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shadowkatJob hunting is a demoralizing occupation that eats away at one's soul like acid. After a while you begin to wonder if you can do anything or are worth anything. Employers make you feel like crap. And the interview styles vary from not-so-bad to the nightmare.
My latest was the - "let's scare the applicant shitless job interview". It was for a literary assistant.
The interview took place in a 50 foot skyscraper that shakes. It was on the 36 floor during a wind storm.
The building apparently shakes all the time. People actually take motion sickness pills to work there.
During a wind storm it sounded like it was coming apart at the seams. The interview room - had these nifty plexi-bubble-glass windows that appeared to be only half attached. I got there at 4:30 pm. They were interviewing over 50 people for the position and were barely able to fit me in at 4:30 on a Wed. I get there on time, but they are in a meeting. So I wait for thirty minutes, reading Dorothy Dunnett's Queen's Play, very good book by the way, true life-saver.
Finally called in. The book shelves are filled with NY Times Bestseller stuff - you know Janet Evanovich, Coontes, Jude Devereux, Janet Daily, Binchy, Deepchock Chopra, etc...
The interview starts with them asking me why I'm interested in the position. Tough one. I'm uhm desperate probably won't cut it. So I spout off a bunch of stuff about my love of books and knowledge of literary deals. (I know going in that it's about $24,000-$26,000 a year with medical, zip else.)
Next the two of them, office manager and former literary agent - proceed to tell me that it's a thankless job and explain in detail that you are basically what is politely termed a "personal assistant" - in truth this is all-around-slave. The personal assistant is to the big cheese in the agency (you'd know his name if I mentioned it, he's famous, one of the top guys in the agent biz), the plus side? You get to talk to film industry people and high level authors, etc. The down side? You're a drone. A slave. You field calls from his family. Buy gifts for his wife. Get his coffee. Type his correspondence. And hey, in return he trains you to become an agent yourself. But you have to really want to become an agent to put up with the shit. Last assistant did not work out, but they aren't priveleged to state why.
I call this technique - scare the applicant and see if they are still standing. I still stood. No niave wet-behind the ears kid, here. I know how nasty the entertainment industry is. I know exactly what a personal assistant is and what they do. So I stuck it out. Was let go after about thirty minutes, maybe more. Then rushed home to see Wed night tv which outside of Caberet was the true highlight of my week. I'll know by Friday whether they think I'd be a good candidate for the job. My gut says no. Let go way too quickly. I think they already found their canididate and were just going through the motions. (*Found out on Friday they had filled the position, my guess is they found someone before my interview - they didn't seem that into it.)
On bright side...good tv week. Loved Destiney, see review below. Also posted to the fanboards. So far Angel's Soul Board provided the most interesting responses. Odd. I expected ATPO to. Maybe ATPO is still reeling from the episode? Most of the folks on ASSB are spoiled up to 12. They got past the stuff in 8 ages ago. My live journal also got the most interesting comments. Also enjoyed Smallville.
Interesting twists...didn't expect that. And ER?
There's a stunt in ER that literally rocked. What came afterwards was seriously lame. But the first half-hour build-up and then the stunt? Whoo-Hoo!
What a way to kill a main character. Have the very helicopter that took off his arm, come falling out of the sky on top of him. Ironic as hell. Romano, the character everyone loves to hate, tried to confront his fear of helicopters in this episode. A patient had left behind a watch. It was a well-to-do patient. Romano was responsible for getting the patient air-lifted to another hospital. He goes up to the roof to give the watch back, yet can't bring himself to go to the airpad (makes sense, last time he did, the propeller chopped off his arm), so he sends an intern and goes back down again. Needing some air - he walks outside and pauses in the ambulance lot between buildings after chewing out a resident for doing drugs.
Meanwhile the helicopter has had an accident on the roof and is crashing, Romano manages to stand literally in the helicopters path as it smashes to the ground and lands in a burning mass on top of him. Wonderfully cheesy moment. I loved it. Also very ironic. Poor Romano, no matter what he did, the helicopter got him in the end. Also very sad, since no one seemed to notice he was killed or gone. I spent the second half of the episode waiting for someone to find out. All in vain. ugh. I hate it when tv shows do that. Although I understand why they did it here.
End of ramble and rant. Off to read and bed.
My latest was the - "let's scare the applicant shitless job interview". It was for a literary assistant.
The interview took place in a 50 foot skyscraper that shakes. It was on the 36 floor during a wind storm.
The building apparently shakes all the time. People actually take motion sickness pills to work there.
During a wind storm it sounded like it was coming apart at the seams. The interview room - had these nifty plexi-bubble-glass windows that appeared to be only half attached. I got there at 4:30 pm. They were interviewing over 50 people for the position and were barely able to fit me in at 4:30 on a Wed. I get there on time, but they are in a meeting. So I wait for thirty minutes, reading Dorothy Dunnett's Queen's Play, very good book by the way, true life-saver.
Finally called in. The book shelves are filled with NY Times Bestseller stuff - you know Janet Evanovich, Coontes, Jude Devereux, Janet Daily, Binchy, Deepchock Chopra, etc...
The interview starts with them asking me why I'm interested in the position. Tough one. I'm uhm desperate probably won't cut it. So I spout off a bunch of stuff about my love of books and knowledge of literary deals. (I know going in that it's about $24,000-$26,000 a year with medical, zip else.)
