Three years ago, I applied for a civilian job with the Sheriff’s Department. I have not held a paying job since 2003. So, imagine my surprise when I was called for an interview!
I got all gussied up, went in, and had a wonderful time. I thought it went well but I really didn’t care because I enjoyed it. Then, I was called for my next round of interviews. To say I was shocked would be an understatement.
Unfortunately, these interviews did not go as well. They started out fine, then got confusing. On my resume, I listed my current occupation as caretaker. My duties are everything I do on the property:
Caretaker: Utilize Word, Outlook, PowerPoint, Zoom and Quickbooks daily. Maintain budget, and evaluate vendors, when required. Landscape design, implementation, and maintenance. Structural maintenance, such as replacing and reglazing window glass, repairing dry rot, repairing/replacing concrete and leveling structures. Designed, built, and painted outbuildings. Scraped, sanded and painted the interior and exterior of buildings. Safe operation of belt and orbital sanders, circular saws, reciprocation saw, impact drivers, air compressors, lawn mowers, rototillers, string trimmers, leaf blowers, Oxy-acetylene torch, welder/generator, chain saw, plus various hand tools from crescent wrenches to pickaxes.
I need to rewrite that up there but, as of the past two weeks, I can officially add plumbing!
I was called in for two follow-up interviews and a voice stress analyzer test. That was the first time I had taken any sort of lie detector test and was thrilled when I passed! The two interviews, on the other hand, did not go as well.
Both interviewers kept questioning my role as caretaker. This was when we lived with my in-laws, and despite what I wrote on my resume (and told them during the interview) they kept asking about my in-laws: how often do they go to the store and doctor appointments (and how many times do I drive them). When I told them rarely, one asked,
“Well, what do you do? Why are you there? Are you sitting around, eating bonbons all day?”
I had this knee-jerk reaction of offense that I stifled, and repeated all of the things I do. I was so frustrated! Why weren’t they understanding? What I didn’t realize until a few days later was those two interviewers mistook my position as caretaker for CAREGIVER! That isn’t what I was (yet). If I would have realized it during the interview, things may have gone differently. Who knows.
When I finally heard back from the Sheriff’s Department, I was not offered the job. I don’t know if it was due to the interviewers not recommending me, my sister-in-law not even responding to the interviewers, or if I had made a mistake on my job history (they required ALL of my past employment … I ordered my full job history report from the Social Security office and am waiting for that to arrive). I know it doesn’t help that the majority of businesses I have worked for have closed.
Despite the outcome, I am grateful. I am grateful that, without a continual job history, I was called in for multiple interviews. I am grateful that I have more time to tweak and fine tune my resume (and correct any mistakes I have made). I am grateful that, now that I do not have a full time job, I am able to put all of my time and focus on the necessary projects that need to turn this from a house we sleep in into our home.