On my last night of job hunting vacation, I had a couple of glasses of wine (large ones, but in my defense, I was upset over the verification mess), watched "A Night in Casablanca" and "Top Secret", and had to rip out the heel of my sock twice because I wasn't knitting it right. I also vented long and loud to my better half, who was just as outraged as I was over it. He was wise enough to leave me to brood afterwards, especially when I started fighting out loud with my sock on the second rip-back.
Today I went back to "work." I have to admit that as frustrating as it can get, it feels good to be back on the job hunt. I feel productive.
This morning was spent calling every place I applied to in order to let them know about the lost work record at former job and that they can now contact former job for the correct employment history. Basically, I've spent a lot of time talking to voice mailboxes. Overall, this snafu with my prior job is turning out to be a blessing because when it comes down to it, my having to call has reminded employers that I do exist...and it's a pretty damn good reason for me to be calling to, so I don't feel any nervousness or hesitancy when calling, as I might feel if I were calling to "follow-up on my application status." I just confidently explain what happened, that they can verify my employment now, and that I was sorry for any inconvenience.
It also got some results: one hospital I spoke to said that I'd be the first new grad they refer when more positions come up--they had gotten my message and re-reviewed my file, and it seems both volunteering and getting my certifications has now been a boost to my marketability.
Even more surprising: another hospital offered me an interview. Again, the cincher for their manager to interview me was the certifications and volunteer work. I was stunned, especially since this hospital rarely calls me (and when they do, it's usually to reject me). I told the recruiter I could be there in 20 minutes--I just had to iron my pants and feed the cat. But we settled on tomorrow. I know there's no guarantees and I'm certainly not going to suspend the job hunt over it, but I damn well am going to do my best tomorrow. I've just ironed the outfit and I'm going to really rehearse my interview questions today.
Long-shot job (to whom I will always be grateful for bringing this to my attention) is having issues getting another position verified though...but that's because no one's in the building right now: it's a school. And I need to call #1 hospital: the manager of one of the units invited me to come visit her floor, so I'd like to set that up.
If it ever came down to between the hospital tommorrow and #1 hospital offering me on the same day, I'd take #1 hospital. But since there is nothing definite at #1 hospital...if I got it, I'd take tomorrow's job with no regrets. First, I'm afraid that the longer I'm out of work, the rustier my skills will get and the harder it will be for me to get into any job. It's not a horrible unit that I'm interviewing on...it's very nice one, in fact. I'd learn a lot there, and having done clinicals on that type of unit, I'd know what to expect in general. Overall, I'd probably be very happy if I got the job from tomorrow's interview and worked for them.
Plus, it's not like I'm being flooded with job offers or even job interviews, so I should grab what I can get, eh?
But let's see what happens tomorrow.
