All good things...

They say all good things must come to an end...well, I don't know how many of you think this blog is any good...but I think it has been a good thing for me and it is at the end.  I would say that my goal when I started doing this a year ago was to write about the good, the bad and the ugly of being a cashier--but mostly it was for my amusement, a creative outlet and a way to stop myself from going crazy with boredom while I was at work.  For those of you who have followed along with me and maybe even sympathized a little, I can't say thanks enough for helping to play a part in keeping my sanity!  I hope you enjoyed it or found it helpful or funny or something...

So, now all that's left is to leave you with the "wrap-up":  I finally, finally, finally got a "real" full-time legal job.  I'm a paralegal again!  I'm nervous and excited and grateful--I really don't know what to expect or if I'm even going to like the job but I think everyone goes through that when you are about to start a new job.  Bill collectors rejoice because the check is coming in the mail--Really, I mean it!

For those of you out there looking for your dream job (or any job) hang in there, don't give up and keep chasing the dream because it's out there!  For those of you stuck in a job you hate...just remember your job is what you do...it's not who you are.  If you really hate your job try to use that as motivation to try to find something better.  And most importantly...always be nice to your cashier at the grocery store.

Thanks again, guys! 

Dear Grocery Store,

After the incident I felt a little helpless.  I really felt like what had happened was wrong but I couldn't figure out what to do to make the situation any better or improve working conditions for other people.  I thought about what I wanted to do so that she wouldn't get away with behavior like this in the future.  After a while a thought to myself...well you want to be a writer so use your words and write.  I definitely knew I was going to write about it here but I also wrote a letter to people in the corporate office.  I don't know that it will have any impact or make any difference at all but it made me feel better that I had taken some sort of action.  Maybe eventually I will decide that writing a letter just isn't enough and I will go all Norma Rae but for now it's enough.  So here is a draft of the letter that I sent to the corporate office. 
 
Dear Grocery Store,

I began working at Grocery Store part time as a cashier and I recently left when I received a full-time job offer.  However, even with another full time job I might have continued to work at Grocery Store part time (maybe a few evenings a week or a weekend morning) because I need the extra money--instead I quit and I am writing to make you aware of the event that actually led to my giving 2 weeks notice. 

One evening when I came into work one of the relief managers was actually scheduled to work behind the desk as a customer service associate.  She was not scheduled as a supervisor or manager.  I came in to relieve her as the next customer service associate scheduled behind the desk.  She noticed that my shirt was not tucked in properly so she asked me to tuck it in.  As she was getting ready to leave for the day she told another employee that she "wanted to slap me in fucking face" because my shirt wasn't tucked in.  I would hope you would agree that this in NEVER an appropriate response to a disagreement or conflict between two co-workers but this came from someone that your company has chosen to place in a management position in one of your stores.  As a manager profanity and thinly veiled threats made against an employee should never be acceptable or tolerated.  Perhaps she was merely venting her anger.  Perhaps she was frustrated but a necessary part of acting in a supervisory position is the ability to communicate in a constructive and productive way even if you are frustrated by a situation.  Certainly indicating that you want to "slap someone in the fucking face" is not an effective way to resolve a problem with another employee.  After that incident I decided that I did not want to work in that type of environment anymore and I gave my two weeks notice to the store manager about a week later.

You will notice that I did not mention which store I worked at or the name of the relief manager who was involved in this incident.  The reason for that is that in spite of her inappropriate behavior my goal is not for there to be any sort of disciplinary action or to rehash the event.  Rather, my ultimate goal is to have you read this letter and seriously evaluate your process for how you select mangers of your grocery store and how you train them to interact with employees.  How your managers treat and interact with the employees in their department is important because the managers and supervisors are the face of your stores.  They set the tone for the store and they need to treat all fellow employees with respect.  I believe that when employees are treated fairly and with respect then customer service is better and I know providing good customer service is your ultimate goal. 

I hope this letter will have you begin to consider how to make Grocery Store a better place to work for all of your employees. Thank you for your time and I hope you find a way to address this situation, perhaps through training or evaluation practices so that incidents like this will not happen to any employees in the future. 

Sincerely,

Concerned Cashier

Denouement and the beginning of the end

I have a friend who is an English professor and denouement is one of his favorite literary terms.  Its official definition is "the final part of a play, movie or narrative in which the strands of the plot are drawn together and matters are explained or resolved."  Synonyms are finale, ending, finish or close.  I think that each of these blog entries stands on its own but I also hope that there has been a sort of progression that has made sense or a thread that sort of somehow ties this whole thing together--maybe that's just wishful thinking on my part.  This is the story of the beginning of the end of my time working at the grocery store. 

