Waiting

Since the time I became unemployed, I have discovered that I do not like the interview process. It isn't the actual interview, the anticipation or nervousness that comes or even all the time you put into researching the companies that you interview with. For me, it is the complete and utter disrespect and double standard that exists.

If you go to any interview/job help web site, you see that they all say to show up early, even to map the time and distance from where you will be coming from to the place that you will interview to check for possible detours, etc. However, what do they say to the interviewer?

Obviously nothing as the last 2 job interviews I have had, the interviewer has been at least 20 minutes late! 20!! Yeah, it is an employers market right now and employers feel that anyone who gets a job offer should be happy they are even getting an offer, but my word! My time is valuable too! If I wasn't here waiting for you, I could be out there looking for a job at a company that may actually appreciate my skills and talents and might make some money from the effort that I put in to making them more profitable!

The other day I was told that if they 'gave' me the job I was interviewing me for I would have to, and I quote, "work my butt off" for them. Let's think about that for a second. Don't most employees work hard, especially in these days of economic turmoil? I would venture a guess to say that some even work really hard while others do, in fact work their butts off for their employer. I would also venture a guess that those that literally work their butts off are most likely paid fairly for working their butts off. This company was not willing to pay me to work my butt off. And to be honest when they said that, I had little desire to continue to sell myself so I would get the job. Is that bad? I don't feel bad. In that moment, especially after waiting over 20 minutes for the interviewer to show up, I decided the company was not a match for me. I resisted the urge to walk out of the interview out of respect for a friend who works at that company and continued the interview. When they called me a few days later to tell me they decided to promote a current employee into the position, I sighed a breath of relief. They made it so I wouldn't have to tell my friend I didn't want to work for her company and didn't have to feel bad about declining a job in this 'tough economic climate.'

To employers out there, despite this tough economic time, there are a lot of awesome potential employees out there who are willing to work extremely hard for you. They are people who through no fault of their own are unemployed. Maybe their CEO made some bad decisions and the company has suffered. Maybe their goods and/or services are ones that other companies have to cut back on at this time, despite their efforts to keep their companies profitable, things sometimes just happen!

Don't treat them like you are being benevolent and 'giving' them a job and a paycheck. You aren't. You have a need for someone to do something for you. You must pay this person fairly for their efforts. You feel that your time is valuable. So do employees. If you take advantage and pay them less because you feel you can because the economy is bad, watch out! The second the economy is better and they find a better company or a better paying job, they will be out of your company and on to the better one and you will be out the money and time you put into training and have to spend more time and money in training the new person AND you will have to pay the next person more money!

Things I have said and done

I have been shocked and amazed over the years by a variety of things, and I have learned that despite my own best wishes and desires, I am not perfect. I say and do things that I shouldn't and actually make mistakes. I don't realize it in the moment, but fortunately am blessed with friends and family who help me learn from my mistakes. In fact, my grandfather had a gift. When I was young I didn't think of it as a gift, but when my family would visit him, he would observe you and by the end of the trip, he would tell each of us what we needed to do to become a better person. He would usually tell me I was selfish. I didn't really like it when he would tell me this and I would tell him as much. His response was that he loved me and he wanted the best for me and if he could point out these things then I could fix them and avoid struggling later in life. My grandpa was great. I absolutely love him and appreciate everything he ever did for me. I remember him saying that he wished he had someone to tell him how he could be better when he was younger. Despite him telling me my weaknesses, he also told me how great I am, and coming from him, it really meant a lot.

 Despite having someone fabulous telling me how to be better, I still did and still do things that make me cringe. When I was a kid and a new girl moved into my ward, I was so jealous that she had her ears pierced. I desperately wanted mine pierced, but the rule on my family was that you had to be at least 18. I was only 8 and couldn't imagine waiting till 18. When I approached my mom about getting it done(for the millionth time) I tried to structure the argument around the fact that this girl had pierced ears so my parents should let me! Well, it didn't work and in the end, my frustrated mom ended with 'if God would have wanted holes in your ears, he would have put them there!' So sadly one day I walked up to the girl (in a fit of jealousy) and used the same line. Poor girl had no idea why I was saying this to her or what she had done to receive such contempt from an almost stranger. Fortunately I got over it and she did too and we became friends.

