job search

Today I've seen a man walking around Central Station as if it were summer an too hot for shoes. I wore a skirt and jacket with sandals, and everyone else is dressed for winter.

I also saw Jesper at the Burlov train stop. It was a little awkward as I was tired and a little nervous and not my usual talkative self.

I'm dreadfully early for my interview, but that means I will be on time instead of late like Monday.

I'm thankful I don't have to take the bus. I continued the stupid American stereotype yesterday by putting my money or the bus into the receipt slot.

Everyone is wearing winter clothes and jackets and they are all bundled. I can't seem to do that yet. It feels weird, and I get SUPER hot all of the time from being active.

Helena's house is warm too, with no vent to the bathroom so it gets so steamy and I get so sweaty each morning I feel like I couldn't possibly wear a jacket.

I asked Tayler how my hair looked and she said I've never looked better before I left this morning. Time to interview!

The interview today went really well. I think they loved me. Because I got an offer, AND I accepted. Yay! It's not as much money as I would like but that's ok.

This morning Micke and everyone else slept in, so I didn't wake up on time and I got a late start to my interview. This would not have been a problem if I lived IN the city, or if I had a car.

I had to ride the train to Malmo Central Station and then ride the bus to a stop several blocks away from the interview location. The bus took a LONG time. I probably could have biked the whole way from Arlov to the interview and been on time, seriously.

I was 15 minutes late. That didn't seem to phase the gentleman I interviewed with, however, and it was a good interview and we established rapport. He is going to present me to the client he has the position open with.

On the way back from the interview, I called Helena. She had exciting news.

The place I interviewed with yesterday wants to meet with me as soon as possible. I had the highest test results. Did I mention there are 3 open positions? I called them when I got home. They want to see me tomorrow morning!

And I have another interview with the place I interviewed with last Friday this Thursday.

This is lightning speed for Sweden.

Today's interview wore me out. I was late because I missed the train because I couldn't the ticket machine to take my card. Literally, I could have been right on time if I had been able to get the ticket out in less than 10 minutes. The train wasn't there when I got there, the machine wouldn't take my card and I didn't have enough cash, and then the train arrived and I was still trying to get a ticket after the train left. Then the ticket came out. Another train wouldn't come for a half an hour, so I sat down, called the place I was interviewing and said I'd be late.

I had trouble finding the building from Malmo Central because between one number and the next was a bunch of construction making it look like an entirely different road.

But I finally made it.

Then, I couldn't figure out how to ring to get in the building because the instructions were confusing. But I figured it out.

And finally, I came up the stairs and met the person interviewing me and he shook my hand firmly, and then the interview was decidedly un-Swedish. They didn't ask about me at all, just told me about their company and allowed me to give a brief overview of my experience.

Then, I took a test that was 4 hours long. I was done with it in 2, but started second guessing myself and rewrote the program two more times before they came in and told me time was up.

At my interview last Friday, they wanted to know about me as a person.

Did I have any children? How old were my children? What did I like to do? What do we do as a family together? How do I get along with other people?

And what questions did I ask?

Well I didn't ask:

1. about vacation (5 weeks minimum, state regulated)
2. about flex time (it's standard)
3. about overtime (you may not work over much a week without approval from the government)
4. about health insurance (government provided)
5. about sick time (unlimited but paid a percentage of daily pay)
6. about being able to take my kids to doctor appointments (of course!)
7. about benefits in general

The interview today was fantastic, but kind of surreal. The standards of what is acceptable to talk about are so different! I am pretty sick so I will write more later.

I am really starting to hanker for working, it makes me feel awful not to work.

Thankfully, I'm starting to get some responses and have a new interview next Tuesday.

I feel SO much better after budgeting and hearing from my friends about the job market, environment, and what I can expect in terms of "benefits."

If you know me, you know that I like work. That almost sounds sick, but in general, I am happier when I am working.

So far, things are encouraging here. As I said yesterday, I applied for 20+ jobs yesterday. I got a few responses, and a call today. For Sweden this is exceptional, as they are very cautious about hiring people. This is because when someone is hired it is much harder to let them go than it is in the U.S. - you must give 3 months notice as I understand it. So no wonder they are cautious! If you hire someone and they turn out to be terrible, you have to have them around for 3 more months before you can see them out the door.

Similarly, if you are leaving a position, you must give notice for 3 months (can't recall and Micke is picking up Linnea from school right now).

I can't really wrap my mind around that right now. It's just so much time.

I can see it working very well for both employer and employee if the right match is found.

So, that is bringing my spirits up a bit, and I have been invited to join a group of Americans in Sweden that meets monthly. They meet tonight, but I won't be able to attend as I am going to Helena's friend Pernilla's bachelorette party. I'm relieved there will be no strippers involved, although we all joked that Micke could deliver the pizza we are ordering in a police uniform and take this role.

I am so tired of going to the store when I don't have hardly a cent to spend right now. Tyler doesn't understand, and keeps asking for things. I get tired of saying no, and I get tired of feeling awful when I buy things we need because we hardly have any money left, and I worry we will run out any minute.

I know that I'm going to get a job, it's just getting there. I am impatient and worried.

And I really, really want a bike. I'm thinking about charging it. It would be nice if the kids and I could all go biking to places we need to go together once Micke is back at work (he's on vacation) and I haven't found a job.

That's really ok. I think I've managed to find enough to keep myself busy while I wait for responses on interviews.

I don't really know what I will do with all of this stuff once I am gainfully employed again!

On the way to my interview today, I totaled the Civic.

There has been no shortage of calls, opportunities to interview, emails, and actual interviews since New Years.

I can't keep up with responding to every call and email!

I was thinking a little on my drive home tonight about how lucky I have been this time around looking for a job.

I put my resume up online, and stopped telling recruiters I wasn't looking, and within two weeks of my first job application I submitted online that got the whole thing rolling, I had two job offers.

That's pretty cool. I am thankful.

Since I accepted the offer with my current employer, however, I have received several inquiries and still tons of calls from recruiters. I tell them I am not looking, and decline requests to interview, but... it's nice to feel wanted. Three places I was super interested in requested interviews and I had to say no.

I guess the best part though is the pleasant surprise of finding a hidden gem. When I interviewed for my current position, I knew I wanted it- but before I got there- I thought it was the least likely place for me considering my other prospects.