This doesn't come entirely out of the blue...over the past few weeks or month I have felt that my time at the grocery store has reached its denouement, it's natural ending point and here's why:

In addition to my job at the grocery store I also began working another job.  9:00-5:00 as an administrative assistant in a really nice office but the pay wasn't quiet enough to pay all the bills that keep rolling in so I decided I would hang onto the grocery store job.  I explained to them that I had gotten another job but that I would still be able to work 2 or 3 nights a week there.  So a few nights a week I would finish work at my "day job", duck into the bathroom to change into my grocery store clothes and hop into the car and head over to the grocery store.  Leaving the office I would almost always hit rush hour traffic so it took me a little longer to get there.  I would pull into the grocery store parking lot, dig my sneakers out of the back seat of the car, throw them on and run into the store.  I'm not really complaining about this (well maybe I am just a little bit) but I'll just say those were looonnngg days and leave it at that.  I went right from one job to the other grabbing a sandwich to eat in the car on the way and my priority was really just getting to the second job on time.

The uniform policy of the grocery store is that front end employees are supposed to wear sneakers or rubber soled shoes, black pants and the grocery store shirt, tucked in with a name tag--and I fully admit when running from one job to the other, no, I did not tuck in my shirt and I forgot my name tag about 50% of the time.  So no I didn't tuck my shirt in but I showed up on time and I did my damn job.

So on this particular day I was getting into work and I was working at the customer service desk and came face-to-face with the uniform Nazi.  The Uniform Nazi is a relief manager at the grocery store and training supervisor which means she conducts the interviews and does training with all the new employees.  There is also one or two days a week where she works behind the customer service desk as a customer service associate--which is exactly the same thing I do.  On those days we have the same job title and she is not a manager or supervisor.  Even if she is not actually working when she is just there grocery shopping she will find something wrong with the uniform you're wearing (shoes aren't right, pants are the wrong color, blah blah blah). Normally I tune her out and most of the time it wasn't a problem because I never really saw her and we never worked together.  Recently though it had been a problem because I would come in to relieve her from behind the service desk.  Here is one of my biggest problems with uniform Nazi--she is one of the fake people who smiles to your face and has a voice as sweet as pie and is chipper and cheery but when you turn your back she is a mean and spiteful old bitch.  And that is exactly what she did to me. 

First, she asked me to tuck my shirt in.  I didn't even want to engage her at all and she said it pretty quietly so initially I pretended I didn't hear her (ok, I admit that wasn't the most mature thing to do--but what the hell does she care if my shirt was tucked in since she was off the clock and she was leaving).  She asked me again to tuck it in and to avoid having to have any further conversation with her I sort of half way tucked it in (again maybe not my most mature moment but...) and she walked away.  As I was moving around my shirt came untucked and I just left it that way.  Uniform Nazi came back again and said something about it again and I told her that I had tucked it.  And at this point she is off the clock.  She was not working so what is she telling me to tuck my shirt in for?  She sort of looked at me at walked away.  She started talking to Carrie and told Carrie she wanted to "slap me in the fucking face" for not tucking in my shirt. 

Now I have a few problems with this:  First, I fully admit that I wasn't following the company uniform policy but does saying that you want to slap someone in the fucking face because their shirt isn't tucked in seem a bit excessive to anyone else?  I think maybe she needs to ask herself why an untucked shirt at a fucking grocery store upsets her so much that is threatening to slap someone?  I just don't think something that minor should set you off like that.  Am I wrong?  Second, this chick is in a supervisor/management position and this is how you handle a conflict with a co-worker?  It is never appropriate to talk that way to a co-worker but when you are a manage isn't it your job to resolve conflict in a professional and rational way.  You say you want to slap me in the fucking face?  What do you expect that to accomplish?  I will tell you that this accomplishes NOTHING!!  Does it make me tuck my shirt in?  NO it does not!  And my final thought on this is that you have to give respect to earn respect in return.  You talk like that and you have not earned my respect.  As a matter of fact now my shirt will never be tucked in again just to piss you off.  Finally, I think/ know the store has bigger problems to worry about then whether or not my shirt is tucked in.  Like off the top of my head...just as an example...employees showing up to work high.  I'm not making this up.  There are quiet a few other things too...that was just the one that came to me right away.  So I feel like in the grand scheme of things my shirt is the least of your problems.  When everything else in that store is operating exactly the way it is supposed to, then feel free to come back and talk to me about my shirt.

And that was it...the straw that broke the camel's back.  I put in my two weeks notice about a week later.  Will I ever work in grocery store again?  Well never say never...who knows what will happen in the future but whatever job I end up doing I know that I am willing to work hard but I also know that all employees deserve just a basic level of respect. I remind myself that 98% of the people I have worked with are good, decent people and that the miserable, terrible, horrible people only make up a very small 2%.

Catch 22

As I was searching through countless job postings I noticed that recently many of the jobs I was looking at that I would be really interested in required 5-7 years of experience.  It seems like a classic Catch 22 situation to me.  I didn't have 5-7 years experience because I couldn't find a job.  But how was I supposed to get the experience when I couldn't find a job because no one would hire me because I didn't have enough experience.  It just sort of goes round and round.  I was wondering if recent graduates or people thinking about changing careers are coming across the same roadblock?  Is this happening to you too?  How do you overcome the lack of experience problem? 

