Boffo
It came as quite a surprise to me as well. But, yes, Virginia, there really is a job for me.
As of late yesterday afternoon, I am officially employed as a project intern for a public relations firm in the North Loop. Stunning, I know.
It started about two weeks ago, when I first saw the job announcement online. Though an internship, I was drawn to it because it offered the possibility of 40 hours a week, and though the wage is meager, it should be enough for me to live on for the foreseeable future. Also, it was doing a lot of stuff I like, or can do, like reading articles, gathering information and writing things for legislative and nonprofit clients (and possibly businesses as well). Plus, I figured I might at least overqualify myself, as I think a lot of the crop that would be attracted to this job would be kids still in school, whereas I have a degree and some work experience. So I gave it a shot.
My resume went out on the weekend, and by the time I woke up Monday morning the contact person had already e-mailed me to say she'd contact me that week regarding an interview. Of course, I didn't hear anything that week, and by the weekend was growing a little bit worried. I decided I'd call Monday, and when I got up decided to wait till the afternoon. That proved prudent, as I got a call a little before noon to schedule my interview, which turned out to be Wednesday morning. They also needed me to furnish them with three writing samples and two references, so I spent some time Monday evening trolling through old papers, stories and the like in search of some appropriate material. I settled on the story I wrote that ran on NHL.com, an excerpt from my thesis and a Web biography from my last job. A nice sample of various kinds of writing that I might expect to do for a P.R. firm.
Wednesday I showed up for the interview, and it seemed to go fairly well. The first woman, the internship coordinator, remarked on the quality of my resume and asked about my plans, then started asking if I'd be able to work beyond the early-June end date, should they decide to extend the internship. So I elaborated on my plans for grad school and suchlike, and it went well. She asked me to give an example of a time when I had worked with a team and pitched in as needed, so I described my last job and the myriad tasks and assignments I ended up doing, and managed quite impressively to make it sound like I had already done exactly what they would have me doing, which is probably because I have. Beyond that, we talked about some of the different tasks of the position, the various clients and, a big clincher for me, how they try to be principled about the clients they take. No tobacco companies, obviously. But the impressive one was when she mentioned that Dominick's, a local grocery store chain, had tried to hire them a few years ago, but the firm turned the company down because Dominick's has a less-than-exemplary record of its attitude toward and treatment of unions. That was refreshingly unexpected. So I thought my talk with her went well.
Next came a meeting with a senior project manager (or some similar title). We hashed some more things out, and then she filled me in more about the firm. The principal, I already knew from the company's Web site, was formerly a campaign manager for the current Mayor Daley of Chicago. I was forewarned that I'd be exposed to a fair amount of foul language, as the owner evidently is given to peppering her speech with it liberally, a habit, this interviewer speculated, she picked up from working in City Hall. I didn't get the sense that I really wowed this particular person, but it also didn't go really poorly. But I was already nervous because the first woman had mentioned that they had gotten a lot of great applications for the position, so I knew that I'd have some significant competition for the job. I tried to make a point of selling myself to each person, hopefully not a vain hope.
The final woman was someone who did a lot of the work with nonprofits, and I think my session with her went quite well. By this point I had already gotten a pretty clear picture of my potential job and responsibilities, and she elaborated further on the thinking that went into their decisions to take some clients who might seem quasi-evil in the beginning. Mainly it's for a soft drink association, which is trying to prevent the state legislature from barring soda machines from schools. The firm's rationale was that for some poorer schools in small towns, these vending machines contribute a significant amount of money for extracurricular and other programs, and given the budget and funding crises fazing all manner of local governments and agencies, it is difficult to say that some of these schools should just get tens of thousands of dollars taken away. So, while I'd certainly prefer not to see junk food being peddled in schools, yeah, I can't exactly say I want that to the tune of axing programs. Plus, I always appreciate the convenience of the occasional soda when I was in school.
Anyway, my last interview went well, and then I was finished. The intern coordinator told me they'd make their decision and then call me Friday afternoon. I returned home, pretty satisfied with how I had done, and fairly pleased with the firm. At the bare minimum, the office environment is pretty relaxed, and there's a general philosophy that it doesn't really matter when the work gets done, so long as it gets done by deadline. Considering this is more in the manner of how I prefer to work, I thought that sounded pretty good. Additionally, the hours are normal -- 9 to 5 -- and since the office is a mere seven stops from my apartment, without needing to switch trains, I can get there in less than 20 minutes, meaning I'll just have to leave my flat by 8:30 each morning to get there on time. Considering that at my last job I had to be at the office by 8:30, and left my apartment almost an hour before then, I can certainly live with that. They also offer an actual lunch hour, which is much nicer than the half-hour I was supposed to take at the last job. Plus, in some regard, it seemed like they were trying to court me. Between asking if I'd be available and interested in possibly working through the summer, till whenever I'd have to leave for school, and reassuring me that they were principled in who they took as clients and also would never force me to work on something I had ethical objections to, I sort of got that impression. But I could've been mistaken.
