Job Interview Hell

Before moving here, I had never actually filled out a job application. I've never even really been on a job interview, at least not in the sense that most people think of. Every place I've ever worked at before, I've simply dropped off a resume and got a call a couple days later asking if I was still interested. Or, in one instance, I was asked to go to dinner and presented with a job offer that I wasn't even looking for at the time.

I'm not writing that to brag, merely to point out my total ineptitude when it comes to selling my skills. I've never had to do that, so I don't really know the first thing about it.

I've also never realized the process took so long. I applied at a major hardware/lumber retailer for a part time cashier position. I have already been to three interviews in the past week for that position. I was told today that there is a final interview in about seven days and I might be called back for that one. That final fourth interview will determine who gets hired. It makes me wonder if the company is trying to weed out the ones not really interested by making them come back over and over during a stretched out time period.

I'm amazed that it takes four interviews to make a decision on a single candidate, especially one so innocuous as a minimum-wage part time cashier. Then again, I've learned over the years that there is no unimportant position in a business.

Maybe what I'm accustomed to in the veterinary field is completely different though and this really is how the real world hires people. Because I was in a manager position for so long, I've learned to be able to read people with just a glance. I pay attention to the way people talk, the way they smile, and the way they behave around other employees. As one of my bosses used to frequently say, "You can train an employee how to hold a syringe, but you can't train a person to smile." Anyone can write anything they want on a resume or answer a series of questions in whatever way they think an employer wants to hear.

But, a person can't fake confidence or a smile, or a genuine love for work. I suppose that I'm still in the mindset that the HR managers of the world will realize after the first interview that I am an inherently good employee with a genuine desire to be challenged with work and do the best job I'm capable of doing. I try not to get irritated when I see teenagers working cash registers or doing sales jobs on the floor. Being a former manager, I'm constantly aware of employees that aren't doing a good job. I have to bite my tongue in interviews so as not to "tattle tale" on the employees out on the floor, employees I know I could run circles around if given a chance.

After being told today about the 4th interview, I stopped in at two other places and submitted applications and sat in on interviews. Surely someone out there will realize they should be hiring me, right?