I had an interview this morning at a telemarketing firm. Usually, I assume those places are not legit. I found out how wrong I was the hard way.
Been sleeping about 9 hours a night. Wake up sleepy and a little irritable. Thought it was just me, my attitude, whatever.
Back to the interview. I was trying really hard to pay attention and speak eloquently but not too loudly. I think it is disrespectful to raise your voice at prospective employers. I didn't look at the floor. I looked the lady directly in the eyes. She told me I seemed nonchalant and non-enthusiastic. I asked her how could she get that impression (laugh it up, but I was taking the interview seriously).
She said I was speaking too timidly and that I seemed slightly annoyed. I told her the light in the room was bothering my eyes, but that was it.
At my doctor's office today, he asked me how my morning went. I told him the details of the interview, and added that I thought I needed a nap. He took a look into my nose. Doctor told me they missed something the last operation that was a bit glaring: deviated septum. He said that's why I'm tired and irritable all the time. I don't get enough oxygen when I sleep...the result of sleep apnea. Well, I said I get 9 hours most of the time. He said it didn't matter and I'd have to get the nose corrected after a sleep study he scheduled for Monday night.
The interview at the company was surreal. I felt like I was moving in slow motion. I got asked questions about my previous jobs and I answered them to the best of my ability, in detail. She told me I probably didn't have a job because of my demeanor. I told her that this was my first time talking with someone in a real, legitimate interview...all my other interviews were from scam artists at inflated job title type places, vacuum sales, selling junk door to door, etc. I told her that every 'customer sales rep/phone rep/telemarketing job' I'd ever employed for in San Antonio was an outright con job.
It was just an odd morning and I didn't take a nap. I just contacted my insurance company and a physician in Louisiana that concurred with the doctor in Texas's opinion: I'm sleeping, but it is not doing me any good at the moment until treated.
xmx said at 3:43 PM 03-13-2002: that interviewer sounds like a total stick-up-her-ass fembot whore.
i have a deviated septum, and have known about it for years. i didn't know the sleeping stuff. i never got it fixed because having my nose intentionally broken scares me [said the girl who plays goalie].
brianbibbly said at 3:57 PM 03-13-2002: Hey Milky, can I ask you a question? If you could pick a job, one that is reasonable considering your qualifications, what job would you choose? I mean, basically, what is it you want to do? I ask this because it seems you are only maddening yourself by applying to these seemingly no-end jobs, or at least, jobs that you seem less than enthused about.
The relevance of the question is, and this is only my opinion, that perhaps you are shooting too low in your job search. Maybe you should concentrate on seeking that job or career track that you really desire and take any job whatsoever in the meantime to pay the bills. I mean, screw it, wait tables, work in retail, dig ditches, do whatever it takes to get some momentum in the work force. Then on the side, put together some ideas on what you need to do to break into exactly that career vein you want to persue. Do shit pro bono. Volunteer for things. Try and meet people who are in the industry. Most importantly, talk to your existing friends. You never know who they know. (Killoggs is a great place to start.) You have to beat the bushes and create paths in all the ways that the traditional job search does not. Hey, you never know what'll happen.
Enough already with this job shit. I'm beginning to sound like Mary.
milky [email] said at 4:04 PM 03-13-2002: I wanted this job so I could make enough money in two years to go to the university to get my degree in clinical social work. That's what I want to do with my life. I contacted the university some time ago and I'm doing the paperwork now. Counseling is what I want to do. Namely, substance abuse counseling because I believe in it. I'm going to take any legit job to make good money until I can go to school. I don't wanna take out loans because I don't owe anyone and I don't need that on my back. That's it. It's pretty simple. I worked at a call center before and I loved it. Really. This job justs pays more and I don't have to do statistics.
On another note, I will be taking night classes in either the spring or summer to get my license to be a chemical dependency counselor. So I'm heading in the right direction. I don't wanna see another young person go through the shit I put myself through because I couldn't or wouldn't think straight.
Daniel said at 4:27 PM 03-13-2002: i was at work yesterday and i thought i won the lottery. everyone gathered around and over 5 people checked my ticket. i had all the numbers! eveyone shook my hand and i left to talk to my bothers lawyer. when i was about 5 mins away someone called me on my cell. after looking at the copy i made, they realized it was just an informational ticket about the previous drawing. that sucked.
NuckleheadEd [ url ] said at 6:30 PM 03-13-2002: Man, I would die if that happened to me. Seriously. Because I would walk into my boss' office, drop my pants, and tell him to kiss my pimply, obese, white, hairy ass.
That would pretty much ruin any chance of coming back after discovering the winning ticket wasn't really in my hot little hand. And paying $12K a month for my wife's medical bills would sap my savings in, oh, 6 days.
Yeah, I'd be screwed. Definitely screwed. Maybe I should make sure I've won before I tell the boss where he's encouraged to plant his lips.