I thought I had gotten over doing and saying ridiculous things till a couple of days ago I ran into someone that I haven't seen in years. In chatting she mentioned a friend of ours and how one time the other friend went running with us and not being a runner, couldn't keep her pace up to stay with us. Apparently instead of slowing our pace we just took off and left her!! I thought I had gotten over my selfish need to say or do whatever I felt like doing in the moment. Fortunately freshman year was a LONG time ago. Hopefully since I have become more aware of it, I will do better. Too bad gramps didn't also tell me that in addition to being selfish I need to watch what I say and do...but then again he was a man who told me exactly that he thought regardless of whether I asked for it or not.

Strangers

Because I am currently looking for a job, I have the distinct opportunity to spend literally hours in the public library. It is a choice to be there but who can beat free Internet and silence? If I stay home, I usually turn on the television for background noise but then I sometimes get sucked into random shows and the last thing I
want to do all day it sit in front of it!

So a day or two I was in the library job searching away in this large study room with a couch and overstuffed chairs, various tables and desks. I usually listen to music so I am typically very much am in my own world.
All the sudden I get this weird feeling. I look up from my computer and this older man walks into the room. He has no books or magazines. He didn't look any different from any other man in his late 60's. He
walked directly to the couch in front if me and sat down.I started to get a really bad feeling about this guy, like his intentions were not good. After all, I was the only person in the room, and it was a room that is off on it's own--to be honest, despite having visited the library several times, this is the first time I noticed it.

While I was deciding what to do with the bad feelings and vibes I was getting from this man, my logical brain tried to kick in--'he did come into a study room with nothing to study,' it said. 'he only picked up
that magazine when he realized that he needed a prop. See how fast he is flipping through it? His mind is somewhere else.' While sitting there, I thought a good response would be to gather my things and leave, but the strangest thing happened. I felt a strong,'NO!' to that thought. I stopped gathering my things and
continued yo sit there. Meanwhile my logical brain once again kicked in. 'Which would be a better scenario for this man if he did have bad intentions?' It asked, 'you sitting here in a public place, or you leaving this public place for the parking lot and your empty car?'

The truth was that with me sitting where I was and him being where he was, it would be difficult for him to do anything. I would see him and this overstuffed chair would provide protection. I wanted to let him
know that he made me uncomfortable and for him to know I saw him (and could ID him) so I organized and moved everything closer to my body while looking at him. A couple of minutes later he left.

I do feel bad that I let someone know they made me feel uncomfortable. For all I know, he was just a man in the library. However, I trust my gut.

In this day and age, you can never be too sure. A few years ago I was in San Francisco in an Ikea on a holiday with my sister and her kids. It was crazy crowded. My sister had enough kids that we were
constantly trying to keep track of everyone and make sure someone didn't get left behind or lost. All the sudden I noticed a man walking towards us. He was watching my nephew who had wandered a few feet. I
got the creepiest feeling about this person I have ever had. I made eye contact with him and went over to my nephew and took his hand. As I did so, I said loudly to the man, 'come hold my hand, there are all
kinds of creepy people around.' the man quickly left.

Gosh! Why are there so many crazy, bad people around? If I have to worry about my own safety, what about that of innocent children?!?

