Just Keep Smiling
Listening: Tomorrow - Rosie Thomas
"Just keep smiling," were the words that my uncle imparted upon me, when he and my grandmother drove me into Chapters for my interview today. "You're exactly what they're looking for. Just be yourself, and keep smiling."
I kept those words in mind when I hopped out of the car. If I do say so myself, I looked utterly fabulous. I'd spent quite some time last night picking out the clothing for the interview, and woke up this morning, got a shower, ironed everything, woke up my sister to do my make-up, and borrowed a pair of decent shoes off her. (Which is fortunate, in restrospect, because the only other options I had in terms of footwear were super ugly. I figured my only hope at some point would be to wear them and make some witty crack about how ugly they were, but then my sister saved me.)
I went inside, and the first thing that happened was: something I was wearing set off the alarm. I was so surprised that I started to laugh, along with several of the other people who were standing nearby. That being done, I wandered around for a while wondering what the hell to do with myself. I spotted the assistant manager, Nancy, who was doing the interviews, but she was running around like a maniac, so I wasn't sure exactly what to do with myself. I stood around like an idiot for a while, until I spotted a pair of young women who were standing in similar awkwardness. I plunged in headfirst and asked if they were there for the interview, and indeed it was so.
Two more people joined us shortly thereafter, another girl and a young man, and we all lingered around for a while until finally Nancy appeared out of literally thin air and asked us to follow her. We did, in a cloud of silence, and all sat down around a table in the employee area.
The fellow, who I later discovered was named Tim, said as we did so, "I suddenly feel slightly overdressed."
"Don't worry," I assured him. "I'm wearing heels." (Small heels, but heels nonetheless.)
"Yeah," he said. "I considered that briefly, myself."
And just like that, we were all friends. Secretly, in the back of my mind, I was hoping that all the people I would be interviewed with today would be horrible trolls (thus securing my own standing), but I was thwarted. All of them were sweethearts. I want all of us to be hired and be awesome together. I'll actually be disappointed if/when I find that one or some of them don't get a position, although not quite as disappointed as I'll be if I don't get one.
Nancy was just as nice as the rest of them. She made everything very relaxed and calming for us. After brief introductions, she started in with the questions, which we were all expected to answer honestly and however we liked. We had the basics, like "What would you be bringing to the team if you're hired?" and "Describe one of your best customer experiences," but I think my whole body went tight with lust--yes, lust--when we got to the fourth or fifth question: "What is your favorite novel, album, movie, or other item that we carry in-store?"
I can't make this up.
The whole thing went astronomically well. I don't think I've ever been quite so comfortable in a formal setting. At the end of the interview, Nancy gave us the information we'd all been waiting for--that Chapters is actually looking to hire for about five positions, rather than just one. We weren't the only hopefuls, either--there'd already been two other groups of five before us. That raises the bar pretty high, but I feel pretty confidant for two reasons. One, I have two years of experience working for one of the most trying companies in history, and one that originally hired me on a temporary basis, no less; two, I was recommended to apply for the job by one of the employees (a distant cousin, actually, but they don't need to know that), and Nancy seemed really happy when I mentioned that his happiness with Chapters fueled my desire to apply, in part.
That being said, I think I have some serious competition. One of the ladies (Carol Ann [sp?]) applying for the job has been a flight attendant with Air Canada for nine years (nine!), and another is really bubbly and happy and energetic. The other girl seemed pretty quiet, and the guy (Tim) is nice but pretty inexperienced, so I'm hoping I have a little leg-room, at least in my own group. Oh lord, competition is really stiff.
I'll find out by next week whether I've got the chops. Chapters' general manager is apparently getting back from two weeks of vacation sometime soon, and then next week they'll be conducting one-on-one interviews. If I'm a prospective employee, they'll give me a shout to come in for that, and then by the beginning of July I'll know if I'm employed. Even if I don't get the position (heaven forbid), Nancy assures me they'll pretty much be hiring steadily til Christmas, so don't even think I'll be discouraged.
The interview only took about forty minutes, give or take. I wandered around in a fantastic mood, bought a book for my sister, and put in a compliment about one of the employees when he gave me a quarter out of his own pocket to call for a ride home. Also I had an orange mocha at Starbucks and told the baristas all about Jam. Well, I didn't mention his name, I just said I had a friend whose student loan ran out and he was most depressed about not being able to buy orange mochas anymore. One of them said, "I wish I knew who this guy was. I'd give him one for free the next time he came in, just for his sheer dedication."
"Just keep smiling," my uncle said. Funny how since I had that interview, I haven't stopped smiling all day.
[P.S.: Go below and rate me and Philon. Since I left this morning, he's gone from being a jackal to a mouse. I don't know who rated me, but I can't stop laughing.]
[P.P.S.: Wow, this post marks my 50th! I think this is the longest I've stayed with anything journal/diary-related. Thanks for sticking with it!]
Icarus hopes she won't get in trouble for discussing fun friends with baristas.
"Just keep smiling," were the words that my uncle imparted upon me, when he and my grandmother drove me into Chapters for my interview today. "You're exactly what they're looking for. Just be yourself, and keep smiling."