(Giving) blood, sweat and tears

I was recently reading a book about looking for a job.  It said that doing a "self-assessment" was important when looking for a job.  Doing an honest evaluation of your strengths and weaknesses helps in finding a job that is the best fit for you.  So here goes:

I am not a genius but I am not totally stupid.  I am well-educated and articulate (I hope).  I am friendly and I like to help people.  I am terrible at math.  I have much less tolerance for rude and ignorant people then I used to.  I am willing to work hard.  I am punctual.  So listing these qualities I would think that I would be able to find a fairly decent job out there...somewhere.  As I have mentioned (numerous times) before my hours at the grocery store had become increasingly erratic and I have been looking for another job--either a second part time job or (preferably) a full time job.  I spend time on the Internet sending out job applications and resumes.  I have been on a few job interviews...blah, blah blah.

I recently went on an interview at an office supply store.  The interview actually went really well.  They asked me the pretty standard questions.  I was intereviewed by two store managers and they really seemed to like the answers I gave to their questions.  I told them about my customer service experience and I told them how much I really loved office supplies (which is acutally 100% totally true--I can't explain it).  They asked me what my availability was and I told them.  It all seemed like it would be a pretty good fit.  So then the manager, Sara, says "the next step in the hiring process is the drug screening and then we can have you come in for training."  She said that every person has to take a drug test before they get hired.  Now, first I would just like to state for the record that I don't take drugs.  I don't even take Tylenol when I have a headache.  I don't take medicine when I have a cold.  My point is that I had no reason not to take a drug test--other then the fact that it is incredibly invasive, demeaning and offensive.  What the company is saying (before a potential new employee has even started working there) is that right from the start we are going to assume that you are using drugs and you have to prove to us that you are not.  Well, sorry buddy I'm not going to give you a blood sample or pee in a cup or whatever it is you have to do for a job selling office supplies at $8.15 an hour.  Has everyone lost their fucking minds?!?  I would just be a cashier ringing up paperclips and binders.  I'm not performing brain surgery here people. 

So I sat there for a second wondering what would happen next.  Sara handed me a business card with the name, address and phone number of a lab that was "right up the street" where they did the drug testing.  I took the card and said thank you.  She said, "Great.  After you go just give me a call and I can schedule to come back for training."  I smiled and said it was nice to meet them and walked out to the car.  I got into the drivers seat flipping the card around in my hand.  I was desperate for a job...but how desperate?  I went for a drive and when I got out of the car I threw the business card away.  I decided that there is a lot I am willing to put up with during my job search but I don't have to prove to anyone before I have even started working there that I don't use drugs.  Any palce that wants a blood sample is just not a place that I want to work.

Since the interview I have been asking myself 'Am I being too picky?'  'As I am looking for a new job are my standards and expectations too high?'  Well, the answers still aren't 100% clear to me but I guess I just have to go with my gut.  I didn't go back to the office supply store.  Maybe I'm willing to give sweat and tears to a job but not my blood.  It's just too degrading. 

When it rains its pours...

My sister had visited for the weekend.  She was taking the train back into the city on Monday and I took her to the train station.  The train station is up the road from the house (like a 5 minute drive).  I figured I would run her up to the train station and turn right back around.  I was so confident that I would be right back that I threw on jeans, an oversized t-shirt (aka my pajamas) and flip flops and left the house with just my car keys--no purse, no cell phone, nada.  The sky was an ominous gray--if you don't know where I'm going with this yet, don't worry--I'll get there.  While we were waiting at the station for the train I turned the car engine off but had the radio on.  Before you start with the lectures--I know, I know this uses up the battery!  But I figured we would just be waiting there for a few minutes and that it would be ok.  After we were waiting there for a while I turned the car off completely.  We sat in the car talking for a few minutes and finally the train pulled up into the station.  My sister got out of the car and got onto the train.  As the train was pulling away I turned the key in the ignition and heard the dreaded click, click, click of a dead car battery.  Right on cue it started pouring down rain.  Now just to refresh your memory--I didn't have my purse or cell phone (see above about how I thought I would just run my sister right to the train station and turn around and go right back home) so my only option was to walk back to the house in the rain.  Cursing myself and mother nature I took (or more like angrily snatched) the umbrella from the back of the car and started to trek in the rain, back home.  (As a side note I normally wouldn't even mind having to walk back home except as I had mentioned earlier I was practically in pajamas and didn't exactly have walking shoes on).  I had only been walking a minute or two and I and was wondering what I had done in a past life for my luck to be so bad when a car pulled up next to me with the driver calling my name.  I glanced up and saw it was a neighbor.  He asked if I needed a ride back to the house and I very gratefully said sure.  As he was driving back to the house I explained the whole, sad story to him.  He dropped me off at the house.  I was wet and stressed and worried about how the hell I would be able to come up with the extra money to pay for a new car battery.  I took a deep breath grabbed my cell phone--lying right where I had a left it on the bed by my purse--to call AAA.  I saw that I had a voicemail.  I impatiently grabbed the phone.  It was an attorney calling about a resume I had submitted.  So here I was dripping, cranky, with a dead car battery but I had to put on a happy face and call this attorney back.  So I set the wheels in motion (pun slightly intended) to have AAA get my car moving again and then called Mr. Attorney back.  Before I called him back I pulled up the cover letter and resume I sent him--I had sent it 2 weeks ago--which I think is like 10 years in dog years in calling back after you've submitted a resume!  I had forgotten what the job was even for.  So there I was trying to sound happy, professional and juggle that with AAA and the car battery.

