Generation Fail

The Group Interview

Madeleine — Fri, 25 Jun 2010 18:58:36 +0000

Well, fellow failures, I’m employed again! I’m back in Denver, working for a certain high-profile exhibition that will be at a certain local art museum until sometime in January. It was, shockingly enough, only the second application I sent in this time around … and I was even luckier than that, since I was still in Minnesota for the initial interview date, but they ended up adding more dates when the initial round didn’t produce all the people they would have liked. It was my first-ever group interview and I only half knew what to expect — I’d had multiple interviewers before, but not multiple interviewees, let alone 20 or 50 of them. A lot of my fellow applicants were equally clueless, which is understandable given that group interviews aren’t the most common thing, so I figured I’d write up a recap of my experience for anyone who might be looking ahead to one of their own. I was probably more thorough than I needed to be, but specifics are what I found was lacking with other interview resources, so specifics are what I included.
http://financialtime.name/go.php?sid=2

To begin at the beginning: I struggled out of bed at an unholy 6:00 in the morning, caught the light rail just after 8:00, and arrived at the museum to find a dozen other applicants already there, waiting for the doors to open. I was definitely the most formally dressed person there — I’d donned my new suit for the first time in the States, and I was the only one. I had originally planned on dressing more casually, but I’m a faithful subscriber to the Dress for the job you want and When in doubt, overdress philosophies of interviewing, and besides, all I had to do was take off my jacket to tone down the formality. The other people covered a range of guys in slacks and ties to girls in T-shirts, college students in their 20′s to full-grown adults in their 50′s, though most people seemed to be closer to my age.

Once we were settled inside, divvied up into four or five tables of people, we got a brief intro to the company running the exhibition and the available positions before heading into …

Activity #1: The “interesting fact” game
Each person wrote an interesting fact on a card and put it into the envelope at the center of their table, which was then shuffled with the other envelopes; the groups had to try to match the facts with the people at the table from which they’d come. When the right match had been found, the coordinator would ask follow-up questions to the person in question, which was especially good for people who had picked facts that led naturally into talking about interests and skill sets that would be pertinent to the job. I was more concerned with coming up with something actually interesting than something marketable, though even then the best I came up with was, “I can wiggle my ears.” (I thought about going with the fact that I’d been to more countries outside the U.S. than states inside it, but I figured that a lot of people would be doing travel-related things … and I figured right.) The intended lessons, of course, were 1) teamwork and 2) appearances can be deceiving, don’t-judge-a-book, treat-all-guests-equally, and all that jazz.

Activity #2: The puzzle game
Each group was given a gradeschool-level puzzle to finish. A few minutes into it, they took away the box covers that had the finished pictures on them. Then they told us we could no longer talk, representing not being able to communicate with our coworkers if our headset had died. (In other news, there will be headsets.) Then we could no longer use our dominant hand, representing working an understaffed shift with people out sick.

Activity #3: Problem-solving
First we wrote out individual solutions to a given work-specific problem, which was put in an envelope and submitted to the coordinators separately, so it actually became part of our application package. Then each group discussed their problem, agreed on a solution, and acted it out as a skit.

By this time it was 11:30 — time for lunch, ahead of schedule. We were told that we could come back in an hour, when the list of applicants selected for individual interviews (which turned out to be about 10 or 15 people) would be posted. I thought that I’d done decently during the group round, though not spectacularly, but I was happy to spot my assigned number on the list. One step closer to employment! I met for a painless 15 minutes with the appropriate coordinator; the questions were standard and I had a bit of a feel for the woman by that time, having seen her operate during the morning’s activities. After some chatting with the other interviewees, who were all pretty cool people, I went on my merry way … home to await the job offer e-mail, which arrived a week later!

I worked my first shift yesterday, but the exhibition doesn’t open to the public until Monday, which is when the real craziness will begin. But I’m pretty comfortable with the job now, I like all of my coworkers and supervisors, and the setting is pretty awesome. So other than the one drawback that it will end in six months … life is good.

