Well, I woke up pain-free, my cat threw up far away from my shoes (for a change), and my car didn't get a flat on the way in. I arrived there 20 minutes early, remembered to turn the cell phone ringer off, and reread those questions while I waited.
The interview started a few minutes late but still within the acceptable "on-time" window. No feet were placed in any mouths. I answered questions as confidently as I could, which unfortunately was only 75% of the time. So much for strong communication skills, eh? Those skills decided they were only going to put in a half-day today...yet I interviewed so well with the cat last night. I think the glass of wine I had last night while practicing those questions probably helped.
I learned more about the job. The patient load on the unit is somewhat more LTC than SN. There's a lot of patients per nurse, and I'd be slinging a lot of meds. I'll be very busy but I'll be learning a lot. Orientation is generous. Schedule is good with the option to pick up extra days if desired. They stressed teamwork, which I like to hear because I'm a firm believer in that.
I asked when I could expect to hear from her; she said tomorrow. So at least I'll have an answer either way. The interview was shorter than my friend's was: it only took about half the time (granted, it's for a different position). No on-the-spot job offer, which was a touch disappointing, but I wasn't banking on one so it's fine. I left feeling...I didn't feel like I bombed it, but at the same time didn't feel like I aced it. I felt OK about it, but I don't know if it'll end in a job offer tomorrow.
One thing though: stupid me forgot to ask the salary. Can't do anything about that right now, so I figure that should they make an offer, I'll ask what it is before I accept. Why oh why didn't I include that in my list of questions?
I went home, had lunch, washed the dishes and looked at my old dishwasher. It's had a good life and will be leaving for heaven soon.
I got a call from the long-shot job from last week: they want a second interview with their HR department. I'm going to go regardless of what happens with today's job interview. I'm not wild about long-shot job's hours--in fact, they're going to be very hard to make--but my grapevine says that they are really short-staffed and they need nurses, so maybe I can at least get a foot in and go from there. I also made a list of SNFs that I'll hit on the way back from the interview tomorrow.
Then I bought some crayons (Crayola washable, large size) and helped my little one decorate the "car" we made for him out of a large box. This has been the best part of my day so far. It's really so easy to get wrapped up in job hunting that it consumes you, so there's nothing left but you and it. No free time, no "stop and smell the flowers", no fun, nothing else but that continuous hunt for employment. I've got a small child that's thrilled when I'm in the same room as him and a better half who's happy that we have our evenings back, and yet it's still so easy to lock myself in my office working on this exercise in futility and miss out on a whole lot. And to be honest...it's starting to get to me.
It's almost as bad as nursing school was. And here I thought that when I graduated, all of this stress would be over and I'd get my life back. I need to put my foot down and set a few limits on myself, such as the job hunting has to stop after a certain hour of the day.
Like right...now.