Another Matilda Story

> I totally forgot about this Matilda story!! Matilda was my assistant
> at a job I was recently laid off from. I can't believe I haven't
> told this one yet!
>
> It was way back last summer. I had a networking event I was
> scheduled to attend. Since it was at about 8 or 9 am and downtown, I
> told my assistant I would go directly there in the morning.
> Arrangements had been made so someone from another center would be
> at my center so Matilda would not be all alone.
>
> I showed up at the event and found out they had put the wrong date
> on the invite and it was actually the next day. So I proceeded to
> drive from downtown Salt Lake City to Draper to my center.
>
> As I walked up the stairs and looked through the floor to ceiling
> windows, I could see that no one was at the desk. That is rile #1-
> never leave the desk unattended! I could see back into the office
> behind the front desk and there the two girls were. One sitting in
> the office chair while the other was applying fake eyelashes to
> her...wait, what the..?
>
> I walk in and laid down the law. The visiting employee was currently
> on probation and I knew that a report of these shenagans would
> definitely put her over the edge. Both jumped into action cleaning
> up the fake eyelashes, dye and glue that was scattered around the
> room. I asked, 'what if a potential client had walked in?!? What if
> the CEO or VP had walked in?!? What kind of a conversation would you
> be having right now?' In the end I was too nice and told them that
> no one would find out about it as long as I never saw anything like
> it again from either of them.
>
> While I was letting them know this was not acceptable behavior, they
> both were looking at me like I was the crazy one and as if they
> couldn't believe they were getting yelled at! That really just
> killed me! I could not and still can't believe that happened!!
>
> The real kicker was that after all was said and done, Matilda came
> up to me and asked if they could go to an empty office and finish!!
> After all, I was there now and I could watch the phones for
> them...forget that I have my own responsibilities!! I wanted to be
> nice after yelling at them(I really never yell at people) I asked if
> they were both planning on taking lunches that day. They both were.
> Matilda said something about Needing to run some errands. I
> responded by saying that if they wanted to both use the tome they
> would take for lunch and finish, they could. Matilda was not happy
> about that because of her errands, but once she saw that I was not
> going to budge from that answer, they left to finish. The best was
> when she asked if I wanted to get my eyelashes done. Yeah right!
> Then I would be just as bad as you guys (not that I told her that,
> but I sure thought it!)
>
> I am absolutely sure that they talked about how horrible I was to
> them about the whole thing. I wish I could have been a fly on the
> wall in that room! My relationship with the other girl was never
> very good and I think it all goes back to their perception of how
> mean I was to them. Little do they know, I saved Matilda from
> getting put on probation and saved the other girl from getting her
> last strike!
>
> Sent from my iPhone

Labels

I recently purchased some multivitamins. I like them because I can take one vitamin and feel that I am doing what I can to ensure that my body is getting the nutrients that I might not get from the foods I eat. The brand I recently purchased is One-a-day. Assuming I only had to take one of them a day, I thought little of it.

A few days after purchasing the multivitamins, I was reading the label and noticed that I am actually supposed to take two a day! My first thought was that if I had realized I was supposed to take two each day I would have gone with a different type of multivitamin.


Oddly enough, I started thinking about other things in life and how labels would help out in making decisions on them. Hmm, what if there were labels on guys, jobs, friends, decisions, etc.?


As I continued to ponder my musing, I wondered if labels would really help. Part of the experience of life is learning. How much would I really learn if I just looked at labels and avoided people or things that had warnings on their labels? Or would I pay any attention to the labels at all? Obviously I was provided information on the label of mulitvitamins but I didn't bother reading it before making the purchase.


I guess it really is best to live and learn , even if labels are included!

Grateful

Today I want to talk about how greatful I am for all the people in my life. Not just the people I see and talk to everyday, but EVERYONE!!

I am currently unemployed (due to a layoff) so in addition to finding the perfect job, I spend my days cleaning things in my apartment that I have never thought to clean before, reading people's blogs, watching TV (sadly my TV watching has gone up--I attribute it to the late winter we are having in Salt Lake City), going to the gym and looking for new and interesting things to do. But really the highlight of my day is hearing from people via email, text, phone, facebook or other modes of communication.

I delight in hearing from them not because I am bored or lonely but because lately I have been noticing how brilliant the people around me are and seeing their wonderful attributes.

One example--I have been working on my resume lately. I have found it difficult to summarize what I have done at various jobs because quite frankly, each job deserves more than a few bullet points!! I have honestly put my guts into the different jobs I have had. I am not your typical 9-5er!! I have stayed late at jobs not because I was required to or because I wasn't efficient in my work, but because I knew that if I stayed late, then I could go above and beyond and make a project or my company that much more competitive or that much better. Not everything that I did have tangable, immediate results.

At my last job, I was a center manager and sales manager. I was responsible for leasing executive office space to individuals and companies. But was that all I did? Heck no!! I stayed and did the paperwork behind everything after hours so during business hours I could be out front where current clients stopped by because I felt that it was important. Yes, I did increase the number of suites occupied in my center and that is very satisfying, but even better is hearing the CEO of my company say that I created a feeling of welcoming to my center. He said he has noticed that anyone who comes in feels at ease and welcomed to the place. Clients who have wanted to upgrade from my center (class B space) to a nicer building told me they were set to do it, but don't want adjust to not having me and my employees to work with and see on a daily basis. How do you quantify that in a resume???

