Monday, February 3, 2014

Worst. Interview. Ever.

OK, I know it's taboo to badmouth a prospective employer, especially if I haven't been hired or rejected, but at this point I don't even care anymore. So, like I said in the previous post, my girlfriend drained my bank account just for a frickin' purse, so I have no backup funds as it is.

I should've listened to my instances of Murphy's Law that was starting to unravel and not waste my time with them. On Sunday, I took my trusty debit card to get gas... The pump won't work, and further attempts were getting declined since I later learned the issuer decided to put an authorization hold on the card in $100 chunks... Using the wrong ZIP code which was also making said declines pointless. So, I just roughed it through the day with a little over 1/4 tank (about 110mi) of gas. If you know Deutschwagens, E means 0 since the screen says "Fuel reserve!" at around 50 miles, not "OK, the needle is on E but you have about 30 miles."

Then, after struggling to go to sleep, I get out of bed at 3:30 AM for this ripoff telemarketing job selling low quality toners that most customers complain about at an extreme high price (the shift starts at 6 AM to catch East Coast business owners at 9 AM)... But act as if they're getting the deal of the century for Rolls Royce quality. Anyway,  I had lunch packed but forgot to bring it, forgot my TAP pass with a month's worth of bus fare on it, had zero money for lunch, then just when I thought I was making good time, I realized I forgot to shave when I was putting on my tie in the parking lot.

I rush home in Baldwin Park to shave, then my heart jumps out of my chest when my GPS tells me I am 10 minutes behind. Not good, but glad I called the hiring agency, despite the fact that once I hopped on the 5 it shaved 12 minutes off my ETA and would've been pointless. Anyway, the lady calls me back as I am only about 5 miles out to Irvine saying the owner had an emergency and had to go to Alhambra.

At this point, I already was thinking that I wasted all this time and gas money going 80 miles round trip out of my way, but whatever. I was so sick of waking up at 3:30 AM to rip off businesses for minimum wage that I decided to roll with it. So, again, I'm rounding the corner at 3 miles, and *RINNNG*. AppleOne again? Glad to know that she's asking about my arrival. Nope, like a game of Gingerbread Man, now the fool wants to meet in El Monte. Had I lived anywhere else I'd say bugger off, but he lived en route to home so I give this guy one last chance.

This time instead of relying on directions, I call the dude, and interestingly enough, HE asks ME how to get there. Now I figure this gingerbread man routine was probably some sort of test and I'll be rewarded with a $50 gas card and a pat on the shoulder telling me I'm hired, right? Nope, the dude genuinely sounded confused. So, after finally arriving in El Monte, he asks me to wait in the car as he's wrapping something up and "it'll only be 5 minutes". So I'm sitting there for half an hour, and then asks me what's nearby, so I rattle off a series of decent restaurants, but he settles on Del Taco. Oh-kay... Del Taco it is.

So, most of the "interview" is him staring at his computer and asking me questions, and everything he is asking me to do is mundane and a piece of cake. Sure, I haven't worked in the travel industry since 2007, but I'm very good at Excel, which was a strong prerequisite. Then he stares at his computer some more, and asks about Word and all that. I'm thinking: If you read my resume, I'm an IT Tech. I've even used OpenOffice, MS Works and ClarisWorks. So, he asks me about travel arrangements, and I've even mentioned since I have friends that don't speak English or are computer illiterate, I do this kind of thing all the time and have earned a Silver membership with Expedia; just 2 weeks prior I helped a friend book a flight to Denver, CO and last month I reserved a hotel in Vegas using reward miles!

For this one I was just about to flip my lid: "Do you personally know any tour guides?" I'm thinking, OK. I can do it myself; it's just telling a driver to go to tourist destinations, probably say 1 or 2 blurbs about it, and figure out some entertainment on a long ride. Of course, the last time I worked in the travel industry was 2007 and I've lost contact with a lot of people when my GMail got hacked and wiped out my contacts 4 years ago, and working at a wholesaler that relied on local guides or contracted from other companies, I never had their contact information, so I say no and explain it.

This is the hilarious part... "Well, I'll be honest, I need someone with more recent experience." REALLY?? I just used Excel, I just booked flights and hotels, who cares about my job experience? If you wanted someone who just quit, got fired or even searching for work from a current travel company, please don't waste my time from the get go!

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