OKAY I HAVE AN ABSURDLY LONG STORY (JUST LIKE ALL EPIC TALES
HARHARHAR) ABOUT AN AMAZING UPDATE IN MY LIFE.

I WOULD PUT IT IN A READ
MORE BUT READ MORES HAVE BEEN BROKEN ON MOBILE LATELY SOOOOO THIS IS
JUST GONNA BE ONE BIG WALL OF TEXT. APOLOGIES IN ADVANCE.

I
finished undergrad last year (2015). I was 10000% done with school and
absolutely refused to go back for more education, even though that would
have been the most sensible thing to do. My degree has almost nothing
to do with animal care, but I knew animal care was exactly where I
wanted to be after experiencing a 4 month position doing just that. With
limited experience and essentially no relevent education, off I went on
my job hunt.

It was basically a whole lot of writing cover
letters (AND IT IS ALMOST IMPOSSIBLE TO DESCRIBE HOW MUCH I HATE WRITING
COVER LETTERS) and sending applications into the void. I tailored my
resume to each job I applied for. I tried aggressively following up
(Google’d to find the person in charge of human resources and then I’d
spew professional sounding nagging via e-mail, phone, and LinkedIn)
every application to no avail whatsoever. The frustration with writing
cover letters alone was horrible, nevermind the fact that employers
don’t even bother to say when they’re not considering you. It would be
nice to know when you’re not being considered; even easier, it would be
nice if employers bothered to take down job ads once they had found
someone. BUT THAT WOULD BE TOO EASY. *cough* Anyways…

Months
went by, and still literally no one had gotten back to me. I had
laboured on every single cover letter for hours (I KID YOU NOT. I AM NOT
EXAGGERATING WHEN I SAY I SPENT HOURS ON THEM.), and every single one
might as well have been sent straight to the garbage. Come January I was sick and
tired of this process. I would read job ads and feel like it was just a
joke. Were they even real? Does anyone even check for applications? How
can it be that no one ever responds?? I considered applying for a job at
a dog grooming parlour called “Shaggy to Chic” just because it would
be stupidly funny to tell people where I worked. THAT IS THE MENTAL STATE I WAS IN. (I assure you had no similar thoughts at the start of job hunting.) The employers would probably
never get back to me, so who cares if I send in a shoddy application?
Chances were, making the application would be a waste of my time anyways
(but ultimately I didn’t apply to “Shaggy to Chic” because I saw a
slightly better job ad immediately after it). It was in this mindset
that I wrote my first cover letter of 2016.

I saw an ad for a part time job to take care of animals staying at a
24/7 emergency vet hospital. Throughout my entire life, two areas that I
was convinced absolutely never would be fit for me were 1.
veterinary clinics, because I didn’t want to deal with upset pet owners,
and 2. emergency clinics, because it would be a highly stressful
workplace. Additionally, there was nothing in the ad to give me an idea
of the hours I should expect. At this point though? I barely cared. As
much as I needed full time rather than part time, I figured I might as
well be throwing in cruddy applications to every job even slightly
relevant to my interest, even in places I was sure I never wanted
to work in. The chances of getting a job seem basically the same (i.e.,
none) as regardless of how many or how few hours I spent hours on my
application anyways, so who cares?

The cover
letter I wrote consisted of huge paragraphs with long sentences – exactly
the opposite of the ideal cover letter. I couldn’t be bothered to improve it. I had made some attempt to impress them by mentioning how they had won the Consumer’s Choice Award for 6 years in a row, so that was good enough for me. On Thursday evening of the second week of January (I start counting
days from here, and boy what a timeline unfolds), I sent in possibly the worst job application I had ever written.

After submitting the application, I found out they had actually only won the award for 5 years in a row, and I therefore had written a factual error about the company in my cover letter. WELL THEN. They’d probably throw out my application soon enough. I told my family about the job I applied for, and they were mildly concerned I could get bad shift hours since the place was open 24/7, but seeing as how I probably wouldn’t even hear back, who. cares.

Day 2
(Friday, second week of January): I was out most of the day, but late
in the afternoon my brother messaged to let me know the manager had
called my home phone in the afternoon. THIS WAS LITERALLY THE FIRST TIME
ANYONE HAD CONTACTED ME AFTER MONTHS OF SENDING APPLICATIONS. AND THEY
HAD CONTACTED ME SO SOON AFTER I SENT IN AN APPLICATION. JUST WOW. The
manager left a message on the answering machine saying she wanted to do a
pre-screen interview with me. She gave me her direct phone number and a
number to the receptionists just in case, and she said she would be in
on Monday from 9 AM to 4 PM. Perfect. I was a bit jittery all weekend,
but just getting a response really lifted my spirits. This sounds
ridiculous, but it was AMAZING to have hope that job ads weren’t just a
huge joke and I might actually be hired by some employer out there.