But I sent my ho-hum resume to a friend and within minutes she emailed me back giving me pointers and hints about how to list and quantify my accomplishments. Gosh, I am so grateful for her!!

I have a roommate that has been going though a lot of family issues as of late, but does that stop her from making my day a little brighter? Does that stop her from making the lives of others that she interacts with happier? Not at all.

Really when it comes down to it, I feel that I have become a better person for knowing the people that I have known and currently know. I just hope I can do the same for them!!

Oh the Stories I Could Tell!

So now that I am separated from my previous employer, I can tell some of the stories that I have mentioned to friends, but until now, haven't published anywhere.

I had an assistant, Matilda that I constantly entertained me. I will miss hear and her young, naive, narrow minded perspective on life.

Before I left the company, Matilda told me that she has always wanted to be a stripper. Yes, this assistant is LDS and is 20 and married...in the temple. She went on to say that back when she was 16 she would tell her mom that she wanted to be a stripper. She was convinced that she would make tons of money and be very happy since she would be the center of attention and everyone would stop what they were doing and just watch her dance around. She said she still thinks she should do it, not tell her husband and start working at a strip club. She would be able to make all kinds of money and be able to pay off her car, her student loan and pay for her husband's schooling.

When I heard her vocal daydream, I stopped and asked, "so you don't mind random dirty men putting their hands on you?"

She responded, "they wouldn't touch me! They aren't allowed!"

That is when I couldn't control the laughter any longer and answered, "how do you think you make tips?"

Sadly, her face sank. "What? They let them do that? I would slap them...but then I probably wouldn't make much on tips."

"Well, there are certain places where the men like being slapped and you could make money."

Matilda then asked what I meant by that and where to find these places. As an LDS individual who really has no affiliation with that lifestyle explained that there are places where people like it a bit more rough and that opened the floodgate of questions. After defining several things that I know little about, Matilda decided that her idea of the stripper lifestyle was much better and that if she could do it her way, that would be a much better option.

Personally, I am convinced that she didn't believe me and that in her mind, she still believes that her idea of that lifestyle is how it really is.

Poor naive soul.

More stories will follow as I remember them.

Unemployed...again

So there you go! I had been working for a company and last week I contacted a friend to let her know that I had decided to start looking for a new job. Not that I needed one, but because I felt it was time to find something that compensated me more appropriately for the time and effort I put into the job I was doing. That same day I had been called in to discuss the opportunity of a promotion at the same company. Despite the opportunity, I still felt I should look.

Fast forward to the next day and bam! The same person I discussed the promotion with told me that the CEO had decided that the company couldn't afford the new position and my current position would be eliminated. I honestly tried not to smile as I got the news. Yes, it is better to look for a job when you are employed, but I really wanted to leave and not come back and until that moment, I really didn't have a reason to do so. I guess maybe I should have given my 2 weeks notice the day before--then I would have had at least 2 weeks to find something!!

This cloud has a silver lining!!

Memories

I used to work in downtown Salt Lake City. I used to ride Trax every morning and evening. It was nice. No worries about traffic, you won't miss that cop that is always hiding somewhere. But invariably, I would always be the one who had an adventure or two on the ride home.

First, there was the time I was really tired and boarded the train. I sat down and will sometimes doze off. Usually I wake up a stop or two before my stop and all is good. When I woke this time, I had been completely asleep and had not realized that while sleeping, I managed to completely rest my head on the business man that was sitting next to me. My head was completely resting on his shoulder. I straightened up and as I realized what had happened, I apologized to my fellow commuter. His response, "you seemed so tired, I didn't want to wake you."

Then there was the drunkand homeless man that was walking through the Trax station, passed several commuters, walked up to me and gave me a huge hug. I honestly didn't know what to say or do and out of the corner of my eye, I could see the men there turn and start coming over to protect me. The guy finished giving me a hug and just walked off. Sadly, he smelled quite bad and it transferred to me. The whole trip home made me sick because of the smell. I had to shower before the smell went away.

I remember a drunk native american that came up to me and talked to me while I was waiting for the train. He just talked and talked about the bars in SLC, despite me saying I don't drink and know nothing about bars. When the train came, he shook my hand and walked away.

There are also the random men who have asked if I was married and proceeded to cheesily hit on me despite me telling them that I am (I am not).

