Personal Challenge: Day 8



Concerning my current level of frustration, I hope this is as bad as it gets. So far I have received only two call-backs, and neither of them went well. The first was from Virgin Megastore, which, of course, caused my heart to skip a beat. I had a lovely chat with the woman on the other line and she explained that Virgin was in desperate need of someone to work in loss prevention. "Great!" I said. "When can I come in for an interview?" Shortly thereafter, when I was all set to hang up with an interview in-hand, she asked me about my availability. When I told her I would be returning to classes at the end of September, that was the end of the conversation. The second call-back came from God-knows-who. By the time I got to the phone, they had already hung up, and unfortunately, my home phone does not have caller ID.

The mystery of not knowing who had called inspired me to actually spend the $20 to recharge my prepaid cell-phone, something I had been neglecting due to limited funds. Since then I have been sure to list my cell-phone number as my primary means of contact, thus eliminating the possibility of missing another potential call-back. This means I'm even more in the hole than before, but they say it takes money to make money.

I decided to make up a detailed resume in the hopes that it would save me a lot of time. Since most places ask for the same redundant information (name, social security number, education, employment history, references, availability, criminal history, yadda yadda yadda) I decided to create a resume to end all resumes. It would include everything one would find in a standard job application, but in greater detail and with the advantage that people would actually be able to read it (as opposed to my sloppily scribbled applications). I figured it would benefit me in more ways than one: it would stand out among the other applications and appear professional, and it would make it a lot easier for me to apply to multiple locations in a single day. So far, however, nobody wants the damn resume! I showed it to a guy at a local movie theater and he basically scratched his head. "But sir, we must'nt go against the sacred protocol! Your resume may be neat, organized and contain even more information than we ask, but still, we prefer that you show us your loyalty by writing out the same repetitive information by hand until you want to just blow your brains out."

But not all the news I have to report is negative. Remember the court appearance I mentioned in my previous Personal Challenge post? I was out of there in thirty minutes! The officer never showed up, so my case was immediately dismissed! This helped me clear my mind a great deal so that I could resume focus. Also, the manager at Big 5 Sporting Goods told me that I was the first applicant to get 100% on the math test, which leaves me optimistic that I'll receive a call-back from them. Big Lots was advertising an unloading and stocking position, which would be great for me because it entails working the graveyard shift. With a job like that I can avoid the heat of the day and work at a constant, quick pace, all while getting a great workout. We'll see how it goes.

Anyway, it's back to the mall tomorrow. Hopefully more businesses will be generous enough to accept the resume on which I worked very hard. I found out that the Ontario Mills website has a checklist for businesses that are hiring, so that ought to make for a great strategy. I've rambled on enough for one day, though, so here are the latest additions to my list of businesses. I've moved slightly beyond my three-applications-a-day goal, so that I can finish my 45 by the 31st and attend the Joy Electric album release show in Anaheim.

Radio Shack
Cingular Wireless
Wal Mart
Blockbuster Video
Empire Party
Big Lots
Toys R Us
Big 5 Sporting Goods
Check Into Cash
Subway (Fontana)
Subway (Bloomington)
The Coffee Bean
Red Lobster