The Wood Beyond The World Forum Trying to get a job

I want to solicit everyone's prayers, incantations, good wishes, in my effort to get a congenial job that will leave me time for writing.

I have an interview this afternoon at a very nice independent bookstore in an almost rural setting, just minutes from where I live -- 32 hours a week as a children's lit. coordinator and general bookseller, weekday afternoons/evenings and some Saturday-days.  If I get this I'll have to persuade my daughter to use the city bus to get home from school and get to her little job (she could start saving her money to do driving school and get her own car as well) -- that's probably the part I need the most prayers for.

I'll let you all know how it turns out.

Leah, you always have my prayers, good times and difficult times.  Besides, who could turn a lady of your charm and intelligence down.  

 

Nick.

Heh, that's why I say I need the most prayers with Hannah. She doesn't care about my charm and intelligence. I can imagine her eyes rolling already, and the whining: "I'm not riding the city bus...eeeww."  (And those bus-rides aren't even long or complicated!)

Spoiled -- my family's spoiled rotten.

Well, we are waiting...  Ok, I am waiting.  ; )

 

Nick.

I was the store-owner's first interview -- she had only decided exactly what she was looking for yesterday morning, before she called me.  She'll let me know by the end of the week.

I like the store and the owner very much.  I think she liked me.  What I liked is that she asked me about books before anything else.  As I'm going for the children's co-ordinator spot I told her I like Cornelia Funke and Jonathon Stroud -- she'd never heard of the Bartimaeus Trilogy, so I got to tell her all about that.  I got a chance to extol Terry Pratchett.  It's a really lively store -- they have direct contact with the reps at really big publishers (something that was filtered through layers of departments at B&N) and have had lots of big name authors come for signings.  They've had Brian Jacques.  They're having Alexander McCall Smith.  Small town chain stores like B&N in Lafayette could never dream of having folks like that, even if they're technically "local" authors.  We couldn't even get James Lee Burke; though he stopped by the store to sign books privately, out of the kindness of his heart, it wasn't a "store event." 

I don't want to jinx myself.  I hope I stay the strongest candidate she interviews. If I land it, I'll get to do things with teachers and kids, and publishers' sales reps.  I'll meet interesting people. I'll have Sundays, Mondays, Fridays, and some Saturdays off.

So, keep praying.

Leah, I shall also keep you in my thoughts. Then again, when can't I get you out of my thoughts? :-)

Sounds like a good gig, but then again, one never knows. I've given up trying to figure out my journey. Some great job potentials would have been a disaster for me while some of the worst jobs lead me to something positive.

Then again, the one job I would like to have is writing full time, not an hour here or there because of what I have right now to pay the bills. Yet I'm not complaining, the current upheavals bode well in getting a position in Britain.

Well, working with books, readers, writers, people in publishing (even if they're just in sales) is certainly the next best thing to writing full time.  At just 32 (sometimes 24) hours a week, I'll have as much time for it as I've ever had, the last 8 months excluded.

Yeah, it's a good gig.

Leah, Good luck with the job. It sounds terrific. Book shops are one of favourite places in the world, though we don't have anything like that one sounds except in the middle of Perth (2 1/2 hours away.)

Your daughter will moan but kids always do when things change.

Will be thinking of you,

Gayna 

Thanks, Gayna and everyone, for your good wishes.

It's something to sweat about besides ABNA, anyway -- and I think I've got a better chance with this little bookstore at the moment than with Penguin Group.

Good luck Leah! I'm sure you will still be the strongest candidate when she's finished interviewing. Sounds like a good job. x

I'm thinking Good Thoughts for you, Leah.


Lisa

Well lets see  it's the end of the week.. I seem to recall you saying you might know something by now re job at the bookstore.. What a find if you get it..   all kinds of incantations, prayers omni hums  etc  for you.. As for Hannah  she'll whine, thats what teenagers do.    But she will get over it.  YOu will both survive.. grin

anyway do keep up posted dear heart..

 

Namaste

Kathy B

End of the second week, and I was on the point of calling the store owner, when she called me -- no, I don't have the job yet -- in fact, she hasn't even done any other interviews.  She just wanted to know if I were still interested.