Day 5
(Monday, third week of January): I called the manager’s direct number
around 10 AM, but she didn’t pick up. I called the
receptionist’s number, gave them my name and told them that the manager
had asked me to call about a pre-screen interview. The receptionist went
to find the manager, and returned to inform me that the manager was in a
meeting, but promised to call me once she was done. Satisfied, I hung
up.

No one called me for the rest of the morning though, so I
called her direct line again, but she didn’t pick up. I held off from bothering them again until I had to leave the house around 2:30
PM. I left a message on the manager’s phone to say I would be
unavailable for the rest of the day, but she could contact me tomorrow
at any time, and left my phone number again (just in case she lost it).

Day 6
(Tuesday, third week of January): I waited all day by the phone. I
didn’t call them because I figured with the last message I left, the
responsibility was on the manager to get back to me now. My heart
skipped a beat every time the phone rang, but the calls were from a
terrible political party, the library, and my dad. Nothing from the
manager. That evening my parents told me I should probably give up.
Given how quickly they called back after receiving my application, since
they were taking so long to get back to me now, chances were they
either found someone else or somehow could otherwise no longer hire for the position. I was a little disappointed, especially since the lady had
literally promised to call me back, but oh well. I decided I would call
one more time the next day, and give up if I still couldn’t reach her.

Day 7
(Wednesday, third week of January): Shortly after 9 AM, I called the
manager’s direct phone number. No answer. Lovely. I was ready to move on, but I called reception in a last ditch effort. I
basically said, “uhHHH I was supposed to hear back from the manager like
a few days ago… is she even here???”. They asked for my name and then
put me on hold to find her. Imagine my surprise when I came off hold
and the manager was the one speaking to me! She apologized for taking so
long to get back to me and wanted to do the pre-screen interview RIGHT
THEN AND THERE. I was really not prepared for that, but I wasn’t about
to turn down the opportunity.

She looked for my application, and
told me she can’t find it. I reminded her that I sent in my application
last Thursday so it was probably quite far back in her e-mails. She
continued looking (in awkward silence), and informed me she still
couldn’t find it, but asked what position I applied for anyways. I told
her, and then she asked “Full time or part time?”. WOAH HELLO YES THAT
WAS NOT AN OPTION I WAS MADE AWARE OF EARLIER. GOOD THING SHE COULDN’T
FIND MY APPLICATION AND HAD TO ASK ME ABOUT THIS. Honesty is the best
policy though, so I admitted I applied to part time because that was the
only job posting I saw, but I would prefer full time if it was
possible.

She then informed me that for full time, the shift hours
they were hiring for was 2 PM – 1 AM, 5 days on 5 days off. THAT WAS
JUST PERFECT FOR ME. I am not a morning person at all, and with hours
like that, I would never have to be. And I always preferred not to
have plans during two day weekends because I was tired of seeing people,
but having 5 days off in a row regularly? I COULD ACTUALLY DO THINGS. PEOPLE COULD ACTUALLY FIND THAT I AM WILLING TO SOCIALIZE ON (a couple) DAYS OFF. I
had no idea hours like this existed, and they were more perfect than
anything I had ever hoped for. Once I recovered from the elation, I
offered to send her my application again, which she accepted and spelled
out her e-mail to me. EXCELLENT. I prefer to pester through e-mail
rather than phone, and now I had access to it.

I sent the application to her again,
but she didn’t receive it for a few minutes (awkward silence yet again)
and decided to start interviewing me anyways. We got about halfway
through the interview, and I received a delivery failure notification. I
told her, and she had me spell out the e-mail I had used. After all
my talk about being good at paying attention to detail, it turns out I forgot (not misheard, FORGOT ENTIRELY) to type a letter of the manager’s e-mail even though she had just spelled it to me.
(It was also her name, which I knew from their company website, and definitely should not have gotten wrong.) WELP. I corrected my mistake, resent the application, and she received
it a few seconds later. I no longer thought I had any hope at getting
this job, so I didn’t try too hard for the rest of the questions, and I
was extreeemely casual in my speech. It was almost cringe-worthy the
number of times I said “you guys” in reference to the organization. We
finished the pre-screen interview, and TO MY SURPRISE, the manager told
me they were doing several interviews today and asked me if I could come
in for an in-person interview THAT VERY AFTERNOON. WELL OKAY I’M DOWN
IF YOU ARE. I got off the phone slightly panicked and went about trying to
make myself look presentable.

