Hired! Hired! Hired!

I got hired - on my second job interview - on the SPOT!

I now work for the Tiny Book Store (TBS). Easy to get to, adequate wages, the manager seems really nice, and while it can't guarantee full-time hours - I realize that, realistically, no job will be able to guarantee full-time hours until I've worked for them for longer then three months. I've never passed the probationary period for my jobs because they were only for the summer. With TBS though, I want to work for it part-time during the next school year as well, so I'll probably make enough money for tuition, eventually.

The interview went really well. The manager really enjoyed the part of my cover letter that said I had to pin my posters onto my ceiling because all the other wallspace was taken up with books, and I acquitted myself nicely. I think it was because this time, during this interview, I was more honest in the answers. I don't mean to say that I've lied during other interviews, but when they would ask a question like "Do you recall a time in your other jobs when you went beyond the call the duty?" , I'd always assume that if there were no such time, I wasn't good enough to be hired. So naturally, instead of saying most of my jobs were cut-and-dry and didn't have a whole lot of opportunity for improvisation, I'd fudge a response.

I'm terrible at improv, so most fudged answers come across badly. Here I actually told her that I didn't have a lot of opportunities to do more than was strictly required, because I was working in the food service industry, and only to get money for tuition. I wanted to work for TBS because I loved books, and yes, I did need a little extra cash to take the pressure off of my parents for next year's tuition payments. Also, when she asked in team situations, whether I was a leader or a follower, I honestly said, "follower", even though alarms bells were going off in my head saying "Don't be a sheep! Sheep don't get hired! Innovators get hired!"

Well, it must have worked, because she hired me on the spot. I start Monday, actually. I still have my last exam on Wednesday, and a movie screening for SEE Magazine on Friday, but I don't need to study for the exam (it's for comparative lit, so all I need to have done is the reading, which I have), and my shift on Friday is hours away from the movie screening.

So, I'm excited. The manager said that a lot of the people in the store (TBS has a staff of, erm, about six people) loved my resume (I stated how I reviewed books and freelanced), and the benefits of this job are great. Working for Cineplex Odeon, I got free movies all summer, which was a blast during a year that had Batman Begins and The 40-Year-Old Virgin. But working for TBS, I can take out any book in the store on loan for two weeks, for free, as long as I return it in pristine condition. And even if it's not, I get a 30% discount when I buy it! So, YAY!

However, now that a day full of thinking and hoping and planning has passed, my glee has been chilled slightly by nerves. This is a job where I will have to perform, to sell things. I have to help people find what books they want, and provide good customer service. I love books, though, so I'll try to hold onto that passion so that it will help me deal with people, who tend to scare me sometimes.