Everything happens all at once...or when it rains, it pours (sometimes literally).  But I have an interview scheduled for tomorrow and we'll see what happens.

Show and tell...

So I have a job interview scheduled...yaa hoo!  I had had a few other interviews but this one seemed to be the most promising.  The job was for a full-time paralegal and the position was posted on Craigslist--since it was on Craigslist I didn't know the name of the firm ahead of time.  The other interviews I had were for part-time legal assistant work and I was really looking for a full-time gig.  The office manager called to schedule an interview and to gave me the details I would need.  After I got off the phone I quickly went online to research the firm.  It was a firm with a very good reputation in the city.  I decided to get to the interview, rather then trying to fight the traffic and one-way streets and circling the block trying to find parking I would take the train--good old, reliable public transportation.  I took the train and got there with no problems.  Much to my surprise the train didn't break down on the way there and I didn't get lost--actually having worked in the city before I found the office pretty easily.  OK...so far, so good.

I went into the lobby, smiled at the receptionist and told her I was there for a meeting with the attorneys.  I sat in the lobby for a few minutes making small talk with the receptionist/office manager and trying not to fidget.  I won't bore you with the details of the interview (unless you ask later).  I met with one of the partners first and I liked him right away.  We did the standard interview...tell me a little bit about yourself and this is what the job would be...blah, blah, blah.  Overall the interview was pretty short and sweet.

When the interview was over, I smiled, thanked them...you all know the drill.  When I left the office building I grabbed my cell to check the time and I realized the next train back home was leaving in 15 minutes.  the office building was a little bit of a hike from the train station so I got moving as fast as my short little legs in heels would carry me.  When I got to the train station I glanced at the board that showed the departing trains and saw that my train was leaving...now!  I raced through the train station and down the stairs to the platform.  As I hauled ass down the stairs I saw the train sitting there.  
 
I literally hopped on to the train.  Whew!  Just made it.  But you know it couldn't be that easy, right?  I found a seat, took a deep breath.  As the train pulled out the station I glanced down and noticed that one of the buttons on my blouse was undone--showing my sensible cotton bra.  All I could do the whole train ride back home was hope that the button had come undone as I was rushing to the train station and that it hadn't been undone for any part of the interview--because talk about a bad time to have a wardrobe malfunction...

Can you hear me now and other frustrating parts of applying for a job out of state?

I guess you just have to be prepared for this because it is an inevitable part of the job application process--but that doesn't make it any less frustrating!

I had been searching for paralegal jobs in Pennsylvania (specifically in the Philadelphia area) but to say that I have been unsuccessful would be putting it mildly.  It got me thinking that there was really nothing tying me down here so why not be open to job opportunities in other states?  I have dreamed of living and working in Washington, D.C for a loooonngg time so I started applying for jobs in Washington, D.C and Virginia.  I assumed that most employers would be curious about someone from Pennsylvania applying for a job in D.C so I decided that I would address that concern right up front.  I stated as clearly as possible in the first few sentences of my cover letter that I currently resided in the suburbs of Philadelphia but that I had responded to the job posting because I was specifically interested in the job.  I also mentioned that I had  researched the area and planned on relocating to Washington, D.C.--which was the truth (as long as I could find a job). 

Well, I admit it--I didn't hear back from like 98% of the places that I submitted my resume to--se la vie!  So when I submitted my resume responding to a job posting for a paralegal in Washington, D.C I really wasn't expecting too much.  Imagine how excited I was when I checked my e-mail a few hours later and I had an e-mail from someone at the law firm!  It was an e-mail from the Director of Operations.  My excitement deflated and quickly turned to frustration as I skimmed the e-mail.  It said. "We received your resume.  I noticed you were from out of state.  Were you planning to relocate here?"  The e-mail went on to inform me that the company did not reimburse for relocation expenses.

