Anything Goes

I am still laboring in finding a job. I have signed up with several online agencies as well as with a few temp agencies. I have sent out my resume to a few dozen employers, plus there are others who found my resume online and contacted me. From that I have had 9 interviews!...but no offers.

What an array of questions I was asked in these interviews. It's not just about whether a person can do a job anymore. They want you to pull out all the skelatons in your closet out for them to see.

The first interview I went to on Tuesday was with a construction company for the position of Receptionist. I noticed that there was no receptionist and asked if they are going without right now. He explained that their receptionist will be retiring in a few weeks, but she is still around. They went through some of the usual questions and then he asked me what my plans are for the future. I said something like, "...I'll be around for a while." They wanted to know just how long "a while" would be. I couldn't give them the answer they wanted, which was to say that I plan on working for them for the next 30 years of my life so that I can retire as their receptionist! They really had no more questions for me after that.

The second interview was with a company called Circlepix as a customer service representative. They make circular digital images of mostly homes for realtors of the homes they are selling. He comes out in jean shorts and a polo shirt. No one dresses up anymore. When I told him I have a degree in Fashion Design, he suddenly became aware that he was more appropriately dressed to wash his car than to conduct business, let alone interviews. And he said this was a good day for him. I told him I would give him his score at the end of the interview. He came to one point where he asked me what my ideal job would be. I gave in and said I would like to do fashion design, but there really isn't an industry for it here. So, he mentions how the church has a film studio where I could get involved with the costume department. (I already contacted them the first time I moved to Provo, and they expected me to be able to volunteer my time, just like every other fashion/costume company.)

I wasn't there to get career counseling. It was apparent that he didn't think I was a good fit for the job, that or I was too professional in a very casual environment and he was trying to talk me out of wanting the job. He even tested me further by asking me to tell a joke. I have a sense of humor, but I am not a joke-teller. He pressed the request, saying every one knows a blonde joke or a Utah driver joke. Thanks to the 40 minutes that I spent waiting in the DMV, I remembered a joke that I read from their message board. "Utah drivers think that the speed limit in a school zone is how fast the kids can run."

He laughed. Well, I guess it wasn't too too lame. Are you quite finished yet?

The third interview was in Springville, where I have been thinking of moving because it is just past the congested trafic of the freeway, and because the rent is much lower there. The name of the company is InstaLink. I don't even know what they do there, but it has the feel of a warehouse or construction location and the office area is well, kinda dingy. The reception area isn't bad, but when he lead me upstairs, through a couple offices and into the conference room, I was not impressed. It was this long room that must have been designed to fit the huge table and nothing else. But the table had stuff strewn out all over it. Boxes and papers and internet cables. At least the interview was a piece of cake. He actually kept the questions to do with my ability to do the job.