One Resume = One Job

Divine Intervention. Or perhaps just unbelievably good luck. That’s what it is. I sent out one single resume post-graduation and got a job. Crazy. Last Thursday, I dropped off my resume. Friday I get a call for an interview. Tuesday I interviewed for an hour. Friday I got the offer. Effective July 3rd (post-Africa trip) I will be the Richland County Public Library Cooper Branch (on Trenholm Road) Library Assistant. I am thrilled. Not the big bucks, but a job I will (hopefully) love.

I have always been stunned by my incredible good luck when it comes to finding employment. With the exception of a few real stinkers, I have liked all my jobs and had a pretty easy time getting them. For example:

Job #1: Blockbuster Music. Walked into a music store, heard a cover of a Jethro Tull song on the store speakers, asked who was covering a song since it was obviously not Ian Anderson singing. They offered me a job that day.

Job#2: Bebop Record Shop. Best friend was a manager. “It’s not WHAT you know but…”

Job #3: Madison County Cultural Center in MS. While I was at Hinds Community College in Raymond, MS, I organized a panel discussion concerning censorship and the government’s role in art. One of the guest panelists was the president of a local arts “umbrella group.” Once I graduated (and after not getting hired for a designer position by another organization), I called the guy up to see if he had any leads. He in fact was hiring for a Program’s Coordinator position and viola! Within a week or two I was hired. Ironically, the other job that didn’t hire me called me back RIGHT after I accepted the other job and offered me the designer position. I stayed at the arts center. Great decision.

Job #4: AmeriCorps NCCC. Got accepted immediately, no waiting list.

Job #5: In New York, I had two brief jobs before I fled the city. I worked for 2 weeks at a Barnes and Nobles (and I got the job in my first week in the city) and I worked as a fundraiser for a Greenpeace campaign. I got that job the same day as my interview. However, that job sucked so bad I cannot put it into words. (However, I CAN put it into pictures, so if I ever finish it, my next comic is loosely based on how much that job sucked. It really did. Has anyone ever screamed in YOUR face and called you a terrorist? Didn’t think so. Someone actually told me they hoped I died.)

Job #6: Book Shoppe in Cape May. I’d been in town for about four days and thought “I’ll go check out the local book store.” Asked if they were hiring, yes they were, I was hired that day.

Job #7: AmeriCorps VISTA at Communities In Schools of the Midlands. Found out about the job on a Tuesday, called on Wednesday, drove to South Carolina on a Thursday, interviewed Friday morning, offered the job that afternoon.

Job #7: USC Sociology Lab. Made an A in a professor’s class, he found me the next semester and offered me a job. SHAZAM.

That brings us up to now. I have had other jobs I didn’t mention, but these are the substantial ones. So am I just blessed? Yes, in some ways I believe I am. I am also willing to work for peanuts if I feel the experience and or the work is worthwhile and beneficial to a greater cause, so that has helped a bit. Anyway, it’s a major relief to know I have a job waiting for me when I return from Africa.