Next the two of them, office manager and former literary agent - proceed to tell me that it's a thankless job and explain in detail that you are basically what is politely termed a "personal assistant" - in truth this is all-around-slave. The personal assistant is to the big cheese in the agency (you'd know his name if I mentioned it, he's famous, one of the top guys in the agent biz), the plus side? You get to talk to film industry people and high level authors, etc. The down side? You're a drone. A slave. You field calls from his family. Buy gifts for his wife. Get his coffee. Type his correspondence. And hey, in return he trains you to become an agent yourself. But you have to really want to become an agent to put up with the shit. Last assistant did not work out, but they aren't priveleged to state why.
I call this technique - scare the applicant and see if they are still standing. I still stood. No niave wet-behind the ears kid, here. I know how nasty the entertainment industry is. I know exactly what a personal assistant is and what they do. So I stuck it out. Was let go after about thirty minutes, maybe more. Then rushed home to see Wed night tv which outside of Caberet was the true highlight of my week. I'll know by Friday whether they think I'd be a good candidate for the job. My gut says no. Let go way too quickly. I think they already found their canididate and were just going through the motions. (*Found out on Friday they had filled the position, my guess is they found someone before my interview - they didn't seem that into it.)
On bright side...good tv week. Loved Destiney, see review below. Also posted to the fanboards. So far Angel's Soul Board provided the most interesting responses. Odd. I expected ATPO to. Maybe ATPO is still reeling from the episode? Most of the folks on ASSB are spoiled up to 12. They got past the stuff in 8 ages ago. My live journal also got the most interesting comments. Also enjoyed Smallville.
Interesting twists...didn't expect that. And ER?
There's a stunt in ER that literally rocked. What came afterwards was seriously lame. But the first half-hour build-up and then the stunt? Whoo-Hoo!
What a way to kill a main character. Have the very helicopter that took off his arm, come falling out of the sky on top of him. Ironic as hell. Romano, the character everyone loves to hate, tried to confront his fear of helicopters in this episode. A patient had left behind a watch. It was a well-to-do patient. Romano was responsible for getting the patient air-lifted to another hospital. He goes up to the roof to give the watch back, yet can't bring himself to go to the airpad (makes sense, last time he did, the propeller chopped off his arm), so he sends an intern and goes back down again. Needing some air - he walks outside and pauses in the ambulance lot between buildings after chewing out a resident for doing drugs.
Meanwhile the helicopter has had an accident on the roof and is crashing, Romano manages to stand literally in the helicopters path as it smashes to the ground and lands in a burning mass on top of him. Wonderfully cheesy moment. I loved it. Also very ironic. Poor Romano, no matter what he did, the helicopter got him in the end. Also very sad, since no one seemed to notice he was killed or gone. I spent the second half of the episode waiting for someone to find out. All in vain. ugh. I hate it when tv shows do that. Although I understand why they did it here.
End of ramble and rant. Off to read and bed.
RE: ER
Date: 2003-11-21 07:56 am (UTC)Poor Rocket. Actually, Rocket Romano was too much of an asshole for my tastes, and I'm not sorry he's dead. Poor Paul McCrane. Over the past two seasons, the writers of ER have taken a fairly complex study in the abuses of power and reduced him to a bitter, one-dimensional, one-armed toad. The actor deserved better, and perhaps, in another series somewhere, he'll get the respect he deserves. Good luck, Paul.
But, I must admit, once they decided to knock off Romano in the most ironic (and ludicrous) way possible, the writers stuck to their rotor blades and unflinchingly showed the proper reaction from the staff of the ER to his disappearance:
He won't be missed.
Major disaster hits County, and Romano's nowhere to be found. Does everything fall apart? No, Weaver comes in, so does Anspaugh, and the staff comes through it quite well, thank you. Neela and Abby save Susan's hubby, and each gains new confidence. Luka and Sam work well as a team. The med students acquit themselves nicely (except for Morris, who's still freaking worthless).
Romano fires Pratt, but Anspaugh dismisses Romano's charges with barely a second thought.
The staff passes around photographs from seasons past. Ooo, there's Mark Greene. Gee, we really miss Mark. And Carter--when is he coming back already? Meanwhile, Romano is buried under the fusilage, and nobody remotely cares.
There will be some sadness when they discover the death of their Chief Resident, but it's clear that the staff will get over it. Quickly. Either Carter will return to take Romano's place, or Carrie will get demoted, which should do wonders for her disposition.
Romano will die as he lived--unloved. Sad. But, unfortunately, true to life.
Re: ER
Date: 2003-11-21 09:31 am (UTC)The spiteful bitter man Rocket Romano had eventually become, no one would miss. He took his anger and pain on everyone around him, even those who were trying to help - including Elizabeth Corday, who he allegedly cared for.
He won't only "not" be missed, I think they all may give a small sigh of relief, albeit guilty relief at his passing.
The metaphor of being buried beneath the very helicopter that he allowed to become the center of his existence is fitting. Romano buried everything that was remotely good about himself beneath a helicopters blades, until he in effect became as emotionally destructive to himself and others as those blades were to flesh.
I agree - the writers reduced what had once been a wonderfully complex and at times sympathetic character (just watch the scenes from the year Mark was sick - where Romano reassures and comforts a torn Elizabeth), to a one note irritant. I can see why Mcrane wanted out. Who wouldn't?