Second Interviews

I have a second interview with Hyun's company tomorrow. It's for Administrative Manager position. Hyun tells me that the executive I would support is difficult. So why am I doing this? Well it's really for practice. I haven't interviewed in 4.5 years. I think it's working.

I have another second interview with Dennis' company Friday. It's for Office Facility Associate. The position is basically being a studio manager at a larger organization minus the executive assisting. I'll be working with many service departments to make sure they are supported and happy. I didn't apply for the position. I actually went in for Investment Group Assisting but the HR person thought my background would make me a good candidate for this newly available position. So Friday I'm going to meet the Office Facility Manager, Nick. I'd figured I'll know if I want this after I meet the guy cause it is all about who you work with/for.

Wish me luck.

First Rejection

So I got the result of my first job interview. "We are unable to offer you this position." Ouch. Well, not really. I had a feeling that they would pass over me cause one of the analysts kept telling me that he's afraid I'll be bored. I guess coming from small companies where I virtually ran the show overqualifies me for administrative assisting. It's a compliment, sure. But what if I want to be bored. I was considering it a break or dare I say, a vacation (at least from my crazy past jobs).

Well since Linda knew the person who had the results of my interview, she gave me the inside scoop. Turns out it was the other analyst that had concerns about me. This man was a banker and his style is very systematic. He wanted an assistant that wouldn't be too independent or creative. He just wanted someone to answer his phones, file his documents and arrange his travel.

Oh well. I'm sure it's all for the best.
Next!

The Suit

Nice suit. Bad picture. Bad mirror.

Unsuited until today

Last week I had my first job interview.

Thanks to my good friend Linda (who's been working at Lehman Brothers for a very long time, knows all the right people and has incredible powers) I got an interview for an Admin Asst position on her floor. It happened pretty quick (example of her powers). Jan 12th - I sent Linda my resume. Jan 18th - I'm scheduled for an interview with the Admin Coordinator for Friday. Jan 20th - I have the interview and asked to come back for second interview. Jan 23rd-Tracie asked if I was available tomorrow for the second interview with people I would be supporting. Tomorrow - second interview.

Amazing. Quick.

Good news. This is what I want. I want to get a high paying (higher than what I'm getting now at least which is not that difficult) in a larger company (cause I'm sick of working for small business and wearing many hats) with great benefits (I currently pay for half of my health, have no dental or vision, nor 401K, etc). I'm tired of taking out trash in heels. (At Lehman only union janitors are allow to touch trash. Awesome.)

Bad news. I'm not as prepared as I should be. For a girl who's planning to go corporate, I am in dire situation regarding wardrobe. I do not have a suit. My sister Christina owns quite a bit of suits. Unfortunately we are and never will be the same size. Only in shoes which helps a little.

So Thursday afternoon, day before my first interview, I went hunting for a suit. Six hours and eight stores later (including Bloomingdale's and Macy's), I found myself digging in the back of my closet for something to wear. Then I remember that I do own one suit. I bought it in Korea in 1998, right before I left in January. I remember it being a very nice, sophisticated suit. It's a blue-grayish dress with matching jacket. So I found it and tried it on. It fit! It didn't look old or weird. No one would have suspected that it was over 6 years old. Thank god for classic cut and modest color. But there was one unfortunate thing. The dress ended 3-4 inches above my knees. I felt like Ali McBeal. Feeling a bit naked I thought I would wear my tall boots, my tall black leather boots. Well let's just say I got some seriously disturbing looks/stares walking to my subway station and crossing 53rd street to Lehman's. Yeah not my best judgment. Thankfully I only met with the Admin Coordinator, a woman. Then after the interview I stopped by Linda's desk. She said I look nice. Hopefully she wasn't lying for my sake.

Well I couldn't wear that outfit again. I would be meeting my prospective bosses. Four of the five are men.
So I needed to find a modest suit for interview #2.
No luck over the weekend. And I thought I had some time. Remember I didn't get the call for second interview until today.
So when Tracie called today and ask if I could come in tomorrow well I was really worried. I had only a few places left to check out: Century 21 and TJ Max. I voiced my concerns to Kathy via iChat. She mentioned Barami near Bloomingdale's. I've seen this store but didn't think to look in. Well luckily there was one near my work. I found one there and it was on sale! It's simple: dark gray/black with fine, dark red pin-stripes. It's a jacket/skirt combination. Of course it's a bit long in the sleeves and skirt. So I ran over to Koreatown to my alteration expert. She's great. She pinned me and promised to have it ready by 1pm tomorrow. Interview is at 5pm.

I'll post picture of the suit tomorrow.
Wish me luck.
Thanks Linda for getting me an interview.
Thanks Kathy for helping me find a suit.
Thanks sis for the shoes.

Dreaming of Korea, sort of.

So last night I had a very odd dream.
I was visiting Grace and Haesun in Korea. It's spring because it's raining like Seattle. Pretty. Everything is a light green. Grace was home. Huge apartment like the ones you see Korean dramas or "Friends." Totally fictious, of course. We were waiting for Haesun to come back from teaching. I was getting hungry so I went to the kitchen where I saw a rice cooker. I opened it and well, there was maybe two spoonful of bap (cooked rice) left. I was a bit annoyed. Here I am a guest and there is no food in the house. Bad hosts. Grace comes into the kitchen. "Why are you looking in there?" she asked and then turns around to show me the huge bowl of bap on the counter. Oops. I felt very bad and silly.

Turns out Grace is having a few friends over. I didn't recognize them. All were Korean-Korean friends. A good mix of boys and girls. Everyone was lounging. Some even started to play card games. But no one was really having fun. We were all killing time until Haesun comes home.

Someone announces that they see Haesun. I go over to the window to see her coming. She was under a black umbrella. Her hair was slightly damp which brought out her curls. The weird thing is that she was wearing the beaded green tank, cropped jeans and sandals with heels. She had on makeup. She didn't look like herself but it was very clear that she was/is Haesun.

This is when I knew I was dreaming. =)
So what does this mean?

New Year, New Job

I'm leaving my job finally!

As you know I decided to be a photographer last year (see birthday entry).
But this is going to take some time. Since I have no money, no recent professional experience and no contacts, I couldn't quit my current job, print business cards and open a studio. Tempting but there was no way. But having made the decision was a huge step for me. Oh I still keep changing my mind every day but I'm trying not to listen to those voices in my head. I keep reminding myself that being scared is a good sign. Isn't?

Ok so now I'm a photographer in training. I'm planning to use 2006 as a year to learn, grow and do. I'm going to take classes, do those photo projects I've talked about, and finally talk to as many photographers as I can. Good plan, right? Yes, I was going to take it slow AND be smart about it.

Part of being smart is not quitting my day job. Although the job has been a nightmare in recent years, I need an income for all the lovely classes and equipment. This time my "job" will be about making money. If my company was going to hire me back full-time and give me a considerable raise, I would stay. (Though deep inside I prayed they wouldn't.)

Well God heard my prayers and delivered me from evil. Yes, they couldn't afford to hire me back full-time. I was off the hook cause it would be stupid and suicidal to stay part-time. So I would leave at the end of the month. Bonus: my boss offered to help me by being a reference AND passing my resume to her contacts. Nice.

Hopefully I'll have some good news to report in a couple of weeks.
Wish me luck and let me know of any job openings.