4 for Tuesday

My mind is aching right now from concern and anticipation. I have this feeling that the events which will determine my fate for the next couple years are going to take place tomorrow. As I mentioned in the last post, I have interviews at both the UES gallery and the hedge fund tomorrow. I failed to state that I have to go meet with the woman who connected me with the hedge fund as well. Today's events add yet one more interview to those.

Earlier this afternoon I called my initial contact at the magazine publisher to inquire about how much progress they has made. I was told that they had just finished interviews last week (as I had previously found out) and were aiming to make a decision by the end of this week. Approximately ten minutes later, she called me back to tell me that my ears must have been burning. The reps who are getting the new assistants wanted to meet with me. Freaky huh? There are unearthly powers at work here.

So that makes for a total of four interviews tomorrow. I am incredibly worried that the timing is going to get screwed up at some point during the day and I am going to fall off schedule. Interviews are so unpredictable in terms of timing; I have spent anywhere from ten minutes to three hours interviewing. Tomorrow, I am planning to attend four meetings in under five hours. Or rather the start time of the final interview occurs less than five hours after the start of the first. [I am led to believe that the last one will take one to two hours.] Three of the four meetings are in midtown, with the unfortunate circumstance of having the one in the Upper East Side smack dab in the middle. I foresee a day in which I am literally running down the streets in my suit, cursing aloud at the subway, and greeting my contacts sweaty and out of breath. Now I think I've made a mistake running my usual lap around Prospect Park today. I will most likely go to bed early tonight, but be unable to fall asleep. Is the suspense shaking you to the core as much as it is shaking me? I'm gonna be shook all night long...

The Possibilities Remain As Such...

Fortunately they have not yet lapsed into the failures and rejections to which I am accustomed. I've been subtly reminding the magazine publisher of my existence with letters. Although they had told me they would be nearer to a decision early this week, when I called, they told me they were interviewing new candidates though the week. I'm not sure whether that means they are passing on me, or if they are just looking at more people than they anticipated. I will try bugging them again next week and see if I can get any more information.

The interview at the gallery went quite well, contrary to my attitude beforehand. I did end up telling them about my former affiliation with one of their artists. Their reaction was relatively neutral; they did ask me what I thought about that experience, but certainly that little bit of information did not stand to make or break my application. At the end of the interview I was told, "As you might expect, we have a number of outstanding candidates..." which is the beginning of a rejection if I have ever heard one. However the statement continued, "of which you are certainly one." I heaved an audible sigh of relief at this point, because although I was not anticipating having much interest in this place, rejection still stings like a bitch. I received a call form them today, asking me to come in for a second interview with the owner and other staff. "Dress nice," said the man. As you might have guessed from this reminder, the gallery is of the Upper East Side persuasion. I'm not sure how much I would enjoy it, but it is a job.

I also received a call today about the hedge fund. I found out earlier that they were interested in meeting me, and today we set a date. Apparently, getting an interview with this place is a big honor, as they respond to very few applications. Although of course they end up hiring a similarly small number of the applicants they interview. I did some research on the company and I really like their attitude. I was told that they are considered a very fun place to work, and although they are an investment firm, they do not work the normal crazy I-banking hours. Further, contrary to my initial thoughts, my art background will probably not be a hindrance, as it has been for some businesses. Both this interview and the gallery interview go down on Tuesday. Watch yourselves, storm's a-brewin'.

Get this...

