Bad Luck

I figured I was long overdue for an update, but I was hoping to wait until I had some good news for an update. Unfortunately I've had nothing but bad luck. I think I need to go buy a rabbit's foot or hang a horseshoe above my hostel door.

I've had lots of help from all the people here... more than I ever would have expected. I've been surprised at how concerned a lot of the people have been in helping me find a job. One person who has helped a lot was Marianne, who was my connection back at CPLG - the company I worked at over the summer. She's the one from Alabama and who arranges for interns to work there over the summer. We became really good friends through all that. She has a husband (Jason) who works at Arch Insurance, and she really talked me up to him. He was impressed by how much she was talking me up and talked me up to his company saying they should hire me in a position that had just opened up - payroll processing, etc. The way he made it sound, I was about 95% guaranteed in the spot. He had me come in for an interview on Thursday morning. He said he hoped it was just a formality for them to meet me and explain the position to me. He was rooting for me, but it wasn't his call. I met with an HR person and the finance person I'd be working under. I wasn't expecting an actual interview. I thought it was going to be just an information session like he said, but it was a full-blown interview. So I wasn't really prepared at all, but it actually worked out pretty well. I felt comfortable with how things went.

I got a call a couple hours later from Jason who said they were impressed with how I presented myself, but they're turned off by my lack of experience in the field and the short duration of my work permit. I can understand that from their end. It just doesn't help me out any! He said they'd keep the position open for another day to basically see if anything better comes along.

Also that day I found a really nice flat I'd be able to get. I talked to the owner and he was totally cool. I explained I'd be hearing about a job the next day and I'd be able to give him a definite yes once I hear back.

So the next day (Friday) I had nothing to do all day except wait for Jason to get off work and call me. I went to Greenwich and distracted myself. Of course it was always playing in the back of my mind. I was supressing any hope, bc I didn't want it to be a big blow if it didn't work out. If he said I was in, then I would have both a job and a flat before the day was over, and a real life would finally begin. I was in the tube when he called so I didn't have reception. I got his voice message after I got back above ground. I could tell by the tone of his voice it wasn't good. He said they decided to hire someone with a bit more experience. Crap. I can completely understand it from the company's end. But now I'm still jobless with no more prospects than I came here with. And I called up the guy to cancel the flat.

So I'm still in the hostel with no job 3.5 weeks later... and my supply of steam is running out. And that's my bad luck. I'll go in Monday to see about a telemarketing job. They actually pay decent money, and I might be able to word it well enough on a resume for it to sound like I have experience in marketing. Every job wants experience, even if it's just 6 months. But how do you get experience if every company requires you to already have experience? There need to be Start-Your-Career companies to gain that initial experience.

On a positive note, I'm having a lot of fun with the YSA. There's something to do almost every night. We even watched Wayne's World and Wayne's World 2 last week. Brought back tons of memories.