Courtney [ url ] said at 5:36 PM 03-13-2002: Deviated septum... I hear that's a real ordeal. I hope it goes well for you. I've known a few people that have had that operation done. Painful, they say, but it helped them.
Many many kudos to you for choosing the career path you have chosen... quite admirable. And whatever means you use to get to that goal, do it. Good for you for admitting Call centers aren't so bad, heh.
Darryl X. said at 6:00 PM 03-13-2002: I had a deviated septum fixed. They put you in a deep twilight state and use a HAMMER and CHISEL to re-work the bone structure inside your nose. No shit. You can feel the vibrations in your head from the hammer...taptaptaptaptaptap
Then you have to go home and lie still for a day or two with your head propped up on pillows with the coppery taste of blood in your throat. You get black circles under your eyes.
But guess what? They give you Demerol post-operative strength and something for sleep.
Doctors know how to make it all worth it, don't they?
P.S. I had my surgery in 1995. Things may have changed some.
milky [email] said at 6:37 PM 03-13-2002: The pain and time is about the same as a UPAP. So are the post-sugery treatments. I dunno about TX, though. I can't get some of my scripts filled here for relatively mild controlled substances. And NO ONE seems to have insurance here, making a doctor's visit Hell, until I whip out the BlueCross/BlueShield Nationwide card...people stand back (not to offend anyone) like you've just whipped out a 3 foot long penis.
NuckleheadEd [ url ] said at 6:38 PM 03-13-2002: As someone who's recently been "suspected of" sleep apnea, I can so relate. I haven't got my sleep study scheduled yet, but it should be fairly soon. I have to see a pulmonary specialist first (next Tuesday).
I go to bed dog-tired. I sleep varying amounts, of course. I used to get by on 4-5 hours a night. Now, I go to bed early when I can... last night, I was in bed by 8, and asleep by 9. My alarm went off at 5:15AM, as usual. I woke up, after at least 8.25 hours' sleep, more tired than I was when I went to bed. This has become more and more common. And it sucks.
A little "old guy" whining - I remember staying up all night and going to class, or going to work, and not having too much of a problem. Now, I can sleep for 10 hours or more, and still be so tired I actually call in sick to work and sleep for another 3-4 hours. Something ain't right. Of course, I know what it is, and I hope to have surgical correction soon, so I can go back to living like other folks do. Soon would be good.
Good luck with your difficulties (job AND sleep), Milky!
milky [email] said at 6:45 PM 03-13-2002: I wasn't complaining about the interview...just noting it was odd and surreal, to make this perfectly clear for everybody!
meeps said at 6:50 PM 03-13-2002: Shit dude, as someone who's interviewed hundreds of people, you NEVER give a critique of the person and say, "Hmm, we're not going to hire you and here's why..." That's bullshit, and you probably wouldn't even want to work there.
When an interview goes badly, the interviewer should focus on connecting with the candidate to try and understand if the perceptions he/she has are based upon something on the surface. That said, most interviewers have this touchy/feely/vibe thing that makes them think they're casting directors, and "you've got 10 seconds to impress me or you're out the door." I'm here to tell you that the BEST employees I've hired have been people who were very unconventional in their interview and did something to show me they had brains *and* balls. Hang in there, the job's out there, you'll find it with persistance.
mary [email] said at 7:02 PM 03-13-2002: Yeah, I've made a regular habit of saying things in interviews that would make "career coaches" cringe. And getting the job every time. I like to think that they hired me BECAUSE I said that stuff, not in spite of it. I could be wrong, though.
Example: The first newspaper job I applied for after college, the managing editor asked me if I wanted to be a copy editor or a reporter. I told him that I actually wanted to be Queen of the World. But that copy editor would be fine for now. He hired me, even though I had been fired from my last job as a copy editor, at the Reveille, after only one semester. I told him about that, too, explaining that the people who fired me were obviously morons.
Blinding arrogance can often take you places that experience and qualifications can't.
Brad said at 1:17 AM 03-14-2002: My friend's stepdad used to have sleep apnea. He'd play board games with his kids and their friends, and after everyone had one turn, someone would have to shake him and wake him up for his turn again.
Shell said at 2:57 PM 03-14-2002: How accurate are sleep studies? Isn't one hooked up to all kinds of monitors and stuff? How can a real sleep pattern be measured?
agitprop said at 4:17 PM 03-14-2002: My ex-partner had to take one; from what I remember, they give you a little box to take home (if you sleep in your own bed, it's a more lifelike/accurate reading). He had to connect sticky-nodules to his chest and face, and the box took readings accordingly.
Unfortunately, since they're DIY, in a way, accuracy is often questionable.
How the box itself worked I don't know. Elves, I reckon. Inside. Carryin' on and all.
