Failure or not so much
So, it's been a busy week...still waiting to hear on two of my interviews from last week, but I heard from the one that caused the loss of my purse. Did not get it. Salt in the wound thankyouverymuch.
I have been online for like 4 hours...an eternity for lately, because I discovered that one of the pubs near my flat that has free wi-fi also has outlets! :D Needless to say, this post is brought to you along with wine.
Whatever, moving right along, I did an audition today to be a riding instructor at one of the stables in Hyde Park and failed quite miserably. This, you can imagine, did not make my morning.
I was really bummed, I'd been excited about it...not so much for the money, but because it seemed like a fun thing to do. And my ego was severely bruised, I started riding 22 years ago for pete's sake and I rode like I started last week.
But to be fair, I've barely ridden lately and needless to say, that showed. I really hate failing at things so I was shell shocked when first turned down...ready to blame my failure on the different riding style here, the different tack, but I decided to make lemonade instead.
I bought a lesson with them and went back later that afternoon...and I've left my number with another stable nearby, so we'll see.
The point is, I'm utterly exhausted and muscles I forgot I had hurt. People in the horse world are ridiculously know-it-allesque and while I did ride horribly, some of the things she commented on were simply style differences and I exercised every ounce of self-restraint I had in not arguing ;)
At the end of the day, does it really matter who's right? I had a fun day, even if my feet are in agony.
posted by Amy @ 21:26
2 Comments:
I know exactly what you mean about know-it-alls in hiring positions and the tremendous self-restraint it takes to keep from arguing when they self-righteously correct you about something that is either neither person's fault or else is theirs.
I've been experiencing the joy of sending out what feels like gazillions of cover letters and resumes and sometimes the companies will write back rejecting my application in a way that shows that they either aren't intelligent enough to grasp the content or else didn't even take the time to read it. It can be hard to keep up the mantra of "it's not me, it's them" or "it's not me, it's the (lack of) fit", and to maintain your confidence in your presentation and skills.
FWIW, I do think a job as a riding instructor sounds like fun, and that fun jobs are totally worth pursuing. Hang in there!
-A
Ah yes...and you'll soon discover the peculiar hiring culture here:
You will quite likely be "coached" prior to an interview by the HR person or the recruiter on things like "don't be late," "research the company," "know what you said in your CV."
Upon first being told these things, I was both offended at the insinuation that I didn't already know such basic things and horrified that the recruiter had obviously come across interviewees who don't.
But now I've heard it enough times that it's just what they do here. Still very weird though. If you don't already know at least those 3 things going into your interview, you aren't qualified to work (IMHO).
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