There was a part of me that was trying to be understanding.  The Director of Operations must be shifting through stacks and stacks of cover letters and resumes.  In sorting through all the applicants it could be easy to overlook what I had said in the cover letter about wanting to relocate to the area.  The other part of me was extremely frustrated.  It made me feel like she had obviously not read my cover letter AT ALL.  Apparently it had been a huge waste of time when I had taken the time to draft a cover letter that clearly states in the first few sentences that I was planning to relocate to the area.  It wasn't like the information was buried somewhere in the cover letter--it was one of the first sentences in the first paragraph of my cover letter.  So I was sort of frustrated when she asked if I was planning on relocating.  It left me wondering--had I been unclear in some way about my intentions to move or had she just not read my cover letter at all. 

I also recently had a telephone interview.  I figured I would write about it because in today's job market some times people looking for jobs aren't finding anything in the "local" job market and are considering other, out-of-state opportunities--so it makes perfect sense to do a phone interview before having someone take all the time and expense of traveling from another state.  I have had a few telephone interviews before but this is the first phone interview with such a large, nationally-recognized firm with offices across the country.  I got the interview using "my trusty" send resume and do follow up phone call method.  It had worked and I got an e-mail response from the office manager scheduling a preliminary phone interview with 2 attorneys in the office.  I was nervous, especially since I really didn't know what to expect.

Well, let me tell you when they say preliminary, they mean preliminary!  The whole interview took about 15 minutes--just a basic introduction to the office and a few questions about my background and experience.  There were two attorneys who conducted the interview but one of them really did all of talking.  At the end of the conversation the attorney told me that the hiring process takes about two weeks and I would be hearing from someone in the office.  I couldn't really tell if that was just a polite brush off--the law firm equivalent of, "don't call us, we'll call you."  Or if I really will hear back from someone in the office in a week or two.  That's one of the drawbacks of the telephone interview--you can't read people's body language or make eye contact with the person conducting the interview.  But the next day I sent a follow-up thank you e-mail and crossed my fingers, hoping for the best.

But at the very least it was a good experience and good practice.  It reminded me that I willing to put myself out there and be open to a variety of different job opportunities.

Maybe there's a reason...

Yesterday I talked a bit about the benefits of following up after submitting a resume by having a face-face or a phone conversation with someone in the office.  However, there was a time when I was a bit overzealous and I think my plan for a face-to-face backfired.

I had seen a job posting on Craigslist for a receptionist at a local law firm.  The posting gave a fax number to send cover letter and resumes.  There was also a note on the bottom of the ad that said, "No phone calls please."  I had an idea that if I looked up the fax phone number on Google I would be able to get the name of the firm.  I found the name and address of the law firm and it happened to be right up the street from where I volunteered at the legal clinic.  I thought to myself, "Well it says no phone calls but it doesn't say anything about stopping into the office in person."  I thought I was being all clever and resourceful.  So one day after I finished volunteering at the legal clinic I went over to the law firm.  I walked over to the reception area and the girl at the reception desk asked if she could help me.  I thought of just asking if I could speak with the attorney but then I figured the receptionist would just ask me what I wanted to speak to the attorney about anyway.  So I thought I would skip that step in the middle by telling her why I was there.  I gave her my name and told her that I had submitted my resume in response to a posting for a receptionist position (of course I have to say I felt incredibly awkward talking to the receptionist about the receptionist job).  She was really snotty about it (which made me think there might be some hard feelings about the fact that I was there asking about her job).  She just said that the attorney was reviewing all of the resumes.  I didn't want it to be a wasted trip so I asked if there was any way to see if the attorney had received my fax.  She said, "I have no idea if she got your resume and she's on the phone right now so I can't ask her.  I didn't want to keep pushing it.  I didn't know if the current receptionist was leaving on bad terms or what the situation was so I decided just to thank her and I left.  As I was leaving the office and going down the walk the office door slammed behind me.  I turned around and saw the receptionist I had just been talking to storming out of the office.  I watched her get into her car and tires screeching (literally) she raced out of the parking lot.

As I walked back to my car and watching her burn rubber, screeching tires down the street, I hoped I didn't cause any office drama, I thought to myself, "Sometimes, maybe there's a reason they say no phone calls please."

There's a (job) app. for that...

After weeks (actually more like months and months and months) of applying for countless positions that were posted on Monster.com, CareerBuilder.com, USAjobs.com, Indeed.com...(the list goes on and on) and hearing absolutely nothing back I was getting frustrated and discouraged.  Every time I sat down in front of the computer to send out my resume my stomach would be tied up in knots.  Then I had a conversation with an attorney who was once on a hiring committee at a law firm.  There was a small group of us standing around talking about getting a job in the legal field and he said, "Almost everyone looks the same on paper so some times having a face-to-face conversation with someone can make a big difference."  This made a little light bulb go off in my head.  When I was applying for these jobs I was qualified and I had experience--I just had to make myself stand out from all the other applicants so that my resume didn't end up at the bottom of the pile.  I decided I needed to make sure that the people doing the hiring at least knew my name and I had to do this by being more proactive.  So here's what I started doing--when I responded to a job posting I would print out the job description.  On the paper with the job description I would jot down the date I submitted the resume and jot down any information about the office I thought would be useful, like the name and e-mail address of the office manager.  Then I wrote down the date (in about a week) when I would plan a follow up phone call to make sure that my cover letter/resume had been received and see if there was any other information they might like me to submit.  I hope a personal phone call would help me stand out (in a positive way) from a stack of other applicants and resumes.

