Laziness
In the last entry I told how I had gone from no jobs to two jobs in a matter of hours. Well now I am back down to one. I was in the SWAP office, pondering my choices. Looking at the pros and cons of my new employment, and then at the pros and cons of being able to go on the SWAP night out tonight, I came to a conclusion. It went something like this:
Thoughts:
'The bussing job will be quite good, as long as the trade picks up, and then the tips will be better.'
'I'm hardly the most suitable man for a maintenance job, with minimal DIY experience and even less drive to do painting.'
'But I do get cheap board.'
'And with the maintenance job, I don't have to work tonight and miss the SWAP night out, therefore missing out on a chance to broaden my social circle in Vancouver.'
Risk
This was where I took my risk. I called Larry at the Sequoia Grill, and told him I had been offered a job in the hostel that was going to work out better for me e.g. less travel (true), better pay (true if tips don't improve), less rent (true). The risk involved is that the maintenance job is just a two day trial. If I am rubbish at maintenance, which I inevitably will be, I could be jobless again. The bonus is that those two days covers a weeks' rent in the hostel.
Confidence
I can get a new and better job anyway. Look at me- I have a degree, experience across the board in pubs and restaurants, call centres and any other crap summer-type job you can think of, I'm good looking (Mum and Kate can back me up on that one, if not- there'll be trouble), and charismatic (as before).
Getting a new job should be easy!
Tedium
To my credit, I did put in some valuable man-hours today. I printed off a bunch of resumes to hand out to prospective employers, I sent emails, and I also had some feedback from previous emails.
One was for a bar downtown, telling me to drop-in with my resume and talk to the manager. It was a nice place. Classy but not too posh, pricey but not overpriced. It is a place where a young man can make a lot of tips (not as much as a young lady probably, but oh well). It is a place where a young man can have fun, and make friends with other young adults.
I used all of my English 'charm' with the person that interviewed me. I included all of the watchwords that I have discovered, during my time in Canada, the natives go weak at the knees for (this includes 'rubbish', 'lovely' and 'cup of tea', although I didn't use the latter!). It seemed to work, and the manager was quite enthusiastic. I am hoping to hear from someone tomorrow about that one.
Hope
I was head-hunted for the first time in my life. God bless monster.ca, which has earned me 'real' interviews at two 'real' jobs now. The first was as a marketing assistant in Montreal. The second is as a marketing assistant in Vancouver.
A lady had seen my resume on the fabled job-search site, and called my mobile, insisting that I apply for this marketing job. At first, alarm bells were ringing. All I could see was flashbacks of my time at Anglian Windows and Conservatories, being told to 'fuck off' before I could utter one word of sales patter to unwanting customers.
I was reassured by my friendly British Columbian head-hunter Megan that it wasn't a telemarketing position, that I would be utilising my writing skills (which are what attracted her to the resume), and that I would be meeting clients face-to-face to discuss products. All very grown up, and potentially all very well paid!
-o-
Otherwise, I took some photographs of some views around the city. I have been here a week and have been lacklustre in putting my camera into action. Watch this space for uploads.
