A Chronicle of an Un/Underemployed Former Architect - Part 4
Holiday Madness, Round Two?
That’s when I got the call from Corestaff. When I was dismissed at the end of the season, I was informed that I should maintain contact with Corestaff weekly by email if I wished to be referred to other job opportunities. Diligently I sent my weekly email to Corestaff, occasionally checking their website for positions, but nothing came up. In September, I received a call from the recruitment staff inviting me to a ‘job fair’. At first, I was reluctant to attend-they had been so peculiar about their termination process with me that I wasn’t sure what to expect. But for some reason, I made myself get up that day, get dressed, print out some resumes, and drive to the site of the job fair.
The job fair did not live up to the expectation. It wasn’t really a job fair where you got to speak to a number of different employers offering different positions, so much as an opportunity to talk to Corestaff recruiters about seasonal positions with Tiny Prints. I was mildly disgusted, to put it lightly. I had spent money I didn’t really have to print resumes to give to prospective employers, only to realize that they were not necessary. I perfunctorily filled out their paperwork, since I was already there, and sat in a brief interview with the recruiter. She told me that I was the smartest person she had talked to all day and that she hoped they would hire me. I mentioned to her that I had actually worked for Tiny Prints the previous season, and so had a lot of experience with the job. This naturally impressed her more, and she told me to go home and take the assessment tests, which I did that evening. She contacted me shortly thereafter to let me know that I had done very well, and she would be scheduling me for an interview, specifying a date a week or two later.
I went home, and apprehensively went to work updating my portfolio I had created the previous year. The recruiter had mentioned that this year they expected to see certain things in the portfolio such as before and after photo touchups. I spent a number of hours on this portfolio, and again, spent some money to have it reprinted. On the day of my scheduled interview, while I was still in bed, but just about to get up and get dressed, I was called by the recruiter. She apologized for the confusion, but since I had performed so well for Tiny Prints the previous holiday season, there would be no need for me to be interviewed. She then congratulated me on being selected to return to work for this holiday season.
Imagine my mixed emotions. I was reluctant to return to this high-stress work environment-a veritable sweatshop for graphic designers. I was also mildly concerned about the money I had spent on the portfolio, now as fruitless as the resumes I had unwittingly printed. However, I was determined to think positively about the situation, and think of ways to lessen my stress. The previous season, I had been so determined to try and earn a permanent position with the company that I had tied myself into knots about not meeting my quota and fear of early dismissal. However, since they were willing to have me return without so much as an interview, I knew that my performance could not actually have been that bad. Even if I knew that I would never meet my quota, which was likely, I could simply look at this as a totally temporary experience. I would simply accept that I would be dismissed at the end of the season, so it would be grueling, but short. I could try to make some contacts, have some fun. It wouldn’t be so bad. I could lessen my schedule at the barbecue to one day a week, just to keep my job there so I could return to it at the end of the season. I had already proven that I could live off the amount I would make for most of a year. Maybe I could do this once a year and sort of be okay.
I talked to the managers at Joe’s, explaining my situation. I did not have a start date at the time, but informed them that if things went as they had done the previous year, I would expect to start early to mid-October. They were very cooperative and willing to have me work one 10 hour shift per week just to keep me on staff, with the expectation that I would return in late December or early January to a normal work schedule.
A week passed, and I didn’t hear anything from the recruiter about a start date. Two weeks passed, and still nothing. I called the recruiter, leaving a voicemail explaining that I would need to know my start date as soon as possible, because I needed two weeks’ notice for my current employer to coordinate the schedule change. I heard nothing back. By the third week, I sent an email, requesting the same information. Finally, she wrote back, at first to say that she was going to coordinate my start date with the Tiny Prints hiring manager. Then she finally gave me a start date for late October. I was disappointed, since it was much later than I expected, which meant less money for me overall. But, at least I had a start date I could take to my managers at Joe’s. We got my schedule changed to one day a week, and I worked my last week of regular shifts for what I expected to be a while.
The recruiter had informed me that I was to attend an orientation to fill out paperwork for tax purposes and such the Friday before my start date. Thursday was my last regular day at the barbecue, and I expected to go home, make dinner, take a shower, and pick out my clothes for the next day’s orientation. On my way to the parking lot, I took out my cell phone to send a text message to my SO, letting him know I was on my way home, and noticed I had received an email message from the recruiter. Getting into my car, I opened my inbox and looked at the message. The recruiter had written that she regretted to inform me that they had already hired too many people and would not be able to hire me at that time. She apologized and said she was sure I would find the perfect job for me.
I got out of my car, completely flummoxed, and dissolved into tears. My work schedule at Joe’s had already been changed so I had only 10 hours the following week. I was nearly out of money and could not afford the lost time, not to mention the lost opportunity with Tiny Prints. I was furious with the recruiter for her slowness-if she had been more responsive, I might have had an earlier start date, and not be left in this state. And I berated myself for not having been more insistent and for not putting enough pressure on her. After a couple of minutes, I came to, found myself sitting on the asphalt, dried my tears and returned to the manager office at Joe’s. I explained my situation and the email from the recruiter. The scheduling manager said that she believed the kitchen manager could probably give me a full schedule the following week. I had already been working prep shifts on the weekends, since the kitchen needed additional help, and it was a good way for me to get a few extra hours.
to be continued
That’s when I got the call from Corestaff. When I was dismissed at the end of the season, I was informed that I should maintain contact with Corestaff weekly by email if I wished to be referred to other job opportunities. Diligently I sent my weekly email to Corestaff, occasionally checking their website for positions, but nothing came up. In September, I received a call from the recruitment staff inviting me to a ‘job fair’. At first, I was reluctant to attend-they had been so peculiar about their termination process with me that I wasn’t sure what to expect. But for some reason, I made myself get up that day, get dressed, print out some resumes, and drive to the site of the job fair.
