job interviews/ economy news/ job

Dec.8 Job interviews:

Car dealership: Earlier this week, I did a job interview at a car dealership. They called me and I said I can come in for an interview that afternoon.

I did one for them last year. This time I was interviewed by 2 different men. They asked me questions like "What's a good boss?" I said: "Honest, trustworthy, and smart." We even discussed a little MMA because they asked about my writing. lol. There's a little rapport there.

The interview was okay. There were 6 applicants for this position, and maybe a 2nd interview. He even said that a job may not be that good, if someone hires you on the spot. Like, you don't know much about the job and they don't know much about you. Suddenly they're willing to hire you so soon? Maybe if they're desperate and need someone. I got hired at the Soup place on the spot when we did the interview. But that was a good place to work, since I've been there for 2 yrs. I know there are a lot of companies like retail who hire people really soon.

Dispatcher: I did an interview this morning at this taxi company dispatcher. I got a call last night, and set it up for the morning. The interview was 5 min. long. One woman went in before me, and after I talked to the boss, another woman was waiting to be interviewed. They're hiring for 2 part-time positions. I told them my availability was afternoons and evenings.

He's trying to see what people's availability are, and see if they match to his company. That's happened before at this interview I did at a cafe that was going to open, and the one at a college food service. He mentioned that some dispatchers take shifts that end at 3am. I'm willing to work as late as 9pm. The office was small and smelled like cigarette smoke.

Hair salon: I went to another interview in the afternoon and it didn't go as well as the dispatcher. I got there and had to fill out an application that took me 25min. It was 3 pages long and I had to make myself sound good. There were 7 more interviews to go to, they were looking for one person to hire. They seemed to be interested in someone willing to work on Sat. and I wanted to work on the weekends at my restaurant.

I guess I would be willing to work on Sat. if they hired me, but I didn't say it at the end of the interview. They said that it closes at 9pm, but you may leave at 10pm. That's pretty late for me. Also, I felt it was pointless that I said I could work on Sat. Am I putting obstacles in front of myself? Yeah, maybe. The interview, she said my schooling didn't match the position. I said my customer service experience matches the position.

It was really busy when I was there. It's not just the holiday season to look good for parties, but it seemed like a really good hair salon that has a lot of business.

They did ask interesting questions in the application like:

"If you have nothing to worry about money or fear, what would you dare to do?"
"What would stop you?"
"What would motivate you?"

I said I would produce my TV script. If I had the money, I would do it. Nothing would stop me. If I had the money, it would get produced.

Job interview tips: I got this from my friend Dan L. I've know him since jr. high. I called him last Sat. and he has a career at a company where he uses his college degree. He gave me his job interview tips:

Dan L: Be as interesting as possible. Be natural.

He said he thought of the tip when he was reading a celebrity interview with Robert Downey Jr. Dan L also does interviews when he writes articles, and some interviews he does are boring. I'll add this to my friend Jessica who also has a career with her college degree: "Show your personality."

My tip is: Be professional and likeable.

Economy news: A couple weeks ago, I was reading in the National Post about this recent college graduate. He was in business and he worked as a consultant for 6 months. Then he got his big break by getting a position on Wall Street. He went out with his parents to a restaurant to celebrate.

One week later, he's back at the restaurant and he orders a glass of wine because he was laid off from that position on Wall Street. It's disappointing to hear that you get a really good position, and then something out of your control, you get laid off. The article discussed there are a lot of positions that are ending, and they're not going to come back.

Dec. 9 Bus: Today I did another interview, but it's an industrial part of town. I had to take 2 buses to get there. It's 45min ride. The main thing is that the buses aren't very frequent. It's 30min wait times from 6am- 9:30am. It's 1 hr wait time from 9:30am- 3:30pm. Then it's 30min from 3:30pm to 6:30pm.

The bus driver was nice and gave me directions. And after I did the interview, he saw me running to the bus stop and stopped for me to pick me up.

Oil and gas company: So I did the interview, and it was average. There are 4 more applicants to be interviewed. The salary is good. My education and speaking Cantonese is an asset. I don't have experience in oil and gas.

Feelings: I'm going to be straight up here. I was feeling really stressed out and dreaded going to that interview. I think it's because I have never taken that bus route before, and it was so far away. I have done interviews in that industrial area before, but this was a little bit further.

Good: But I feel good that I got the courage and went to the interview anyway. If I didn't go to the interview, I would regret it and think: "What if?"

Question: There was a good question they asked at the interview, that I haven't gotten before: "Who would you refuse to work with?" I said: "Somebody who doesn't respect me, and who doesn't respect others."

Dec. 10 Friends: It was cool today at work. One of my friends got a job as a busser at my restaurant. We chatted a bit during work, and a little after work. She only works here on the weekends. I told her where I worked, but I didn't tell her to apply because she already has a job.

Job: Earlier in the week, I did an interview over the phone for a store. I gave them my availability and I guess it worked for them. I got a call today to work there temporary for the holidays. It's kind of vague, they told me to come at this time, but won't tell me when the shift will end. If it's busy I'll stay longer, or maybe I'll only stay for a few hours.

At the very best, I make some extra money. At the worst, they say they don't need me after that day. I have applied there a few times and have gotten a call from them, but never an interview.

Dec. 11: I just got a phone call from this downtown store. He said that I got this job ad from another job site. He had put it up on Job Bank and this other job site extracted that ad.

Guy: I hope you didn't pay to get the job ad.
Me: No, I didn't.

He asks about my availability for this part-time permanent position. I gave it to him about afternoons and he said it wasn't going to work for them. That's okay. I have worked at a clothing store before, but with the store I worked at, they kept changing the days and times and there wasn't consistency. The guy that called may have been looking for someone to work anytime instead of just afternoons.