Having been politely reminded that I didn't report back to you, dear reader, on the status of the phone interview I had the other day -- here's the update.
They make and distribute spam.
And you all know how much I love the global spam monkey. So in all good faith I know I couldn't ever join the ranks of the spam monkeys out there... The interview went very well, but I got an email today letting me know they were all set and found the right candidate, and that person was not me.
Whew.
If I had been offered the job, it would have been hard to say no. The salary was good. It would have been a learning opportunity as well (some serious database development/management stuff).
But being a spam whore just didn't appeal to me in the least. At all. Ever. Money or no.
In other news, I had a phone call Tuesday from another company I'd sent my resume to through monster.com... Mind you -- I have sent out about 599 resumes through monster.com and have heard back only twice (spam monkey position and this new position).
The position is a customer support position, being the liaison between customers wondering where the hell their returned/being repaired equipment is and the warehouse/service center. The initial call was a phone interview with the HR generalist. She wanted to know why I was interested in it.
Being completely honest, the way I am, I let her know that out of the 598 other resumes sent out specifically for web design jobs I had only one call back. This one resume for her customer service job I send out, I immediately get a call. I told her that I was willing to do just about anything for money, other than send spam to people. She liked me. Brought me in for a full interview today in person with the training and customer service director.
It was a great interview. The guy I interviewed with, let's refer to him as Joe Manager, was really nice.
He offered me coffee and I politely declined stating my reasoning -- I didn't want coffee breath while interviewing. There's nothing worse. He laughed and laughed and confessed to me that he used to smoke AND have coffee breath AND he worked in retail. No wonder people didn't like him waiting on them!
We laughed and laughed.
He told me now that he walks around all day with his coffee cup. I told him I really liked the coffee cup. He told me all about it -- he likes it because it's so nice and big that he can fill it half way, and that's a full normal cup. And the it won't slosh and spill.
We spent quite a bit of time on the cup. It was a very nice color.
And I asked him if he'd ever seen "Office Space." He confessed he had not, so I told him about Lumburgh and the coffee cup, and did an imitation of him. And then I told him that if he sees the movie on my recommendation that I hope he doesn't misconstrue and think that I think HE is like Lumburgh, but that Lumburgh is the quintessential bad manager with suspenders and a tie and a coffee cup. He told me he wouldn't feel that way at all, that he's heard it's a great movie, and that he was gonna rent it one of these days so he could joke about it too.
Then we talked about the job.
It was a half hour get to know you session. I think I'm a shoe in for the job. I know I said things to the guy which made him say "YES! That's EXACTLY what I want to hear!!!" And I think the rapport between the two of us was good.
I think I would really like this job.
There is one problem, which deep in my heart I should never consider to be a problem.
The pay.
This is an entry level, newly created position, and the pay is written in stone at $11.00 an hour.
I mentioned to Doug that I thought it was kind of lame, but 11 bucks an hour is much better than the zero bucks an hour I currently am being paid and that I'd go for the interview.
This morning when I dropped Geoff off, I mentioned the interview and the pay rate to one of the teacher mommies at the school (Naomi, the mom of Geoff's new girl, Lexie). Her face lit up and she was thrilled for me, I could see it -- she told me that 11 bucks an hour is fabulous... but I wrinkled my nose at it and said, "Yeah, but I was making almost three times that amount of money a year ago."
She just kind of looked at me blankly. She continued changing one of the toddler's diapers.
On my way to the car I realized I sounded like a whiny complainy bitch in front of someone earning 8 bucks an hour while changing someone else's kid's shitty diaper. Someone who is really worth a hell of a lot more. I sounded like someone who perceives herself to be "above" things and in real life I always thought that I'm a get in there and do anything kinda gal.
As I drove away from the school and headed home and get ready for what could be a really nice, great job with a stable company that has a profitable portfolio and stable business plan, I realized that I am a picky bitch deep down.
I'll change diapers for 8 bucks an hour 10 hours a week and float from classroom to classroom in a situation where I know I'm smarter and much more fun than half the teachers in the school.
I'll make canapés and hors d'oueveres for 10 bucks an hour 20 hours a week in a 110 degree kitchen, breaking my back and getting corrected because I once misshaped an avocado crab cake.
All because these are "just tiding me over" kinds of jobs. But because a job is in an office, and I have a particular view of myself and my value, I turn my nose up and whine about $23k.
I'm worth $60k in my mind. Screw the fact that this job would help us pay our taxes and all our bills and would keep us solvent through the summer and beyond. I do. I do feel I'm above it.
This would be a great job for me. And yeah, the money sucks, I will admit that. Loud and clear. I'd prefer to make twice what I'd be getting paid there should I get the job...
But sometimes you have to start with a clean slate somewhere, walk in, prove yourself, and climb a ladder that you thought you'd already done gone up to the top of at least twice before.
I feel that at 36 I should be someone's manager, a department head, a team coordinator. Not some entry level customer service schlep. I need to shelf the attitude. Embrace reality. And be psyched that a company wants me. It's not settling for less, it's accepting what's offered. And I think that's what I will do.
I feel I owe Naomi, the teacher mommy, an apology for my attitude.
Joe Manager told me that he was sure they'd be calling me for a second interview, and that he'd drop me a line or call in the next day or so. I'll keep you posted.
In my mind -- this is a nice stable company. They are upstairs from the company I used to work for. I know the commute, I know the schedule would be flexy for dropping kids off in the morning and once in a while needing to leave early when Doug has an afternoon meeting.
This could be a great job.
Send mojo... and I will keep you posted.
Michael sent me a nice email explaining why he likes Queens of the Stone Age (see last entry where I try and figure out their popularity) and it was nice to get the scoop on them. He recommended one of their CDs and I'll see if I can't hunt it down somewhere. Nice discourse -- I love it.
I think my beef isn't with the fact they are popular and that I don't get it, it's with the one song being played into the fucking ground. All the stations are playing it. I can hear it on at least seven different radio stations. SEVEN. Jebus. You can't get away from this stupid one song!
They are doing the same thing with Beck's new album.
They are ALL playing the one single, "Lost Cause," and that single alone. I'm sure there are other songs on the damn CD here people. I don't need seven different stations playing the exact same fucking playlist, under the guise of "alternative," "rock," "grown up rock," and "top forty album oriented rock." Ugh!
Today when I was on my way to the interview I heard an REM song that I haven't heard in about five years. And that was such a blessing. Thank you. A gift from God. Someone actually deviated from a fixed playlist, and gave me the biggest smile I've had in weeks.
You may wonder why this bothers me so much -- I have no CD player in my Joy Mobile, so I'm subject to whatever gets played on the radio airwaves. I'm a slave to the airwaves, and another REM song comes to mind. I'm a prisoner, radio listener. Baby baby baby BABY!
Alright -- enough babbling. Gotta get some work done around here, decide what's for dinner. Blah blah blah
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