Avon Calling...

I haven't had the best luck when it comes to jobs. Ever since I graduated from college, I have had a string of "The Devil Wears Prada"-esque debacles (although far less glamorous). Most have left me wanting to write a best seller outlining the antics of my co-workers and superiors, but without a job, I can't afford the Adderall to control my ADD. So I figured I would write a blog. Short and sweet, and sometimes all over the place. Because I can do that.

I'm sure many people feel that they have been treated unfairly at work, and they are usually right. My last job was an HR nightmare for all nine of us who worked there... except the boss, because the lack of an HR department allowed him to discriminate and manipulate and yell at the top of his lungs at his employees. To call him a tyrant would be a compliment, because that would imply that he was smart enough to control people by choice. Rather, he was an unorganized manipulative child who would tell you to do one thing one day and yell at you for doing it the next. If you had a doctor's appointment, you would surely get the silent treatment. And God help you if you wanted to take a day off, no matter how much PTO you had accrued. He even told his sales staff that no one was to take any time off during the months of January, February or March. What?! Is that even legal? This is why he loved not having an HR department to report to.

Needless to say, I am no longer with that company. I should have seen this coming as soon as I told my boss that I needed sinus surgery, and would be out of commission for a week. I was fired. As was the last person who had my position. Actually, I was "let go", with the agreement that he would still call on me for contract work, because he thought I was such a creative individual, and he loved my work. So he said. And by "agreement", I mean verbal discussion. Part of his manipulation technique was making an effort to NEVER put anything in writing. Even in email. Especially in email. There were so many times I would email asking for specifics about a project, and he would not reply. Even when I requested a read receipt with every email I sent him, he would just click on the little X in the top right of the request box, leaving me guessing. Great boss, huh?

Now, here I am over a month later in an economy which everyone swears is picking up, and I still have no job. My job searches are turning up either the jobs that nobody wants, or the ones that sound awesome, and everyone I have ever worked with or gone to school with is applying for. I'm lucky if my resume is even read among the hundreds that are received. I try to tailor each cover letter to specific positions, but there are only so many ways to express how creative, organized and self disciplined I am (and that's only half true). I am considering retail, becoming a nanny, and I even applied to sell Avon today (Yes, apparently you have to apply. They don't let just anyone hock their goods).

Ohh, as I'm writing I just got a response from Avon. They said someone will be contacting me soon, or if I'm so inclined, I can contact them first. Is this a test of self-motivation? This blog just might end up being my own personal Avon boutique...and the best part? I could be my own boss, and I won't have to read a book like this!