At any rate, with this job I decided to prepare myself for the worst. After my experiences with potential or seemingly likely jobs, where I thought for certain I'd get it only to be passed over for some inane reason or other, I knew I couldn't handle another devastating blow like that. So I set out to persuade myself that they, too, would pass me over. I made a point of continuing to search job boards, and I even applied for a few jobs. It was all halfhearted, but that owed more, I think, to being generally discouraged with my job search than to having the very real prospect of a job.
I actually proved quite successful at this the rest of Wednesday. I discussed the interview and the potential job minimally, and made a point of not trying to figure out where this would situate me in terms of income and other things that would be made possible my having this job. Thursday, however, my mind wandered on to some of the hypotheticals a bit. I suppose it was unavoidable. I was also growing anxious at the thought of knowing definitively the following day.
Friday I woke up a little later than I wanted. And instead of making a point of getting dressed and ready to face the day before lunch, I lolligagged and didn't shower till early afternoon. Then I sat around at waited nervously. I washed the dishes, I made a pitcher of iced tea, I even managed to sit down and start studying Czech. But I kept eyeing the clock with growing desperation. Granted, I had no idea what time Friday afternoon they planned to call me, but I got it in my head that I'd hear back earlier rather than later if they were going to hire me. As the hours stretched toward three, I started telling myself that it hadn't happened, that they had probably called to offer the job to someone else and were only waiting for a confirmation before giving me the consolation call. Antsy, I couldn't sit still long enough to study anymore. I ate a large amount of chocolate and turned on the television.
Finally, about a quarter to 5, the phone rang and I jumped. It looked like their number. Too jittery to mute the TV, I bolted into the kitchen so I could hear. Yes, it was the intern coordinator. She began her spiel about how they had finished reviewing all the applications and discussing the interviews. My heart sank. This was the same thing I had heard before when I had been rejected. So I was certainly not expecting her to then say "We'd like to extend our offer to you" immediately thereafter. I probably sported a wide grin at that point, and my pulse began racing. She offered me a chance to think it over if I wanted, but I knew pretty much that I wanted to take this; certainly I needed this income, so I accepted on the spot. We went over some of the logistical stuff, like the hours, lunch periods, dress, etc., and that finished the call. My heartrate was probably rather elevated for at least another hour, but for a good reason. A tremendous burden has been lifted from my shoulders. For the first time in many moons, I have some semblance of security. I'm still poor, but I won't starve. And, perhaps best of all, I won't have to keep looking for jobs anymore. Oh, and my paychecks should begin coming in before too long, since I start Monday morning.
Yup, life is good.
Next week: Stay tuned to hear me bitch about how much work sucks.
As of late yesterday afternoon, I am officially employed as a project intern for a public relations firm in the North Loop. Stunning, I know.
It started about two weeks ago, when I first saw the job announcement online. Though an internship, I was drawn to it because it offered the possibility of 40 hours a week, and though the wage is meager, it should be enough for me to live on for the foreseeable future. Also, it was doing a lot of stuff I like, or can do, like reading articles, gathering information and writing things for legislative and nonprofit clients (and possibly businesses as well). Plus, I figured I might at least overqualify myself, as I think a lot of the crop that would be attracted to this job would be kids still in school, whereas I have a degree and some work experience. So I gave it a shot.
My resume went out on the weekend, and by the time I woke up Monday morning the contact person had already e-mailed me to say she'd contact me that week regarding an interview. Of course, I didn't hear anything that week, and by the weekend was growing a little bit worried. I decided I'd call Monday, and when I got up decided to wait till the afternoon. That proved prudent, as I got a call a little before noon to schedule my interview, which turned out to be Wednesday morning. They also needed me to furnish them with three writing samples and two references, so I spent some time Monday evening trolling through old papers, stories and the like in search of some appropriate material. I settled on the story I wrote that ran on NHL.com, an excerpt from my thesis and a Web biography from my last job. A nice sample of various kinds of writing that I might expect to do for a P.R. firm.
Wednesday I showed up for the interview, and it seemed to go fairly well. The first woman, the internship coordinator, remarked on the quality of my resume and asked about my plans, then started asking if I'd be able to work beyond the early-June end date, should they decide to extend the internship. So I elaborated on my plans for grad school and suchlike, and it went well. She asked me to give an example of a time when I had worked with a team and pitched in as needed, so I described my last job and the myriad tasks and assignments I ended up doing, and managed quite impressively to make it sound like I had already done exactly what they would have me doing, which is probably because I have. Beyond that, we talked about some of the different tasks of the position, the various clients and, a big clincher for me, how they try to be principled about the clients they take. No tobacco companies, obviously. But the impressive one was when she mentioned that Dominick's, a local grocery store chain, had tried to hire them a few years ago, but the firm turned the company down because Dominick's has a less-than-exemplary record of its attitude toward and treatment of unions. That was refreshingly unexpected. So I thought my talk with her went well.
