I guess Wilson Philips was right; if you just hold on for one more day things may just go your way.
Yesterday was busy and hot and I ended up having an argument with hubby because I’m just so goddamn sick and tired of being stuck in this house! I need a freakin’ job! I’m tired of my days revolving around cooking, cleaning, dishes, laundry, and lawn care with no one but Zoey for company. Becca didn’t have a good day, she broke up with the boyfriend (again) I had to pick her up literally and figuratively. The cops came to the house–not because of something I did this time! The exhaust system on hubby’s car went, damn thing sounds like it’s running straight pipes, we ended up dropping it off at the mechanic to get an estimate on how much it’s going to cost us to fix it. Let’s just suffice it to say it was a bitch of a day.
I got up this morning after sleeping in a bit and found an email from Bayview Health Care Center asking me to come in for an interview….today. They have an opening for an Accounts Receivable Assistant. They loved my resume and wanted to meet with me. I could stop by anytime between 8am and 7pm to fill out the formal application but the woman who wanted me to come in would be there until 5pm and she really wanted to interview me.
Shit!
Hubby’s got my car!
I emailed her back and told her about our car troubles, promised I could get out there today but probably not by 5pm it would be a little after that. She actually emailed me back and said she’d wait for me. Wow! I thought that was really nice. I posted about all this on Facebook and one of my friends shot me a text saying he wasn’t doing anything he’d be happy to drive me out there. Again…wow! That is super nice! I didn’t want to take advantage of him and I’d already been in touch with the lady but I really didn’t want to miss out on this opportunity because it’s perfect for me. So, I took a chance and emailed her again telling her a friend was willing to drive me out there earlier than 5pm and asking if that was alright and, if so, what time would be good for her. We set an interview time for 11am. That was good with my friend so I went for it.
I hate the interview process I always wonder if I’m babbling like an idiot, if I sound like I know what I’m doing, and wondering if they like me. Then of course there’s the ‘What To Wear’ question and my wardrobe is far from overflowing. I calmed my nerves with half a pot of coffee, I emailed myself my resume so I’d have the dates I worked where, I got dressed and was very happily surprised when my interview slacks not only fit they’re a wee bit loose. I guess those walks with Zoey are paying off because not that long ago I was really packing myself into these things. LOL
My friend showed up right on time and took me out there. The whole way giving me the ‘Pep Talk’; you’re going to nail this, they’re going to love you, who wouldn’t love to have you working for them, you have so much experience and you’re very professional. He’s so nice to me. Poor guy actually ended up waiting 45 minutes in the parking lot for me to come back so he could drive me home.
I filled out the application in my crappy handwriting realizing I really need a pair of reading glasses. Damn, I’m old. Then I had my interview which lasted a half an hour. My interviews never last that long so I knew they were interested in me. The woman who interviewed me is the head of that department but she doesn’t have the final say over who gets hired. We talked about my experience at the law office, she was very impressed with my knowledge of Elder Care Law and Title 19 applications and re-verifications along with the fact that I knew what a Patient Trust Account is. She also seemed impressed that I know how to file a claim in Small Claim’s Court (something they actually stopped doing because they don’t have the time for it) and that I know all about Conservatorships and how they work. She was impressed with my insurance experience, billing, posting, and medical records keeping from the Chiropractor’s office because there will be a lot of that out there. I told her I’d been a bookkeeper decades ago back when everything was done in a paper ledger, the reason that wasn’t on my resume because 1) it was so long ago that 2) I wasn’t sure the place was still in business never mind if someone there would remember me. I told her that, although I didn’t have a letter of reference from the chiropractor’s office she was free to call them and see if they remembered me. I did leave there almost 17 years ago and they still have a very high turn-around rate for employees (I ran across an ad for them on CraigsList last week. Yep, my old job is open…again.) Then she asked if I had a problem going to the resident’s rooms and dealing with them. I said; No, I have a lot of experience in nursing homes and long-term care facilities, we went to them all the time when I worked at the law office. She seemed relieved and told me the last person they hired for this job quit on day 1 when she had to go deal with a resident. Old and sick people can be difficult, sometimes even a bit scary, but that’s no big deal in my eyes. We talked about hours and pay and benefits. Full-time Monday-Friday 8am to 4:30pm with holidays off, two weeks vacation, 3 personal days, and sick days that accrue at 1 hour a week up to 40 hours. They have 401k that’s matched up to 6%, so if (when!) I get this job it will be the first time in my life I have some sort of ‘retirement money’. There’s health benefits but I told her hubby has health insurance through his job and there’s a chance the government will actually penalize people if they have more than one health insurance plan, there was a time when that was considered a good thing but not so much anymore. She said since I wouldn’t be wanting the healthcare benefits that meant I’d automatically receive $0.40/hour above what they were already willing to pay! There’s a raise in pay every January 1st, could be a little, could be considerable depending on job performance but it would never be less than 2.5%. She was impressed with how long I stayed at each job. People are always impressed with that and I don’t know why. Do other people really jump from job to job like a frog in a pond? She told me she’d been there for 17 years so, in her opinion, it was a great place to work. Then she asked me about my ‘career goals and aspirations’. I am a very simple woman and I told her that; all I want is a job I can go to everyday, be happy, be productive, get a good salary and hopefully retire from in 14-15 years. She seemed to really like that.
By the end of the interview she was taking me on a tour of the facility. I think she wanted to see how I interacted with the residents we encountered, I was nice and polite, I said; Hello, how are you? To everyone and most of them smiled at me. Some of them probably don’t really know where they are anymore but that’s ok as I’ve said before, getting old is not for the faint of heart. As I left she told me I was on ‘the short list’ and she expected I would be called back for a second interview when the other administrator, who has say over hiring, gets back from vacation.
When I got home I emailed her my 4 letters of reference from my last job as I told her I would. She really wanted one from the law office but I told her it closed so long ago that I didn’t know how to get in touch with either of the attorney’s that worked there. I fudged that I little bit, we actually ran into Mr. G yesterday at the Classic Car Show but he didn’t really have any idea of who I was even when I told him. So maybe he wouldn’t be the best candidate for her to get in touch with.
With any luck at all, some time next week I’ll go on that second interview and nail it. Then I can get out of this house! I can get back to earning some money and talking to people again instead of the dog. Though I must say Zoey is quite the conversationalist, or she really tries to be anyway. I can do this job and I can be really good at it. So I’m hoping hoping hoping that I get it. I’ll let you know how it goes. Think good thoughts for me, please.
