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Jenny in Florida

By Jenny in Florida,
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Jenny in Florida

Jenny in Florida

Posted
Posted

I have interviews for two different part-time jobs in the next couple of days. One of them sounds great -- like something I'd be good at and enjoy and with a higher per-hour salary than anything I'm doing now -- but I don't have a handle yet on how many hours a week they might be offering or what the schedule would look like.

 

(One of the things that is driving me crazy about my current situation is that I'm juggling three part-time jobs, each of which offers just a few hours a week and often requires me to work in two- or three-hour chunks. If I'm going to get myself together and not do anything else, I'd like to be scheduled for at least five or six hours at a time.)

 

The other is offering a lower per-hour salary (about what I'm making now) but sounds like there's a good possiblity of a decent number of hours per week. I don't know yet what the actual average number of hours would be (the prescreener I spoke to on the phone said it could be anything from 10 to 29) or, again, what days and times they might need someone to work. 

 

The ideal situation would be for me to find something that offers 20-25 hours a week on a fairly consistent schedule. I could then fill in around the edges with the more flexible stuff I already do. I kind of doubt either of these will do that, but if anyone who has a spare moment and the emotional energy to do so could send some "Let's find Jenny the right job" vibes, I'd sure appreciate it.

  • Like 26
Jenny in Florida

Jenny in Florida

Posted
  • Author
Posted (edited)

Thanks again, everyone, for the good wishes.

 

The interview for the job I was really excited about went just kind of okay. I had to prepare a brief demo to do for the panel of three interviewers, and I don't feel like I did especially well with that. Things went a little better once we sat down to just talking, but I just didn't get very warm vibes from any of the three. It's a shame, because the job turns out to be more or less exactly what I want: between 20 and 25 hours a week on a consistent schedule for a nice bump over the hourly rate I'm making now. I don't really think I'm in the running, though. In theory, I will hear one way or the other in a couple of weeks.

 

The other interview went much better. I really liked the two people with whom I talked, and I felt like it would be a much more welcoming place to work. However, there's no guarantee about how many hours a week I would be scheduled, and the hourly rate is about the same as what I make now. I might still be interested, because it would be something new and because it would let me get a foot in the door with a large educationally-focused institution at which I might be able to move around and, hopefully eventually, up. (All of the jobs I have now are pretty dead-end.) I should hear back from them, also, within a couple of weeks.

 

In the meantime, I'm back to prowling through job postings and editing my resume.

 

Blargh.

Edited by Jenny in Florida
  • Like 6
SharonM

SharonM

Posted
Posted

If the job with the so so interview is the one you really want. Follow up! Send a thank you for the interview and ask if there are any more questions that they might want to ask. Show your interest tell them that you are very keen. If there was an area you did not do so great in maybe see if you can add to it.

I hope that you get it. I know that sometimes when I thought I really failed, I didn't. So its worth the shot to add to it on the back end. Best wishes..

  • Like 3
Jenny in Florida

Jenny in Florida

Posted
  • Author
Posted

If the job with the so so interview is the one you really want. Follow up! Send a thank you for the interview and ask if there are any more questions that they might want to ask. Show your interest tell them that you are very keen. If there was an area you did not do so great in maybe see if you can add to it.

I hope that you get it. I know that sometimes when I thought I really failed, I didn't. So its worth the shot to add to it on the back end. Best wishes..

 

Oh, I did that right away.

 

In my thank you note, I emphasized, too, that I have always thrived in situations that required me to learn new things and that, with my background, I'm certain I could get up to speed quickly.

 

As it turns out, I do have an e-mail in my inbox tonight asking a follow-up question. So, maybe I'm not out of the running just yet.

  • Like 7
Frances

Frances

Posted
Posted

If the job with the so so interview is the one you really want. Follow up! Send a thank you for the interview and ask if there are any more questions that they might want to ask. Show your interest tell them that you are very keen. If there was an area you did not do so great in maybe see if you can add to it.

I hope that you get it. I know that sometimes when I thought I really failed, I didn't. So its worth the shot to add to it on the back end. Best wishes..

And if you don't get it, follow up again. I was not the first choice of the place I've now worked at and received several promotions at for twelve years, but the first choice candidate backed out at the last minute and I got it. When I received the initial rejection letter, I immediately followed up with a letter showing my continued interest.

  • 2 weeks later...
Jenny in Florida

Jenny in Florida

Posted
  • Author
Posted

Since I know you are all waiting with bated breath to hear the news:

 

This afternoon, I was officially offered the job I really wanted. (Interestingly, the other one, the one for which I thought the interview went really well? They turned me down for that one.)

 

I received a conditional offer last week, but had to go through the motions of authorizing a background check and doing a drug test and then wait for them to get results. As of today, I got the all clear on both, and I go in to start training on Monday. They have agreed to work around my scheduled for my other part-time job for the next two weeks, until I can get that adjusted.

 

It's pretty much exactly what I've been wanting: 24 hours a week on a consistent schedule, 50% more than my current hourly rate. I will even accrue some paid time off, and I'll get some paid holidays (if they happen to fall on days when I would normally be working). Because the job is downtown and I will have to park in a garage, they even pay for a montly parking permit.

 

I'll be working for our county library system, which is large and diverse, meaning that there's a good possibility I'll be able to stay with the organization for a good, long time and have opportunities to move around and, eventually, up. 

 

There is a 90-day probationary period with the new job, so I plan to stay with my current part-time job(s) for at least that long. And, since the library job will have a consistent schedule, I should be able to just reduce my availability at my current primary gig and hold onto that indefinitely. Although the library does require everyone to work either Saturday or Sunday, I should be able to put together a regular schedule that allows me to take two full days off in a row each week, which I haven't had in two years.

 

I kind of still can't believe it.

 

Thank you all for your good thoughts and supportive vibes!

  • Like 36
Laura Corin

Laura Corin

Posted
Posted

 

 

In my thank you note, I emphasized, too, that I have always thrived in situations that required me to learn new things and that, with my background, I'm certain I could get up to speed quickly.

 

 

Funny story: when I job searched after my kids went to school, I sent thank you notes after each interview.  A couple of years into the job I finally got, this came up in conversation.  My boss said, 'Yes, I thought that was a bit soukie (overly ingratiating) but I gave you the job anyway'.  So now I know it's not done in the UK.

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