I kept those words in mind when I hopped out of the car. If I do say so myself, I looked utterly fabulous. I'd spent quite some time last night picking out the clothing for the interview, and woke up this morning, got a shower, ironed everything, woke up my sister to do my make-up, and borrowed a pair of decent shoes off her. (Which is fortunate, in restrospect, because the only other options I had in terms of footwear were super ugly. I figured my only hope at some point would be to wear them and make some witty crack about how ugly they were, but then my sister saved me.)
I went inside, and the first thing that happened was: something I was wearing set off the alarm. I was so surprised that I started to laugh, along with several of the other people who were standing nearby. That being done, I wandered around for a while wondering what the hell to do with myself. I spotted the assistant manager, Nancy, who was doing the interviews, but she was running around like a maniac, so I wasn't sure exactly what to do with myself. I stood around like an idiot for a while, until I spotted a pair of young women who were standing in similar awkwardness. I plunged in headfirst and asked if they were there for the interview, and indeed it was so.
Two more people joined us shortly thereafter, another girl and a young man, and we all lingered around for a while until finally Nancy appeared out of literally thin air and asked us to follow her. We did, in a cloud of silence, and all sat down around a table in the employee area.
The fellow, who I later discovered was named Tim, said as we did so, "I suddenly feel slightly overdressed."
"Don't worry," I assured him. "I'm wearing heels." (Small heels, but heels nonetheless.)
"Yeah," he said. "I considered that briefly, myself."
And just like that, we were all friends. Secretly, in the back of my mind, I was hoping that all the people I would be interviewed with today would be horrible trolls (thus securing my own standing), but I was thwarted. All of them were sweethearts. I want all of us to be hired and be awesome together. I'll actually be disappointed if/when I find that one or some of them don't get a position, although not quite as disappointed as I'll be if I don't get one.
Nancy was just as nice as the rest of them. She made everything very relaxed and calming for us. After brief introductions, she started in with the questions, which we were all expected to answer honestly and however we liked. We had the basics, like "What would you be bringing to the team if you're hired?" and "Describe one of your best customer experiences," but I think my whole body went tight with lust--yes, lust--when we got to the fourth or fifth question: "What is your favorite novel, album, movie, or other item that we carry in-store?"
I can't make this up.
The whole thing went astronomically well. I don't think I've ever been quite so comfortable in a formal setting. At the end of the interview, Nancy gave us the information we'd all been waiting for--that Chapters is actually looking to hire for about five positions, rather than just one. We weren't the only hopefuls, either--there'd already been two other groups of five before us. That raises the bar pretty high, but I feel pretty confidant for two reasons. One, I have two years of experience working for one of the most trying companies in history, and one that originally hired me on a temporary basis, no less; two, I was recommended to apply for the job by one of the employees (a distant cousin, actually, but they don't need to know that), and Nancy seemed really happy when I mentioned that his happiness with Chapters fueled my desire to apply, in part.
That being said, I think I have some serious competition. One of the ladies (Carol Ann [sp?]) applying for the job has been a flight attendant with Air Canada for nine years (nine!), and another is really bubbly and happy and energetic. The other girl seemed pretty quiet, and the guy (Tim) is nice but pretty inexperienced, so I'm hoping I have a little leg-room, at least in my own group. Oh lord, competition is really stiff.
I'll find out by next week whether I've got the chops. Chapters' general manager is apparently getting back from two weeks of vacation sometime soon, and then next week they'll be conducting one-on-one interviews. If I'm a prospective employee, they'll give me a shout to come in for that, and then by the beginning of July I'll know if I'm employed. Even if I don't get the position (heaven forbid), Nancy assures me they'll pretty much be hiring steadily til Christmas, so don't even think I'll be discouraged.
The interview only took about forty minutes, give or take. I wandered around in a fantastic mood, bought a book for my sister, and put in a compliment about one of the employees when he gave me a quarter out of his own pocket to call for a ride home. Also I had an orange mocha at Starbucks and told the baristas all about Jam. Well, I didn't mention his name, I just said I had a friend whose student loan ran out and he was most depressed about not being able to buy orange mochas anymore. One of them said, "I wish I knew who this guy was. I'd give him one for free the next time he came in, just for his sheer dedication."
"Just keep smiling," my uncle said. Funny how since I had that interview, I haven't stopped smiling all day.
[P.S.: Go below and rate me and Philon. Since I left this morning, he's gone from being a jackal to a mouse. I don't know who rated me, but I can't stop laughing.]
[P.P.S.: Wow, this post marks my 50th! I think this is the longest I've stayed with anything journal/diary-related. Thanks for sticking with it!]
Icarus hopes she won't get in trouble for discussing fun friends with baristas.
posted by Icarus at 7:59 AM
2 Comments:
<3 I'll be rooting for you.
I called you this afternoon but apparently you couldn't hear me (but I could hear you).
The interview sounds like it went well, so fingers and toes crossed.
I was actually in Starbucks today and got an orange mocha. I paid with change and talked to one of the girls about the novel Wicked. They all know me there by face, but not by name, so maybe next time I should be like "SO, who talked to my friend Julia about me having no money to buy orange mochas? Oh, you? Kay, I'll have my free one now."
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