In the afternoon, I went into
the vet hospital for the interview. The manager brought in with her the
woman who would be my supervisor if I was hired. The supervisor was very
stern and looked constantly unimpressed. That in itself was
nerve-racking enough, but she also decided to ask me many weird and
extremely specific questions. I was completely unprepared for them, and
instead of doing the sensible thing where you say something like “Can I
think about that for a moment before I give my answer?”, I just used
ALLLLL THE FILLER WORDS. SO MANY “UM”s AND “UHHH”s. And I STILL referred
to the organization as “you guys” even though I had mentally reminded
myself that I should refer to them more formally. And because I was
nervous I repeated myself a lot while grasping for things to say. AND
STILL I apparently was doing a terrible job of answering their questions
because they would repeat it to me after I answered or tell me to make myself clearer.
They also asked about whether I had any commitments that would prevent
me from working in the next few months, and I told them about my
volunteer position on Monday afternoons that I was committed to. They said I would not be able to make it to half of the volunteer
shifts and would not accommodate it. WELP. I really didn’t have much
hope at all for getting this job.

At the end of the interview, the
manager asked me if I wanted to come in for a “working interview”,
where I would shadow someone in the position I was being interviewed for
to see if I would be interested in the position. OKAY WHATEVER SURE IF
YOU GUYS ARE STILL GIVING ME A CHANCE I’LL BE THERE. The supervisor told
me she would be in contact with me in the next couple days to schedule
me in for the working interview. I let her know the only day I couldn’t
do was Monday afternoon, and then went home.

Day 8
(Thursday, third week of January): I hadn’t received any e-mails back
yet, but I thought it was ripe time for a thank-you e-mail to
conveniently remind the manager of my existence. I didn’t have the supervisor’s e-mail address yet, so I
asked for her e-mail address on the pretense that I didn’t want
the supervisor’s message about the working interview to end up in my
junk mail.  The manager replied that day, and also gave me the
supervisor’s e-mail address and said she would be in touch with me soon.
Nice. (This is basically the only thing I did in this whole process that went well.)

Day 9 (Friday, third week of January): The
supervisor e-mailed me, asking if I could come in for the working
interview on Monday afternoon, i.e., THE ONLY TIME I SAID I COULDN’T
MAKE. I politely asked to reschedule for literally any other day, but I
was very nervous when sending the e-mail because I was unsure of how to
spell her name (I had seen three different spellings of her name). She made no comment on how I spelled her name and
moved my working interview to Tuesday afternoon. (Later on I found out that only one of the three spellings was correct, and I had picked the one that was the most wrong. WOO.)

Day 13
(Tuesday, fourth week of January):

I went in for the working interview and LOVED IT. The job itself seemed
fine to me. I didn’t think I could work in a veterinary clinic because I
didn’t want to deal with upset pet owners, but the position I would
have didn’t need to interact with the pet owners at all! (On the other
hand, literally all the other positions in the veterinary clinic would
have to deal with the pet owners. GOOD THING THERE HAPPENS TO BE A
POSITION EXCLUDED FROM THAT.) I was also worried about emergency being a
stressful workplace, but my position would have literally no
responsiblity for diagnosing, treating, etc. The role I would have in
emergency patients would be just to hold them and watch as the vets, vet
techs, and receptionists had to get everything figured out. WELL I HAD
NO IDEA THERE COULD BE SUCH A NON-STRESSFUL ROLE IN EMERGENCY. As for
the people, everyone was nice to me and also silly with each other (at
appropriate times). They seemed to be the kind of quirky people I could
click with. After working a couple jobs where I didn’t feel like I fit
in (even though people weren’t outright mean), as well as a couple jobs
where I really felt comfortable with my co-workers, I knew the value of
working with people who I really got along with. It was so much more
satisfying to go to work when I wasn’t constantly feeling awkward around
everyone. I felt like this really would be a good place for me.

At the end of the working
interview, the supervisor asked me how it was, and I was too tongue-tied
to give a good answer so all I said was “it was really interesting”. SO ELOQUENT I AM. She let me know that they would decide on who to hire by Wednesday
(tomorrow), or possibly Friday by the latest. Regardless of the
decision she would let me know the outcome. WELL AT LEAST THEY’RE NICE ENOUGH TO TELL YOU IF YOU’RE NOT CHOSEN. I thanked her and went on my way home.