Now I have to be honest--this approach certainly doesn't always work (because if it did I would have a full time, legal job right now).  And sometimes a job posting specifically says, "No phone calls please."  And then of course, I wouldn't call and I just had to assume that someone had gotten and read the resume I sent.  And sometimes I would call and just get put straight though to voice mail, I would leave a message and never hear back from anyone in the office ever again.  I know--it's disappointing (and I think sort of rude)!  But most of the time when I called the people I spoke to were actually really helpful.  Most often I would start by talking to the receptionist and I would ask to speak to the hiring attorney in the firm, someone in the human resource department or the office manager.

This follow up process has led to a few promising leads.  There was one job I applied for where I submitted a cover letter and resume online to the companies human resources department.  I waited a week and called the office and explained to the receptionist that I had responded to a job posting and would like to speak with someone to follow up on my application.  The receptionist was really helpful and she transferred me to the office manager.  When I spoke to the office manager she told me she had started reviewing job resumes but that my name didn't sound familiar.  She asked me how I had applied for the job and when I told her I applied on the company web site she suggested that it would be better if I just sent my resume to her directly.  Now I had an actual personal contact in the office and I sent her my resume directly.  The next day she sent me an e-mail that she had reviewed my resume and had forwarded it to the hiring attorneys at the law firm.  A few days later she contacted me to schedule a telephone interview.  Without that follow up it is very likely that my resume would have gotten lost in cyberspace forever and I never would have gotten an interview scheduled.

In another case I applied for a posted job and again made a follow up phone call to the office.  I spoke to Rhonda, the office manager of the law firm and she told me she had been out of the office when I submitted my resume but that she had gotten what I sent and she would make sure to forward it onto the attorney.  When I signed onto LinkedIn a few days later I noticed that one of the attorneys in Rhonda's office had viewed my LinkedIn profile.  So, it seemed like at least Rhonda had made sure that she passed on my resume to one of the attorneys in the office.

I really believe taking the extra step of personally contacting the office and speaking with someone after submitting a resume is important because it can keep your name fresh in the minds of the people who are looking at a whole bunch of applicants and might get them to take a second look at your resume or at least make sure it gets directed to the right person in the office...so far I haven't gotten a job but I have had a few interviews. 

Time flies (whether you're having fun or not)

It had absolutely been one of those days.  I had checked my bank account balance and had something like 17 cents left in my checking account to last until the next pay day.  Then I checked the mail and I had a stack of bills that I sorted through knowing that I couldn't possibly pay all of them.  I wanted to curl up in a ball and cry or scream or tear my hair out but I couldn't do any of those things because I had to go to work.  So I put on a "brave face" and went into work.

(As usual) I got there pretty early and I was sitting in the break room and there were some other cashiers sitting upstairs talking about when they started working at the grocery store and how long we had been there.  I quickly noticed a common theme in all of our cashier stories--everyone thought they would just take the job at the grocery store for just a little while but they had ended up working there for years.  Rich had started working at the grocery store at the very beginning of his senior year in high school...now 5 years later he was a senior in college and he was still there.  Maria started working at the grocery store when she was a sophomore in high school.  It was her first job and she had just sort of stayed.  Now, a little over two years later she had graduated high school and still working at the grocery store.  Ben said he had been there for six years.  He had been going to college for criminal justice but for a variety of reasons he wasn't able to finish school and has been a cashier working nights ever since.  He said, 'You better be careful because you don't want to end up being here for six years like me."  I think he felt a real sense of sadness or surprise at the passage of time.  I myself was amazed at how quickly the time had gone.  Like all the others, I assumed the grocery store was a temporary measure for me--it was supposed to be a financial bandaid while I looked ofr a full time job...but it had been a year and counting.  I had been there long enough to have an anniversary and an annual review.  It got me thinking about how easy it was to become comfortable or complacent in a routine--you just stay where you are and end up in a rut.  But I decided that this talk we were having was just the thing I needed to motivate me.  Right then and there I decided to put all of my energy into finding a job that would be more like a career!

After sitting there and listening to everyone talk I knew I needed to get off my ass...it was time for me to stop whining about how hard it was to find a job, it was for time for me stop feeling sorry for myself, and it was time for me to stand on my own two feet and find a career.  And of course I have been looking for jobs but I had just sort of been submitting my resume into cyberspace without having any idea about where it was ending up.  I hadn't really been following up after I submitted my resume and I have been e-mailing a very general resume that wasn't getting responses so I knew I needed to put time in to revising it.  

