Thursday, July 10, 2008

Government Job Search: Part Four

The wait to know whether I got the job was a long one. Of course it wasn't going to be any other way.

Although I was full of emotions, positive in regards to possibly getting the job, negative in the thought of not getting it, I remained determined to not rest all my hopes in this one opportunity.

In the event I did not get the job, a backup plan was needed. Just like many other students, money is tight and the summer gives you a chance to make back some of what was spent through the school year.

So with that said, I began my job search.

Since I have had extensive experience in retail, it is here where I looked first. I applied at many of the retail chains that where in the malls around town.

After receiving some calls back, I weighted my options. In the end though, I passed on a couple interview opportunities. I didn't really want to work in retail again. What I was doing was a silly process because I knew that I really wanted this job with the government. Nothing else was going to satsify me. I needed this new experience.

The days went by. No phone calls at all. I continued to work my other job, waiting for a call. I would not have cared if it was a rejection call in the least. My patience was definetely being tested to the fullest.

My call came....acceptance. I was hired. I was in. A smile quickly filled my face, energizing my body as I leapt in joy. My mom was in the house as I ran upstairs, bursting out the good news.

My mom was so happy that she lifted me up in her arms (something I was quite surprsied since she is quite a petite woman) and we celebrated together.

Exciting times for me and new challenges await for me. See you retail...hope you don't miss me for too long. I won't :).

Thursday, July 3, 2008

Government Job Search: Part Three

The interview was nerve wracking. Primarily because of the fact that I had stayed up late the night before (yes dumb I know but probably because of playing video games the night before, much like the post found here talks about) and was feeling tired.

Nevertheless, it was I who chose to go through with the opportunity so I was faced with this reality and that was that. So, after boarding the bus and making the hour long commute to the interview, I arrived determined to make a mark on the interviewer.

But to my surprise, there was to be more than one interviewer. There was two of them. The job seemed to have slept from my grasp in that instance. Paying attention to one interviewer is more than enough. How would a sleeping sack of silliness like myself be able to follow two?

Well fortunately for me luck began to turn in my way with what happened next. Instead of drilling me with questions to open the interview, they asked me to write a memo. Phew. Definitely a break for me...or so I thought.

They gave me a hypothetical situation which was the topic of this memo (such as how to locate a missing file) and then gave me 30 minutes to complete this task and then they would be back. So soon I was left in the room, alone to work on the memo. I panicked. How was I going to write a memo? While I had written many for school writing assignments and volunteering, this was a job interview, with no room for major error or trying it our like in class.

After mulling over the task, staring at the paper and scribbling down what I could, I called them back to the room. I was so nervous that I had made two copies of the memo, one which I scribbled quickly and messily on one piece of paper and the other written in a nicer font of my usual standard.

However the fun had just begun. As a sat and waited to be indocterined by the interviewers, I felt nervous in my dressy attire. Although I had been in many job interviews (probably more than the average young adult) I was at the same time prepared for the basic line of questioning I would face.

The style of the interview was rapid fire from either of the two interviewers, who alternated turns asking one question each. My answers were not so rapid. I paused a fair bit, the tiredness in my eyes probably a dead give away to my readness for the questions.

They were however what I had expected. Questions were based on my experiences thus far in my working life, nothing hypothetical, all things I had gone through. Since I have had about 2 years worth in retail, a lot of my answers drew from that vain.

After about ten questions or so, I am not quite sure because of the lack of sleep, I was done and thru with the interview. I only asked one question which got misintepreted for me asking when do I hear back if I received the job. Not the perfect interview that I had been waiting for or imagained having.

At least it was done with. The wait to see if I got the job was now on...