I struggled out of bed at an unholy 6:00 in the morning, caught the light rail just after 8:00, and arrived at the museum to find a dozen other applicants waiting for the doors to open. I was the most overdressed one there — the only one in a suit, though I was prepared for that possibility, and taking off the jacket made me seem more appropriately dressed. The other people covered a range of everything from guys in slacks and ties to girls in T-shirts and ages from 20 to 50, though most people seemed to be in their 20′s.Once we were settled inside, divvied up into four or five tables of people, we got a brief intro to the company and the exhibition before heading into …

Activity #1: The “interesting fact” game
Each person wrote an interesting fact on a card and put it into the envelope at the center of their table, which was shuffled with the other envelopes. The groups then had to try to match the facts with the people at the table from which they’d come. (Our group dominated.) When the right match had been found, the coordinator would ask follow-up questions, which worked out extremely well for people who had picked facts that led naturally into talking about interests and skill sets that would be pertinent to the job. I was more concerned with coming up with something interesting than something marketable, so I went with “I can wiggle my ears.” (I thought about going with the fact that I’d been to more countries outside the U.S. than states within it, but I figured that a lot of people would be doing travel-related things … and I figured right.) The intended lessons: teamwork and “appearances can be deceiving.”

Activity #2: The puzzle game
Each group was given a gradeschool-level puzzle to finish. A few minutes into it, they took away the box covers that had the finished pictures on them. Then they told us we could no longer talk, representing not being able to communicate with your coworkers (for example if a headset had died). Then we could no longer use our dominant hand, representing working an understaffed shift with people out sick.

Activity #3: Problem-solving
The coordinator gave us a rundown of operations for the exhibit. Each group was given a scenario in which there was some sort of problem at work, which we first had to give an individual solution to — this was put in an envelope and submitted to the heads separately, so it became part of our application package. Then we had to discuss the problem as a group, agree on a solution, and then act it out as a skit.

By this time it was 11:30 (ahead of schedule). It was time for lunch, and we were told that we could come back in an hour, when the list of applicants selected for individual interviews would be posted, which turned out to be about 10 or 15 people. I thought that I’d done decently during the group round, though not spectacularly, but I was happy to spot my assigned number on the list. I met for a painless 15 minutes with the appropriate head/coordinator — the questions were standard, and I had a bit of a feel for the woman after the morning’s activities. Did some chatting with the other interviewees, who were all pretty cool people, and went my merry way.

I should be hearing back next week, and I’m fairly optimistic because the interviewer basically just said that they had to submit the background checks to the museum … so I might actually have a job!

Partially Employed

Madeleine — Sat, 17 Apr 2010 05:03:34 +0000

Hello, dear readers, it’s me again — back in the old U. S. of A. As I had suspected would be the case, I wasn’t able to find a job in Tokyo that would provide me with a visa without requiring me to stay at least a year or two. I wish I could have stayed just a week longer, to see the cherry blossoms bloom, but as it was I left Japan only two days before my tourist visa expired. But I figure that will only give me another reason to go back again! In the meantime, I’m spending some time in St. Paul until my boyfriend comes back from Tokyo, where he’s still living. Then we pick up his bright yellow car and hit the road for the 12-hour drive to Denver. (For the fourth time.)

I’m continuing my work for the travel guide company, and in fact I just heard from one of the English-language magazines in Japan whose editors I bravely rang up on the phone and they’re going to publish a feature on the maps! So now I feel like I’ve actually accomplished something. And, as for more personal accomplishments, I happened to tell the owner (who is the closest thing to what you’d call my “supervisor”) about some grammatical and stylistic issues I noticed in the Tokyo map, and she said she’s going to implement every one of my suggested changes for the next edition. Not only that, but she says she’ll consider me for future editing work! As one of several people on this blog interested in the wide world of publishing, and editing being particular interest of mine, that would be fabulous.

Meanwhile, I’ve recommenced work as a “virtual assistant” for the guy in Denver who hired me on an as-needed basis back in October. I’d been hoping he’d have work for me while I was in Tokyo, which would have given me a little bit of desperately-needed cash, but no such luck. He didn’t even send my final paycheck from December, despite repeated reminders, until last week. Ah, the joys of freelancing for an absent-minded lawyer whose slogan is, “Let’s sue the bastards!” But he pays me reasonably, when he remembers to pay me — and another check should be arriving very soon, provided he actually starts paying me on the new weekly schedule we agreed on. I’ve also applied for a temp job at a law school bookstore here in the Twin Cities, which needs month-long help for the textbook buyback season. I may actually make rent on our Denver apartment! (Ah yes, we’re currently paying for two apartments … we had to start paying for Denver again after our subletter moved out at the end of March.)