So over the next week or two I decided I would document the ups and downs, the laughter and tears of searching for a job.  And I would love to hear from you guys too (if you're out there and reading this).  If you have any job search ideas or interview tips pass them on!  Or are you already working at your dream job?  How did you land it?  To those of you out there who are currently hunting for a job (and there are lots of us out there) share your story too!

Wish me good luck on the job hunt--because I know I'm gonna need it!

10 Years Later

One of the things I like about working in the grocery store is getting to work with so many different types of people. Talking with people who are so much older or younger than I am gives me a chance to see things from a variety of different perspectives. Saturday marked the 10th anniversary of 9/11 and I was talking to Billy about what he remembers about the events of that day. He is 17 years old now and was only in first grade in September, 2001. That just seems unbelieveable to me. In some ways it seems like it was just yesterday. I still remember vividly that my college roommate called to me from the living room. She said something like, "Come here quick." I was awake (but just barely) and I was about to get up and get ready to go to my astronomy class (which I found interesting but was really bad at). I was sort of startled by the tone in her voice and I got up pretty quickly and went into the living room where she was watching t.v. We were watching the plane crashing into the first tower. In other ways it seems like a hazy day that happened a long time ago. I asked Billy if he had fully understood what had happened when he heard the news. He sounded slightly offended and said, "Yeah, of course." "Because I was a college student when it happened and I could barely process it." I told him. I remember watching the images and news coverage and I was kind of numb and in denial for the first 1/2 hour or so. I kept thinking there had been some sort of mistake or I had seen a clip from a new action movie. I still don't understand how there could be that much pure hatred in the world--such hatred that the death of thousands of innocent people and mass destruction is planned and carried out. How could Billy or any other 7 year old understand that? It occurred to me that Billy and kids his age all across the country grew up in a different reality. I couldn't help but wondering if they were robbed of a sense of security. I feel like things were much simplier when I was in first grade. I grew up feeling safe and secure--swimming with the neighborhood kids and playing tag. Maybe feeling that way is a natural consequence of getting older--you think times were simplier or things were better and safer when you were a kid.

Finding your voice

First they came for the Socialists, and I did not speak out--because I was not a Socialist.

Then they came for the Trade Unionists, and I did not speak out--because I was not a Trade Unionist.

Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out--because I was not a Jew.

Then they came for me--and there was no one left to speak for me.

-Martin Niemoller

Walkin' After Midnight

In the category of, 'this could only happen to me. . ." So it was a usual Friday night.  I worked until midnight.  It was only a four hour shift but it felt like a lot lonnnnggeer then that.  Finally, finally, finally it was midnight and I was out of there--the moment I had waited for all week.  I went (more like bolted) upstairs to the breakroom, punched out, put my coat on and grabbed my purse.  (As I think many of you girls out there can relate to) I have a bottomless pit for a purse.  I put stuff in there and it seems to get sucked into a black hole.

At first when I couldn't find my keys I wasn't too worried.  As I kept digging some more around at the bottom of my purse I got a little annoyed.  Hmmm...I couldn't find my keys in purse.  So I checked my jacket pockets--nope my keys weren't there.  I looked through my purse again and I still couldn't find my damn keys.  Now I was starting to get worried.  They definitely weren't in my purse and they weren't in my jacket pockets so where the hell could they be?  Then, (unfortunately) it dawned on me where they were...they were in my car.  Crossing my fingers that I hadn't locked the car door, I put on my jacket, grabbed my stuff and went out to the car.  I peered in the window and sure enough there were my car keys--sitting right where I had left them, on the driver's seat.  I pulled the door handle...locked (but you figured that out already, right?)

So, here I was...standing in the parking lot of the grocery store locked out of the car.  The night crew guys were standing outside smoking--so I walked back to the store and sheepishly told them I had locked myself out of my car.  I laughed a little about how stupid I was and asked any of them if they had any ideas about breaking into the car.  Nope.  I tried calling a few people but it was after midnight and noone was answering their phones--either because it was Friday night and they were out or because they were asleep.  I left a few voicemails and waited for a few minutes in case anyone called back.  Keith, the night manager, asked what was going on and I explained that I was locked out of my car and waiting to see if anyone I had called would call back.  "Oh."  he said.  He took a quick look at the car and said he wouldn't be able to break in for me.  He also said he would have offered to drive me home but he couldn't leave the store.  At that point I was still sort of holding out hope that one of the people I had called would get my message and call back.  I said, "No, that's ok.  Don't worry about it."  I stood around for a few minutes staring at my cell phone and trying to figure out what to do.  