The most memorable would be the man that got on the train and proceeded to fall to the floor of the train. Everyone looked up when that happened. He looked like he was on something. He of course sat near me and started trying to have a conversation. I told him I was trying to sleep and pretended to fall asleep. My seat was right by the exit (stairwell) and he went around to the stairwell and started to say,"boo!" every few minutes to wake me up. He got bored because I wasn't reacting and went away. The gentleman next to me asked what stop I was exiting at and I told him. He said that if the guy got off at the same stop, he would escort me to my car.

So despite being the 'chosen one' on Trax, I never felt worried. I knew there were always people looking out for others. And if they didn't, I am pretty good at making some noise.

New Year's Thoughts

New Year, new effort to chronicle the goings and comings of my life.

At the start of the year, I reflected on the things that happened that were significant during the last year:
1. My dad having a quadruple bypass
2. Getting laid off from an extremely stable job
3. Cops deciding that I need loads and loads of tickets
4. Not being able to register my car because of an over-vigilant mechanic who failed me on inspection, getting 2 tickets and almost getting my car impounded, but talking the cops out of it
5. Things getting tense in the house I lived in and having to find a new place to live
6. A rock flying up and chipping my windshield and several minutes later cracking my windshield
7. Getting hit, head on by a driver driving too fast in the snow and having $3600 of repairs to my car

I am sure there is more, but that is all I remember right now. Yes, to me it is a significant list and when thinking on it, I decided that 2010 HAS to be a better! A good friend of mine helped me alter my perception of the intense year I had.

1. My dad is in fantastic health and because of his great health, didn't have a heart attack and cause more damage. He recovered remarkably quickly from his surgery and is doing great!
2. Although I did get laid off from my job, it has been a good thing. Within a week of being laid off, I found a great job with great people doing something that pushes and challenges me more than I was ever challenged at my last job
3. Yeah, the whole getting tickets really is my fault, so I have no one to blame but myself
4. Again, my own fault. I could have taken it somewhere else and had it re-checked sooner than I did (it passed the second time it was checked)
5. This, too is a great thing. I moved with one of the roommates I lived with and things are fantastic! We found a beautiful place to live and the move was pretty easy
6. Life happens
7. The good news is that I wasn't hurt and the other driver wasn't hurt. My car was repaired through his insurance and I am now driving it

Really, when I think of all the good things that have happened this last year, they really make me realize that this last year wasn't so bad. In addition to the items listed above, I travelled domestically quite a bit, saw some fantastic concerts, had new adventures, made new friends, got to spend a lot of time with my sister and her family while they were here for 3 months, grew up quite a bit, learned what it is to be employed and unemployed in a crazy economy, and many other lessons that will make 2010 a dang great year!

My assistant and Martin Luther King, Jr.

You never know what an assistant will be like, especially when you don't pick them out yourself. There are different types of people that go for assistant type jobs. Don't get me wrong. I am not saying there is anything wrong with being an assistant. It is a pretty important job. Some people who go for this type of job do it because they know the CEO of the company and he/she hires the person for the assistant job because they want to help them out. Others take a job as an assistant so they can get in with a company that they want to move up in. My assistant falls into the first category--she is a friend of family of the CEO.

Please understand, I love my assistant, Matilda. She is sweet, cares about our clients, tries to do a great job on all her assignments but sometimes I wonder what she is thinking.

As today is Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, and my office is closed, I asked Matilda to make a flier to send out to our clients. Later, the same day I asked her to prepare it, I went to Matilda's desk to see if she had finished the flier. She was just getting a graphic to add to the flier to complete it. In my mind I figured she would add a picture of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. himself. Instead, she had gone into clip art and typed, 'black people.' My jaw dropped and I felt like the civil rights movement went back in time.

I asked her why she was in clip art rather than getting a picture from the internet. Her response, 'I have seen two black people in my life. They all look the same to me. I thought I could just find one that looks like him.'

I about fainted. Yes, the state I currently live in is not very culturally diverse, I have never heard a comment like that. I grew up in a state that was pretty well mixed with different cultures and people and had many friends of various races and backgrounds. Hearing that comment made me feel as though we had moved back to a less tolerant day.

Matilda finally put a picture of Martin Luther King, Jr. in the flier and after a discussion I thought I would never have to have with my assistant, the situation was resolved...but not without me being reminded that despite the years that have passed, ignorance towards others unfortunately still exists.