Carthage

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April 18, 2007

And my shoes were scuffed

I keep thinking back to an interview I had, back when I was looking for an administrative job. The interview was at a temp agency, and the woman who "interviewed" me spent most of our conversation making comments about my wardrobe.

"When you come in for an interview, you need to dress appropriately." I was wearing a white button-up shirt and black slacks. (Incidentally, that is a word I really hate. Slacks. Bleh.) "You should buy a black suit and wear that to interviews." She studied my earlobes, currently sporting a modest set of silver hoops. A little too blingy, apparently. "No jewelry at all," she instructed me. "And maybe a little makeup? Lipstick and eyeliner are always good." I hated her of course, but made good use of her advice, successfully interviewing my way into the Company X admin job I cheerfully loathed for nine months.

Today I had an interview for a job as a freelance reporter with a local paper, my first job interview in two years. I still don't own a black suit, but I have a brown one, so I got all respectabled in my suit and my lack of jewelry. I was reaching for the lipstick when I caught sight of myself in the mirror.

Is this me? Kristen Larson, intrepid girl reporter? HELL no. I threw on a pair of jeans, some flashy jewelry, tossed the lipstick, let my hair down, and nailed that interview to the wall. And I got that job this very day. Oh yes. I walked back to the MUNI, swinging my hair around in the wind and smiling.

Fuck you, temp lady.

Posted by didofoot at April 18, 2007 05:25 PM

Comments

Hell yeah!
Fuck her!

Yo go, girl.
Freelance paper-writing for all!

Posted by: kati at April 18, 2007 11:21 PM

...that was supposed to be "you go, girl"
curse my exciteable typing fingers!!

Posted by: kati at April 18, 2007 11:22 PM

Yo go! Like the next wildly successful brand of highly portable individual serving-size yogurt!

My approval of this behavior on your part is completely unrelenting.

Posted by: Dianna at April 19, 2007 12:33 AM

yo go! my approval of kati vol's creation is unelenting. i also like "yo! go!" hee hee hee.

i remember you writing about that previous interview before. ha! that was a good post too.

Posted by: michele at April 19, 2007 11:46 AM

Temp agents always ask me to remove my nosering before going to an assignment. I always gush, "oh, of course! I know THAT." And I never remove my nosering. And they never find out. Because you know what? Nobody cares.

Anyway, have you noticed it's only the exceptionally hideous temp agents who comment on your appearance? It's like, OK bitch, you get some wrinkle cream and a gym membership, and I'll consider ironing my shirt.

No one's ever asked me to wear makeup. Although my friend once worked at Mission Creek Cafe, and they asked her to wear some to work. She quit the next day. And I never went back, even though they make great egg sandwiches. Sexist egg-making fuckers! Can I cuss on your blog?

Posted by: kt at April 24, 2007 11:55 AM

You can totally cuss on my blog, but please be wearing a black suit and some eyeliner.

Your friend should have shown up in clown makeup the next day, with a battalion of feminist protesters behind her. The protesters could be eerily silent, and she could say "What? Do you have a problem with this makeup? Because if you do, I have some friends who want to yell outside your store. And if not, we'll take twenty egg sandwiches. For here."

Posted by: didofoot at April 24, 2007 12:04 PM

At Starbucks they make you cover up tattoos, and non-ear piercings. So if you see a barista with a bandaid where an eyebrow ring might otherwise be, that's probably what's going on.

Personally, I'd rather get my coffee from someone wearing an eyebrow ring that from someone with an open wound on his or her face, but that's just me.

Posted by: matt at April 24, 2007 12:12 PM

It's an interesting trend. Starbucks is supposed to be the same everywhere, which means employees have to look as mainstream as possible. But eventually, tattoos and piercings WILL be mainstream, so what then? Will you have to get tattooed if you want to work there? And how long before they require all their employees to be fat, because fat is mainstream?

Posted by: didofoot at April 24, 2007 12:22 PM

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