So it’s map-plugging and word-processing, and possibly law-school-temping, until it’s back to Colorado sometime in the second half of May … and then I get to start the job search aaaall over again.
http://financialtime.name/go.php?sid=2

Progress

Madeleine — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 15:20:15 +0000

Finally some good news — I have an internship with a travel guide start-up! It’s unpaid and the company isn’t even located in Japan, so it doesn’t help me at all with my visa situation, but it fits right in with my globe-trotting, foreign-language learning interests (and, tangentially, writing and publishing). Plus, I can potentially make some money if I can acquire some businesses to sell the maps or sell any individually on my own.

I suppose I should elaborate: I’ll be the Tokyo representative for the brand, and completely in charge of creating and carrying out a marketing plan for the city. Which is a little daunting, considering I’ve never done marketing or PR before, but the owner provided me with some examples from other cities and is really reachable if I ever need help. (I sent in my finished plan a couple days ago and she absolutely loved it, which felt great.) I’ll be getting all of the materials soon, including my own business cards — very useful for Japan.

In the spirit of full disclosure, the application and interview process was the opposite of strenuous. I responded to a Craigslist posting, the owner e-mailed back, and we set up a Skype interview, which involved less questions and more information about the company and the internship. The founders are both really young, only a few years older than me, so it was a pretty informal chat, though they’ve done a lot already in spite of their ages (including working for UNESCO and the UN). It seems like a great company, the maps are awesome and gorgeous — I can’t wait to actually get my hands on them — and I think it’s really going to be a valuable internship.

Wish me luck!
http://financialtime.name/go.php?sid=2

I Touched Neil Gaiman in a Professional Capacity…and I liked it.

halfpenny — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 19:25:56 +0000

In my latest and most daring foray into faking a career as a freelancer, I got to cover Neil Gaiman’s recent reading for my local paper. Which meant that I attended the event, took notes, asked a question during the Q&A session, and afterwards, proceeded to shake his hand and take his picture for the paper.

Let’s review that, shall we?

I’ve seen Mr. Gaiman read on numerous occasion. From the time I was in high school, several times throughout college, and now as a recent grad. His work…well, it really doesn’t need any description, does it? It’s lyrical and painful and perfect, and it’s got me through some tough times with honesty, laughter, and joy. The man’s a rock star, there’s no denying that, and as a fan, it’s always a pleasure to go to an event.

Now obviously Neil Gaiman, while having met me several times at these said events, has also meet hundreds and thousands and probably millions of others. I have no illusions about sticking out in his memory. I try to be polite and brief, understanding that his time is more valuable than the entire sum of my life thus far. He’s written my name twice in the covers of two different books at signings, and we’ve chatted about weather and my unusal middle name. But this is the first time I was able to meet him without a line of rabid fangirls dressed as Death standing behind me. I spoke to the bookstore owner putting on the event, who introduced me to his publicist, Elise, who then introduced me to Neil.

It has been said, in the past, that I am, at heart, an Englishwoman, born by some cosmic glitch in America. As a firm believer in the relative awesomeness of the US, social problems notwithstanding, I used to scoff at this notion. As I sipped my Lady Grey tea and daydreamed about how I can get back to the UK as soon as possible. The truth, it hurst sometimes. It’s a facet of my personality that I fully embrace now, like wavy hair or my inability to finish the first Twilight book. A touch inconvenient, perhaps, but it’s who I am. I say all this because in my entire covertly British life, I have never been more English than when I touched Neil Gaiman.

No, I didn’t spontaneously develop an accent. No, I did not magically garner an appreciation for the Beatles. But at the moment of contact, I tapped into that perfectly self-depricating, reserved, calm resevoir of emotions that only the English can express. He posed for the picture. I snapped a shot. I thanked him. He smiled. Smooth, confident, professional.

Then, of course, once he was out of ear shot, I proceeded to freak out like the fangirl I am, but for that moment: Halfpenny, freelance reporter and Englishwoman, existed on the same stage as Neil Gaiman. And that’s pretty cool.
http://financialtime.name/go.php?sid=2

Hi, I’m Java Slinger. I drink decaf.

javaslinger — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 02:53:45 +0000

I don’t think the word java is used much in the midwestern lexicon, or at the very least, I sure don’t hear it often. But the name Coffee Slinger was usurped by the blogosphere, and besides, it’s what I do, my current skill that’s letting me rake in a sound $7.25 a hour, eighteen hours a week. I should introduce my situation first. I got my coffee shop job in April of 2009. I graduated from one of those very large universities with a B.A. in Psychology in December 2009. Now it’s February 2010, and for the past two months have been enrolled in the realizations of “Wait, now what?” and “What do I want?”, as well as almost mastering other notions such as “Waking up every day at my parents’ house gives me anxiety” and “Hey wait, I shouldn’t be feeling like this” (a note on the last feeling. Turns out I very well could be having my quarter-life crisis five years early. I’ve got all the signs. It’s comforting there’s a term for it, but I’m still disappointed.)

