Employment News

Wow, this has been a busy week! On Monday, I was contacted by a placement specialist at availABILITY Personnel, an employment agency just down the road. I had sent them an email indicating interest in a job they'd posted online, and asked them to consider the application I'd filled out and the tests I had already taken back in December 2010. I guess they liked what they saw, because they asked me to come in Tuesday and finish some additional tests in Microsoft Office 2003. Apparently, I did well! In fact, I scored a 93% in Word and an 80% in Excel. Not bad, considering I've been using Office 2007 for over a year now and haven't even seen 2003 in a long time.

When I finished the tests, the placement specialist took me aside for an informal personal interview and asked me several questions about what types of jobs I was looking for, the hours and salary I'd prefer, and so on. I stayed really upbeat and was completely open about the challenges I've had so far in my job search-- being overqualified for the jobs I was applying for, trying to break out of the fields of education and social services, having to work within the 8-5 time frame because of childcare constraints, and having to work for at least $14/hour because I'm the primary breadwinner. If I was the only breadwinner, I'd need a bare minimum of $18-19/hour in order to just squeak by with bills. Anyway, I also told her that I was planning to have Ethan in daycare by Monday so that I'd be available to start work right away. She was so positive and encouraging during the interview and ended it by saying that she was impressed by my attitude and capabilities, and that she was certain I'd be working by the end of April. Woo-hoo! Finally, some good news!