Getting an Interview

Wednesday, July 06, 2011

           

            I walked into the Minnesota State Fair Employment Center and looked around. The office was decorated Spartan style, with white washed walls, florescent lights, and plastic tables with those flexible back waiting chairs. The only other person in the room was a young girl in her teens and tight jeans sitting under a black and white wall clock.

After introducing myself to the receptionist, I took a seat in one of the plastic backed chairs. Out of habit, my hand reached into my purse for my mobile. I stopped myself. This is a serious adult endeavor and I have to be professional and everything. No nervous texting. I crossed my arms instead. As I waited, a middle-aged guy came in with some paperwork and was directed to the payroll room.

I wish that’s why I were here, I thought to myself. Six months without a paycheck was starting to get on my nerves. So were the pending student loan payments I knew I’d have to continue making. Not that working at the state fair is my big plan for pulling in the big bucks.

Unless I get a book deal.

Ha.

To be honest, money is not what motivated me to drive two hours from my home base in Duluth to put in my application at the employment center. It was the fair itself. I’ve always loved the Great Minnesota Get-Together. I go every year, at least once, and often two or three times.

Here’s why:

·         Watching all the other people

·         Listening to live music

·         Martha’s Cookies

·         The milk booth (in conjunction with Martha’s Cookies)

·         Baby animals!!

·         Free stuff (one year I made it a challenge to collect as many freebies as possible. I still have pens and buttons from that day!)

·         Chatting with complete strangers

·         Navigating crowds (I have tried keeping a group together by using a lead rope…not recommended)

·         People

·         Eating corn on the cob

·         Did I mention I love the people?

Working the fair has been on my to-do list for a long time, but I’ve never been able to because my college started classes before Labor Day. Now that I’ve graduated and found that gainful employment in my aspired field of work is pretty much elusive, I am free!

Lately, I also fancy myself a bit of a writer. Thus, I came up with...

THE PLAN: apply for and secure employment with the state fair, guaranteeing at least twelve days of paid work plus a load of potential writing material in experiences.

Here’s how the optimist in me envisions it: I am working with a bunch of other young, friendly, folks, for some care-free and supportive bosses, running around like a crazy person to fill orders for hordes of ‘food on a stick eating crowds.’ My coworkers and I joke around at closing, before getting some free rides at the midway with other employees and then going home, slipping into bed waaay too late and waking up waaay too early the next morning to do it all again.

The pessimist in me sees something more like this: I end up working for a lame manager with coworkers who are kids so young they ask me to buy them cigarettes, dealing all day with angry, food coma, sugar-addicted families who yell at me because I didn’t fill up their Martha’s cookies bucket full enough.

At least a bad experience would give me something to write about.

Regardless, first I have to actually get a job, which is why I was waiting to talk to a representative at the employment center.

 A representative arrived just then, to call me into one of the back rooms. As she shook my hand and invited me to sit in front of her cubicle desk, I tried to be as smiley as possible because the day before I had heard a show on NPR about the powers of smiling in work environments. Actually, it was about cultural barriers and how individuals from cultures where smiling is not as accepted as it is in the United States often find themselves at a disadvantage in the workplace because they don’t smile often enough.

Hey, at this point, I’ll try all the tricks. 

After reviewing and verifying my online application, she asked me what my ideal job at the fair was.

“I want a position in a fast paced environment,” I told her, “Where I can work with as many people as possible. I like higher stress jobs where I can be solving problems all the time and if possible, have some responsibility.”

Confession: Ok, so I’ve never actually had a high stress job so I’m not sure that’s true, but I do like to keep busy and I certainly felt like I could handle anything.

Basically, I am thinking, I'll take anything! Just puleease don’t stick me on clean-up crew where I just slog around dirty bathrooms without the chance to chat with anyone.

“Great!” she told me as we finished up, “I’ve noted that down on your application and put you on file. We’ll let you know in a few weeks as more jobs come in.”

I flashed my pearly whites some more, saying, “Thank you! It was great to meet you,” Though I think the benefits of my smiling face were then mitigated when I slammed my hip into the edge of her desk on my way out, “Oh sorry!” I exclaimed.

This lady, bless her heart, responded, “That’s ok!” and smiled as I hurried past her and out of the office.

Well, I reflected as I pulled out of the parking lot, I don’t think I’ll get any tight rope positions.