An Interview.

Once upon a time I discovered the State’s job board. I quickly learned that to become “list eligible” for a job classification you have to take an exam. This is either a simple ranking of your experience and qualifications or an actual job-related exam. You then have to be placed in the top three ranks to be eligible for hire. I am “list eligible” under two different job classifications, one of which I actually took a statistics and data analysis exam for the other was just a ranking of experience.

I initially thought that the State strictly recruited from the eligibility list, but then figured out that you have to actually apply. Silly me. But I was right. They do recruit off the eligibility list, and sometimes you don’t have to initiate contact via a job application. I received an Employment Inquiry for a position here in the Coachella Valley, and I was called in for an interview scheduled for this afternoon.

Great, right? Not so fast. The position is a volunteer coordinator at a residential facility for individuals with a dual diagnosis. The job involves pairing volunteers with residents to advocate for and assist residents with a variety of “stuff”. If they aren’t paired, I then serve as their advocate. A tough job, for sure.

I’ve never been a clinician. I have an MSW, but I focused on administration and planning. Instead of taking individual or group therapy courses, I learned about budgetting and program management. I am a policy wonk, analyst, statistician, program evaluator and fundraiser. I can’t imagine that I am the best fit for this position. I can’t even pretend to have clinical experience, because I don’t. The first question was, “Tell us about your experience working with X population.” Uh….I don’t…

I’m confident that I won’t get a job offer, because I can’t imagine that I am the best fit for this position. However, I did want to do the interview. It is easier to transfer within a job classification than it is to get hired simply from list eligibility. There are jobs within the same classification that I would love to do. Jobs that aren’t clinical in nature. Because of this, I was willing to give it a shot. They would only do interviews in person between two and five pm today. I had to reschedule a flight. It cost $300. I got there and learned that the job isn’t actually within one of the classifications that I am eligible under, the classes that I am interested in. They were having a hard time recruiting, so they “borrrowed” from a different eligibilty list. No transfer eligibility for me.

Everything feels like such a damn struggle. I’m sad and frustrated.  In this week reserved for celebration and thanksgiving, I am struggling to be thankful. That makes me feel like an ingrate, but it is, if anything, honest.