The New Job

So, my new job.

I got hired in a full-time temporary position at a chain thrift store (one that funds a charity.) I had resigned myself to getting a retail job when I saw the posting--surprised cause I thought these places were run solely by volunteers.

Just as I was doing the orientation for the job, the hospital called me about a casual scheduling job. I did go for the testing, just in case--scored over 90% on a version of Office I've never used (one where they made big changes to the interface), on Excel, Word and whatever the email-calendar program is called, which I'd never used before. (My secret? Internets research of course! Plus being raised on computers, I guess.)

Anyway. That job is double minimum wage, though I would have been on-call I don't know how long. Plus hospitals are stressful places to work these days--cuts, cuts, cuts. Lots of bitter people. Still, I wasn't sure that I was right in choosing the thrift store. As I wandered the mall to buy jeans, steel toed boots, and orthotic liners, I finally had to sit on a bench and THINK. And in the end I thought about my job coach, and Holland's hexagon.

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Of course we all have personality traits from all of these categories, but quizzing generally reveals a couple that take precedence. Since high school mine have always been artistic-social. Holland's idea is that you'll be most comfortable in jobs that hit your sweet spot; as your move to the left or right, you'll be progressively less comfortable, so that your "opposite" careers are more likely on the opposite side of the hexagon. In my case, conventional-realistic.

Retail peon falls within Social, and retail manager falls within Enterprising, which is why I was able to do the job but it wasn't a perfect fit. Hospital scheduler I'm fairly certain is Conventional. So I sat on the bench and thought: My job coach would predict that I'd be happier in the less-paying-thrift-store job.

On top of which it's for a charity, which appeals to my ethical side--something that also scores high on my personality tests. And as far as retail jobs go, it's pretty good. We're always closed Sundays and stat holidays, which means you can make plans in advance (my old job was open almost every day of the year). We're only open 9-5:30, which are my exact work hours (old job had shifts from 6 AM to 11 PM.) It's unionized. There are very few dress code rules (old job had a 3-page guide.) No ugly uniform.  And lots of interesting crap, if you like second hand stuff (as I do.)

Everyone I've met so far, at every store, is really nice. They train well, and they're easy-going with newbieness. There are no moody people--you know those people who walk around looking grumpy, at totally random times, and you don't want to ask them anything. My co-workers are really even tempered. They know all the regulars, joke with them, are kind to them. And the bosses give positive feedback.

At first I was trained on sorting, pricing and placing stuff. Now I'm on cash, where I think he might be leaving me. There's always work to do behind the cash, so the time goes fast; and the customers are cool. I'm on the same old fashioned cash I used when first trained at a mall bookstore! We don't do refunds, so it's all fairly simple. Plus, having done 15 years retail, I have a lot of self-confidence so I felt comfortable from day one.

So there you go. It's just above min wage (which thankfully is $10.25), but I've no complaints so far. I'm burning calories being on my feet all day, and the tootsies haven't killed me 'cause I bought Superfeet which ROCK. I'm also finding that, either because of my personal stress, or the headache drugs I take, I'm kind of scatter-brained. So I've realized it's good to be in a job where if I make a mistake it means placing a short-sleeved shirt in the long-sleeved section. Because you aren't purchasing inventory like in a regular store, there's less precision involved in everything--merchandising, pricing, putting stuff under the right category in the register, etc.

Okies. ...Sleepy now. Night!