By this time it was close to 12:30 and faced with limited options I decided I wasn't just going to stand around all night and that I was going to have to just suck it up and walk home.  Keith saw me getting ready to leave and he asked what I was going to do.  "I'm going to walk home."  I responded, much in the same tone I would have used if I had burned myself and he asked my why I was putting ice on it.  "You are not seriously going to walk home."  he said.  "Well, there's really nothing else I can do."  I responded tartly, because it had become readily apparent to me that Keith was not going to do anything to help me.  And I'm as much of a feminist as the next chick but a whole night crew full of guys and not one of them offered to help?  "Well, I guess I could take you home."  he said hesitantly, but he stood rooted to the spot where he was standing and it was obvious from the tone of his voice that he wasn't really willing to leave the store.  Maybe I was just being stubborn because I do think that he would have driven me home at that point if I had pressed the issue but I just knew it wasn't a sincere offer to help.  "No, don't worry about it--I'll just walk", I told him quickly.  And with that I marched away from the store and out of the parking lot with as much pride and determination as I could muster under the circumstances.  "Call the store when you get home and let me know you got there ok."  Keith called after me.  I shook my head, kept walking and resisted the urge to give him the finger.

I walked the approximately three miles back to my house at 12:30 in the morning and with each step I took I became more and more angry with myself for being so stupid and frustrated with Keith for being such an asshole.  I understand he is the manager of the store and he can't just leave the store unattended--that is corporate policy.  But it seems to me that sometimes there are extenuating circumstances.  I also understand that it wasn't his fault that I was a dumbass and I locked my car keys in the car.  But I just don't understand what kind of person lets someone walk home by themselves in the middle of the night.  It took my over an hour and half to walk home--it would have taken him about 15 minutes to drive me there and get back to the store.  If you have the ability to help someone why would you not do it?  Am I being unreasonable here?  Or was Keith an asshole?  Or a little bit of both?  Maybe it was Karmic payback for times in the past when I could have helped someone but I didn't--like the time I could have/should have offered Miguel a ride to work but didn't.

But all's well that ends well...I walked home (good exercise), crawled into bed, slept like a baby and we went with the spare key and unlocked the car door the next day.

On the other side...

I was out runnning errands the other day.  It got to be around 5:30 or 6:00 and I was on my way home but I figured on the way back home I would swing by the grocery store and pick up a few things for dinner.  As someone who has both worked at grocery stores and been a customer at grocery stores I can tell you that from around 5:00 until maybe 6:30 or 7:00 there is a pretty steady rush of people.  People on their home from work are picking up things for dinner or they are running in to get stuff for kids lunches for the next day or they have realized they are out of something at home and swing by the pick it up while they are out.  I'm sure most of you have experienced this first hand when you have driven past your local grocery store on the way home from work and thought "Oh, I'll just run in and grab a loaf of bread or I'll just grab some milk."  You run in for two things and get stuck waiting in line of 3 or 4 people. 

So I went in and grabbed my spaghetti and pasta sauce.  I was expecting it be busy (which is was) but what I was not expecting was that there would only be 2 registers open and 1 of them was the express lane.  That meant that for everyone shopping who had over 15 items there was only one register. 

First, let me tell you that this is just as frustrating for us as cashiers as it is for you as customers.  We don't like to look up and see tons of people waiting in line (some waiting patiently...others not so patiently).  So on this particular day I was a customer--standing in line with 2 items and wondering why there were only 2 registers open when practically everyday around this time there is a rush of customers.  It seems like poor customer service to me--when you know that it is going to be busy at a certain to not schedule enough people to work. 

It is the cusotmer service manager who generally does the scheduling for the front end and I will say in his defense that poor scheduling is not always the manager's fault.  Each department is given a certain number of hours for the week

Workin' 9:00-5:00

After lots (and lots...and lots...and lots) of searching I finally found a full time job at a really nice office!  Yay!  Now here's the part that surprised me the most--even after I got a full time job I still plan on staying at the grocery store.  You may be wondering why, after all the bitching, I didn't quit the grocery store when I got a full-time job.  Here's the major reason--my car is a 1996...and it is exhausted.  Get it?  Car?  Exhausted?  Ha!  Yeah the car is really falling apart (those of you who have read some of my earlier posts know that my car problems are well documented) and it is going to the big highway in the sky any day now.  So I got to thinking that if I stayed at the grocery store for a while longer I could save up money for a new car--or at least a car that would be new to me.  So I am going to work 2 or 3 nights a week and those paychecks can be my 'New Car Fund'.  Also, you never know what is going to happen--just as quickly as you get a full time job things could change.  I'm so excited to have a full time job with a steady paycheck but I guess being at the grocery store will remind me not to take anything for granted. 

I always sort of assumed that the second I got a full-time job I would leave the grocery store faster then but I haven't quit.  Well, at least not yet.  I don't know how long I'm going to do both but at least for now I'm gonna give it a shot and be grateful for 2 paychecks. 

Pass the Purell, please

As we are heading into cold and flu season I have gotten to thinking about sickness and germs.

Working with the public = germs.  Generally I am not a germophobe at all but even I have my limits.

First of all dealing with paper money is a germapoloza.  Think about how many different hands money goes through