how to jason bourne your way into a job...

if you want the reader's digest version of the story, jump to the ======== marks


here's the story of me finding work in Austin. it's a strange one, and there may be some lessons in there somewhere, but more than anything, it's luck.

PART 1: since moving to austin, i have a standard procedure when walking into any place of business. sample conversation:

them: "hi, welcome to _______"
me: "thanks, are you guys hiring right now?"
them: "i don't think we are right now, but you can always fill out an application"

the morning walked into the Lift Cafe with my friend Nic, I assumed the conversation would be the same. but instead of "i don't think we are right now" i heard "actually i think we might be." this was the first time i'd heard such a statement, and decided to act. i filled out my application, chatted with the manager, and found myself having an interview monday monring.

PART 2: on monday morning i came in about 9:45am to find out that the manager was not going to be in that morning and to come back tuesday. but i did chat with Ally, an assistant manager for about 20 minutes. we talked about the church she went to, and she directed me to how that church finds places to live (which is my biggest lead on an apartment right now). the conversation went great, and as i handed her my resume she became even more impressed (her major was also counseling). i left that afternoon feeling ubber confident.

PART 3: the interview on tuesday started well. manager tom was asking a lot of questions and the tone of the interview turned from "if you work here" to "when you work here." but then something HORRIBLE happened. he said that there weren't any current positions available but that it would be great if i could be an "on call barista." this means that he didn't want me on the schedule but on a random day i might get my chance to come in if someone else is sick. similar to a AAA pitcher being called to the big leagues. i obviously thought this was a load of crap, but didn't let him in on that. after about 2 more minutes of talking i decided to ask if it would be alright if i at least got trained, so that i could know what i was doing if i got called up (my real motivation was to be able to put "trained as a barista" on my resume). immediately tom seemed impressed and said, "actually, that's a great idea, why don't we get you trained, start you out at minimum wage, and see how things go. come by tomorrow at 9am."

PART 4: my training day went really well, and tom and the others seemed impressed with my work (even though i'd never worked at a coffee shop and did NOT know the difference between a cappiccino or latte (and i still don't know how to spell cappiccino). eventually tom left without telling me if i should come in again for training, and his wife, manager tori came in the shop. while she was here, she was surprised that tom had 'hired' a new person (she didn't know i was only training). and she talked to me about my availability and she put me on the schedule for the next 2 weeks.

PART 5: after working there a week and being fully trained i was introduced to the owners as 'the new employee.' i'm fully on the schedule and have impressed them all. so in summary, if you want a job. you have to ignore a manager who says "we aren't hiring right now" you have to rely on some miscommunication between two different managers, and you have actually be good at whatever you're doing. it's that easy.

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summary of how i got a job:
- went to coffee shop with a friend and filled out application.
- had interview where manager tom said, "no positions available, sorry"
- asked if i could be trained as a barista in case a position opened up
- tom agreed to train me the next day
- the next day manager tori comes in and didn't know i was going to be trained, and assumed i was a new employee
- tori put me on the schedule
- impressed them with my work abilities that they end up hiring me anyway