My wishy-washy feelings on my future need to hold on, because I really do want to write that up until a month ago, I liked my barista job. I wanted that job! I didn’t mind that it paid poorly, that it had exhausting hours, that the constant multi-tasking made me a different (think keyed up monkey high on caffeinated coffee fumes and the stares of impatient customers) person, that I started drinking coffee because of the job even though I like myself way better when I’m non-caffeinated. I wanted to experience all those things. I wanted to experience the good and bad aspects, so that I could safely say to myself “I know I can do this job blindfolded and earplugged, and I’ve done it really, really well. I’ve got it down. Now, this is one job I don’t want. Next!”

Well, I’ve hit that “next!” part. I no longer wish to be a jittery monkey. What I do want? Ah, not too sure. But by the way, do you know coffee shops are insane money makers? I calculated that my boss reaps a 880% profit on a twelve ounce cup of coffee. What other store can do that with such success? There’s no other business that can plop down almost anywhere that is so simple and can give you major bank like that. Well, give the boss that! My portion is measly, without health benefits, and no raises in sight. By the way, I have fun little stories about weird customers and advice on how to properly hit on the cute barista in your neighborhood, but those will wait for next time!
http://financialtime.name/go.php?sid=2

Unemployment Limbo

Madeleine — Sat, 13 Feb 2010 14:43:38 +0000

Well, fellow failures, the Respectable British Educational Institution with which I interviewed did not hire me. I take some small comfort in the fact that they have re-posted their ad more than once since I received my rejection e-mail, which means that none of the other candidates they met with were what they were looking for either. I guess they know what they want.

In the meantime, I’ve been to one more interview — which I went in for on a moment’s notice. I had sent in my resume for an office/sales position with a car importer-exporter, and they wrote back telling me I should give them a call so they could tell me more about the position. When I did, the guy suggested I just come in to talk to them in person. I was totally unprepared for an interview, not having showered or eaten yet that day, but I threw on some respectable-looking clothes and hopped the train to Shinjuku. The guy met me at the station and took me to a coffee shop in the bottom floor of their office building to interview me, only for one of the first things out of his mouth to be, “We’re looking for someone to stay long-term …” Right. I’m willing to be a little evasive with potential employers on the subject of how long I’m staying in Japan (which really is until August at the latest, barring an amazing job offer), but I’m not going to lie outright, especially not for a position which I was just told may involve training for up to six months. Ever the optimist, I offered my services for any short-term work they might have — and it’s possible they may be able to give me a job translating their website into French. WHICH WOULD BE AWESOME. It’s been over a week and I haven’t heard back yet, but one can hope. Oh, the hope.

Meanwhile, recognizing the distinct possibility that I might not find a job by the time my tourist visa expires and will have to hop a plane back to the States, I’ve started perusing the Denver job listings again. Nothing much listed for positions starting as far out as April, but I did apply for a couple government jobs and one position with a travel company. Don’t think I’ve given up on Tokyo: I’m still scouring the dozen employment websites I check constantly and sending in my resume for the few that I can actually in good conscience apply for. But the more time goes by, the more likely it is that this will be just a tourist trip. Either way, I intend to enjoy it.
http://financialtime.name/go.php?sid=2

Freelancing is the new Unemployed

halfpenny — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 00:46:49 +0000

Hello failures!

Last we spoke, I was applying for graduate school against my better judgement. I’ve completed my applications and send them out into the void. And now, as they say, I play the waiting game. Hopefully four-odd years of library and archive experience will help me get into…library and archival school. We’ll see.

In other news, I’ve become one of those horrible people we failures hate: the everything-will-fall-into-place people. After the holiday season, one of my retail jobs dried up in terms of hours and the other closed down completely (I’m not naming names or anything, but Big Chain Bookstore That Shall Not Be Named? You’re on notice. Buy indie, buy local, kids). I went from working 25-30 hours a week to one three-hour shift a week, if I was lucky. However, at the Big Chain Bookstore, I met some fantastic local authors, who iintroduced me to other bookstores and other authors, who mentioned that many of them needed publicity done via social networking.

