(no subject)

[oyceter]

I post like mad today...

Was turned down for job offer during interview today. Feel rather down and unemployable (translate: "OMG I will never get a job evah and be stuck and careerless for the rest of my life because I'm not aggressive or confident!" *bursts into tears and flails dramatically*). Really would like to kick the interviewer. Yes, I know you are in a position of power, and I know I ask stupid questions and my resume sucks, but given that I cannot be rude or call you on your jerkness given my status as a job seeker, did you really have to be that rude and condescending? Jeez. On the other hand, it is probably good I did not get an offer because frankly, I disliked everyone in the company I talked to, disliked all the values they espoused, and they all smelled faintly of investment-banktitude.

And then an old high school friend IMs me and asks if I would want to open a bookstore with her someday. Of course, none of this is even remotely close to concrete, and there are tens of millions of reasons why this would be a Bad Idea.

- my friend and I could be absolutely horrible as business partners, which could ruin the business and our friendship
- she has not much industry experience, and my own is very negligible
- no benefits (or, I would assume from the bookstore, limited benefits)
- needs a lot of money
- would mean more hours of work, not less
- probably no vacation for the first five to ten years or so, and many many long hours and headaches
- bookstores as a whole not doing so well
- far in the future
- little financial security
- much responsibility and stress
- the horrors of retail

And yet, it is still appealing. Probably because I have not yet worked all-nighters trying to make it happen or been perpetually worried about going out of business. Also, am not assertive or aggressive or other such traits that business starters should probably be.

And yet.

I have no idea. I know I am being influenced because I loathe job searching. I know that I am 23 years old and don't have nearly enough business experience or knowledge or anything. I would also really like something resembling job security, benefits, a good retirement plan, vacation time, and oodles of money so I could eat fancy food and buy truckloads of books. And bookshelves for the truckloads of books. And a new house for the bookshelves.

Ahem.

But even with the sometimes awful experiences that come with my current job, every time I think "owning a bookstore," it sounds a little magical. Maybe I am being too idealistic. While I cannot seem to summon anything resembling enthusiasm for most other job descriptions I've looked at.

I don't know. I don't even know how to get there, even if I knew it was my ideal job. I don't even know what I should be doing now. I don't know how to reconcile this with current job search. Although it does make me feel a little better -- if I don't find a job, I must remember I am not stuck. I am merely acquiring experience for bookstore-ownership. Somehow, that sounds better to the self-esteem than Perpetual Shelver.

Comments

[ann1962]

It would be a nice flare of sarcasm and irony if you named said fantasy bookstore Perpetual Shelver.

Sorry about the interview. {{hugs}}

[oyceter]

Tee hee hee ;).

Thanks... mostly I'm ok because the company didn't seem ideal, but the rude interviewer still bugs me.

[ywong.livejournal.com]

The company you interviewed with (if it's the one I asked you about) seemed like a real dot-com scam kind of thing, so you should be happy not to be working there. I restrained myself from going "ewww, ick" when you told me what company it was, but now that you haven't gotten the job there, I can say that.

If you're 23, you should seriously be considering the bookstore thing. Doing anything like that is always a "bad idea" (and I'm sure your parents and other responsible people will tell you that), but the only route to happiness is to chase your dreams and do what you like. I guess your friend is just saying "some day," and not "right now," so it's not a decision you seem to need to make, but just how do you think small independent bookstores get started, anyways? Enthusiasm for a job, even with all the drawbacks you mentioned, is the primary and necessary component for success. Everything else (the business end of it, etc) you can figure out through diligent study.

[oyceter]

Really? They seemed a fairly legitimate company, unlike a lot of the insurance sales companies that spam from Monster, but I dunno. How scam-like are they? (or if you don't want to answer here, you could always email it to me: oyceter at livejournal.com)

I keep wavering about the bookstore thing -- part of me wants a steady salary and job security, and the other part is rather delighted at the idea of having my own bookstore. There is also the problem of not having capital or stock or anything.. and my friend is still thinking as well. I think I will start researching it on the side..

[ywong.livejournal.com]

Well, I didn't mean legitimate in the real scam way, but more in the "sounds like a crappy dot-com that doesn't have a viable product." You didn't give many details, so I could be wrong, but the attitude of the guy you described sounded familiar to me in a bad way.

Go bookstore!

[oyceter]

Yeah, that sounds rather like it, and the attitude of all the people there that I talked to was really off-putting.

[rachelmanija.livejournal.com]

I can see why it might be impractical, but I myself have always longed to run a bookshop.

[yhlee.livejournal.com]

And I long to work in one--friend of mine had been thinking of opening a gaming-sf/f bookstore at some point (she did business coursework and she's very organized and sensible, so she would've had a shot at making it work, I think) and I was so down for the idea of working there. She changed her plans for various reasons, though. *sigh*

[oyceter]

Working in one is at times incredibly cool and at times incredibly sucky. Mostly for me it depends on how many grumpy customers I have interacted with in a day and how many books I have to try to squeeze in inadequate shelf space.

But the feeling of being surrounded by books all day (and being able to borrow them at my job!) is the coolest thing ever. It's also broadened my reading a bit, which is good.

[oyceter]

It's really tempting. Really.

email me your resume

[knullabulla.livejournal.com]

I'm pretty good at making resumes appear more impressive (I have an easy time getting interviews with headhunters because of it). So send me a copy of your resume and I'll do a little tweaking, k? knullabulla@livejournal.com

I'd say that I'm sorry you didn't get this job... but it sounds like it wasn't the right place for you. There is no excuse for an interviewer to be rude, and if he's acting like that in the interview, he'll be even worse on the job.

Have you considered taking time off from your search for a new job, and instead take some classes on entrepreneurship at your local continuing education center or community college? I was having fears of being a Perpetual Administrative Assistant until I started taking business classes. The job market still sucks, of course, but at least now I'm able to focus on searching for jobs that have a stronger career path. Perhaps with a bit more fundamental knowledge of what it takes to own your own business, the bookstore will become an obtainable goal (but still with a lot of magic!)

Best of luck!

Re: email me your resume

[oyceter]

Thanks! It's on the way.

It was not the most comforting of places... I can see how some people would really like that environment, but the prevailing attitude felt too much like that of an investment bank for me.

I've sort of tossed the idea of going back to school around, but I want to really concretely figure out what I want to do first. I finally read What Color Is My Parachute and am trying to do the exercises now...

Re: email me your resume

[knullabulla.livejournal.com]

Resume is updated and on its way back to you :)

Even though some of the exercises in Parachute can be tedious, I found them to be *unbelievably* helpful. Especially the one where you write about the seven times in your life that you've had the greatest feeling of accomplishment, so you can identify your transferable skills. Nice ego boost when you realize "wow! I'm good at a lot of things!". I also liked the exercise in which you figure out who you'd want to hang out with at a party (and hence, the environment you want to work in).

I was able to go from "I would like a job or career best if I was surrounded by people who help others, are curious and like to investigate things, and are very innovative", and combined with my transferable skills, I got this "The ideal career path will involve working directly with clients [helping], analyzing research data [investigating], and collaborating within a creative team to develop [innovating] marketing strategies."

[actoplasm.livejournal.com]

Hey you can't open a bookstore with someone else! You're partnering with me, remember? We're calling it Genre! So I start work again tomorrow, and as far as I know we're meeting up on Sunday, so you might want to come by earlier to the bookstore I work at and take advantage of the 40% employee discount, which yes, also applies to used books.

[oyceter]

Hey, the more people who know about bookstores, the better!

I am definitely coming by your bookstore and raiding ^_^. You couldn't keep me away, especially after mentioning the magical word "discount."