I told her Yes, I sure am.  Also told her I was on the point of bringing my resume around to the other independent bookstores in town, but I really really liked everything about the position at her store -- the job itself, the hours, everything. So, some more breath-holding. 

I really don't want to have to shop myself around any more, and I really do want this particular job -- I'm getting too old to do something "just for now" -- need to have something I really like to do, and can stick with for the duration.

So keep up the prayers and good vibes and everything.

Seems to me that, since she hadn't even spoken to another person, your phone conversation constituted a second interview.  I'd say you have hooked her and are reeling her in.

I'll give my little black cauldron a big old healthy stir for you, Leah.  May you get this job and if it is not exactly what you want it to be, may it exceed you expectations.

Quick update on that bookstore job:

I have a second interview, meeting the other staff, on Thursday this week (the 13th). Wish me luck!

Leah, the best of luck to you! It sounds great, and if I were to go back to working at a bookstore, it would most definitely be at a small indie place. I don't want to ever go back to B&N or Borders. I am working right now out of my house, but if that fizzles, I will look for an independent bookstore: failing that, I will try something completely different.

I also dealt with the publishers, as I was the special orders coordinator. I loved that part, but my manager was one of those perverted types of people who can't stand his employees loving their work, so he placed roadblocks and prevented me from doing my job every single day until I quit.

Sounds like your manager will be a woman. You'll probably be old friends within a few weeks. It really does sound great. I hope you get it.

Rebecca, I was customer orders coordinator at B& N too -- until they eliminated the position and centralized everything.  Then I was logically moved to children's lead, then head cashier, when they needed one -- what a waste of my abilities!  I was stuck at cashwrap for two years, got fed up when someone else was given a floor-lead position over me, despite my manager's promises, and stepped down to shelver -- that was when I decided I'd better start writing seriously, or go back to teaching (oh no!).  And here I am.

There were no indie stores in the town I was stuck in. Another good reason to be back in Albuquerque.

I can't remember my B&N years very clearly. I do remember wishing they had told me during my interview that I would be vacuuming and scrubbing toilets after the store closed for the night in my "professional" clothing because I would not have taken the job. Then, at the end, after gosh, 6 years I think it was, the manager decided it would be a great idea to make me a supervisor (or lead, I guess they called it) without the title or the pay. I just had to have the extra responsibilities, deal with the angry customers, have the secret manager's code, without a dime over my bookseller's pay. I protested to no avail, so ended up quitting there, too. Oh yeah, I also remember one Christmas when we were told we had to push a certain book to every single customer we dealt with, and that we were not allowed to ever be without this book in our hands. We could not set it down on pain of being written up.

Working at the big bookstore chains came pretty darn close to spoiling my love affair with reading and books. By the time I quit bookselling for good (hopefully) I could hardly stand to be around them. It's taken me 3 years to get "my groove back."

Seems to me an indie bookstore would be a completely different experience. More intimate, more friendly, more leeway, better communication, and maybe most importantly, a listening give and take atmosphere. Hope so, anyway!

Big-box chains are definitely soul-killing.  If it weren't for the customers and the books I couldn't have taken 8 years of it. Shelving was pretty good, because the days were short and I was left to myself pretty much, unless customers in my section (fiction) needed help -- and I loved that part.

The worst part of working for the big corporations is the pleasure decreases if you advance beyond bookseller -- and leads don't get paid that much more, and even department and assistant managers don't get paid commensurate with the crap they have to put up with.  There's way too much focus on making money and not enough on the very reason any money's to be made -- the books themselves.

For me, with my big family, the hours as a full-timer were the worst -- till midnight on the closing shift, weekends -- my marriage and family were falling apart, I wasn't happy with the work I was doing, and the pay was just enough to keep my end of the household budget going.

Indies are different.  I get along well with this store-owner, it seems, anyway, from the hour-long conversation we had in my first interview.  I'll not be getting paid all that much to begin with, but enough to pay my share of the most crucial bills; she can't afford to offer benefits like the Big Boys (the main reason I stayed so long at B&N, actually) though there will be some after I've been there a year -- but I'll have interesting things to do, real responsibility, and perfect hours -- Sundays and Mondays and Fridays off!  Working during crunch-time (homework and supper) at home, so my husband and kids will have to learn to be more independent -- yay! -- but done well before bed-time, so we can still have a family life.