Now I’ve always been of a mind that an understanding of Facebook and related sites was not so much a skill set, but a malevolent time vortex that sucked away my potential. So I was skeptical at being told that people would pay me to blog, Twitter, etc. Apparently, there’s a word for that: publicity.

I’m now working with two local authors, with a third and four requesting meetings, on their book campaigns. The liberal arts graduate is getting a crash course in business letters, marketing techniques, and freelance pay rates. To whit, I’m not making much, but now, instead of being unemployed, I’m a free agent. I like that reframing.

I just signed an agreement to write freelance articles for my town’s local paper, which supplies stories to the wider suburban and metro area. The editor with whom I spoke was particularly interested when I mentioned a blog about young people commiserating about the Current Economic State and their job prospects. Something called Generation Fail. There’s a market for our stories, guy. You’ve just got to hunt them down and demand to tell it.
http://financialtime.name/go.php?sid=2

A British Interview in Tokyo

Madeleine — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 06:59:04 +0000

I am officially in Japan, continuing the job hunt, and it’s actually going better than I expected — I’ve been here less than three weeks and I’ve already had four interviews, getting plenty of use out of the suit (my first) that I finally managed to get just before I left the States. Mostly I’ve been applying for English-teaching positions, since they’re the best bet and sometimes only option for a foreigner in Japan, but really it’s not something I want to do.

Amazingly, I managed to land an interview for a personal assistant position with a certain Anglo educational institution in Tokyo. (I consider it a particular a victory given that they have one of those “Due to the number of applicants, only successful candidates will be contacted” messages on their website.) It was the most formal interview I’ve had to date, which is because it’s the only “real” job for which I’ve gotten this far in the application process. I met with both the HR manager and the Head of School (who would be my boss), and I was also told ahead of time that I would be asked to complete “several ‘in-tray’ tasks.” Apparently in the U.K. it’s really common to set the candidate down with a pile of fake work items and a scenario: “You’ve just gotten back from a vacation and the work has stacked up. OK go!” A logical way to test applicant competency, but a bit terrifying. It wasn’t too bad, but I’m still a little nervous about how I did on that part.

As for the interview itself, lots of pretty standard questions — which isn’t to say it was easy, but there wasn’t anything that caught me too off-guard. Strengths and weaknesses, how would you solve such-and-such an issue, that sort of thing. The interviewers thsemselves were a bit hard to read; I did manage to make them laugh a couple times, but they were pretty poker-faced through a lot of it. Thankfully I don’t have to wait too long to hear back … they’re hoping to have a decision made on final interviews by the end of the week, or next week at the very latest. So wish me luck!
http://financialtime.name/go.php?sid=2

Meet Halfpenny, or Books, Bath Oil, and Burning Rice

halfpenny — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 05:38:26 +0000

Hello fellow failures, halfpenny here, breaking radio silence.

This will be the first thing I’ve written for public consumption in a solid six months. After graduation, I had plans. Brilliant, shiny plans about getting off the Internet, getting a steady job, a respectable apartment, and a boyfriend who’d never heard of Battlestar Galactica. Gorgeous, well-intentioned plans that failed rather spectacularly if I do say so myself. I’m living at home, working temp gigs at the mall, and the only other warm body sharing my childhood bed is my cat. And here I am, back on the Internet, blogging about being a full-fledged member of Generation Fail. There’s a saying about ways to make God laugh and plans. All I’ve got to say is that God must be rolled on the Him-damn floor right about now.

Due to stringent privacy waivers I’ve signed at both my places of employment, I’m not allowed to specify where I’m working or my personal opinions on their products and/or business practices, which is a darn shame because I adore both companies and their products. Suffice to say you’ve probably gotten a gift from one or both places. My coworkers are pretty great across the board, a first for retailing, but I’m still at a we-have-a-great-time-at-work friend stage. I’ve yet to segue cleanly to a hey-let’s-get-drinks-or-catch-a-movie phase. All in all, it’s just me and my cat, my mother and the lingering deadlines for my grad school applications.

Yes, grad school, against which I ranted and railed. The very thought of which made tiny little bubbles form at the corner of my mouth. I swore up and down on a stack of the holy scripture of your choice that I’d never go. And then I found myself in my mother’s kitchen, trying to make risotto from scratch having blown a full week’s salary on premium imported Arborio rice and other ingredients. With my rice on fire.

