Homemade Pickles
Unwittingly got myself in quite the pickle this week.
In my noble quest for that high-paying, good-doing job have been recreationally applying for jobs in New York City. The truth is that I have every intention of moving to NYC once my season at the homeless shelter is over at the end of April but before then, I am simply unprepared to make those transitions.
On Tuesday, between a rousing Tuesday morning staff meeting and an evening shift I was wandering around Boulder enjoying the warm February day when I got the phone call I never really counted on getting. A callback. What? You’ve got to be kidding me. I have been applying to jobs for months…now I get a callback?
The truth is that all the while, all the months I have been applying for jobs, I have been putting a NY address on my resume. No one gets out-of-state callbacks. I have plenty of friends in the city. It’s a common practice these days. Excuses. Excuses.
Why was I putting a NY address on my resumes? So I would get a callback, duh.
Now I got a callback and I had no idea what to do with myself. Not just a callback either, a callback for a position I would love to have, a position I would be really good at. Sure, the salary was on the low side, but what’s new? I went through the motions, doing a preliminary phone interview and naturally (like I said, I would be really good at this job) it went well. She then tried to schedule an in-person interview with me. I played it off, saying that I wasn’t available this week, simultaneously googling flight prices. We ended it with an agreement that I would get back to her.
And that’s when my real pickle began.
What the hell do I do now? This is exactly what I’ve been looking for. An interview at an organization I would love to work it, doing something I would excel at, in the place I am looking to be. Shit. What now?
Quick. Google plane tickets. Call NY friends. Consider what shifts to get covered at work…Am I really going to do this? Do I have the money to do this? What if I don’t get the job? What if I do get the job? Where will I live? How will I afford first and last month’s rent? Do I have to give two weeks notice at the shelter?
And then I hear back from them. Seriously, a phone interview and two in-person interviews before you hire someone? That’s absurd. Decision made for me, I suppose.
What’s the take away from it all? Be careful what you wish for? Maybe more accurately, be prepared for what you’re asking for, and if you’re not prepared to hear, “yes,” be prepared to say, “no.”
So for now, its a no-go. For now, it’s just an ego boost. But from now on, if I apply for something, I am going to be prepared for them to think I am as worthy as I think I am. I will be ready for “yes.”
Hopefully, this way, I won’t be getting myself into any more of those homemade pickles.
And for now, I’ve got a Saturday night of mini cupcakes and a glass of wine. Not a pickle in sight.
