Rejection ... Again

So about 2 weeks ago I had an interview with a church for a receptionist position, the actual for the position was "Assistant to the Office Manager". I really really wanted that job ... and I didn't get it. I was devastated. I had to call the interviewer myself to see if the position had been filled only to be told the disappointing news. So not only did I NOT get the job, but I avidly sought out the sad news.

But I guess it's better than hearing nothing at all, right? I have no idea how many of my little resumes are floating out there in the job market but i'm thinking hundreds ... and the only confirmation that I get is the automatically generated email that says "your resume has been received and IF we think you are a viable candidate we'll call you ... please do not respond to this email as it will not be answered ... " Thanks automatically generated email, thanks for the personalized message from "The Man". Thanks "The Man" for not emailing me and/or not sending me any type of correspondence to let me know that I have no chance on this earth to work for your company. It's great to know that customer service does NOT extend to people that have applied to work for your company.

And what's even more messed up ... I applied for a goverment job - A GOVERNMENT JOB - and received a generic letter letting me know that I was not qualified for the position that I applied for. So the government, which is constantly made fun of for being slack and taking forever to get things accomplished, can take the time to weed out all the potential non-candidates and send them a "your not good enough letter" and a private company can't be bothered. Nice.

Rantings

It looks like I took a 6 month break from my blog ... In that time I was actually able to land a job as a temp, which I would like to add I NEVER want to do again. Talk about getting screwed! I was hired right before the holidays. No one mentioned to me that temps may get the holidays off IF the company is closed, but no one told me that temps do NOT get paid for that time off. What a total rip off. To add insult to injury I was barely being paid enough to get my unhappy butt off to work and pay the bills that I am still responsible for.

There are so many things that I would like to say about the company, but what would be the point? Nothing will change about the place and there is always someone who is willing to work under the conditions there. Fortunately my contract came to an end and now I'm back on the job hunt. I doubt that I will go back to temping, it's just not for me.

The job hunt has been a little disheartening. I mean, I thought that I was qualified for SOMETHING but it doesn't seem to be the case. I've sent out a boat load of resumes and haven't heard anything back. I think the worst part about is that you apply for these jobs on line and once you hit send, that's it. Most of these companies won't even bother to send you a automatically generated generic email letting you know that the position was filled. I was fortunate enough to get a letter in the mail letting me know that I wasn't qualified for a job I applied for. Even though I was disappointed, it was better than hearing absolutely nothing.

Since I'm not working, I spend a lot of time watching tv. I hear that the economy is supposed to be getting better and that we may be coming to an end of this recession ... However I'm not seeing any sign of it. I'm still broke and unemployed. I wonder if the people writing up the reports that the economy is getting better are the folks that work on Wall Street or have some connection to it. I mean, it must be nice getting houndreds of thousands to millions of dollars in bonuses for ruining the economy and leading to all the government bailouts. If these business men wanted someone to royally screw up finances, they could have totally called me. I can barely balance a check book. I would have helped out for half the bonuses the lowest fat cat got!

As part of my blog, I have decided that I need to talk about the food we eat. I mean, I am in New York City, and I do love to eat … It makes sense. So I think I have some catching up to do …

We’ve been out to eat plenty since we moved here. I mean cooking at home everyday kinda sucks, especially when my favorites are definitely not Jay’s favorites … And since we’re in NYC we’ve decided that we are going to try to eat somewhere new at least once a week. I mean with so many places opening all time it should be easy peasy …

So here are two of the places that I think need to be commented on …

Bohemian -

In a city where it seems that the restaurants maximize their space by squeezing in as many tables and chairs as possible, Bohemian seemed like a breath of fresh air. Bohemian is a tucked away Japanese restaurant that’s “thing” is to make people work to find their way into the restaurant.

Apparently the restaurant has a fake number and the only way you can get in is to know someone who has already been there. Fortunately the friends we went with knew someone that had already been there and were able to get reservations for our party of five. The restaurant was really small, seating only 25 people and sporting a zen garden. The food was fantastic. We all ordered off the set menu, which included a fresh veggie fondue, a whole pan fried fish, uni, and a wagyu burger that was out of this world!

Supper –

We went to Supper this weekend. It was in the Lower East Side, not too far from Katz Delicatessen. Supper has a really nice wine bar, and the bartender seemed really knowledgeable… Otherwise, I was really disappointed with the food, especially considering the cost. I got the tuna and Jay got the spinach gnocchi, and we shared an app. The tuna was over powered by the olive, caper and tomato sauce, which was really salty.

The experience was really nice and the service was beyond reproach, and if I’m ever in the area at night I’ll pop in for a bottle of wine. Otherwise, I don't think I'd make a special trip to eat there.

