Tuesday, August 22, 2006

I now officially feel like I'm on vacation!!!!

The interview is over! Now I can relax. Now I can sleep in the mornings since I won't need to drive Steph to work to keep the car unless I want to go to the beach or something. Waking up early to go to the beach is the one and only instance where I won't want to kill anyone who gets in my way before 9am. Okay maybe I can think of a few other improbable instances like for example waking up early to pick up a jackpot at the Atlantic Lotery Corporation, waking up early to get on a plane to Europe... okay maybe even waking up early for some morning nookie. Sleep, sleep sleep, glorious sleep! I can't WAIT to sleep in until labour day :)

So here's how my interview went. Do you want the short version or the long version ? BAH! You're getting the long version since this is my blog, blogging calms my nerves, and I'm having blogging withdrawal. The story begins sometime in March when I applied for this position at the last minute. hehe Kidding. I'll start with yesterday morning. Yesterday morning I got up early and uber tired (Because I can't possibly go to bed early during my vacation. It's goes against everything that I stand for.) to drive Steph to work. My plan was to drop him off to work, grab a greasy breakfast in a drive-thru, and head to the mall at the walk-in hair salon (MasterCuts) to get my hair done for this interview. It's not that I thought the interview pannel would be so shallow as to not hire someone with 4 inch roots showing... (Okay maybe I do..) But having my hair done just makes me feel pretty and therefore gives me a little confidence boost that was much needed for this interview. Did I tell you the interview was being conducted by a frigging selection pannel of 3 persons ?

I got my eggn'cheese mcgriddle breakfast sandwich, drove to the drive-thru ATM (See a theme here?) and at 9h02am I headed to the mall to go see about having my hair done. I scored an awesome parking spot near the pretzel maker door. I went inside and realized that the pretzel maker has moved to the food court! GAH! I've been calling that entrance "The pretzel maker" door for nearly 10 years, how will I possibly call it now ? Now the first store is Tommy Hilfigher, and The Tommy Hilfigher door doesn't have the same ring to it. Speaking of rings, since I began writing this entry I have ran twice to the kitchen to answer the phone. The first time was a wrong number and this time it's Capital One wanting to harrass Steph to join again. Totally off track. So the mall was really dark inside and everything was closed exept the coffee shops. There were herds of old people drinking coffee everywhere. I thought Wal-Mart opened at 8am and the mall at 9am ? Apparently the mall only opens at 10am. So I walked to Wal-Mart and wasted an hour browsing the aisles. I finally gave in to the low prices temptation and picked up a fitted King bed sheet for 5.93$. A few aisles later I realized that it was a horrendous pattern and that I wouldn't even use them. I hid the sheets in a shoe display and walked away inconspicuously.

At 9h59am I headed over to MasterCuts and was informed that it was super busy because it was senior's day and that they could only take me in at 11h40am. GAH! I wandered around in the mall and ended up buying a cute purse and a pair of shoes at payless, a tropical tango Orange Julius, a cappuccino and coffee mints. My hair appointment lasted 3 friggin hours, she did 2 haircuts while I was processing, (I've never processed this long) and in the end she was anxious to go have lunch with her friend and asked me if I had to get my hair blowdried. Um. I told her to give me the friggin hairdryer and I blowdried my hair myself while she finished up doing other things. I'm not really satisfied with my highlights either, she made them too chunky for my liking. I look like Kelly Clarkson in her prime.

I was a little sad to leave my perfect parking spot. Then I drove to Staples because I heard that they had the 4-pack Nancy Drew games. I still have one here that I haven't played, and I bought 5 yesterday. I got caught up in trying to find the impossible to find Nancy Drew games. It was like solving a real life mystery. So that's what I'm doing tomorrow :) Then I drove to Penningtons to get a jacket for my interview since I had bought the perfect one, but I had asked mom to shorten the sleeves to 3/4 lenght, and she still hasn't done it and the jacket is in Bathurst and she's in Quebec for a week. I'll probably get it back when it's too late to wear it. (It's off white with tiny brown & teal pinstripes). I walked out with 4 pairs of pants. Murphy's law. I can NEVER find pants that are nice for work AND comfortable. I got 4 pairs that feel like pajama pants. No summer-ish jacket to be found though. I tried on a pair of fall gauchos in grey tweed and a super comfy waistband made of stretchy black stuff, and they would have actually looked good with my black socks, I was so exited... until I tried them on and they went all the way down to my ankles and they weren't available in the Petites. bah. I have the friggin lower body of a midget. Yet I'm 5'6. I ended up wearing a black linen short sleeved jacket that I have but find a bit snug.

Last night I was scared to go to bed early and toss and turn nervously for hours and have a horrible nightmare again (to be blogged about later). So I talked with Tina on MSN until 2am until I was so tired that I was sure to fall asleep instantly. I zombie walked to the bed, tucked myself in, and sprung out of bed wide awake, turned on the light, DH was looking at me as though I was a maniac, wondering what the hell was going on, until I pointed in horror at the wet spot of dog pee on my blanket. ARRRRRRGH!!!! How can I love this dog so damn much and hate him so much at the same time ? How can he be so MEAN? He ruins the kitchen island by peeing against it, we've paid extra to scotchgard our new furniture and warranty it against dog pee, but I draw the fucking line at peeing on my side of the bed. If it weren't for Steph I'd bring him to the SCPA (Because everyone knows about his dirty tricks.) I'm still not sure how long I can stand this.

