Everyday Adventures: JOB JOB JOB JOB!!

I got a job!! God continues to bless me in amazing ways! Yesterday was my first day of actual job searching. I went into the employment office in Roseburg (about 25 min. north of Myrtle Creek) to register with them and begin my job search. When I walked in, the lady I talked to at the front desk pulled me aside right after finding out I have a college degree. They were about to have a staff meeting so I filled out my registration on the computer to wait for them. The manager came and got me and took me back to his office for an informal interview on the spot. In about 5 minutes, he offered me the job and had me start filling out paperwork!

My position is in the Welcome and Assessment Center (WAC). When people walk into the OED (Oregon Employment Department) I will talk to them and basically help them get a job. I will help them get registered and take the computer skills test or refer them for jobs or whatever they need. I am excited because I will get to interact with a lot of people and I won't be sitting in a cubicle bored all day. I am a little nervous though because they all kept warning me that I need to learn to not take it personally when someone is rude to me. They are probably really stressed and having a hard time because they don't have a job and need to feed their family and are really in a tough spot. I am NOT good at this sort of thing. I'm too sensitive and I take everything personally...SO I will either come home crying every night or I'll learn to toughen up and let things go.

The job is a 6 month temp job for now. The manager, Shawn, told me he thinks that is the best way to begin a job (of course he was trying to convince me to take it...) because it's job security for half a year but if you don't like it, it's an easy out at the end of 6 months. I like that because I am a very non-confrontational person and it would be really hard for me to quit a job just because I didn't like it. Anyways, another benefit of starting as a temp is that the hiring process (because it's with the govt) is really rigorous and it's really hard to get hired because they have to make sure it is fair to people with disabilities or minorities, etc. BUT if you get hired as a temp, then you can make the transition into full-time pretty easily. Several people told me there would be some full-time jobs opening up in the next few months, so I could stay with them if I like what I'm doing.

I don't start until July 15, so that means I have two weeks to finish getting settled in here and hang out with the teens! I'm really excited about that! We have several swimming trips planned already. I also have a few things I need to do here like set up a bank account and get my license plate changed, etc. I hope to get all that done before I start work since I won't have any time in the day after that. This job is 8-5 Monday to Friday. One thing I really like is that the workers in the WAC all rotate jobs every couple hours so no one gets burnt out or bored doing the same thing all day long. I am SO excited to enjoy these next couple weeks and not feel guilty because I'm relaxing instead of looking for a job or apartment. Yay!

Here are a couple more pictures of my apartment as it slowly starts to look like home. I don't have much decoration stuff, but that will have to wait until I start getting a paycheck!