I just got a call today from a gallery I had sent my resume to earlier this week. As many businesses do when advertising openings, this gallery did not disclose its name and used an anonymous email address so that applicants can't track them down and annoy them with phone calls. So I had no idea where I was applying until I got the call and we arranged for an interview. After I hanging up, I looked up the gallery's website. I was initially confused about the relationship between the VP (who called me) and the gallery owner because they both have the same initials, which coincidentally are the same as mine. However, the coincidences do not stop there. I looked at the list of artists that the VP represents, and one immediately jumped out at me. If you recall, one of my many part-time gigs last fall was assisting an artist, and apparently this gallery represents her. Now I'm trying to decide if when the time comes, it would be wise to mention our previous relationship. If I did bring it up, they may very well call her, and she may very well tell them that I did not seem to enjoy putting gesso on panels, (as if anyone would,) and they may take that as a bad sign. On the other hand, it is bound to surface sooner or later, so if I didn't tell them, would I be creating an inevitable awkward situation? In a perfect world, I would have a job offer by then, and could use this turn of events as an opportunity to screw with this VP's mind at the interview. This artist is not well-known at all, so I could pretend I was a huge fan, and describe the process she uses to the smallest detail, and list off names of her other assistants. That would be priceless.

Laughable

Rather than delve into the misery of the worst interview ever mentioned in my prior post, I'm going to skip straight ahead to the current prospects, which are significantly more promising and significantly more appealing. Today, I had another two interviews, the first of which was another one of those introductory meetings at a staffing agency. I wasn't particularly impressed with them, but I always follow the advice about never burning bridges when it comes to job hunting.

Later in the day, I had an interview at a major magazine publisher. Although the job itself (assisting in advertising sales) and the magazine (a celebrity-focused publication) do not immediately lend themselves to my career goals, it's definitely a step in the right direction and a foot in the door, and all those podiatric analogies. I ended up spending 3 hours there. First I met the other assistants, then I interviewed with the Advertising Director, then I interviewed with the Associate Publisher, then I filled out applications, then I interviewed with Human Resources, and then I took a series of tests. At the end, one of the assistants gave me a couple tips and said things were looking good for me, as most of the other candidates had not made it this far. After all that, I'm going back tomorrow to meet with the head-honcho Publisher. I definitely think I will be in the running, but you can never really tell in these situations. If I ended up at this place, it would become the most hilarious twist of fate I've ever experienced. I would laugh at myself for days, and then I would look at all the attractive girls around me and smile.

On Monday I have an interview for a job that actually sounds close to my interests. The position is an Editorial Assistant at a small book publisher that produces books about architecture and design, and obviously I would be a good candidate. I suppose I don't know much about the job or the company, but they are located in Chelsea, which is a good sign as far as formality and "corporateness" go.

Lastly, I was contacted by a recruiter who spoke with me about working for a hedge fund. Apparently this firm likes to hire top liberal arts school graduates with good grades for assistant positions, and does not mind that many of them have entirely unrelated interests or if they wear jeans to work. I fit that description quite well, so while I don't have an interview yet, it is a distinct possibility. I would probably make a hell of a lot more money with that gig than any of the others for which I've interviewed. This is also quite amusing becuase I have not a damn clue as to what a hedge fund is.

Let's Google "hedge fund."

From Magnum.com: A hedge fund is a fund that can take both long and short positions, use arbitrage, buy and sell undervalued securities, trade options or bonds, and invest in almost any opportunity in any market where it foresees impressive gains at reduced risk.

Right. Makes sense. Wait... what? The best succinct definition I can understand compares hedge funds as opposed to mutual funds. Unfortunately, my rudimentary understanding of investing does not afford me much insight into any of the stuff. Whatever makes you rich, I guess.

Staggering Statistics

I just totalled up the number of job interviews I have had the misery of experiencing in New York City. The range and diversity of businesses involved is almost as shocking as the number. Maybe I haven't set any records, but surely I must be at least a statistical anomaly. During senior year of high school, I applied to eight schools. I had an interview of some sort (informational, alumni, scholarship) at half of those. I was accepted at six of those schools, with one rejection and one waitlist. During the past several months, I have sent out my resume countless times. I have had interviews with twenty-two different businesses, some of them involving multiple visits. Of those twenty-two candidacies, I have received zero job offers. Just bad luck... or something far more sinister? [I am left-handed after all.]

There have been two more interviews not yet accounted for in the blog, but I am not in a very word mood at the moment. For now, I'll just let you know that they were both in PR, and one of them was the single worst interview I have had to date. [There's a cliffhanger for ya.]