I forget which interview this was on Thursday, #208? 210? Something like that.
It was almost identical to #206: working with absolute destitute homeless folks. (The city has declared a state of emergency on homelessness, thus all the jobs).
A few weeks ago I carpet bombed craigslist, sending out generic cover letters to a dozen places in the nonprofit job section.
I remembered this place because although it was for a "Lead Case Manager", there was no agency name on the application.
So when I got a call on Monday about an interview for the "Lead Case Manager" position, I had to ask at the end of the call, 'who are you again?'
That may have set them back a little, but it was a sign of things to come.
I was told to go to an address at 11am. I went there, a run down three-story building in a run down part of town. There was a secure door and a directory with a phone and instructions on how to call tenants to get it. I picked up the phone, dialed the number, and... nothing. I did this a few times before looking up the number on my own phone. "I'm outside but I can't get it", I told the receptionist. "I'll come right out," she said. Ok. The directory said the agency was on the third floor, so I imagined the amount of time it'd take the receptionist to get up from her desk, walk out of the office to the elevator, press the button, wait for the elevator to arrive, etc. Maybe it was a really slow, old elevator. Maybe it was jammed. Maybe she took the stairs. Whatever the case, no woman appeared at the door.
Minutes passed.
I didn't want to appear impatient, so I waited. Five minutes then I called again. "I went out and looked for you but you weren't there!" Said the receptionist. We clarified exactly where I was (facing the school, facing the numbered building of the address given to me). "Oh, come around the corner" she said.
This is too long, and we haven't even gotten to the unsettling parts. It's a homeless shelter for some of the worst situations out there.
They didn't know I was supposed to have an interview.
There was some shuffling about and finally I went into the room with two people and a third -the one who called me to schedule the interview- on a speaker phone.
"Why on earth would you want to work here?!?!" Asked the speaker on the phone for the first question.
The other two barely made eye contact with me.
In short, it was awkward. I was cordial and used all my standard answers and managed -I think- to even appear interested in the job.
After the interview I got a tour of the place, and honestly homeless shelter are much more unsettling when you just stumble into them. Once you get a tour, they're a lot more comfortable.
The next day I got a call from the lady on the speaker phone -the director- clarifying the pay rate, which was never mention in the interview. $18/hr she said.
Ugh. I gotta stop applying for jobs like that.
It was almost identical to #206: working with absolute destitute homeless folks. (The city has declared a state of emergency on homelessness, thus all the jobs).
A few weeks ago I carpet bombed craigslist, sending out generic cover letters to a dozen places in the nonprofit job section.
I remembered this place because although it was for a "Lead Case Manager", there was no agency name on the application.
So when I got a call on Monday about an interview for the "Lead Case Manager" position, I had to ask at the end of the call, 'who are you again?'
That may have set them back a little, but it was a sign of things to come.
I was told to go to an address at 11am. I went there, a run down three-story building in a run down part of town. There was a secure door and a directory with a phone and instructions on how to call tenants to get it. I picked up the phone, dialed the number, and... nothing. I did this a few times before looking up the number on my own phone. "I'm outside but I can't get it", I told the receptionist. "I'll come right out," she said. Ok. The directory said the agency was on the third floor, so I imagined the amount of time it'd take the receptionist to get up from her desk, walk out of the office to the elevator, press the button, wait for the elevator to arrive, etc. Maybe it was a really slow, old elevator. Maybe it was jammed. Maybe she took the stairs. Whatever the case, no woman appeared at the door.
Minutes passed.
I didn't want to appear impatient, so I waited. Five minutes then I called again. "I went out and looked for you but you weren't there!" Said the receptionist. We clarified exactly where I was (facing the school, facing the numbered building of the address given to me). "Oh, come around the corner" she said.
This is too long, and we haven't even gotten to the unsettling parts. It's a homeless shelter for some of the worst situations out there.
They didn't know I was supposed to have an interview.
There was some shuffling about and finally I went into the room with two people and a third -the one who called me to schedule the interview- on a speaker phone.
"Why on earth would you want to work here?!?!" Asked the speaker on the phone for the first question.
The other two barely made eye contact with me.
In short, it was awkward. I was cordial and used all my standard answers and managed -I think- to even appear interested in the job.
After the interview I got a tour of the place, and honestly homeless shelter are much more unsettling when you just stumble into them. Once you get a tour, they're a lot more comfortable.
The next day I got a call from the lady on the speaker phone -the director- clarifying the pay rate, which was never mention in the interview. $18/hr she said.
Ugh. I gotta stop applying for jobs like that.
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