A Tale Of Two Jobs...

Finding a job in Australia seems to be abnormally hard.  I've talked about this before, but let me just revisit my job hunting experience thus far; I've been searching for a job for about 8 weeks, have probably applied for something like 300+ jobs, have only had an handful of callbacks and interviews, but more than anything, have had a lot of dead ends.

In retrospect, I suppose 8 weeks isn't really a LONG time to be job hunting...I've known people who have searched for months, or even a year, and still haven't found anything.  I think the frustrating thing, though, is that I've tried so hard to find a job in this time period.  I've gotten up every morning and searched on every job site and applied for any sort of job I might be qualified for (and even ones I might not be- just in case, you know...).  I've given out my resume to places that are hiring.  I've taken trains to places two hours away for an interview and didn't get called back.  I've had so many false hopes and so many disappointments, and when you pack all of that into 8 weeks and combine it with the fact that I'm also dealing with...well, my entire life changing...it's kind of exhausting.

The point in explaining all of this is so you understand how excited I was last Thursday when I finally got a job offer!

I was on my way to meet Phil at his job for lunch, and I got lost once I got off the train.  The area he works in has confused me before- a few weeks ago, I had an interview in the same location and gotten lost and missed the interview, so I was instantly feeling frustrated as soon as it happened again.  Phil called me to give me directions, and I started heading off in the right way, but not before feeling completely hopeless.

Yet again, my life felt like a scene from a movie.  This time, my character (the small town girl in the big city) was realizing she was in over her head...this city, this situation, and this new life was just too big for her and she was feeling absolutely hopeless and almost ready to head back home with her tail tucked between her legs.

Well, maybe it wasn't that dramatic, but I will admit to crying a bit and yelling out in frustration, "I hate this F-ING CITY!"

Again, a bit melodramatic, but it's frustrating to get lost in the same area twice.  Especially when I typically pride myself in having a good sense of direction.  But maybe that only applies in Reno, where I know all the streets and there's a big main street that you can always find if you get lost.  And since Sydney is roughly 300 times the size of Reno, maybe I'm just another confused person in a big city.  Frustrating.

As I was sulking about how hard my life feels lately, the phone rang again.  I assumed it was Phil, so I answered quickly and was surprised to hear an American voice saying hello to me.  Then he actually said, "Bet you're surprised to hear another American on the phone."

The man introduced himself as the HR person for a job I had applied for the night before.  It was a telemarketing position in the city and he explained to me what the job offered.  Monday through Friday work, $20 an hour plus commission, no quota or experience necessary, and he was wondering if I wanted to start right away.  It seemed absolutely perfect- the money was great, the hours were the same as Phil's, and I'd get to work in downtown Sydney.  Plus, it was a job!  Finally!

I told him I'd take it, and we chatted a bit more- it turned out Dewey had also immigrated to Australia for love, and had actually lived in Tahoe (which is about 45 minutes from Reno), of all places.  I couldn't stop smiling when I got off the phone...that call had totally made up for my bad day and I got a job!!!

I was so excited to tell Phil about it that I couldn't even wait until I met up with him...I texted him right away and let him know the good news.  Funnily enough, he had also been trying to get me a job working with him, and had set up an interview for me with one of the bosses at his job.  I decided to still interview with them once I got there, just out of courtesy, and after a few minutes, I was offered a job there too.  Two jobs in one day after nothing for weeks- it felt surreal!

I waited until later that night to turn down the offer at Phil's job- it just made more sense to take the telemarketing position, since the hours and pay was better.  I was so excited about my first day of work all weekend- I couldn't stop bringing up the fact that I got a job and was going to start working on Monday.

Finally, Monday arrived and I headed off for my first day of work.  The telemarketing office is located right in the middle of the city and is just a few minutes away from Circular Quay (where the Harbour Bridge and the Opera House are), and it felt exciting just knowing I was working in the heart of the city.

The inside of the building was a bit surprising, though.  I was early for my orientation, so I peeked inside, and saw a tiny room crowded with cubicles and older-model desktop computers.  The regular work day started at 9am, but it was nearly 10 and I could only spot five or six people working inside.  Weird.  Worse yet, they were all at least 50 years old and only one of them was a woman.  Don't get me wrong...I'm not ageist, or anything, but I was hoping that I'd be able to work with people my own age and hopefully make some new friends, but I couldn't really imagine hanging out with a 50 year-old-man with a coffee stain on his shirt. It's not like he'd want to go see the new Twilight movie with me.

I waited for fifteen minutes after the orientation was supposed to start, before another middle-aged man finally approached me and introduced himself as the boss of the office.  He took me inside and started going over the brochures I would be selling over the phone.  It all sounded fine and good until he got my attention by asking, "You know this is just commission based only, right?"

The look on my face must've said it all.  I think I stuttered out that, no, I hadn't realized that, but the boss didn't even look surprised.  "Yeah, we just pay based on commission " he said.   "If you make a sale a day, you're making about $20 an hour; otherwise, you don't make any money.  Most people get up and leave when I tell them that."

I wanted to be one of those people, but I sat there and let him continue with the orientation.  He finished up and I guess I still hadn't wiped the wary look off my face, because he told me that he'd love to hire me, but it was up to me if I wanted to come back for work tomorrow.  He told me to go home and think about it, and if I wanted to come back the next day, he'd get me all set up to start working.

I honestly wasn't that thrilled to be doing telemarketing in the first place, but I especially didn't want to do it if I was only being paid based on how many sales I made!  Part of the reason I need to start working (besides boredom), is that Phil and I are trying to save money for my Visa next year, which is $3000.  I could possibly make that in a month or two if I made enough sales, but what if I didn't?  It just wasn't worth the risk.

So my first day of work was also my last day of work.

But, as the blog title suggests: this is the tale of two jobs.

Remember how I mentioned the job offer at Phil's job?  Well, I told Phil what happened, he talked to the managers again and they said the job was still mine if I wanted it.  So I went home last night, filled out the paperwork they'd given me last Thursday, and soon I'll be an employee of Harvey Norman.  It'll be casual work- meaning I'll probably just be working a few days a week, and unfortunately  working on weekends while Phil is off, but it's hopefully only temporary.

Harvey Norman is a retail store, and I'll be a cashier there- something I'm pretty familiar with from In-N-Out.  All the details haven't been ironed out yet, but I should know my first day there soon and my exact rate of pay.  The managers I interviewed with really liked me and it's a good thing they did, since I ended up needing that job to fall back on after all   And hopefully I'll get more hours around Christmas, and maybe even be considered for a full time position at some point.

This whole job hunt has been so exhausting.  I never thought I'd feel this way, but I'm so ready to just fall into a regular work schedule like everyone else.  I miss the stability of working every day.  I miss having my own income and being able to save money or spend a little of it, if I want.  It all seemed so mundane when I was doing it back in Reno, but the thing I miss most now is just the normalcy of working, and I'm looking forward to starting it again.

So fingers crossed and here's hoping that everything works out this time!   On the other hand, at least all of this has given me something interesting to blog about ;)