buying a job

Yesterday I was out galavanting in my new 'hood (which I still love, btw) and half-heartedly looking for a job. I am very picky about my new dream job. Of the tiny stores near my house, I am only applying to those that meet certain criteria. There were some that I didn't want to buy anything in, so an employee discount would be wasted. There were some that would force me to interact with people I don't like (i.e. small children or punk-ass teens). There were some with signs that said "experienced only" or "weekends required" and while I don't have a problem with either of these things in particular, the wording on the signs was too pushy for me.

I dropped off two applications, one at this tiny little artisan-gift store, and one at Barnes & Noble. The B&N isn't actually hiring right now, but they always accept apps and I might not have a problem working for a giant company that I already spend a significant amount of money at. The other store was (is) hiring and they have all sorts of benefits like insurance and paid vacation, just like a real job. (I wasn't expecting stuff like that in my search of boutiques.) It's a place I could spend some money, but not all. And, the people there were really nice. I want that job. They made it sound like I would have an interview on Thursday, so send good job-getting vibes my way.

When I dropped off my app (I had returned later in the day with an attached resume), I bought some cute little pewter hooks to hang our keys on in the new apartment. (We'd been using something I concocted out of beading wire and thumbtacks, so this was a step up.) Then it occurred to me that it might look like I was buying something to "supplement" my application, like one of those contests on cereal boxes where they have to say no purchase necessary, but you do kinda have to buy the box before you send the top in. But then I thought that if I was the judge of these things, I would not hire someone that also made a purchase. I'm not saying that a purchase would automatically disqualify someone, but if the decision came down to 2 equally qualified applicants, and one had made a purchase, the job would go to the one that bought nothing.

The logic? If they have money to spend on things like pewter hooks then they obviously don't need the job. The other person might be saving their pennies because until they find a job, they can't buy food for their children. If person A can spend money on frivolous things, then either a) her children are eating just fine, thank you, or b) her value system is really messed up and I don't want her working for me anyway.

Now if someone applied my logic to my own situation (which I don't think has ever crossed anyone's mind before, and thank goodness for that!) they would only be half right. Sure, I can afford to eat, but I can't really afford any extras. I consider the key hooks an essential item because *someone* has a habit of losing his keys, and our building is slightly illegal* in the fact that you need keys to leave. (This is really annoying because if I get a delivery I have to walk the person out so I can open the door for them and close it behind them.) So, if we have no keys, we stay in the house and nobody comes in or out. Thus, the key hooks are greatly needed.

In summation, send good vibes and hope that my purchase (which I would have made anyway) helps me get this job that I've now discovered I really want.



* Apparently the landlord is coming this weekend to do something to the lock on the front door, which leads me to believe he realized it was not only a crappy system but he could get punished for it, so we'll see if it works out. We'll still need our keys though, no matter what.