Interviews

Last week I had two, count ‘em TWO interviews! Actually I was scheduled for three, but I had to skip out on the third … I mean it was all the way over in Long Island, which isn’t so bad EXCEPT for the fact that it is a TWO HOUR commute ONE WAY. Oh that’s rights, a TWO HOUR commute. And yes, I have been whining and whining about not having a job, but seriously???? I don’t want my life to BE my job!

So I got an interview with <sigh> an insurance company. It was auto liability only, and sounds dreadful! The first thing I am told is that they carry a high claim pending and that the phone calls are out of control. EW. But I smile and say “no problem”. The interview was not what I expected it to be … Usually I am posed situational and these thought provoking questions like “what would you say your biggest weakness is” or “is the customer always right?” How do you answer those questions without sounding like a total goon??? I mean, do interviewers ever really think about what they are asking? Or do they go off some questionnaire that they either got from the internet or from HR?

But this interview … Well it was a squeeze different. Instead of the situational questions, it was more along the lines of this is our company, this is how we do things take it or leave it. Thanks it. And I’m going to have to say, I liked it that way. Not having to come up with cheesy answers that make me appear likable AND knowledgeable without sounding cheesy and arrogant was a nice reprieve.

The other interview was for a hotel service job. I think I would be setting up food service trays from 6:30 am until 3:30 pm … Um … 6:30 in the morning??? Hold the phone, that’s early! On top of that, I have to wear what??? I black dress everyday??? Oh and my days off would be when??? Mondays and Tuesdays??? Hmmmm …. Wow. That just sounds peachy.

Rejection

I got my first “your not hired” letter in the mail the other day. And can I tell you, that it was the greatest thing??? Well … Maybe not THE greatest, but at least it was something. I have been applying for job after job after job for the last 2 plus months and I have gotten absolutely NOTHING back. So a rejection letter is better than the absolute cyber-silence, I suppose.

What makes it worse is that I was talking to an insurance head hunter the other day, and he confirmed my worst fear … He told me that most insurance companies are posting jobs out there but none of them are actually hiring for jobs right now (or even have the approval to hire). Instead they are just trying to gather a candidate pool and once they get the approval for the position, then they will actually start looking to hire someone. I guess the philosophy is that no one will quit a job until they have another one lined up so these companies can just work their severely over-worked employees until they crack and these people will put up with it because there is no where else to go.

What pisses me off about all that is these companies are posting profits now, but I get the feeling that many of them (not just insurance) are doing the same thing – not hiring any more people. I mean, why bother hiring more people when you can work with half the staff and still make the numbers you want because everyone if afraid to quit.

This make is look like the economy is beginning to pull itself out of the recession, but really, when unemployment is as high as it is … can you really say things are better??? Especially when so many people are out of work???

Granted I’m no economist, and I’m incredibly frustrated with the fact that I can’t seem to find a job to save my life … But that’s what it seems like to me!

Job Hunting Sucks

Has anyone ever told you how much trying to find a job sucks??? I mean seriously seriously seriously sucks? I’ve been looking for about a month and I got a whole lot of nuthin. NUTHIN.

When I moved to NYC, I decided that I wanted to go thru a career change. I worked as an insurance claims adjuster for about 6 years, and was ready for something different. Maybe something a little less combative … Something less stressful… Something where I wouldn’t be yelled at at least once a day and told that I was the spawn of Satan … I mean, I don’t think I was asking for too much, do you?

So in order to move into this new career, I need to decide what I wanted to be when I grow up. That’s that hard part, 'cause honestly, I really don’t know. I mean... I’d love to save manatees, but I don’t think that is a very viable job option here in the Northeast when all the manatees are in Florida (and sometimes get lost and swim up to St. Louis).

So I’ve decided to just throw my resume out into the wind and hope that someone picks it up. I am ok with working as an entry level entry level something or the other, but in order to do that I would have to fix my resume.

My resume was geared towards the insurance world, as all my experience was in the insurance world. Fortunately, I had a friend who had a friend who was able to help me touch that sucker up so that it was more appealing to the non-insurance industry. If it hadn’t been for this lady, I would still be working on my resume! It mean seriously! Resume writing is hard. How do you mention all your achievements and not sound like a douche? On top of that, how do you write a career changing resume without sounding like a douche that has too much experience and may want too much money??? That’s that hard part.

I’ve gotten a couple of calls from some insurance recruiters, so it looks like I may have to go back into insurance. But at this point, I’m ok with that … I mean, it won’t kill me to go back into insurance … I mean, not directly … Maybe the stress related hypertension or something (is that even real? or did I make that up?) … Or maybe a psychotic claimant who has their claim denied and is really pissed abou it …

My Shame

I am so ashamed .....