P is for perspective

'In the middle of every difficulty lies opportunity.' - Albert Einstein

Alright so yesterday was a pretty enlightening day. I woke up feeling super sorry for myself but I had to haul my ass out of bed for my interview. The office was south of the river so I knew it would take me some time to get there. I got off at Borough tube station and then walked according to my directions but then I got to that GODDAMN roundabout and got completely lost. The thing about roundabouts is that they usually have 7 million different roads attached to them. The other totally ridiculous thing about London is that they really don't post street signs anywhere, so you never have any idea where the hell you are going or what street you're on. Anyway my interview was at 3:30PM (or army time, as they do in the UK, 15:30). At 15:15 I realized I was definitely lost and asked a bus driver where Mandela Way was. She scratched her head which I immediately took as a bad sign. Then she said I'd have to catch a bus the other way and walk a couple of blocks and...

FUCK.

If I was going to be late for this interview, I might as well not show up. I mean really, that's the first test: showing up. If you can't be organized, manage your time and follow instructions, chances are they don't want your dumb ass working for their company. So obviously because I am a child, I just burst into tears (I got off the bus first). I felt like an idiot too because if someone had stopped and asked me why I was upset, my only logical response would be "because I'm LOST!" In reality, it was the compounded stress of the last month taking it's toll on me. But they wouldn't know that, and they would have slowly backed away and then fled the scene like no one's business.

So I just started running - in my dress shoes, with my laptop slouched over my shoulder. This city will not break me. I keep running and running, trying to hail a cab, to no avail. I run to a bus stop and get back on. He says Mandela Way is the next stop. I get off, run like Forrest Gump and then realize I have no street number. Just Mandela Way. WTF? Anyway I run and run and finally find The Stationary Office and the place is locked down like Fort Knox: barbed wire, a super high end security system, a guard. Oh did I not get the memo that THE STATIONARY OFFICE is now a terrorist target? Guess Al-Qaeda can't wait to get their hands on those risk analysis dissertations.

I burst into the office at 15:30 panting and sweating and generally looking like a complete mess. The woman at the reception says, 'well don't worry, you're not late!" I wanted to barf all over her desk but instead I took my security badge and was then led into the interview room.

The two woman who interviewed me seemed nice. The perks are standard, the pay is sub par. But I don't really care about any of that stuff, as long as the work is interesting - and it won't be. I would essentially be uploading content, writing and editing summary descriptions for government documents used by the public sector. For example, when you hear that crime rates have dropped 10% in the last 10 years, someone spent months creating that report. Then they add a painfully boring cover, have it bound and sell it at The Stationary Office for an inordinate price. So yah, shoot me. Anyway during the interview, the older woman was so excited about my resume. 'Oh Yahoo sounds like so much fun.' It was. 'Oh that sounds rather lovely.' It was fucking super lovely. She said it in such a way that she was unaware interesting jobs existed. I asked her what my biggest challenge would be working here. 'Oh, that you'll get bored.'

Well, at least she's honest.

Then yesterday, I did something I've never done in an interview before. I asked her why she picked my resume. Why she thought I would be good for the job. Little table turner there. Maybe everyone does this and I'm just slow but I have to say I did it more out of spite than curiosity. Anyway she said well you have a strong technical and writing background which is hard to find. Then she dropped this bomb on me. They posted their job on one free site. They received 200 applications. They are interviewing fewer than 10 people.

And I guess that's sort of when my perspective changed. I mean I'm not guaranteed this job, but there are people out there who aren't even getting called for interviews. I've had 21. Twelve different companies wanted to meet with me, some wanted to meet with me more than once. I still don't have a job but at least I know there are companies that see some initial worth, even if it doesn't result in a job.

I also watched this BBC documentary last night when I came home (drunk and devouring pizza. Don't be surprised if I weight 200 lbs when I come back from London) called Jobless. It was about how royally fucked Brits have been due to the terrible economy and shitty job market in the UK. There are families with mortgages and car payments and kids to feed and both parents are unemployed. People are getting sacked from their jobs after 20 years of dedicated service with no notice and no redundancy packages. I mean, I'm complaining about being unemployed, but in the grand scheme of things, I only have to worry about myself. Imagine the stress of having two kids, a car a house and a spouse that was also unemployed. Anyway, made me feel much more humble about my own circumstances. It's important, for everyone, to put their shit into perspective sometimes. Chances are whatever giant problems are plaguing you at this very moment are probably not really that big of deal (*descends off her soapbox*).

Anyway when this woman told me they were interviewing less than 10 people I got sort of jealous. The more I interview, the more and more I see that job hunting is JUST like dating and work is so much like a relationship:

You dress up and go to meet your potential employer. Sometimes you realize right away you really like them and sometimes you know you absolutely do not like them. Sometimes you despise them but they really like you. Sometimes you interview for jobs you're not sure about, maybe you could overlook some of the glaring problems because deep down, there is some merit in the work. You wait around for them to call you back. Sometimes they never call. Sometimes you think things are going really well but then they tell you they've met someone else that they click with better. Sometimes they're dating 10 people at a time trying to find the right person.

Then when you get the job, you realize right away you hate it and you've met a more attractive, appealing job that is a better match and so you leave. Sometimes you say in the same job for years and years because it's comfortable and you're too scared to try something new. You ruminate over the good and the bad but you inevitably stick with it because it's what you know. Sound familiar?

So yesterday when she said they were interviewing fewer than 10 people, I got a little green with envy. Well, have they been published? Do they know HTML? We're they ever the editorial voice of a cartoon pig? What have THEY got that I don't have? Whatever, I don't care, you WHORE.

Alright got that out of my system.

After my interview, I go to meet Andy for drinks. Andy is the head of editorial for Yahoo in the UK. He interviewed me months ago for an editorial job in the London office via video conference. He very kindly financed my drinking habit for the evening, but made fun of me for drinking Fosters. Anyway it was great to finally meet him in person and have a chat. I know if I ever want to get back into Yahoo I'm going to have to network like a champ. So we talked shop about Yahoo for a bit, how things are going there, how the girl is doing who got the job I interviewed for (she's doing fine. Bitch.) and any possible openings in the office. He said they are starting a Lifestyle channel but it keeps being pushed back. Right now, the date to start is July, but that could be pushed back again. Also he doesn't know if they'll be hiring a new person for that role, they might just shift some people around to cover the updating.

However, he did say that had some contract work for me to do, so that's good news! I am going in tomorrow to see what's up. Hopefully I'll get my foot in the door and they will all fall in love me (how could they not? they're only human). Anyway some more Yahoos came to the pub for drinks and I truly enjoyed meeting the motley crew. I talked to one dude named Russell who was really cool: an engineer with some crazy blonde mohawk looking hairdo. We chatted about everything form boobs to car crashes. Talked to one Scottish dude who apologized about my Dad being Welsh (asked if I ever found any sheep in the house) and another dude who said he might be able to help me out with some work, which was nice. It was funny because I had forgot what interesting characters the company attracts. I won't lie, it was a little bittersweet and made me nostalgic for my days at the Queens Quay office. But maybe, fingers crossed, I can start a new Yahoo life at Cambridge Circus.

I will let you know how my meeting goes tomorrow. I have an interview at noon tomorrow as well for a customer service position with an eyewear company. I have no idea why, mainly because I can't rely on the kindness of strangers to finance my drinking habit forever. Tonight I am going to dinner with Franca and her parents at the flat they are staying at in Knightsbridge (the K stands for Klassy!) So I will regale you with more tales of adventure tomorrow.

Cheers,

Patsy