Day 14
(Wednesday, fourth week of January): No decision yet. I decided it was ripe
time to send a thank-you e-mail for the working interview and be more eloquent about how great yesterday was, but I put it
off all day. Then while I was on my phone in the evening, I had a burst of motivation and decided to write and send the e-mail on the spot. I usually re-read anything I write at least 3 times, but I told myself that it was probably fine and I should just send it and get on with my night. Here is what I sent:

“Thank you for arranging the opportunity for me to have the working interview. I really enjoyed seeing what it would be like as a TA, and the everyone was very friendly and helpful! You have a wonderful workplace, and it would be a privelege to be part of it.“

AH YES. THE EVERYONE. AND PRIVILEGE SPELLED WRONG. TWO TYPOS IN ONE VERY SHORT E-MAIL. I re-read the message immediately after sending it, and I saw those errors. Now, had I sent the e-mail on my computer instead of on my phone, I could have hit undo send (Gmail wheeeee). BUT I WAS AN IDIOT AND SENT IT FROM MY PHONE, where there is no undo send, no spellcheck-as-I-type, and of course this is the one time I didn’t bother to meticulously edit what I wrote. Given that any application with typos are typically discarded immediately, I had basically just set myself up to be rejected from this job that seemed like it was so perfect for me. True, I was long past the application phase, but I marketed myself as someone with keen attention to detail (which is highly desireable for this position), and this clearly demonstrates otherwise.

My brother witnessed me writhe in pain as I deliberated on whether to send an e-mail correcting my typos (should I say to disregard the previous e-mail? should I specifically make corrections to the previous e-mail??) or to just let it be (if I make corrections then it’s obvious I didn’t read it over enough before I sent it??). He advised that I shouldn’t draw more attention to the typos than it already does on its own, so I decided not to correct my typos. I writhed in pain thinking about how easily preventable this failure was.

The supervisor replied to my e-mail within an hour of receiving it, and didn’t make any comment about the typos. She simply thanked me for the kind words and stated that she would let me know about the position later. I agnoized over what could possibly be going through her mind about considering me.

Day 15 (Thursday, fourth week of January): … Still no decision. I continued to internally writhe in pain about whether I had completely ruined the possibility of getting this position because I was idiotic enough to send a professional e-mail from my phone without proof reading. Granted I was directly responsible for multiple other aspects that went poorly in the process thus far and they should have prevented me from getting to this point anyways; really, it was impressive I made it this far with all those fails… or so I tried to comfort myself.

Day 16 (Friday,
fourth week of January): I refreshed my e-mail all day until I left the
house. When I checked my e-mail in the evening, the supervisor had
e-mailed to apologize for taking so long, and said she still hadn’t made
a decision. She stated she would let me know “in the early part of next
week”. WHY DOES IT TAKE SO LONG TO DECIDE WHO TO HIRE? I wanted very badly to ask, but couldn’t do so in a professional manner. I thanked her for keeping me updated and continued to agonize about all the possible reasons why she couldn’t give me a firm answer.

Day 19 (Monday, fifth week of January): I had been a bit worried all weekend, but now that the answer could actually come at any point, it pressed on my mind a lot more. I checked my e-mail as much as I could, to no avail.

Day 20 (Tuesday, fifth week of January): I continued to check my e-mail almost constantly all day. Surely the “early part of next week” would mean Monday or Tuesday?? I was starting to care less about the answer and really just wanted an answer so the “what if”s would stop occupying my thoughts. In the evening, I finally received an e-mail from the supervisor apologizing that she STILL had not been able to make a decision, stating she would be out of office for the next two days, and would try (keyword: try; cue more agony) to let me know of their decision by Friday. WOW OKAY.

Day 22 (Thursday, fifth week of January): By this point I have just been trying to keep the job out of my mind for my sanity. My parents have told me (and I have repeatedly told myself) that it’s not a big deal whether I get this job or not (maybe there are other jobs, better jobs, more suited to me, and it’s good if I don’t get this one… but then I think about how great everything about the position is and how amazing it would be to have it… my thoughts just cycled through these two phases over and over again).

Day 23 (Friday, fifth week of January): Theoretically, I could find out today whether I got the job or not. I also could have found out 3 days ago, or a week ago, but neither of those happened. Still, I wanted to know so badly. I checked my e-mail all day and couldn’t distract myself from thinking about it. Finally, as I was getting ready to leave the house, the supervisor called, but I didn’t pick up in time. She left a message saying she wanted to talk about the position. SERIOUSLY WHAT IS THERE LEFT TO TALK ABOUT WHEN I’VE HAD THREE INTERVIEWS.