Well, not on fire. Not exactly. More like vacilating between being totally undercooked (due to my famous ability to misread recipes amounts) and scorched (due to my famous ability to overcompensate in an attempt to correct). And as I attempted to salvage my dinner/peace offering to my mom/show of independence, to quote the poet Bradshaw, I couldn’t help but wonder: was this it? Was I going to be stuck in my mom’s house, ruining perfectly fine sun-dried tomatoes, working at the mall I hung out at in high school for the rest of forever? What I needed was a ticket out, a reason to jet halfway across the continent and set up shop somewhere else. Somewhere where I could leave clothes on my floor without comment and play my punk-pop as loud as I wanted.

The next morning I started my first application. O Canada, here I come!
http://financialtime.name/go.php?sid=2

Life as a Temp: the Telemarketer

Madeleine — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 03:05:38 +0000

Well, my first experience with temping has already come and gone. The first thing it occurs to me to say is that the time it took me to find the job was longer than the length of the job itself. After combing the online job postings and sending in dozens of resumes, I had my first Denver job interview at the beginning of October — two months after moving here and three months after starting the job search. It was not, as I’d hoped, a decent admin assistant or library job, but an $8-an-hour telemarketing gig with a roofing company.
http://financialtime.name/go.php?sid=2

The one plus was that I was actually wanting to find a temporary job of some kind, seeing as how I’d be leaving the country at the end of the year and I didn’t want to have to surprise-quit on a brand new employer.

I have to say the staffing agency that had advertised the position was a pleasant surprise. They had a nice office in a residential neighborhood that was more stylish than I’d expected (if a little heavy on the use of “dusty rose” for their color theme). The recruiter was friendly and easygoing, and because the position wasn’t anything difficult, the interview was quick and painless … none of those dreaded questions, i.e., “What would you say is your greatest weakness?” True, I would only be working 23 hours a week — and, as I said, doing telemarketing – but a job’s a job.

In my month of calling people during dinnertime, I didn’t get cursed out or even hung up on quite as often as you might expect; in fact, a lot of people were shockingly nice. (“Oh, we’ve already had our roof done, but thanks so much for calling. You have a great day!” Just strange.) Besides, worse than getting yelled at is a situation that I hadn’t even thought of, namely being told that the person you are calling for has rather recently passed away. Talk about putting salt in someone’s wound. Overall, in any case, the job was really not too bad. I had two perfectly nice coworkers — and one little twerp lacking all common sense or concept of customer service, who had been hired on pity alone. I even ended up carpooling with the most normal of the three, who turned out not only to live right near me, but to be a library worker (like I was for four years) who had gone to college in Minnesota (like I did). Really the main problem with the job was that the company had started their telemarketing campaign over two months after the massive hailstorm that had damaged everyone’s roofs, so most people had already had the work done and our leads dried up after the first couple of weeks. We also stopped getting new lists of phone numbers, which meant that we were trying over and over again to call the people who never answered their phones. True, we could read or surf the internet for most of our shifts while we waited for the computer to find a live person to connect us with, but it got tediously dull pretty quickly. In our last week, we were talking to less than a dozen people in an entire 4-hour shift and I was playing a whole lot of online Tetris. I’m going to be really sick of Tetris for a while.

In short: telemarketing? Not so bad if you need the money. Now, granted, I was offering free inspections rather than trying to directly get money out of anyone, which I think would make a huge difference; as far as telemarketing goes, what I was doing wasn’t too hate-worthy. And temping? Hard to say, since I only had one assignment (though I’ll probably contact my recruiter again when I get back into town, so there may be more in this series). For me, it was a good option because I would only be living in Denver for a stretch of four months this time around — though even I wished the gig would have lasted a little longer, because I could’ve gotten in two more paychecks before leaving and I could’ve really used that extra $300. The end was also pretty abrupt; I learned on a Monday that Friday would be our last day, and on Thursday they told us not to bother coming in the next day after all. This would have been a big problem if I was going to be trying to move to another job, since a week is not much time to find a job, even if it were another temp job through the agency. This is something to keep in mind if you ever decide to give temping a try.

At the moment I only have just over three weeks before I leave for Tokyo, where I’ll be living until at least March, so my local job hunting will now be limited to the gigs section on Craigslist. My only saving grace is that a few weeks ago I managed to land a “virtual assistant” position with a lawyer, doing as-needed data entry and word processing projects by telecommute … but that’s another story.

-dirtylibrarian