The Call, Part II

I've had a nasty summer when it comes to employment. And that's so not because I'm still unemployed, but because I'm being taken for a ride, filled with confusion and disappointment. The latest one (as some of you already know) is the Kingston College saga- one day it was a certainty that this job would be mine, the next day, I turned the job down. So once again I'd conditioned my mind to the impending adjustments of my life, and once again it was in vain.

So far, I've done 5 interviews with 3 different entities. I've been rejected by one (NCB subsidiary, WITCO, which I'm actually happy for) after 2 interviews, accepted by another (KC), and before a few hours ago I'd just about written off the 3rd one- Grace Kennedy. I've done 2 interviews with them.

I'd posted on a part of the saga on Grace in The Call. They first called me for interview sometime in May, and it's been an unpleasant ride ever since. Here's the breakdown. Pay particular attention to the dates.

May 30- My first interview with Grace, at their headquarters. I was being interviewed for a place in a development program that would see me being somewhat trained before getting an entry-level position at a subsidiary. The interview was OK, though probably not as good as the 1st interview I had with NCB. Was asked to do a psychometric test after the interview. Did the test at another location. Headed back home the same day. Stalled plans for a trip overseas (because I would need to wait on word from both Grace and NCB).

Maybe 4-5 weeks after (by which point WITCO was no longer in the picture), my mother spoke with the man who interviewed me at Grace (turns out they'd met before). He said the interview was fine, the test wasn't as fine, but he expected that they would've called me back anyway. He reminded my mother that there were plenty of jobs out there for me...

As luck would have it, about a week after that, a subsidiary of Grace called me for a 2nd interview. The call came on the very day that I was booking my summer flight to Miami. Trip was cancelled.

July 28- Two months after interview #1, I had an interview. Interview went brilliantly, except for a few dumb things I may have said. I was pleased with the outcome. On leaving, I asked one of the interviewers when I can expect to hear from them. "Company policy is that we reply to all interviews within 2 weeks." Wonderful. I party out the weekend in Kingston and then head home.

Hours, days, weeks pass, and I hear nothing. Sometime in early September I get fed up and call them. I was informed that they had not come to a decision (bear in mind it's been 5 weeks since the interview). I'm not sure what to believe, but I sure as hell can't sit and wait on them. So options start popping up- a link with NCB (not WITCO), a link with MedeCus (insurance company established through a joint venture between Guardian Life and who?... Grace!), a sure position at KC, and how could I forget a job that was mine for the taking at Brown's Town Community College that I ended up turning down. Silly me. And now I'm looking at a job at MoBay Community College. So my head's been all over the place. And then today I get a call:

September 27- Date when I will (if I choose to go) have my 2nd interview with the subsidiary. It's taken them 4 months to do 3 interviews, not to mention that it took 7 weeks for them to get back to me after interview #2, this after they said it would only take 2. And it begs the question- is this somewhere I'd wanna work anyway?

It's such a mess to me. I feel like I keep getting thrown around, having my mind set on one thing after another, and then losing it all in the end. But right now I'm just livid at this company and their professionalism, or lack thereof. I'm tired of this game.