Getting Hired

 Sometimes being in the right place at the right time means lounging around on the sofa in arm's reach of a vibrating cell phone. Private Call: this must be important.

I've been asked several times in the last few days, amongst skiing and snowboarding, out in the pubs, and volunteering at Winter Fest, “Aren't you worried about not having a job?”

Even this morning as Matty was slaving away calling in every half hour to see when the hold would be released so he could go to work (“Sounds like private line up,” I told him the other day) he asked me about why I wasn't making an effort to try to find any kind of work downtown. I told him, as I've been telling everyone in the last few days, that it just doesn't make sense to work and spend money asking everyone if they're hiring when the timing just isn't right. Work smarter, not harder, I say. Desperation is never the answer. Generally things tend to fall right into your lap when you're calm, relaxed, and going about your normal business.

Today, that's just what happened. On the other end of the phone was the friendly voice of Ant's friend, Cat, who is one of the recruiters for Good Group, owners of Good Bars, a chain of restaurants, bars and liquor shops in Queenstown and much of the South Island. Cat greeted me and asked if I had found a job yet. After answering no she offered me a temp position helping out with accounting for Good Group, a 9-5 position over the next 5 business days. The great thing is that even though I'll miss the dog race tomorrow, I'll get to go up to Coronet for the events Saturday and Sunday, and still be able to volunteer in the evenings!

I'll be making $15 an hour for 8 hours for 5 days, meaning that even if I'm in a 20% tax bracket I'll still receive $480, enough for rent and bills for two weeks! Plus, if I do a good job, I'll be in the same office as all the managers and might have a chance at being hired in one of the bars. It'll be perfect timing – right after Winter Fest and right when school holidays are starting. I know there are loads of new employees downtown that can't handle the pressure of high volumes of business. No one can compete with a New York trained bartender and waitress. That's not to say I'm the fastest and most capable NY bartender, far from it, but I'm a hell of a waitress, and the standards for bartending in some of the places here aren't too high. In Pub on Wharf yesterday the bartenders worked at a casual pace, even with a queue, whereas even though I wouldn't get more tips for faster service, a good manager should notice which bartender is making more sales. I can't believe they were only taking one order at a time – sheesh!