Almost, But Not Quite

I really need to get on the ball about updating this blog more often.

It's been a good, although frustrating week. Classes are going well. I got a hundred percent on my Biostatistics homework! (HA! So much for me not being so great at math, huh?) My Epidemiology class is still interesting, although I'm a little nervous about a test I have coming up in a week; I just want to get it over with, really. That was the good part.

The frustrating part came at the end of the week. As I mentioned before, about 6 weeks back I applied for a job at Planned Parenthood as a clinic assistant. I had been really hyped up and excited about this job: it payed well, gave me some solid experience in public health, included a full medical/dental/vision plan, and seemed to be in a very woman friendly environment (which would be a totally new experience for me, considering my experiences both in corporate retail/coffeeshops and misogyny riddled Eastern Europe).

Unfortunately, I didn't get that job. My Scientist and figured it went to a nursing student or, possibly, someone with more counseling or medical experience. I sort of scratched my head and figured I chalk this one up to another missed opportunity.

That is, until Wednesday when my mom got a call on her answering machine from the nice HR lady I talked to in PP Headquarters in Des Moines. She was inquiring as to whether or not I was still looking for work.

I ended up arranging an appointment with S (I'll call her S for privacy's sake), the PP manager in Iowa City for Friday. I was a little nervous about the meeting; I could take the job but only if they could work around my class schedule. Now, normally, this wouldn't be a problem, but as a part of this new job they wanted me to drive to the Quad Cities every Tuesday and help out the clinic there. I, of course, have class on Tuesdays, so I wasn't sure how well this would work out.

S was super nice. She started out by telling me she felt as though she owed me an explanation regarding why I didn't get the job I had applied for at PP over a month ago. Get this: she said I was OVERQUALIFIED. Can you believe that shit?! She said she had wanted to give me the job, but given my experience (I did some HIV/AIDS outreach work as a Peace Corps volunteer in Ukraine) she felt that I was overqualified and was afraid I'd leave soon after being hired.

Needless to say, we went around and around about how much I wanted to work there and how great she thought I was, and preceeded to basically give each other one warm fuzzy after another. Then I showed her my schedule.....which was when all the warm fuzzies ended.

S basically told me that the only way I wouldn't get this position would be if she couldn't make my schedule work with the schedule of when she needed people. She also told me no less than three times that she really really wanted me to work there, and that if it didn't work out that it would ONLY be because of my availability (specifically my availability on Tuesdays).

Anyway, the nice lady from Des Moines PP HQ called that afternoon and told me (via my answering machine) that, in fact, things weren't going to work out. S couldn't arrange all the employees' schedules to work, so I was out of luck. Thus, I missed another opportunity to make $4 more per hour, earn full medical, dental and vision benefits and work in a job that is, in fact, in my field.

Needless to say, I'm a little disappointed. I'm trying to adopt this shucks-that's-too-bad attitude, but each near miss on the money and job front makes it a lot harder. God. Damn. It.