Pitfalls before Perils

Wow! Do I have a story for you!

This all begins last friday...
Based on the book I have been reading and the advice from my father and acquaintances from networking, I gathered the courage to start making 'house calls' (going to visit companies that I wanted to work for). After being shut down at Vanderbilt first thing on Friday morning - which I wasn't really surprised because they are so large and don't have time to talk to everyone - I was a little bummed, but nothing that could squelch the fire under me. After leaving Vanderbilt, I went to Belmont and spoke with one of the Associate Dean of the School of Education. I have really thought a lot about wanting to teach for a few years and wanted to get more information about getting my Master's Degree in Teaching. After that I talked money with Belmont's Financial Aid :( Tragically, there aren't any substantial scholarships for graduate students, but the state will give 'future educators' a grant if you agree to teach in a HIGH NEED area for 4 years. Perfect! I only want to teach in a HIGH NEED/HIGH RISK area (metro). After that, I had lunch with my father at Taste of Russia in Cool Springs (fabulous!) and told him my decision to do both teaching and hospital administration. I was afraid that he might wring my neck, but he seemed rather calm. It was probably smart that I told him the news BEFORE the food came and he couldn't think completely straight. After lunch, I was all fired up again about my future and my job possibilities and making my mark on the world....I decided to go to another company (who shall remain nameless) to drop off a resume. When I arrived, I asked for the woman who was in charge of Recruitment. To my surprise, she agreed to see me. She met me in the main lobby (where there were a lot of people around). She seemed aggravated, so I wanted to give her my best elevator speech before I handed her my resume. I kept my chin high and a smile plastered on my face during my 2 minute speech. When I finished, she said "I am surprised to see you here" (in a negative tone) ::Pit in the stomach:::smile::::feeling flushed::: I said, "Yes ma'am, I have contacted you numerous times this week through various forms of media. I am glad that you remember my name." She said, "Yes, well, I just wanted you to know how rude I find it that you would contact me at my home." ::::flushed::puzzled::: I said, "Yes ma'am, well, that was the phone number on the posting. I was surprised myself to realize that I was reaching a home phone line." She rebuttled "I would NEVER give out my home phone number. You are out of line." :::should I run?stand my ground?ahh!::: "Well, I apologize for the inconvenience ma'am. I only called the number listed on the website. I promise that I didn't mean to upset you.".........and then she said a few other things about me being mistaken (and insinuating that I was a liar). I left with my tail between my legs, entered the car and burst into tears. I decided to go ahead home instead of going to any other companies because I felt so DEFEATED and TERRIBLE. It was her word against mine. On my way home (I had been gone from the company about 15 minutes), the lady that had made me so upset CALLED ME! AHH! I answered the phone and she said, " thank you so much for bringing this to my attention. you were absolutely right about my home phone number being on the posting. this was clearly a glitch with the company that posted this ad. you couldn't have known that this was a mistake." PHEW! and then she said, " I am going to review your resume and will call you if we feel that you are a good candidate to interview." I said "ok, thank you very much. I hope to speak with you soon."

FAST FORWARD TO TODAY...
She called me this morning to set up an interview. HA! God has a sense of humor.

Jobless, but not hopeless.