I immediately called her back, and she went through all the details about the position again (which I’ve heard twice before by now and have witnessed in person…). I was really in a hurry to get out the door so I wouldn’t be late to fellowship, but I also couldn’t possibly rush her in a professional manner, so I listened for what seemed like ages with my heart pounding for multiple reasons. Finally she asked me, “so… are you still interested in this position?” TO WHICH MY ANSWER WAS YES. VERY YES. She also apologized that it took so long to decide to offer me the position (AND THE OFFER WAS FOR FULL TIME YES), and said it usually doesn’t take that long. WELL THEN. I was only slightly late to fellowship (which was with people who have watched me agonize over this process for three weeks and prayed for me throughout) and was screaming with excitement. 8D!!!

TL;DR/IN SUMMARY:

I want it to be painfully obvious how absolutely insane it is that I got hired for this position, and also how ridiculously well this worked out for me.

First off, I did a shoddy job of EVERYTHING THAT I COULD BE RESPONSIBLE FOR.

-My cover letter (i.e., the most unique part of my application) was garbage (and there was a BONUS FACTUAL ERROR WOW)

-My pre-screen interview was garbage (in addition, I spelled an e-mail wrong when it was spelled to me AND I knew the full name of the person I was e-mailing)

-My actual interview was garbage (plus I spelled the supervisor’s name in the most wrong way possible)

-I MADE TWO TYPOS IN A SHORT THANK YOU E-MAIL; HOW MUCH MORE GARBAGE CAN A PROFESSIONAL E-MAIL BE

I was mentally giving up throughout the entire process and not really trying at anything I was doing. There was no way I should have been hired. For an employer dealing with piles of applications looking for even the slightest reason to discard an application from making their short list, I should have been written off very early on AND at every step along the way. The job only required high school level education; in addition to the host of failures I’ve demonstrated, I could easily have also been written off for having too much education (yes that is a thing). And it’s not as if there weren’t other applicants – they were clearly interviewing other people. Even on the days when I went in, they were talking about how they were making more interview calls.

But so many things beyond my control and my knowledge went astonishingly well.

-The manager took so long to get back to me that she couldn’t find my application, and thus informed me of the availability of a full time position WHICH I DIDN’T SEE ANYTHING ABOUT ANYWHERE rather than the part time I applied for.

-The hours?! I had no idea anything like that existed, especially not in the animal care industry (all animal care jobs I’ve come across run from early morning to afternoon, with regular 2 day weekend). I wouldn’t have even known to search for a job with hours like the ones in this position; IT IS SO IDEAL FOR ME. I AM SO PLEASED THAT I DON’T HAVE TO BE A MORNING PERSON. I AM EXTREMELY PLEASED ABOUT REGULARLY HAVING 5 DAYS OFF IN A ROW.

-The PEOPLE. Lovely co-workers really make a job. I am SO THANKFUL my co-workers are the kind of silly weirdos I can be comfortable with.

-Thanks to how long it took for them to give me a job offer, I’ve had more time to work out my volunteer commitment.

-Before I started this job hunt, I had always told myself I didn’t want
to be in a veterinary clinic or emergency setting (because I didn’t want to
deal with upset pet owners or high stress xP) and would be better off doing only animal
husbandry (e.g., taking care of animals at an aquarium, in a wildlife
rescue/sanctuary, etc.). Now that I’ve experienced this emergency vet
hospital setting, it’s seriously way better than what I thought was
ideal for myself. The animals and the tasks I help with are much more
varied, there’s weird cases that makes it even more
interesting/sometimes hilarious, and it is always busy enough to make
the hours fly by. PLUS I DON’T EVEN HAVE TO DEAL WITH THE PET OWNERS
(the vets and vet techs do that; not meeeee 8D). In retrospect, I was
not nearly as engaged when I was in my animal care work placement
compared to how I am now. I didn’t even know this type of position
existed or was ideal for me, yet here I am.

The things I did made it less likely that I would get hired. Honestly, when I failed everything in my control SO MUCH but what was beyond my control worked out SO AMAZINGLY WELL, I can’t attribute it to coincidence or luck. I can only say that it was definitely all God, and DEFINITELY not me.

I have now done training, including working 11 hour shifts, and am getting prepared to start my full time schedule. It’s still fantastic. Was it worth that three week process? You betcha.

In terms of how this affects (ﾉ´ヮ´)ﾉ✧, there
will be 5 day periods when I disappear from the interwebs. IF I DO NOT RESPOND TO YOU FOR DAYS ON END PLEASE DON’T TAKE IT PERSONALLY; I AM WORKING 11
HOUR DAYS 5 DAYS STRAIGHT. IT ISN’T YOU, SERIOUSLY.