Job Fair

I thought the phrase "job fair" meant something akin to lots of options brought together in one area for a person to peruse through, but that concept was definitely not the situation I faced today.

Things are still so up the air for us right now, but I knew that I should probably locate a decent part-time gig while we try to ride out the rest of this year. My mental list of interesting places to work in the area included a few book stores, Central Market, and (of course) Starbucks. When my parents came to visit for a day a few weekends ago, my mom and I went to get her some coffee and the Starbucks we went to had a really calm atmosphere and a friendly staff. I thought it would be nice to work there, because it's at a distance that I could easily ride my bike to work. Long story short I ended up with instructions to go to the Starbucks Job Fair on Monday.

When I arrived at the address (which was just another Starbucks location), I saw the normal array of people drinking coffee and then at the handicapped-designated table, a Starbucks employee slaving over a big stack of paperwork. The entire time leading up to that moment, John and I had been envisioning some open office and a few tables with a variety of Starbucks people present to talk to those interested about different positions within the company. I thought there was a chance today that I could apply to work for the rumored "Starbucks police," who go around in plain-clothes and make sure that stores are following regulation. I even had the wackiness of the Office episode figured as a possibility in my head. Looking back, I find my imagination so laughable now.

What the job fair turned out to be was whichever store is short and looking to hire signs up for the job fair that week, and the manager comes out and interviews the people who show up. Not as exciting as I hoped, but at least I didn't feel unprepared for not having my resume with me. Again, to shorten the boring details that are usually my bread and butter, the manager present today was from one of the three Starbucks stores that is less than a mile from where I live. And I guess I need to do some uniform shopping now, because I'm due to show up on 11/10 for paperwork and training. Things happen kind of fast, sometimes.

Employment is a mixed blessing.

"Love Lockdown"
-Kanye West