optimism/ job interview/ retirement

Aug. 8 Optimism: Carol Brown sent me this article "The Secrets to Staying Optimistic while Unemployed."  I know I need to read this.  lol. #13 says "Take it from them" as in use inspirational quotes.  I already do that.  #9 is "Look at the odds in your favor."  They have a good point that instead of looking at like you are 1 in 10 applicants for the job, look at like this: "It only takes one. Just one phone call, or email, or chance conversation at the coffee shop, or introduction, or job posting can be all it takes to leave unemployment behind." #10 "Employ the 'one-day' principle" where you take it one day at a time.  It's also about what if this is your last day on earth, is this how you want to spend it fighting with someone?  #11 is "The Economy is not as bad as it seems" like how the newspaper only reports bad business news.  I read it everyday, and it's usually a mixed bag of news.  There is good news like new EI claims have dropped, but consumer confidence is still low. It's about thinking differently like "#7 Don't compare yourself to anyone else" and #3 "Remember that everything changes." http://www.onlinecollege.org/2012/08/07/the-secrets-staying-optimistic-while-unemployed/ Aug. 10 Job interview: Today I did a job interview at a school's food services.  I have done a few interviews there before.  One in Jan. 2011, and again in Aug. 2011.  Then I did another interview for another food department there in the fall 2011.  I go there and there were 4 people interviewing me.  One asked questions though.  It was an okay interview, I felt at ease.  They asked good questions and I think I asked good questions too.  I asked what are the shifts, what the duties are.  I told them about my food service experience.  The uniform is a t-shirt with a logo.  Cons: My reservations are how do I manage 2 jobs without burning out and feeling really stressed?  How do I maintain a work- life balance?  Here it is: Schedule: This one is for another food department there.  The shifts are 3pm-9pm.  It may take 30min- 1hr to close, so I may leave by 10pm.  I would get home by 11pm and then wake up at 6am for work. I'm imagining that I would work at my restaurant from 8am-12pm.  I take the bus home and sleep on the bus a bit and get home by 1:15pm.  At home, I will be on the computer checking my email and writing my emails.  I would take a shower, put away my tip money, maybe eat something.  I leave at 2pm and get to the school by 3pm.  Or I get off the bus at the library and go on the internet for an hr there.  It saves me some time instead of going home.  To avoid burnout, I will have 2 days off at the restaurant.  I will work on the weekends there until 12pm.  I won't work in the afternoons there.  I will work at the school in the afternoons. Fun: What about work-life balance?  I can still read the newspaper on the bus to and from work, and listen to music.  I can watch my TV shows on the weekends by going on the internet.  On the weekends I can pursue my writing career by pitching my script at those times. Fear: Ask for a raise: The other day, a couple of young women I work with said they were afraid to ask for a raise. Me: You don't have to be afraid, the worse that can happen is that they say no.  The tip is, work for like 3 months and ask for a raise.  List some things that make you deserve to get a raise. Failure: I guess I'm afraid that I work at my 2 jobs, and I won't be good at my new job.  I would end up getting dismissed.  Which is okay, because I have been dismissed before from Telemarketer #1 and #2 job.  The thing is: "Are you in physical danger?"  Then it's nothing to be really scared about. . Aug. 12 Rejects: Well there's nothing to be afraid of, because the school called me and said they're going to a different direction.  I wasn't hired and now I must analyze why.  I picked the night shift, and by all means there could be a lot of NAIT students who applied there and want to work nights because they have to go to class in the day.  Maybe they want more day time people. Yeah, well at least they called when they said they would.  I had also called back this clothing store last week.  I talked about my availability, and she said she will have to think about it. She will call back in a couple of days if she wants to interview me.  She has not, and that's fine. Book: I was reading my Job Interviews for Dummies book by Joyce Lain Kennedy.  If you get rejected, they won't tell you why you weren't hired.  Some reasons are they're scared to be sued for discrimination, so the less said, the less they will be sued about.  It's uncomfortable for managers to give a reason, and some interviewers can't tell you because the hiring managers above them didn't give any reasons either. On Fri. I called the store back to set up a job interview.  I thought I got the time and place, but when I got there, that person wasn't there.  It could have been at another location.  I then gave my resume to the other manager at the store, and set up an interview for tomorrow. Job: Somebody quit recently.  She has been working here for 2 yrs.  A few weeks ago, she and her long-time boyfriend broke up.  Maybe she needs a change.  Well I emailed her and asked why, and I also said we're going to miss her from the restaurant. Aug. 14 Mental preparation: After I slept on it, I realized why I was more particularly disappointed when the school called to reject me.  I had gotten a phone call on my cell phone, and I didn't recognize the number.  I searched it on the internet and couldn't find it.  I thought it was going to be for an interview.  But it was a reject, and I wasn't mentally prepared for it. However, I was mentally prepared for the medical clinic call back.  I called them back because they said they will make a decision in 2 weeks.  They said they went with someone else, which is fine.  I wasn't holding my breath for that one. Feedback: I thought that medical clinic was kind of interesting.  It stood out because the doctor brought his wife (who was in another medical profession) to help with the interviews.  I guess it's good to have another person with you to help judge and make sure you hired the right applicant. It kind of reminds me when you're shopping for clothes with a friend, and the friend will tell you if it looks good on you or not.  lol.   Store: Today I did a job interview at a store.  It lasted about 20min.  I thought the interview was okay.  She didn't write down my answers though.  I did learn it will probably take about 30min to close the store, so it's not too late for me to stay.  When it's really busy, 45min-1hr.  I can leave at 10pm and get home by 11pm. The dress code is fine.  It looks like they're hiring a few people because some are only here for the summer. Aug. 15 Record label: Jay Smith sent me this article "6 Things to Know when Starting a Record Label."  It's like starting on your own business and it's creative.  It talks about getting funding, legal stuff, and distribution.  It seems really hard and I'm not that interested in it. http://www.onlinebusinessdegree.org/2012/08/13/6-things-to-know-when-starting-a-record-label/ Retirement: Hannah Peterson sent me this article "7 Expenses that can Kill your Retirement Fund."  The first one was helping adult children. Here's a really good tip: "Some experts even suggest paying off debt rather than contributing to your retirement fund (if it’s a one-or-the-other situation), because of the high interest rates on debt compared to the low rate of return on retirement investments." http://www.lifeinsurancequotes.org/7-expenses-that-can-kill-your-retirement-fund/