Interviewin' It Up

So, I had my interview with Marriott Hotel in Burbank today. Beautiful hotel by the way. Kinda hard to get to and from, I don't really like the streets in Burbank, but that's beside the point!

First important detail to note, I DID go out and buy and outfit for this interview. I was looking through my closet and I realized I was lacking in the "big girl clothes" department.
I found the perfect outfit, too expensive, but perfect nonetheless. I recommend Express to anyone who is looking for great fitting and good quality business attire. I bought their famous "Editor Pants" in a dark gray, very nice. And I bought a cute white button up shirt (for 50$!!!!) yeah, they have a 90 day return policy... so that is definitely going back. lol :) But the pants were on sale for 25$ from 60$
So here's the top and the pants are really similar...so you get the jist of what I looked like in my interview...very important :p

Second important detail was preparing my first resume. It's harder than I thought to make yourself look good on paper, but I was bringing it into an interview rather than submitting it to GET an interview which made it less stressful. I could back my resume up with MYSELF, 'cause I'm awesome.
I tailored the resume to the job and focused on my customer service experience, since I am applying for the Front Desk Agent. I would post a link to the document but I don't know how...

Third important detail was how awesome it was to have Mandy there to take me where I needed to be. She met me when I arrived early and had texted me before hand with some tips, really made me feel more comfortable and prepared.

So I'm rockin' my outfit and I have a few copies of my new resume in hand, now the hard part!
Fourth important (most important) detail was being prepared to answer common questions. I made sure I had something to say to questions like, "Why do you want a job here?" and "What are your good qualities?" and things like that, because with those answers you can work them into anything, and it's really so easy for me to draw a blank.

Fifth important detail I've never smiled so much in my life, but I've noticed it has been well received in the past. And they really seemed to like me. I met with two women and two separate times, both went very well. They liked that I had stuck with my Starbucks job for so long, and were really pleased with the experiences I was telling them about.

I go back for a second interview in about a week or so. I just have to decide for sure that I'm going to go forward with this, because It's A LOT more hours of work fitting in with school. And Mandy said, just give me the go-ahead that you really want this and I'll talk with the director... ugh tough decisions.

I want to grow up so bad but I don't at the same time.

Bye bye free time and social life... hello Marriott?? :)

Dawn Canfield posted a great quote on my facebook wall today before my interview. Fits perfectly for the end of this post.


“Each time we face a fear, we gain strength, courage, and confidence in the doing.”

Change

The possibility of new things on the horizon is an equally stressful and exciting sensation. Questions such as, “Am I making the right decision?” “Will I regret making this decision?” “How do I know?” “What the hell should I do?!!” are bouncing back and forth in my head since this new job opportunity has surfaced.


I’ve worked for Starbucks for three years now. I’m comfortable to say the least. I’m good at my job, I get the hours I want and am in the midst of qualifying for health insurance in the next few months.

This past weekend I spoke with my friend Mandy who works at the Marriott in Burbank. And I mentioned how my job was waning on me. Turns out, there’s an opening as a front desk agent at her hotel. I applied yesterday, she had my application pulled by HR already and I should be receiving a call next week for an interview.

On one hand, this feels good. I feel like an adult, I’m going in a new direction, building a resume. Starbucks and the Marriott are two big names. But like most people, I Fear Change. Especially when I’m so comfortable with my current job.


Problem: I’m scared about the increase in hours, the slower pace, and completely regretting my decision to leave my job. But I don’t know if there will be another opportunity like this. If a year from now I’m ready like hell to leave Starbucks there’s a good chance there won’t be a job like this available to me.

I’m torn, waiting to find out if I’m jumping from this comfort ledge or not.
I have to put a resume together for the first time. Making myself look good on paper is harder than I thought.

Any suggestions?

Waiting for the phone call…


“Change is the essence of life.Be willing to surrender what you are for what you could become.”

Mandy and I @ Joe's Crab Shack in Ventura April '11