The job fair did not live up to the expectation. It wasn’t really a job fair where you got to speak to a number of different employers offering different positions, so much as an opportunity to talk to Corestaff recruiters about seasonal positions with Tiny Prints. I was mildly disgusted, to put it lightly. I had spent money I didn’t really have to print resumes to give to prospective employers, only to realize that they were not necessary. I perfunctorily filled out their paperwork, since I was already there, and sat in a brief interview with the recruiter. She told me that I was the smartest person she had talked to all day and that she hoped they would hire me. I mentioned to her that I had actually worked for Tiny Prints the previous season, and so had a lot of experience with the job. This naturally impressed her more, and she told me to go home and take the assessment tests, which I did that evening. She contacted me shortly thereafter to let me know that I had done very well, and she would be scheduling me for an interview, specifying a date a week or two later.
I went home, and apprehensively went to work updating my portfolio I had created the previous year. The recruiter had mentioned that this year they expected to see certain things in the portfolio such as before and after photo touchups. I spent a number of hours on this portfolio, and again, spent some money to have it reprinted. On the day of my scheduled interview, while I was still in bed, but just about to get up and get dressed, I was called by the recruiter. She apologized for the confusion, but since I had performed so well for Tiny Prints the previous holiday season, there would be no need for me to be interviewed. She then congratulated me on being selected to return to work for this holiday season.
Imagine my mixed emotions. I was reluctant to return to this high-stress work environment-a veritable sweatshop for graphic designers. I was also mildly concerned about the money I had spent on the portfolio, now as fruitless as the resumes I had unwittingly printed. However, I was determined to think positively about the situation, and think of ways to lessen my stress. The previous season, I had been so determined to try and earn a permanent position with the company that I had tied myself into knots about not meeting my quota and fear of early dismissal. However, since they were willing to have me return without so much as an interview, I knew that my performance could not actually have been that bad. Even if I knew that I would never meet my quota, which was likely, I could simply look at this as a totally temporary experience. I would simply accept that I would be dismissed at the end of the season, so it would be grueling, but short. I could try to make some contacts, have some fun. It wouldn’t be so bad. I could lessen my schedule at the barbecue to one day a week, just to keep my job there so I could return to it at the end of the season. I had already proven that I could live off the amount I would make for most of a year. Maybe I could do this once a year and sort of be okay.
I talked to the managers at Joe’s, explaining my situation. I did not have a start date at the time, but informed them that if things went as they had done the previous year, I would expect to start early to mid-October. They were very cooperative and willing to have me work one 10 hour shift per week just to keep me on staff, with the expectation that I would return in late December or early January to a normal work schedule.
A week passed, and I didn’t hear anything from the recruiter about a start date. Two weeks passed, and still nothing. I called the recruiter, leaving a voicemail explaining that I would need to know my start date as soon as possible, because I needed two weeks’ notice for my current employer to coordinate the schedule change. I heard nothing back. By the third week, I sent an email, requesting the same information. Finally, she wrote back, at first to say that she was going to coordinate my start date with the Tiny Prints hiring manager. Then she finally gave me a start date for late October. I was disappointed, since it was much later than I expected, which meant less money for me overall. But, at least I had a start date I could take to my managers at Joe’s. We got my schedule changed to one day a week, and I worked my last week of regular shifts for what I expected to be a while.
The recruiter had informed me that I was to attend an orientation to fill out paperwork for tax purposes and such the Friday before my start date. Thursday was my last regular day at the barbecue, and I expected to go home, make dinner, take a shower, and pick out my clothes for the next day’s orientation. On my way to the parking lot, I took out my cell phone to send a text message to my SO, letting him know I was on my way home, and noticed I had received an email message from the recruiter. Getting into my car, I opened my inbox and looked at the message. The recruiter had written that she regretted to inform me that they had already hired too many people and would not be able to hire me at that time. She apologized and said she was sure I would find the perfect job for me.
I got out of my car, completely flummoxed, and dissolved into tears. My work schedule at Joe’s had already been changed so I had only 10 hours the following week. I was nearly out of money and could not afford the lost time, not to mention the lost opportunity with Tiny Prints. I was furious with the recruiter for her slowness-if she had been more responsive, I might have had an earlier start date, and not be left in this state. And I berated myself for not having been more insistent and for not putting enough pressure on her. After a couple of minutes, I came to, found myself sitting on the asphalt, dried my tears and returned to the manager office at Joe’s. I explained my situation and the email from the recruiter. The scheduling manager said that she believed the kitchen manager could probably give me a full schedule the following week. I had already been working prep shifts on the weekends, since the kitchen needed additional help, and it was a good way for me to get a few extra hours.
to be continued