Get a better paying job

So, at the end of last week, I had 2 job offers in hand, the customer service job and the political non-profit. After Monday, I had 3 – also the arts org I interviewed with that day. Tuesday, I was informed that the college with the admin position in the Arts department wanted me as well, so I had to decide before Wednesday. The college wanted me to come in again to make sure it was a good fit for me and so that I could see more closely what I’d be doing/where I’d be working. Even after the first interview, I already knew that this job just felt the best. Every person that I met/interviewed with was completely sweet, passionate and friendly. It seemed like a great opportunity to be surrounded by people like this on a daily basis, so I accepted before the end of that 2nd interview.

In addition to offering challenging work in a comfortable, safe environment with a wonderful boss, the salary is more than I expected and the benefits are excellent. So I’m very happy with my choice, happy I didn’t take the first thing offered to me, (after all), and so glad I applied to as many places as I did to get the most overall options. I start Monday.

After being yanked around by that fashion customer service call center-y job for a bit, I finally got the confirmation on Thursday that they indeed wanted me. So that was nice, and I finally could call myself “employed,” again.

Then on Friday, I had an interview for an Admin. position at a local college in their Arts department. It seems like it would be a great job with great benefits and lots of overall satisfaction. I think I did well in the interview, but may have unintentionally messed up my chances by stating a few things out loud, “I like to have constant new projects/responsibilities so that I don’t get bored,” or something to that extent, and “one day I want to go to grad school and potentially teach.” I think they may think that the position may bore me because of previous experience and future goals, but I really hope they don’t. I should hear back from them by Monday.

But after that interview, I got a call from the other non-pro that i interviewed with twice, saying that they wanted me for the position. It is wonderful news, but the salary they were offering was lower than I expected…assumed it’d be higher mainly because it’s a management position. Then again, it is a non-profit and I’m sure after reviews I could get raises and be making more along the lines of what I’d imagined. But anyhow, I am excited about that and since I’m still waiting to hear back from the college and also have another interview on Monday with another non-profit arts org, I told her I’d let her know my decision by Wednesday.

Lots of possibilities now, and two job offers in hand. I feel much better and safer than I did a few weeks ago, and am excited to see where I end up.

I got an email yesterday from the staffing company that is working with the fashion company hiring for the call center. I guess I’m still in the runnings, (in the “maybe group”) for the job, and will hear back either Friday or Monday whether I got it or not.

Crazy. Nice turn of events.

from the law office that I applied to back in the end of July for the Legal Assistant position. I was almost offended by the fact that they felt the need to email me telling me that the position was “no longer available” after nearly a month and a half! Obviously guys! I wasn’t holding my breath for that one and had stopped even considering it until I saw that email in my inbox. Hilariously ridiculous.

Oh, so that non-profit that works with homeless youth that I applied for? Unfortunately didn’t get that one, but at least the lady who interviewed me had the courtesy to email me a few days later letting me know that she really liked me, but wanted to hire someone with more experience. I totally understand, and appreciate that she at least emailed or called me back, unlike tons of other places I apply to.

The sales job, well I interviewed in the staffing agency for it, but after some thought and talking with family/friends realized that I really, really don’t want a job in sales. It’s just not my strong point, and I know that sales jobs come with good compensation but also lots of stress. And that’s not what I need right now. So I am not seeking that one out any further. The other job for the call center was one that I was actually starting to get excited about. It was for a fashion company, and I thought I’d be really good for it, but apparently the ladies that interviewed me didn’t agree, because I was supposed to get a call back about it yesterday and didn’t. I think it’s because I’ve never worked in a call center before, but that’s fine. I wasn’t going to lie in the interview. Guess it wasn’t meant to be.

I’ve also recently interviewed for 2 other non-profit jobs, one of which works with junior high-high school kids and provides them with after school art classes, and the other is a community activist group that mainly works in trying to get health care for all Washington state residents and also on immigration rights. They both seem really awesome and totally up my alley, but both have some pros and cons too. Really though, I’d be happy at either, and am just waiting to hear back. Hopefully one works out. But until I hear back, I’m continuing to send out more resumes. I can’t bank on anything til I get a definite “yes, we want you!” answer.

So, I didn’t hear back from the law office that I applied to a while ago, and I didn’t hear back from the art museum as well. But the potential problem with that is, my phone’s been acting crazy lately so I haven’t gotten any incoming calls since Thursday, despite the fact that I was supposed to hear back by two jobs by Friday. Ugh, but I figure if they really wanted to contact me, they would’ve emailed or something, so I’m pretty much moving on from these three.

In the middle of last week, I got a ton of calls all at the same time, and that equated to 3 interviews tomorrow. I’m nervous about one, the first, because it’s with a non-profit that works with homeless youth, working in their development dept., and is something I could really see myself doing. The other two are jobs through staffing agencies (one is sales, and the other is for a call center), and even though I’m not that excited about them, I will take whatever comes first at this point. So we’ll see what happens. I’m happy to be getting these interviews, but still so anxious.

At the end of my rope, I decided to call the staffing agency that successfully got me a job back in January. The job seemed to be a perfect fit for me, being with a non-profit agency and working in Development, but didn’t really end too well. So I’m hoping that maybe they can find something like that for me again…but with better overall results.

After talking with the agency lady for a bit, she told me that my old manager is no longer with that company! That kind of makes me feel a bit better about the whole thing, knowing that she’s no longer corrupting people at what seemed to be an excellent organization.

I wrote a thank you letter to the woman who coordinated the art museum interview on Monday and sent it out the same day. I got it back yesterday for insufficient postage! I added more today, and put it outside, along with an application for a position at a nearby university. I hope that it won’t look bad that the thank-you will get there nearly a week after the interview, but what can you do.

There haven’t been many jobs that either a) look interesting, b) pay enough, or c) that I’m actually qualified for, online lately. It’s all so frustrating. I’ve applied to so many jobs and have only heard from a few. I thought I would have a job offer by now and start next week, but that was wishful thinking. If I don’t get a job by the end of this month, I don’t know what I’ll do.

Since I’ve begun looking for work (beginning of August), I’ve had 2 interviews. First was at a law office a little over a week ago. I think it went well, but I couldn’t really tell. One lawyer was really chill and funny, and the other seemed more serious/stereotypically lawyer-ish. The girl working as the legal assistant there now said they hadn’t had many good applicants, so I’m hoping that works in my favor. I sent a thank-you letter for post-interview (something I’ve NEVER done before), so hopefully that will look good as well. We shall see.

Second interview was yesterday, for an art museum. I dressed up well but had a sort of artsy flair with a loud patterned button-up shirt, something to remember me by. It was with their Director of Development, one of the Curators, and 2 others in the Devo. department. Despite all of these important people, I wasn’t intimidated and felt extremely comfortable. All of them seem like genuinely great people who really like what they do. I think the Director liked me, and that I did a well answering q’s and maintaining composure, but who knows. I’ve thought that before and never heard back. I should hear back in 1-2 weeks whether or not I scored the 2nd interview.