Next came a meeting with a senior project manager (or some similar title). We hashed some more things out, and then she filled me in more about the firm. The principal, I already knew from the company's Web site, was formerly a campaign manager for the current Mayor Daley of Chicago. I was forewarned that I'd be exposed to a fair amount of foul language, as the owner evidently is given to peppering her speech with it liberally, a habit, this interviewer speculated, she picked up from working in City Hall. I didn't get the sense that I really wowed this particular person, but it also didn't go really poorly. But I was already nervous because the first woman had mentioned that they had gotten a lot of great applications for the position, so I knew that I'd have some significant competition for the job. I tried to make a point of selling myself to each person, hopefully not a vain hope.
The final woman was someone who did a lot of the work with nonprofits, and I think my session with her went quite well. By this point I had already gotten a pretty clear picture of my potential job and responsibilities, and she elaborated further on the thinking that went into their decisions to take some clients who might seem quasi-evil in the beginning. Mainly it's for a soft drink association, which is trying to prevent the state legislature from barring soda machines from schools. The firm's rationale was that for some poorer schools in small towns, these vending machines contribute a significant amount of money for extracurricular and other programs, and given the budget and funding crises fazing all manner of local governments and agencies, it is difficult to say that some of these schools should just get tens of thousands of dollars taken away. So, while I'd certainly prefer not to see junk food being peddled in schools, yeah, I can't exactly say I want that to the tune of axing programs. Plus, I always appreciate the convenience of the occasional soda when I was in school.
Anyway, my last interview went well, and then I was finished. The intern coordinator told me they'd make their decision and then call me Friday afternoon. I returned home, pretty satisfied with how I had done, and fairly pleased with the firm. At the bare minimum, the office environment is pretty relaxed, and there's a general philosophy that it doesn't really matter when the work gets done, so long as it gets done by deadline. Considering this is more in the manner of how I prefer to work, I thought that sounded pretty good. Additionally, the hours are normal -- 9 to 5 -- and since the office is a mere seven stops from my apartment, without needing to switch trains, I can get there in less than 20 minutes, meaning I'll just have to leave my flat by 8:30 each morning to get there on time. Considering that at my last job I had to be at the office by 8:30, and left my apartment almost an hour before then, I can certainly live with that. They also offer an actual lunch hour, which is much nicer than the half-hour I was supposed to take at the last job. Plus, in some regard, it seemed like they were trying to court me. Between asking if I'd be available and interested in possibly working through the summer, till whenever I'd have to leave for school, and reassuring me that they were principled in who they took as clients and also would never force me to work on something I had ethical objections to, I sort of got that impression. But I could've been mistaken.
At any rate, with this job I decided to prepare myself for the worst. After my experiences with potential or seemingly likely jobs, where I thought for certain I'd get it only to be passed over for some inane reason or other, I knew I couldn't handle another devastating blow like that. So I set out to persuade myself that they, too, would pass me over. I made a point of continuing to search job boards, and I even applied for a few jobs. It was all halfhearted, but that owed more, I think, to being generally discouraged with my job search than to having the very real prospect of a job.
I actually proved quite successful at this the rest of Wednesday. I discussed the interview and the potential job minimally, and made a point of not trying to figure out where this would situate me in terms of income and other things that would be made possible my having this job. Thursday, however, my mind wandered on to some of the hypotheticals a bit. I suppose it was unavoidable. I was also growing anxious at the thought of knowing definitively the following day.
Friday I woke up a little later than I wanted. And instead of making a point of getting dressed and ready to face the day before lunch, I lolligagged and didn't shower till early afternoon. Then I sat around at waited nervously. I washed the dishes, I made a pitcher of iced tea, I even managed to sit down and start studying Czech. But I kept eyeing the clock with growing desperation. Granted, I had no idea what time Friday afternoon they planned to call me, but I got it in my head that I'd hear back earlier rather than later if they were going to hire me. As the hours stretched toward three, I started telling myself that it hadn't happened, that they had probably called to offer the job to someone else and were only waiting for a confirmation before giving me the consolation call. Antsy, I couldn't sit still long enough to study anymore. I ate a large amount of chocolate and turned on the television.
Finally, about a quarter to 5, the phone rang and I jumped. It looked like their number. Too jittery to mute the TV, I bolted into the kitchen so I could hear. Yes, it was the intern coordinator. She began her spiel about how they had finished reviewing all the applications and discussing the interviews. My heart sank. This was the same thing I had heard before when I had been rejected. So I was certainly not expecting her to then say "We'd like to extend our offer to you" immediately thereafter. I probably sported a wide grin at that point, and my pulse began racing. She offered me a chance to think it over if I wanted, but I knew pretty much that I wanted to take this; certainly I needed this income, so I accepted on the spot. We went over some of the logistical stuff, like the hours, lunch periods, dress, etc., and that finished the call. My heartrate was probably rather elevated for at least another hour, but for a good reason. A tremendous burden has been lifted from my shoulders. For the first time in many moons, I have some semblance of security. I'm still poor, but I won't starve. And, perhaps best of all, I won't have to keep looking for jobs anymore. Oh, and my paychecks should begin coming in before too long, since I start Monday morning.
Yup, life is good.
Next week: Stay tuned to hear me bitch about how much work sucks.
posted by Alexander Dubcek | 11:29
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