Ch-ch-ch-ch-changes

I felt like this mini homage to the David Bowie song was fitting, as a huge part of my life has changed.

I now have a new job. Well, it's semi-new as I have been working there for a month now. Getting this job was like a huge weight lifted off my shoulders. I was miserable at Target. It was really difficult transferring back to my older store. I made great friends there and it was great to have the job security, but the Target in Columbus literally became my home. When I lived in Columbus, I didn't feel like I was welcome in my own apartment after all that shit went down. It was a place to sleep, and a place to eat. But it wasn't home. Yet every time I walked through the doors of 1058, a sense of peace and familiarity went through me. I was at home when I was at this place. It took a while for me to adjust, but I did. These people became my real family. We hung out when I got sad, they came to my birthday party, and always invited me whenever there was a night out. I actually felt more welcome by THEM than by my actual roommate. How messed up IS that?

Of course, I moved back. I didn't want to return to my original store, for a couple reasons: 1) I wanted to find something full-time and something that highlighted my computer and office skills. 2) I was miserable there before I moved. I didn't want to be that miserable again.

But, a couple of team members that still worked there told me that the place was changing for the better. I wasn't finding any office work and my bank account was nearing the single digits so I swallowed my pride and went back.

It was nice to see familiar faces but also nice to see new people too. People whom I became friends with. And for the first couple of weeks, I could see that the place was changing for the better.

That changed. I came to the realization that while this store had new management and a better grasp on things, that there were still the same problems. I got tired of being told to "hurry up" if we were short staffed. I got tired of being told "Just because you're the operator doesn't mean you don't do reshop or help anywhere else". I got tired of running across the store to answer call buttons, go up for back up, etc only to be reamed by the Team Lead or LOD that I wasn't finishing my work.

It only took a couple of months but I was unhappy again. I would dread coming to work and I HATED that. I missed the feeling of relief and happiness that I got at 1058 when I walked through those doors. The job was minimum wage, but I actually loved doing my job.

But, I soldiered on. What else can you do?

I got more familiar with the bus lines. I didn't want my lack of license impede me from finding a job that was more suitable for my office skills. Once I got familiar with the bus lines, I started submitting my resume to any place that would look at it: craigslist, snagajob, cleveland.com, indeed.com, monster.com - EVERYWHERE.

I had a couple of close calls but nothing that would come of it. I was starting to become more and more disheartened.

But finally, I had my job. A small office was looking for part-time work as an office assistant. Must know how to file, use phones, computers, office material, and Microsoft Office products. Perfect. I went in to interview which ended up being quite short. At that point, I just had a "meh" attitude about all these interviews. But I did my interview, and just acted as if I already had the job.

An hour and a half after I got home, I got a call from the same company asking for a 2nd interview. After that call, I knew I had the job. It was just a gut feeling. I set up a 2nd interview with the president of the company.

I felt a lot more laid back at my 2nd interview because we had it at a Caribou Coffee instead of an intimidating office setting. He wanted to know about me, so I told him about my living in Columbus and the events that led me to move back to Cleveland. He asked about my office work, which I told him about. I was cool, calm, relaxed, and asked questions of my own after the interview.

About an hour or two after we parted ways, I got the call from the president saying I was hired and I'd start on Monday. I was flabbergasted but so goddamn happy.

It's still kind of surreal that 2 months ago I was working a job that I despised. I felt like I didn't get any respect from my higher ups, and nobody was listening to my suggestions (which REALLY pissed me off, and honestly would have made nights working there twice as easy) A month after training, the office manager left me in charge. I went from standing out in the cold waiting for the Target doors to unlock, to having my own key to a building and handling stuff on my own. After working there for a MONTH.

I don't know if this job will last forever. But having a job like this will DEFINITELY put my foot in the door. Things can change for the better for me. I just had to try really hard.