There were however a couple of interesting moments this past week that I'd like to share with you.
1) I was holding group interviews on Wednesday, and I was warned by one of my managers that there was a very impatient blond Asian girl waiting with the next batch. I didn't want to prejudge her, but when I went to the elevator to take her group up with me to my office on the second floor, she yelled at another candidate to hurry cause she was making all of us wait. Now this would have been fine if they knew each other, but they didn't!
I usually try to break the ice with the candidates in the elevator, and it's a pretty good indicator of what's going to happen during the interview. Half of the group was quiet as always, and there were a few talkative ones. The blond Asian girl was very sarcastic. Not funny sarcastic, but more like bitchy sarcastic. I look at her application and wonder if China or New York made her the way she was.
I ask my interview questions, and believe it or not, blond Asian girl actually impresses me with her answers. They weren't textbook answers either (and trust me I could see right through those) so I was starting to like her. The girls (and 1 guy) were applying to work in a clothing store so I had to talk about style and the way they dress. There was another female Asian applicant (a brunette one) who was also impressing me the whole time, and she brought up how Paris Hilton was her style icon. I agree that Paris may not be smart, but she does know to dress. The brunette Asian then goes on to comment how she loves blonds, but blond hair doesn't look good on Asians. Ouch....that was good jab. I felt the blond girl shoot daggers at her with her eyes.
I try to take the attention away by addressing some of my concerns with a few of the other applicants' appearances. One girl had nails almost as long as her fingers with nail art on them, another girl wore flip flops, and the guy had gauges in his ear. I told the three of them that those were unacceptable at our store, and I asked if they would have problems adhering to dress code. I never expect someone to say no, but at that point I usually discourage those that are going to show up to work and get sent home cause of what they're wearing anyways.
The interview's over, and I tell the candidates it will take a couple of days to select and check references so I will call them by the end of the week. I really liked two out of the seven, and I was still debating on the blond Asian. She was smart, but we have a very large staff, and I know that she's going to rub most of them the wrong way. I was definitely going to have to sleep on it.
The next day, the blond Asian calls, and asks if I have an offer for her already. Damn, this girl is really impatient! I tell her no, and she says she's been offered a position by another retailer. I politely ask her about her compensation, and use that as an excuse that we can't hire her. We weren't going to be able to compete with the hourly rate they were going to give her. My dilemma was solved!
2) Thursday night after working at the nightclub, one of my co-workers wanted to walk with me to the parking garage. We'll call her Olivia. She's a Mexican woman in her early thirties who usually wears her hair in pigtails and glitter around her eyes. Now when I first met Olivia, I thought she was a complete moron. She was annoyingly energetic and always acted like she was 12. The more I got to know her though, I began to like her. She was hiding something under that facade (no sexual innuendos here).
Well that night after work, she started giving me tips on how to make more money at the club. I couldn't believe some of the things that she was saying. I asked her how she knew these things, and she told me that she just asked and observed different people. That's when she began to explain why she acts the way she does. She would rather be underestimated so she can surprise people. It's very true that if people know you're smart/talented/strong right away, more is still expected. She also shared her observations of people at work, and they were so dead-on! Not in the "this is how this person talks and walks" but more of how each person reacts to certain situations, what pushes each person's buttons, and really more of what makes them tick. She said a lot of her own actions were calculated based on the people she was interacting with. I was floored.
Here was a lady that I had been working with for almost a year. For most of that year I thought she was or had been on drugs. And now she's speaking to me more clear than anybody has ever before. A lot of my friends and family have called me a bit strategic and manipulative (my sister has called me a male version of Katherine from Cruel Intentions), but Olivia is on a whole different level. I might manipulate singular situations to my advantage...but she manipulates everything around her to move forward in life. I don't know if it was the liquor talking, but she even spilled on guys she's dated just to find information about their companies and the way they're managed. She's even currently dating someone in the military who's been able to sneak her recruitment/training videos. She wants to start her own company that's going to specialize in nightclub management, and she needs all the info she can gather. Then she says she needs my help. Now at this point I'm thinking all this talk was only a set-up to get me to invest in a company that was never going to exist, but she actually just told me that I inspire her and would love to hear my ideas on the topic.
While I was flattered, I do keep the fact in the back of my head that Olivia can just be trying to manipulate me. I think she's genuine, but she could just be a good con-woman. We shall soon see...I'm approaching the whole thing very cautiously...
3) Oh and by the way, I'm thinking of doing a post monthly of what porn stars the people in my gym look like since I've received such a great response to that previous post...what do YOU think?
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