The Adventures of Jessica Sideways

This week, I had two interviews for two different jobs that I wanted. I had interviews for both a Flight Attendant position with a commuter airline and another for a customer service position with a web hosting company that I used to use. Fortunately, these two interviews had their own individual challenges but I feel really optimistic about both of them and I am sincerely hoping that some fruit will bear from my labours.

The interview with Great Lakes was on Wednesday. Needless to say, finding a way up to Denver International Airport was going to be a challenge, since they tuck the airport way out in the middle of no where, so you couldn’t just take the bus to the Airport Blvd. & 40th Park-n-ride and then walk to the airport. No, it’s 9 miles out from the park and ride and way impossible to walk to within a reasonable time frame. So, I had to find someway to finagle RTD skyRide tickets. Fortunately, I found my way to do so (I do have my little secrets *g*) and then prepared to set off for my interview at Great Lakes. The ride was long and I was just glad that there was a stop near Auraria campus so I could go to the computer lab early in the morning, research all the old addresses and information for my previous employers and then have the application ready to go. It also allowed me the ability to take care of a few e-mails that needed to be taken care of prior to my interview.

I was nervous as hell about a lot of things when I got there. Being late, getting through security and all sorts of stuff. When I got to the ticket counter so they could give me a pass to get to the gate, they wrote “SSSS” and for anyone who knows what that means, that means I did not have much fun going through security. I got the full security scan, the air puffer (and yes, being trans, this was going to lead to a strip search if I did not have my name change documentation and passport on me, as well as my female gendered Colorado ID), the metal detector, the wand and I had to empty all the cosmetics out of my purse. And when I saw the guy heading towards me, I knew that I was in pretty deep. Fortunately, a cavity search nor a strip search were performed, because there was no reason to do such things.

After that little fiasco of TSA stupidity, I ran to the gate that they told me (Great Lakes Airlines gate A57) and told them that I was there to see my interviewer. They were very kind to me and they went to go get her for me. Unannounced to me, though, I was 30 minutes early for my interview and I was sincerely worried that my interview would be 30 minutes late. My interviewer came to meet me and to take me back to the Great Lakes office and her own closet, er, I mean office. We talked about the fact that I was nervous and she offered to go to the ladies’ room so I could have some time to try to cool down. I tried but I just couldn’t cool down. I had a very serious interest in the job and I sincerely wanted to be a flight attendant. And Great Lakes appears to be the only airline that seems to be expanding and growing right now. So, yeah, I was kinda nervous. We talked for a little while, she did mention my nervousness again later in the interview. But I feel that in spite of the nervousness, I did my best to sound knowledgeable and articulate about the travel industry and airlines. And I answered all of her questions quite honestly. When we ended the interview, she told me that if I got the job, I would receive a call on Monday. If not, it would be just an e-mail. So, I am sincerely hoping for my phone to ring, ring, ring!

On Thursday, I decided to go to the headquarters of the Regional Transportation District and apply, in person, for the telephone information specialist position that they were advertising on their jobline. Since the closing date of the position was friday, I was not really able to receive an application in the mail from them just yet. I went to their headquarters, checked in with security, picked up an application and started to apply right then and there. I was planning to take my application out with me but I saw a horrible little shock when I read the last two pages of my packet. It looks like the trumped up shoplifting charge that I received this April was going to instantly deny me my job. So, that asshat homophobe that was working as Safeway security that day has his little victory play out yet again. But I am still glad that I didn’t just go to jail for this asshat’s acts of homophobia and heterosexism.

Still seething from this little failure, I went to the Jobing.com Job Fair and noticed that Homestead, a webhost that I used to use (back when they were free, mind you) had a table at the career fair. So, I went over there, handed my resume to them, and learned that they were having an open house for job applicants on Friday. So, with that knowledge, I was armed, confident and ready to go for my interview with Homestead the next day. I made sure to phone RTD to try to get the directions to Homestead and it looks like, as with the passport centre, that it was pretty much within walking distance but I didn’t know it. I heard that I had to take the call-n-ride from County Line to Homestead.

On Friday, I made my way down to Auraria campus, took the light rail and got off at County Line just like the operator said. And then, I went down to the gate that they talked about, sat and waited for the call-n-ride to get here. She finally did get there and we talked about her needing to come pick me up. She told me that she couldn’t come back to pick me up in a couple of hours, but I could phone her at Homestead and then she could come and pick me up. I was kinda disappointed about this until I saw that I could just walk up to the County Line park-n-Ride from Homestead. This made me feel a little better because I didn’t have to worry about waiting around for her in the hot, hot Colorado summer weather.

When I got to Homestead, I had learned that I got there 45 minutes early for the Open House. They had me fill out a little sheet about what I wanted to get out of this job to ensure that I wanted a bit more than just a regular paycheque. Of course, I did and I filled out the sheet they gave me in the hope that they would see that and hire me on the spot. They didn’t. They had me sit in the employee lounge, wait around, eat a Krispy Kreme doughnut and wait around for the managers to come call me back to the room where I would be interviewed. I think the Interview went very well, except for the fact that I inadvertently said a few bad things about my previous employer and took a little while to give a more detailed answer for the brain teaser they gave me. I got the answer right the first time, but I just couldn’t explain it until I thought of it for a little while.

Either way, I do hope I get one of these jobs. I’d hate to have to go to another interview.