An inside job

            For someone who appears to loath interviews as much as I do, I seem to find myself in the middle of them more often than I'd like. Half the time I'm not necessarily looking for the work, but my good friends like to recruit me into their current field of work whenever possible and I have a hard time saying "no." Apparently, I'm very easily seduced when it comes to pleasing the people I care about. Late Wednesday night, in the middle of my week long Christmas vacation, I was sitting on the couch with my parents when I got two messages from two different friends of mine within fifteen minutes of each other, each telling me to come in to the restaurant where they both work and apply "ASAP!" That night someone was let go from this very well known, and very difficult restaurant to get employment at due to it's history, respect and the famous regulars that like to make appearances there. If I were an actor, this would be the restaurant to work at. However, it doesn't hurt to rub elbows with the likes of people who can do more for you than you could for them. Most of the staff who work there have been employed for years, and I don't think they have plans for leaving any time soon. So, when a slot opened up, extremely flattered, they both thought of me instantly. Even while knowing that I didn't necessarily need the work, they thought that I would enjoy this place far better than where I've been for the last two years. I've always told myself that I would never take on another waiting position again, unless I found myself in a place where I had no other choice. For instance, if I were in a foreign land, down to my last crumb of food and only a dollar to my name, then, I would put myself through the indignity of putting myself in another position in the field again. However, my waiting friends are very good salesmen and quite good at their job–of coaxing people into buying what they're selling–so I caved. It's a survival mechanism we've learned to cultivate in time. Otherwise, the rent would never get paid and our fridges might just as well be used as air conditioners.

            Nestled on the couch between my mother and father, I pondered the idea of working in a place that was well respected, non-corporate, located in the heart of Hell's Kitchen, in business for the past fifty years and where any career waiter would kill to work at given the chance. I figured, Why not? New year, new job. It's a change that I think could only benefit me IF they think I'm even worthy enough for the position. If it didn't work out, I still had my current job where I know I would always be welcome, or I could keep on as a part time position for a while too. Crap, that means I need to go through the process of another interview. After a minute of assessing this thought, I went ahead and messaged both of my friends and told them I would be there Friday afternoon for an interview.

            Bright and early Friday morning, I was in my car racing down Interstate Highway 95 at eighty miles per hour to get home in time to get to this interview. Mind you, this weekend is considered the busiest time of the year for the restaurant industry in New York City. My timing is impeccable, I wouldn't be surprised if I was laughed at and turned away just for showing up on a day where restaurant managers loose most of their minds and their hair. However, I had nothing to loose and I didn't want to disappoint my friends who cared enough to think of me in this position by their side. When I got home I changed into some business attire, spruced up my resume and ran out the door. From experience, the hours between two and four p.m. are considered down time in the restaurant business, so if I didn't want to be a nuisance I had to make it in between that time period or risk being turned away, or worse, rejected completely due to my not knowing any better.

            Before I walked into the door I wiped the snot dripping from my frozen nose and smoothed the tangled mess of windblown hair on my head the best I could, hoping no one in the restaurant was paying much attention to the people on the street. Then taking a deep breath I walked in. To my relief, the quaint little restaurant was pretty empty for the moment, just as I predicted, and the manager was sitting right inside the door at the bar. Noticing that someone was behind him, he turned around, stood up from his stool and made his way towards the host desk to my left, "A table for one?"

"Ah, actually (stutter) I was looking for a position...if you're hiring."

"Oh, well you're in luck. Someone just left us this week."

"Yes, actually, Michael Angelo and Aisha told me there might be a position (stutter) available and that I should come in."

"If you have ten minutes we could do that now."

"Excellent. That would be great." Whoo, if I had to come back and do this introduction again, I would just forget about it altogether. Let's just get this over with.

For someone who has been through dozens of interviews in the past you would think that I'd be prepared for the same old questions and have the perfect responses down to a science, but I'm a bad liar and even worse when I'm under pressure. So telling people what they want to hear and not what is the honest truth is not my strong suit. Although, to my great surprise, this was not an interview at all, it was more like a rundown of what I should expect and what I should wear on my first training shift on Monday. I must have said about ten words through the entire conversation, nothing remotely intelligent by the way, but I was hired anyway and before the end of the interview Michael Angelo and Erin, another of the five people I knew well who worked there, walked through the door for their evening shifts and the "interview" was interrupted by hugs of delight in our seeing each other. I think it pleased my interviewer that I was already well acquainted with half of his staff, even though I had never set foot in that restaurant until this day. So I'm sure he was glad the position was filled...for now. I won't officially be hired until training is over and I was okayed by the rest of the staff, as well as the managers. I like that. It's a team effort here. They all have to work together to make each other money, so they should all have a say as to whom they end up working with.

            I've been trying to get out of working for a corporate company for as long as I've worked for one. But, to leave one place of employment that is so similar for another just never made much sense to me. However, I do like the idea of working at a place where there is just one head at the top of the food chain to please and not an army of unknown faces dictating what they want you to do while you try to do your job. This place sounds like a dream in comparison and I'm sure willing to give it a try. One of the worst parts of starting in a new position is getting to know the staff and I've already jumped that hurdle. So what do I really have getting in my way? I suppose if there is anything, I'll find out on Monday.