Today was my first full day in Australia and I was determined to find a job. I leisurely woke up around 2 a.m. (yay time change!), and, feeling like a child on Christmas morning, I headed to Sydney around 9.
I've previously been comparing the bus commute to the Bart system in California, but now that I've made the trip I realize the two couldn't be more different. The trip to Sydney is beautiful (unlike Bart, which either travels underground or through the ghettos of California). While I only traveled three stops, the 45 minute trip overlooked beautiful trees (similar to Costa Rica, in fact) and spectacular ocean views. The only problem is there doesn't seem to be any way of knowing the name of the stop you are arriving at unless you are a local and know the area. I'm not sure if there's some subtle sign that I'm missing, but luckily, as my trip was only three stops, I exited at the correct time and made it to my first interview with minutes to spare.
I stepped off the bus, and I was in San Francisco. Well, San Francisco with a little more cigarette smoke and even more beautiful ocean views (although nothing in any country can beat Fort Funston dog beach, which holds a sentimental spot in my heart). I made it to the first interview, which was to register at a recruitment agency for potential openings in the future, and I grabbed a quick snapshot of the view when no one was looking:
I never wanted to leave.
After the meeting I headed to - don't judge me - Starbucks. It's comforting to have a little piece of home (although my plain black coffee, or "Long black" in Aussie lingo, cost $6!). I had planned some well-thought-out agenda for the afternoon, but when I asked a local for directions and they instructed "Away from the water," I identified the opportunity and headed toward the water, finding myself at the stunning Sydney Harbour, where I spent the afternoon. (I never was good at taking advice!)
When the time arrived for the next interview, I realized I wasn't quite sure what the position was for. The job title was "Warm Outbound Sales!!!!!" and I knew something with that many exclamation marks couldn't be good. However, this lifestyle ain't cheap so I downed another cup of coffee, put on my most confident-looking smile, and headed in.
To my surprise I was placed in a group interview with four additional interviewees - awkward! To my surprise again they all left before the interview started (a couple traveling together received an offer from another company and one nomad simply changed his mind - maybe because he, too, was freaked out by all the exclamation marks). I tried not to take personally the look of disappointment the interviewer was attempting to hide when she realized that I was the only candidate left.
The interview started and the recruiter finally began detailing the role to me: outbound sales to existing customers for one of the largest banks in Australia, yada yada. And then the bombshell.
The position is to sell funeral arrangements.
Ummmmmmmmmm........
I quickly reflected on my desire to make money (or rather, my desire to not become broke) versus my extreme discomfort with this category of sales. Then I gave her my biggest smile and said, "Perfect!!!!!!!!"
I received the green light from the recruiter, which meant I then had to take a train to some unknown part of Australia (Greenwich, to be exact) to interview directly with the company. As my native time zone began to trickle down to the 9 p.m. range, I forced myself to fight through the exhaustion of the already-long day, find the train station, exit at the correct stop after the hour-long ride, walk to the proper destination, and complete the interview.
The only thing worse than putting yourself out there to apply for a funeral sales job is to be rejected from that position. Luckily for me that was not the case: I start tomorrow morning. Lord help me. (And, perhaps more importantly, Lord help those I will be selling to.)
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