job interviews/ Conversation Cafe

 Jan. 9, 2024 Job interviews: I attended these in Jun. 2019.

The Office Supply store:   I'm sure a lot of you are thinking "Staples."  Yeah, but you don't know which location I attended.

Pros:

1. It was close by.  I take 2 buses.

2. The pay: I think it was $15/ hr, minimum wage.

3. I do like the products they sell, and that they recycle pens, batteries, and tech there.

I am interested because I'm always reading the business news about how to be more productive and help customers be more productive.

Cons: none.

My opinion: I would work there if I got hired.

$1 store: 

Pros:

1. The pay was $15.90/hr.

8 hr shift- unpaid lunch break.

2. There are benefits: health, dental.  After 1000 hrs, RRSP.  5% off check and match it 100%.

3. I would take 1 bus to get there.  1 hr ride.

4. I like the duties.  There are 10 aisles.  I work a zone of 2 aisles: I sort and put products there.

1 worker sweeps and the other 1 mops.

I don't count the till at the end. 

Cons: 

1. The hours are part- time, casual, on- call.  Mainly weekends and evenings.  There isn't  consistent hours.

My opinion: I would work there if I got hired.

Bar and restaurant:

Pros:

1. It was close by like 2 buses.

2. The hours are part- time, full- time, and daytime.

3. I get a free meal on shift. 

4. The pay would come with tips.

5. The job is a kitchen helper.  I can do the duties of chopping veggies, portioning meat, and cleaning the kitchen.

Cons: 

1. It may be too hard for me.  It would get too busy.

My opinion: I would work there if I got hired.  I probably wouldn't last.

Feb. 6, 2024 Sports clothing store: There was this small job fair.

1. This is at West Edmonton mall.  At the time, I only had to take 1 bus an 1 hr ride to get there.

2. The pay is $15/ hr.  There isn't any commission.

3. There is a 30% off discount.  There are 4 times a yr when there is a 50% off discount.

4. I can do the duties of selling clothes.

Cons: None.

My opinion: I would work there if I got hired.  I wasn't really that interested in selling athletic clothing.

Full- service breakfast and lunch place: On the same day of the Sports Clothing store job interview, I attended this interview.  I may have applied for hostess or a kitchen helper position.

Pros:

1. It was in downtown so it was close by.

2. The pay is $15/ hr.  The servers tip out 6% of sales.

3. They serve good food.  At lunch, they serve burgers, crepes, and salad.  There are 3 cooks.  In the front there is 1 hostess and 3 servers.  

Cons:

1. The place can get really busy.  They seat 130 people and can get 200 customers.

My opinion: I would work there if I got hired.

Feb. 28, 2024 Printing company: They print a lot of advertising for companies.

Pros:

1. It was 2 buses to get there.  It was 1 hr ride.  That's average.

2. The hours are 8am-4:30pm.  30 min. lunch.

3. They didn't tell me what the pay was.  There will be benefits after 3 months.  RRSP after 1 yr and 5% match.

4. I can do the job with filling out business forms, set up accounts for customers, posting payments.

Cons: none.

My opinion: They asked me: "Do you think you're a lucky person?"  Yes, I do.  The point of the question was to see if I was a positive person.

I didn't get hired.  The company didn't seem that interesting to work at.

Mar. 12, 2024 Full- service bar and restaurant: 

Pros:

1. This is in downtown and easy to get to.

2. The pay is $15/ hr.  The tips are 40% off of all sales.  

50% off meal when you're working.  25% off meal when not working.

Cons:

1. The job is 1 or 2 shifts a week, on- call.  

2. This is at night until 11pm which is really late.

3. This seems really hard.  There are 2 servers.  You have to know the menu, and wines and whiskey.

My opinion: I didn't get hired, but the shift is too late and it seems too hard.

Vaping equipment store:

Pros:

1. It was 2 buses to get there.

2. The pay is $15/ hr.  There is a 5% commission per order.

3. It was part- time.

Cons: 

1. The job was like a telemarketer.  I call stores and ask for the owner or manager, and sell our equipment to them.

I have worked at telemarketing and I couldn't sell tickets or ad space in a magazine.

I probably wouldn't sell anything here.

My opinion: I didn't get hired, but I wasn't really interested.

Mar. 21, 2024 The Registry: I have never attended an interview at a registry before.

