Literally just an hour or so after Sontsa left on May 31st, I got a phone call from another temp agency asking if I would be available for an interview that day. The woman I met for the interview that afternoon had actually forgotten to book a meeting room for our interview. Instead, she took me out for tea. Our meetings then consisted of us sitting in this really nice, relaxed area at the bottom of the huge corporate building, chatting about my strengths and weaknesses, etc. over delicious hot tea. Also, over the course of conversation, I learned that she was actually taking a road trip to Napier that weekend with friends! So, the rest of our time together consisted of me giving her tips on what to do & see in Napier, plus she also gave me some much-appreciated tips on where to shop in Auckland for cheap corporate clothing. After the interview, as with all temp agencies, I was told that they would keep an eye out for suitable jobs for me and hope that something would come through. The next day, I had THREE more interviews, including with two more temp agencies. Auckland is full of temp agencies, and it's really in one’s best interest to sign up with as many of them as possible. All in all, I had 5 interviews in 3 days and was becoming a pro. When I wasn’t interviewing, I was job searching.
I honestly devoted almost every waking moment to finding a job. Immediately after waking up in the mornings, I would turn on my laptop, grab some breakfast while it powered up, then sit in front of the computer eating my breakfast while looking at new job listings. The rest of the day followed a similar pattern: food, job searching, submitting applications, making phone calls, sending emails, more food, more job searching, sleep, and repeat. I searched through thousands of job listings over those first couple of weeks in Auckland and submitted literally hundreds of applications online. As if it isn’t obvious, my 4 months of traveling around New Zealand doing fun activities, coupled with only 5 weeks of working while in Napier, had finally caught up with me—my savings account was quickly becoming depleted and I was desperate for money. To make matters worse, I was STILL a bit sick, with a persistent night time cough that constantly interrupted my sleep. As it turned out, a cough such as this is one of the most common symptoms of mild asthma, as my wonderful mother rightly pointed out to me over the phone. Good thing Mom specifically left an inhaler out for me to take to New Zealand when I was doing my packing all those months ago! OHH…except for the fact that, out of pure pride and the presumption that it was unnecessary, I purposely chose not to take it…smart move, I know.
So, I went to one of the local pharmacies to ask what my best option was for obtaining an inhaler. It involved going to the clinic (an automatic consultation fee of at least $65) to get a prescription, then paying an additional $25 or so for the inhaler itself. Yeahhh…I didn’t have an extra $100 just sitting around, so I opted to just wait for Mom to mail an inhaler to me from home. It was delivered to my flat the following week, the inhaler specially wrapped in fuzzy socks that Mom surprised me with in order to keep my feet warm during these cold winter days. =) Such a sweetheart! A few days after Sontsa left, I received a very promising phone call on Friday, June 3rd from one of the temp agencies—a potential job! It was to be a full-time, 8-week contract paying $24/hour at one of the major banks in town. Hallelujah!! I interviewed with two really nice women from the bank that afternoon, and it went really well. As I was leaving, they said they would be in touch within the next couple of hours to let me know if I got the job, as it was to begin that coming Monday.I excitedly went to the second-hand stores around town to find cheap corporate clothing! The second-hand stores in New Zealand are known as op shops (opportunity shops) & the clothes in them are affectionately described as being ‘pre-loved,’ instead of merely being referred to as ‘used.’ You have to admit it has a better ring to it =)
The op shops in Auckland are particularly brilliant! Everything is clean, the clothes are great and you can find some sweet deals. In fact, many of the op shops operate on the slogan, “Nothing over $20.” My kind of place! Plus, some of the shops also have tons of authentic vintage clothes from the 80s and 90s that, for some unknown reason, make me ridiculously happy! I of course always restrain myself from purchasing such clothing items, but seeing them still puts me in a fantastic mood =) After trying on heaps of corporate clothing, I put different blazers, pants, and skirts on hold at 4 different op shops, crossing my fingers to hear some good news from the bank. While trying on clothes at one shop, I overheard a familiar voice just outside the dressing rooms. Sure enough, it was Derrie-Ann, the Welsh gal I had roomed with at Surf and Snow. It was so nice to run into her—such a sweetie! She too was on the hunt for work clothes. =) Sadly, however, my excitement for the day was short-lived. To my utter dismay, the phone call which I had so vivaciously hoped for never came. Gutted! Once again: Job leads were at zilch. I cannot even begin to describe my disappointment.
I spent the next couple of days doing more job searching that seemed to get me nowhere, sent out more resumes and more applications. I even walked up and down the main street in central Auckland (Queen Street), plus along the harbour and some backroads, in order to physically hand out my resume to places. To my amazement, however, only 5 spots out of at least 150 shops, restaurants, etc. were even hiring! One guy told me it was currently the slow season because New Zealand was moving into the winter months. Greeeeeat. I even got rejected by a burger joint! That’s right…I was that desperate: I was ready to flip burgers after having obtained a hard-earned Masters Degree in Criminology haha. I tried to leave my resume with this guy at the burger place, and he asked me how long I planned to stay in Auckland. When I told him a few months, he said, “Ah..yeah..no..we can’t take you. There’s just too much training that goes into it.” Ha! Training?? Are you kidding me?? You’re a flipping burger joint for crying out loud! Now, it was a bit fancier than your average burger place, but still. Honestly, the only positive things during that week after Sontsa left were: a sweet as flat, great flatmates, and correspondence with friends and family back home, including Skyping with my good friend Kim, my brother, my sister-in-law, my mom, and my dad! It was my first time really Skyping since living out of the country for 4 months, and it was soooo wonderful! It was definitely a much-needed pick-me-up =) My time in Auckland got better as well...
Cheers,
Ash
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