Interview day - Dec 5

Dec/5

Today is the big day...interview day. A good number of the us were kind of nervous (not me) and everyone was buzzing with energy at 7:00 am (even though the interview was at 9). I tried to print off my 3 page resume on the computer...printer didn't work (eventually the computer crashed, which Stephen kind of fixed). No matter...I can shine and impress with or without the resume, haha
After breakfast, we left the house at 8:50 decked with most of us decked in business causal (Zach looked like he stepped out of a Gap ad) and walked to the town hall in the cold for the interviews. When we got there, pretty much all the interviewers/employers were there and sitting around a giant meeting table...it was rather unnerving (although I still wasn't nervous, because at the end of the day I would still have a job). It was a bit unorganized in the beginning, because Emilie wanted the interviews to be done in a certain fashion (I don't quite remember anymore, but something about having each other stand in front of the interviewers and presenting ourselves to them, and have them ask questions to us...Rebecca turned white when that idea was suggested) but the employers disagreed and etc...eventually things were sorted out, and everyone did the interviews one on one, while people who weren't interviewed were asked to step outside.

I was one of the first ones to go in for an interview...and I was interviewed by the lady from Blind River Development/Chamber of Commerce who showed us around. Luckily for me, she only asked 2-3 standard questions, to which I gave elaborate answers/answers that every single employer want to hear. I gloated on my computer abilities (hahahahaha), my vast amount of work and volunteer experience, my strength in both working alone or as a team, my interest to learn about the history of Blind River and its touristic aspects, my interest in tourism, my certification in the tourism field...the list goes on...;) Anyways, the interview went well, because in the end she said, "well, Angel...you seem to have lots of skills that we need for the job, and I am extremely impressed with you"...Oh Yeah...Then she asked Emilie whether there were anymore interviewers coming up, and Emilie said no, I was the only one who picked Chamber of Commerce as the first choice (that was before I reminded Emilie that Zach and Stephen had it as their 2nd choice). The lady said if that's the case, then she would be perfectly happy to have me work for her (OH YEAH). But of course, she still had to interview Zach and Stephan.

Well anyways, my interview was short, so I was the first one the step outside and wait for another interview while others sweat and writher in agony for their interviews...the smokers had more smokes than they should...conversations were exchanged for how the interviews are (some people were quizzed on what was said the day before, and others are asked what they see themselves doing in 10/15 years time). I was surprised that mine went so smooth compared to others. Soon others were asked back in for 2nd interviews, except for me. Even later on some people had 3rd interviews, and by the end (an hour and half later) everyone had all the interviews that they are supposed to get, except for me. I was mostly confused as to why I didn't get another interview while others did, and I asked Emilie about this after all the interviews were conducted and she told all of us to walk home and went for news...Emilie just smiled and told me to wait for news (which I guess is good news?).

So anyways we head back to the house, and at this point Maxime was a bit upset...she told us that her interview with the vice principal (her first choice) didn't go so well because of language barriers, and she had really wanted the job. To make things worse, when we got home we realized that the door was locked and Emilie forgot to give us the key to the house. That made Maxime snap...she ran down the doorsteps, yelled "Tabarnac!" (French profanity, as I learnt from my fellow Frenchees...a strong word), and raced out to the town hall to get the key...my reaction: "Cool, someone went to get the key...hey Cynthia you want to go out for a walk to the lake? (it was a gorgeous day) Off we went to the lake, enjoyed a bit of the view, returned to the house, and I made homemade hot chocolate for everyone (although I wanted to go to the library but Cynthia suggested otherwise because we were all supposed to wait for Emily to come back).

After approximately another hour or so, Emilie came back and summoned each person one by one to her room and told them what job they got. I was the second last to be sent to her room and when I got there, she just said congratulations and that I got the job of my choice - Chamber of Commerce!!!!! When I asked her why I didn't get other interviews, she said that I didn't really have too much competition for the job, and despite the fact that Zach and Stephen got interviewed, I was still her top candidate...so really there is no need for me to see other people, hahaha!!

At the end...who got which job? Zach (senior's home) Stephan (high school) Charles (thrift store) Mike (cleaning in hospital - we were all silently rejoicing) Stephanie (purchasing in hospital) Rebecca (high school) Cynthia (library) Cheryl (Mississagi) Maxime (thrift store)

I felt bad that Maxime didn't get the high school job, because not only would she be so good and perfect for it (she has a fun and friendly personality that kids like), but apparently the only reason she didn't get the job was because of her lack of french, which I understand. But honestly, all the french people are there to improve on their english, and what better way to do that than work in a high school and converse with teens? So in a way, she was kind of cheated from that opportunity. As well, they originally wanted to place Maxime in the purchasing job in the hospital, but because Maxime told them she was afraid of needles and therefore couldn't work in the hospital, they took away Stephanie from her first choice (thrift store) and put Maxime there instead while Stephanie has to work in the hospital...it sucks, and it's like tragedy built upon tragedy...but I guess everyone just has to find the silver lining in the rain clouds...

Lunch/free time/stuff/don't remember/so long ago/must try to write more emails/or will lose more valuable details of new days...

First day of work tomorrow, people!!