! Now I had nothing to eat 'cause I mailed my lunch!!! Crap.
Finally made it to the 2nd interview agency, and lo and behold, this one-man office with no fancy furniture and where I did not have to take one itty bitty test, actually FOUND ME A JOB!!! They secured me a temporary job for the next 3 weeks in a law firm where I can do what I like, which is word processing! What a relief!! At least for awhile! However when I got out of there and walked out the front door of the building, I got the spooks!!! WHY? Because.... are you ready for this???? ...... The front door of this agency that finally found me a job was literally feet away from where that Bible nearly fell on my head last week!!!!
EEEEEOOOOOUUUUUUU!!! The Twilight Zone? Geez, my life is weird.
posted by LADYGOLD at 10:17 PM
