When you come home from 5 months overseas and you know going back to your barista job of five years isn't where your heart is anymore, and when you're living with your parents and not sure what else you'll be doing for the next 3-12 months of your life, it's usually the time to look for a place of employment. For me back in September...that place was big blob of mystery. All I could think of were waitress/barista positions or receptionist jobs. (insert sub-culture reference here) I didn't want to do coffee again, because my loyalties lie with my beloved job of 5 years, and so Starbs was not an option. But what do I like besides coffee? Teaching...but there's that problem of a degree. I finally realized near the end of September that I really like shopping at REI and that it is considered one of the top 100 best places to work in the nation. So I applied, and am very thankful to say that I now have a job! I was officially hired at REI about three weeks ago, after a long and dramatic application/interviewing process.
I began by writing my resume for the very first time. It turned out pretty great, and I was encouraged when I saw my life experiences written out on paper; I have been places. The next step was filling out the REI online application, which was extensive. I felt the first twinges of dread and discouragement when I came to the part that asked me to rate my knowledge of activities such as rock climbing, snowboarding, canoeing/kayaking, snowshoeing, cycling, camping, etc. I had to put a 0 or a 1 on most of these, though I said my knowledge of women's clothing/shoes was "3" and I got REALLY excited when at the bottom of the list it said "travel" and I got to put a 4.Mmmm-hm, that's right.
I showed up at the job fair on Sept 29 waaaay early, and was 2nd in line at the door. As the time got closer, I looked behind me down the side of the building and saw that I was 2nd out of over 250 hopeful applicants. My odds seemed grim. Like a fairytale.
We were in line for 5-minute mini interviews done by REI employees. When my time came, I was immediately put at ease by the friendly guy who seemed just as unsure about what he was doing as I was. Somehow, I answered every question without any hesitation and didn't even feel weird talking about myself. But he didn't ask me the one question I prepared for beforehand: "What are your strengths and weaknesses?" Phew. After this, I had to wait two days before knowing whether I was called back for a second interview or not. Even though deep inside I had an inkling from the Lord that this job was from Him and that it was in the bag, I was SURE they didn't want me. But they did! And I was called back for the second round, which was a hairy scary group interview, a week later.
The group interview was a little fun but mostly on the awkward side. There were twelve of us in this group (there had been another group of 12 that morning) and the overall feeling in the room, to me, was something like this: "I want this job and I will fight you to the death for it, but I will pretend to be your bosom-buddy for the next 2 hours because they want to see us have fun and be friends and work together on all these interactive activities." Since this was my FIRST INTERVIEW EVER, I'm not sure how this one compared, but I really did enjoy it. And by the grace of God, I was able to be myself. I didn't talk a lot and I was honest about my "love of the outdoors" without making my experiences out to be bigger than they were. We got to perform skits and practice selling things. I was discouraged again when I was stuck as the one selling a pair of boots, and it became very clear that I had no idea what I was talking about. I went home again with the attitude of a deeply down-trodden bunny-rabbit wallowing in a pit of complete and utter despair.
But oh how I jumped for joy and how my parents whooped and nearly cried when I received a phone call from a manager who first asked me if my requested days off were negotiable or not, and after I said yes they were, he said, "Well then I'd like to offer you a job, if that's ok." Um, YES!
The following two weeks were back-to-back training days with the entire group of 12 new seasonal hires (who finally DID act like bosom-buddies!), and the third week was specified training for us cashiers. (I'm a cashier!) I am now fully trained and have my first official work day this week. I'm thankful to the Lord for the long process that made me trust Him with where He's taking me and with the skills and personality that He has given me and I'm excited to see how He uses this experience later in my life. Most of all, I'm thankful for the blessing of having a job and being able to support myself as I try to live life joyfully being back home again. Though there's still plenty of pain in being patient, I AM having loads of fun being a working woman again.
"Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him, and he will act."- psalm 37:5
I began by writing my resume for the very first time. It turned out pretty great, and I was encouraged when I saw my life experiences written out on paper; I have been places. The next step was filling out the REI online application, which was extensive. I felt the first twinges of dread and discouragement when I came to the part that asked me to rate my knowledge of activities such as rock climbing, snowboarding, canoeing/kayaking, snowshoeing, cycling, camping, etc. I had to put a 0 or a 1 on most of these, though I said my knowledge of women's clothing/shoes was "3" and I got REALLY excited when at the bottom of the list it said "travel" and I got to put a 4.Mmmm-hm, that's right.
I showed up at the job fair on Sept 29 waaaay early, and was 2nd in line at the door. As the time got closer, I looked behind me down the side of the building and saw that I was 2nd out of over 250 hopeful applicants. My odds seemed grim. Like a fairytale.
We were in line for 5-minute mini interviews done by REI employees. When my time came, I was immediately put at ease by the friendly guy who seemed just as unsure about what he was doing as I was. Somehow, I answered every question without any hesitation and didn't even feel weird talking about myself. But he didn't ask me the one question I prepared for beforehand: "What are your strengths and weaknesses?" Phew. After this, I had to wait two days before knowing whether I was called back for a second interview or not. Even though deep inside I had an inkling from the Lord that this job was from Him and that it was in the bag, I was SURE they didn't want me. But they did! And I was called back for the second round, which was a hairy scary group interview, a week later.
The group interview was a little fun but mostly on the awkward side. There were twelve of us in this group (there had been another group of 12 that morning) and the overall feeling in the room, to me, was something like this: "I want this job and I will fight you to the death for it, but I will pretend to be your bosom-buddy for the next 2 hours because they want to see us have fun and be friends and work together on all these interactive activities." Since this was my FIRST INTERVIEW EVER, I'm not sure how this one compared, but I really did enjoy it. And by the grace of God, I was able to be myself. I didn't talk a lot and I was honest about my "love of the outdoors" without making my experiences out to be bigger than they were. We got to perform skits and practice selling things. I was discouraged again when I was stuck as the one selling a pair of boots, and it became very clear that I had no idea what I was talking about. I went home again with the attitude of a deeply down-trodden bunny-rabbit wallowing in a pit of complete and utter despair.
But oh how I jumped for joy and how my parents whooped and nearly cried when I received a phone call from a manager who first asked me if my requested days off were negotiable or not, and after I said yes they were, he said, "Well then I'd like to offer you a job, if that's ok." Um, YES!
The following two weeks were back-to-back training days with the entire group of 12 new seasonal hires (who finally DID act like bosom-buddies!), and the third week was specified training for us cashiers. (I'm a cashier!) I am now fully trained and have my first official work day this week. I'm thankful to the Lord for the long process that made me trust Him with where He's taking me and with the skills and personality that He has given me and I'm excited to see how He uses this experience later in my life. Most of all, I'm thankful for the blessing of having a job and being able to support myself as I try to live life joyfully being back home again. Though there's still plenty of pain in being patient, I AM having loads of fun being a working woman again.
"Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him, and he will act."- psalm 37:5
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