Workin' 9-5, What A Way to Make A Livin'

Who doesn't love working eight hours most of the days of the week? I sure do! Sometimes that is. Work has become such a big part of our culture that we write songs about our nine to five gigs. I love my job now, don't get me wrong. I love the people I work with, the management, and the amazing pay that I have been able to have the privilege to get at my new job. What I don't understand is how I was treated previously, at my job before this one.

If you've read my story divulging the hideous on goings at my previous workplace, at a small business no less, then you know what I mean. Lots of us go to work everyday with a pay hardly above minimum wage, with management that likes to act like you all are a family, while really just trying to make another buck off of you. For those of you stuck in a place like I was, I want to let you know that there are better places out there.

That place you are scared to even ask if they are hiring, ask them. That one restaurant that you go to, and love their staff, see if they are hiring. Your favorite local business that you could live in if they would let you, show them how much you would like to work there!

When I was in the process of trying to find a new job, I was really desperate. I was looking everywhere, for any option. To be honest, I had my heart set on one job, right near where I lived, within walking distance actually. It also happened to be my part-time dream job. I had to see if they were hiring, and I did, I asked multiple times, but sadly they were not hiring within the time that I was looking for a job, and they haven't been since.

I was not giving up though, I was looking for everything within a ten mile radius of my apartment, and luckily enough for me, I am able to find many options in my area. I realize that not everyone has that, but you really just have to take the best advantage of your area. I was looking into everything from coffee shops, to movie theaters, to book stores, all within that small distance from me. All of these were out of my comfort zone, and yet I knew I had to do something other than what I was doing at the time.

I applied to everything I could, because I knew that I had to get out of my toxic work situation. I finally was doing what I knew was best for myself. When I was in the process of looking and applying for jobs, I was contacted by a few different people. One was a bakery, they were looking for bakers within the hours of 3 AM-11AM. I considered that, even though I knew there was no way that could work with my school schedule. I was that desperate, and I really was interested in learning to bake.

I also took an interview for a server job, but the pay just wasn't enough. It would have basically been as much as I was making then, if not less, due to a tip share situation, and minimum wage for servers (which I think is ridiculous by the way). Finally, I contacted a coffee shop I had been to as a child, a place I hadn't been to in a long time, but really just brought back nostalgia.

It was a bust, they weren't hiring, but like most of the other people that I had contacted, they asked me to send my resume to their email, for the future. A few days passed, and I applied to more and more places, some I heard back from, and some just never responded, it was a process for sure.

About a week later, I got an email from that coffee shop that had said they weren't hiring. They asked to see if I wanted to come in for an interview, something had changed. It turned out a girl that had been there for five years was going back to college, so they needed a new cashier. I came in for an interview, and honestly, I thought I blew it. I felt like I was way too casual. The woman who interviewed me just seemed so laid back that I mirrored that image. I had acted so differently at previous interviews, so I felt like I was going to lose it.

I was told at this interview that I would be making as much as I was currently making at my job, plus tips. Which meant I could easily be making five more dollars an hour, on a slow day. This was amazing news to me, and I couldn't believe that I had screwed it up. There was no way I would get hired with how casual I had been at the interview.

But then I got an email. Somehow I had gotten it! I was ecstatic, I had gotten a job where I could actually make enough to support my half of our rent and bills. That in itself felt like a huge accomplishment. I remember going to the first day of the job and how overwhelmed I felt. It truly was a scary thing leaving my old job for a new one, even though the circumstances were so much better at the new one. It is so much easier to stay in what we know, even if it doesn't serve us anymore, or if it never did.

We get comfortable in our shell, and it is hard to go out and find a new one. I often think about how hard it was for me to make that transfer over, and I know it is the same way for a lot of you out there. The hardest part is starting, and it really does get easier after that. You get better at remembering the new tasks, and menu items in my case. Believe it or not, there are a lot of coffee variations, even within one latte.

But little by little I'm getting better, and I promise you, you can make that jump.