Opportunities

When God closes a door, He opens a window. And sometimes that window turns out to be a sliding glass door, which is just as good as the door that was shut in the first place.

I applied for a job in Los Alamos. I need a temporary job, one that will start after our trip in April and last right about until my student teaching starts in the fall. I pondered this dilemma for about 32 seconds and then thought, "Bear Camp!"

For those of you who are not laughing really hard at me right now, let me explain. I worked at Bear Camp for all my summers during college. By my fifth year, I was already the counselor who had worked there the longest, and I had an entire closet full of Bear Camp shirts, ranging the entire color spectrum. In fact, my entire summer wardrobe consisted of Bear Camp shirts, with the word STAFF written clearly across the back. I may or may not have started answering to "Staff."

Basically, it was the funnest job ever. I got to play Monopoly all day, go to the park, go swimming, eat nachos and Mountain Dew for lunch, and (the best part) boss other people around! Who wouldn't love that job?!

So I applied to work at Bear Camp. It's a good thing I did (last Wednesday), because the applications closed on Friday. I got mine in just in time! That's a very important point, because since Bear Camp is run by the government, it is a huge pain in the butt to get hired if you miss the hiring date. Basically it doesn't happen. They would have to re-post the position for several weeks, do more interviews, and then hire you. Ahhh, bureaucracy.

I realize it's only been 2 days since the closing date, but I was getting very curious about my chances. So I called my old boss, ostensibly to ask about the possibility of a phone interview, but really to feel out my chances.

Good thing I called. It turned out that she had heard I'd applied and been really excited, but then had heard from HR that I hadn't qualified for the minimum requirements.

Um, what?

Yes, let's hear it for paying attention to detail. The requirements I needed to fulfill were to have and Associate's Degree in recreation, or a related field like Education. They would also substitute experience for education, of which I would need 2.5 years. I have 29 credit hours towards a Master's in education, so I felt pretty good about that. I put my work experience from the last two years of being a teaching assistant and then my 5 summers working at Bear Camp.

I didn't qualify.

See, I needed an Associate's degree. My credit hours didn't count toward anything because they don't count it unless you have a degree.

And then my experience, once you get down to the nitty gritty (which they did), didn't add up to 2.5 years of full-time work. The teaching assistant jobs were 3/4 time, and the camp experience was only for the summer months.

I talked to my boss and to the HR folks, trying to find a way to add to my application, change things, apply for a lower job, anything. But the deadline had passed, and I couldn't change it.

Booooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!

I was so mad-- mostly at myself. I knew it was a very particular application (I'd done it 5 times already), and I should have put down everything I'd ever done in my life, not just the last 3 jobs. I should have called in to follow-up before the deadline passed. I should have done a lot of things. I'm qualified for the job, and I really really REALLY wanted it.

I still have all my Bear Camp shirts.

There go all the eggs in that basket.

But thankfully I hadn't put all the eggs in that one.

I did send off an application to (another daycamp in town). I called them to ask if they'd gotten my application (which they haven't yet), and I had a great conversation with the person in charge of hiring for that position. I found out about a position that hadn't been posted on their website, one that I'm very very interested in. She learned about me and how awesomely qualified I am, and she'll be looking for my application.

This is a very flexible application. It is not a government job. I filled out one app, and it will work for any of the job opportunities they have available. I am looking forward to learning more and hopefully interviewing and getting hired for this job.

Maybe it will be for the best. I loved Bear Camp and all the kids and counselors. I loved almost everything about it! At this job, I don't think I'll have to go swimming every day. This will mean stinky kids and no relaxing shower every afternoon, but I think I can manage. I haven't worked at Bear Camp for 5 years, so I don't know any of the kids or counselors. I won't be missing them. And everything else about the job is found in this job prospect I've found at (the other place), and I think I can handle that.

I'm very excited about this upcoming opportunity. And I learned to call and ask about the job application right away, not after it's too late to do anything.