Pros:

1. It was downtown.  2 buses.

2.The hours are Mon- Fri. 8am-6pm.  Sat. 10am- 3pm.

3. The pay is $15- 17/hr.

4. The duties are working on the computer.  I bill and send them to the clients.  I look for land titles.

Invoices, emails.

5. He asks interesting questions like:

What was the toughest decision you made last year?

Cons: 

1. It might be hard and a lot to learn.

My opinion: I would work there if I got hired.

Cafe and Bistro: 

1. It was 1 bus and walk 10 min.

2. The hours are part- time.  Tues and Wed. 9am-4pm.  There is dinner on Fri. and Sat. evenings.  Sun. 10 am- 3pm.

3. The pays is $15/hr.  There are tips.  There is a free meal when at work.

4. The duties are baking cupcakes, cookies, and gluten free food.  The make everything from scratch like ketchup and sauces.

This is a cook position.  There are 3 cooks at a time.

Cons:

1. This may be hard.

My opinion: I didn't get hired.  The place closed down in 2022.

This week's other 2 blog posts:

"Will remote work continue in 2023? Companies are starting to pick sides"/ "Back to the future of work: Three predictions for productivity in 2023"

https://badcb.blogspot.com/2024/04/will-remote-work-continue-in-2023.html

"Going back to the office is fine — but the commute is still atrocious"/ "Remote work saves commuters 72 minutes a day, study finds"

https://badcb.blogspot.com/2024/04/going-back-to-office-is-fine-but.html

My week: 

Apr. 2, 2024 The bank: My family and I were doing some banking.  I got a second bank.  My dad told me to get my statements emailed to me on my online bank account to save like $2 from them mailing it to me.

At first I called the bank, but I was on hold for 5 min.  They didn't tell you how long the wait was.  I decided to go there in the afternoon.  You have to wait, but you know how many people are in front of you.

I waited for 10 min. and I was with the CSR for 10 min.  He was also training this woman.

Change your PIN #: When I got home, my mom told me about the new debit card.  They give you one with a PIN number.

You should go to the ATM machine and change the PIN number with a one you created.

I transferred my blog: I'm on Blogger (part of Google).  My blog is on my dad's email account.

This wasn't really that big of a deal.  There are a couple of times where there is some conflict.

2 days ago, I really thought I should transfer my blog to my account.

I went on the internet and did some research.  I tried to, but I was stuck.

1. I Facebook messaged Dan L and left a message on his phone.  He didn't get back to me.

2. I emailed Jason from the Edmonton Filmmakers and Screenwriter's group.  He helped me with my printer.  He said he was too busy.

3. I went to Stanley A. Milner library and this woman in her late 20s or 30s who worked there,  helped me.  I printed the instructions and then I was able to transfer my blog.

Apr. 3, 2024 Forest Terrace Heights Community League meeting: I have never been to one before, so I attended.  I ate 2 donuts from Tim Horton's.  There were 18 of us.

Pros:

1. The meeting was run efficiently.

2. We discussed what was on the agenda: about the neighborhoods and the events.  I learned about some new things happening.

3. They were joking around and kind of fun.  We did stay on topic.

4. I met all these new people.

Cons: none.

My opinion: I would be open to attending another meeting because they hold one monthly.

Corner Gas: This reminded me of this TV show and the promo.

Cut to the town meeting:

Lacey: The Valentine's Day dance will be on or around Valentine's Day.

Apr. 5, 2024 Conversation Cafe: This is from Creating Connection.  I have been 2 events.

Aum Cafe: We met here in Bonnie Doon mall.  I had the brew coffee for $2.25 (with GST) and with milk and sugar.  The coffee was average.

There were 14 of us.  There were a couple of names I didn't get:

Bonnie

Mike

Heather

Jan

Angelique

Cindy

Kyle

Andy

Christine

Vicky

Terry  

We talked about a book and being a health food junkie.  We talked about health foods we like such as fruits.  A lot of people said they don't like seafood or shellfish.   

https://www.meetup.com/creating-connection-edmonton/events/299943460/?recId=71564cdd-75b9-47c9-b426-3cbbeb5796e8&recSource=keyword_search

Artesenal: I walked by this store at Bonnie Doon mall.  I tried a little bit of the dark chocolate.

I also tried a small cup of brewed coffee that's from Indonesia.  There wasn't milk or sugar.  This was average.