I was SO prepared for this interview. I printed my references last night, extra copies of my resume, and studied "How to interview like a top MBA", "Interview IQ" and "Nail the job". I also researched the Justice department, it's mandate, it's minister, deputy minister, etc. This morning I googled "List of professional weaknesses". I hate the famous "What are your professional strenghts and weaknesses?" question. I am okay with the strenghts, but I have always struggled with the witnesses part. So I was hoping to steak someone elses weaknesses. Of course I have weaknesses, like I'm always late in the mornings. But I couldn't possibly tell them that. Then I realized that maybe my greatest weakness was self assessment ? They didn't even ask me the damn question! I had my damn weaknesses memorized!!!

All three books agreed on the perfect time to arrive for an interview : 5 minutes early. 10 minutes shows that you're an amateur (are there any professional interviewees?) and might interrupt the interviewer's previous task etc etc. So I went in the college (interviews were held at NBCC college) 10 minutes early, went in the washroom, came out 7 minutes early, and asked one of the registration ladies if she could point me to room C 1098. Sure she says, follow me! Well we walked all around that maze of a college trying to find the room. Apparently they changed room numbers last week. We were in a dark hallway leading to a shop area when I was trying to keep up with her and said : um, I don't think it's here... She asked me what time my interview was : In 2 MINUTES!!! So we RAN (yes, me, I ran, in my snug jacket) all over the college and finally found room C 1098 which was labelled room A 1105. We found it because there was a sheet of paper on the door stating : Interviews in progress. Take a seat someone will be with you shortly. I was hot and sweaty, my mouth was a giant cotton ball and I was out of breath. Thank God they were chatting inside long enough for me to regain composure. I could hear them talking " God I ate too much".

Finally someone came out to greet me. I walked inside to face the selection pannel. I was glad to see that they were only 3, and that they were all women. Until I realized that one of the women looked meaner than judge Judy. They asked me if I had difficulty finding the room. I said : Was finding the room a test as part of the interview ? They all laughed and I relazed, until the questionning started. OMG I could have NEVER prepared enough for that interview. Sample questions were : Do you know law/legislation such and such is, and what is your opinion about it. What could I do ? All I could do was laugh and said that I had no idea, sorry. I told them that I did research who the minister, deputy, mandate, regional offices were etc. But I did not research department laws and legislations and acts.

Other questions like : You have an irrate customer in front of you, the phone is ringing, there's a landlord waiting with 5 deposits, the phone is ringing off the hook, and you're about to miss the deadline to send an important package and you're alone in the office.How do you stay calm ? [Tell them all to fuck off and die?] I said : You have to stay calm. You have no choice. Deal with the irrate if the landlord is willing to wait for a few minutes, then deal with the landlord, take the message off the phone voice mail, and drop the package off to canada post on my way home. But on the drive home, analyzing my answers, I realized that I don't know if I'd like working there. The only reason why I'm still a secretary after 4 years (with no previous training or experience, or desire to do that) is because I love "Business". I find it very rewarding to help a new business owner and see him leave the office full of confidence. (Or his pockets full of money). Would I despise being a secretary anywhere else ? I hate secretarial duties actually. I love being in the business industry. I've wanted to own my own business ever since I first read The Babysitters Club books as a kid.

My current contract is still good until June 07...I have no indication that they wouldn't renew me either. But would I continue being a secretary forever ? I don't think I could stand it. I don't feel uber confident about the interview, I thought the questions were horrible. But I think they liked my personality and the Judge Judy woman winked at me twice and I made them all laugh a few times. So what do I do if I ever actually get a job offer ? Should I take the job because it's permanent and risk hating it, until I get my shit together and decide/figure out a way to do what I want to do when I grow up? Should I turn it down and endure everyone telling me that I'm insane ? Do I find a way to go back to school to do something that I'd actually like to wake up in the mornings for ? I guess we'll see, like I said, I'm not super confident about the interview. So I might have a whole other year to think about this. Why do something today when you can do it tomorrow ? :)

7 comments:

Hobby Chef said...

Not to be a devil's advocate, but I have two opinions here: 1) If you hate it, you can always look for something else. Don't miss out on an opportunity just because of what "might" happen. But then again ... 2) If it didn't feel like the right place for you, it might not be.

Sorry, I know that isn't really helpful.

BTW, what the heck is the Nancy Drew game?

Kelsie said...

So what are some pros of taking this position? Would you essentially be doing the same job functions but for a different department?

Where is it located compared to where you work now in relevance to your home? What is the pay difference - increase/decrease? If it is a pay increase would it be worth it for however much more $$ to be miserable? What are the benefits compared to your current benefits?

Don't turn down the job before they make the offer. That in itself would be insane. When/if they offer you the position, you don't have to accept right then and there. You can tell them you need to think about it and get back in touch with them.

Good luck and keep us posted.

Courtney said...

Definitely keep this door open Nancy. As Justine said, you can always keep looking if you do take the job... and once you get your foot in the door on a permanent government job, it is much easier to stay in the system and move around. I think the biggest fear is change... and change is always good (even if it's bad) because you learn and grow from it.

Anonymous said...

What Courtney said :-)

Katie said...

Yeah- what they said- but they can say it better than I could!
Oh- and I want to see pictures of the hair!

Melissa said...

I have to agree with what everyone already said! I know, I am SO helpful!

Peeps said...

Change is a good thing. Take it from someone who knows! ;)
It's scary as heck, but you don't want to think back and say "Darn it, why didn't I accept that job?"