Good news: I got a job. While I feel like it still isn't true since I haven't signed any papers yet and have to wait a whole week to go to an orientation, still I think this is it!
Bad news: The journey really sucked to get here!
Out of the past 9 months I have worked around 6 months starting at Old Navy for a month and two separate times at the hospital. The first round at the hospital was for about 4 months while one buyer went on maternity leave. The second round at the hospital was just this past June. Another buyer accepted a position somewhere else leaving her buyer position wide open. I was called back to train on her last day. While at the hospital the second time I was told I could apply for the upcoming open position and so I did. Everyone kept telling me I had the advantage and even some told me all the interviewing was surely a formality. Well to keep things short, I was screwed and I didn't get the position. There was a ridiculous amount of drama when I came back in June (mainly about people asking if I really wanted to be there and if I were to get the job would I stay very long) and in the end I lost out to a lady I used to work with at my old AMO job. A lady that was laid off the same time as me and who I thought was pursuing school and a career in nutrition and had landed a job at her gym right away.
I've been going over how I lost the job, what I really wanted and what I've learned for the future.
1) Financial reasons-Since I've started at the hospital there was always talk about being under budget. Since the hire of a nurse manager to fill the position of a clinical value analyst the budget has been pretty tight. One position was cut entirely and there was no room to hire any additional people. When I went back the second time I had one day of training because there wasn't any room in the budget to bring me back sooner. Really...no room to bring me back for even 2 or 3 days of training? This makes me think that by hiring someone new they can bring that person in at a lower rate. Also, this new person could potentially take over another position in the near future doing contracts. They could give this person double the responsibility for the pay of one and get rid of another position. Otherwise I don't understand why they would hire a new person they could promote quickly to contracts only to have to hire another buyer in a few months.
2)The new person really seemed confident. When I was told that I didn't get the job the purchasing manager told me that she felt the new person would take the "buyer position to exciting new places and could possibly move up quickly to a Contract Resource Specialist". What a load of BS. But since I knew the person that got the job I know a little more about her. When she came into her first interview she was dressed in a tight short skirt with a zipper going doing the front, a white fitted sleeveless blouse and strappy heels. To her second interview she wore a suit. I know who she knows too. This office seems to cater to people that "know people" so if she did some name dropping I'm pretty sure she looked impressive. My confidence was kind of lacking compared to someone that had no idea what the job was really like. My first interview back in December was with a purchasing manager that retired a month later. I'm pretty sure I got the job because no one else wanted a temp position with no benefits. My first round of training consisted of 9 days with a pregnant woman that was not prepared to train anyone. I learned the basics but I was constantly asking questions. By the time I left in April I was really feeling comfortable. Coming back in June it took me a week to kind of feel where I left off in April but it was still a completely different position than what I did before. My confidence was always wavering simply because I hated having to ask a million questions a day. And dealing with the warehouse was a task in itself. While interviewing the second time with the new purchasing manager she said she was confident in sending me to the next interview with the department managers. The next week I was told that the department manager didn't need to interview me because they already knew me. So if all they knew was the person they spoke to on the phone then what chance did I have to show them what I knew or impress them in any way.
3)I didn't really want this job and needed a sign but still it sucked to hear I was rejected. When I left the hospital in April I was glad. I was annoyed by the people that worked in the office. I had just gone through the death of my dad and I needed time to veg and process what had happened. When I was called back in June I told some people that I really didn't want the job but I knew a job was a job and I'm in no position to be picky so I went back in June trying to prove I wanted the job. At the end of May I had applied for a few jobs and during June I was slowly getting the emails that I wasn't qualified or picked for interviews. Then on June 22nd I received an email that I was chosen for an interview with a local school district as a procurement assistant. Then the real struggle began. At this point I had already done the first interview and was waiting to find out about the 2nd interview. I decided to keep the appointment that was set for me and then figure out how to tell the office that I was going to be out on the following Friday. I was waiting to see if the hospital would just tell me if I had the job or not so I could cancel the interview with the school district but as I wasn't getting a notification for the 2nd interview I thought I really needed to keep the school district interview. On the 27th I told my supervisor I would be out that Friday. I went home that night torn about the decision I would have to make or the decision that would be made for me. Working at a school district seemed more attractive. I would have a new chance to prove myself. I would work in an environment that was probably more suited to me. While the rain was coming down I thought of my dad and I asked him what I should do, could I really be happy working for the hospital if I got that job? Thursday rolled around and first thing in the morning I was told I didn't get the job. While I knew this was the sign I had asked for it still hurt. To work somewhere for 4 months and then to be told someone else had better qualifications is hard to handle. Being rejected shouldn't be anything new for me since I have a notebook of 50+ jobs that I didn't get but this time it was just unreal.
So the decision was made for me to interview for the school district. I finished out my day at the hospital and even though they gave me the option to work until the new person started I didn't want to keep working somewhere that didn't want me. On Friday I interviewed for the school district and I tried to be confident and assertive while still being me. At the end of my interview where they ask you if you want to add anything....I tried something new after asking my questions I closed out my interview stating that even though I had experience as a buyer that each position is different and that I see this as a new opportunity to learn and grow. I didn't want to come away with them thinking I was overqualified for an assistant position but I also didn't want to seem overly desperate.
Imagine my surprise yesterday when I opened an email from the school district telling me that I got the job! While the pay isn't as great as it was at AMO I really do think I'll be happier working for a school district. I don't mind going back down the totem pole of purchasing because hopefully I can advance quickly. AND I really hated wearing business professional clothes. When I went in for my interview at the district office women were wearing jeans and capris. Wearing regular clothes makes me extremely happy! So here's to a new start and a new adventure!
OH and I left out after my interview with the new purchasing manager at the hospital I fell down the stairs. I was ok just had a sore butt for a couple weeks. I was wearing cheap 1 inch heels from Ross. For my interview at the school district I wore some Nine West boots with a 2 inch heel and I didn't fall and I got the job. I really think the shoes did it.
