I had just earned my graduate degree. I was ready to take on the world in a career that would be so exciting…so invigorating…so worthwhile, that …well, I never went past the exciting, invigorating, and worthwhile parts.
I just knew I wanted a great career.
I read the ads in the newspapers. I talked to the headhunters, who chuckled over the phone. “A Master’s in English? And you want to do what with it?”
I didn’t have an answer. I knew what I didn’t want: No more school, no teaching, no secretarial position. They laughed and hung up.
I was offered three jobs at the University where I received my M.A.: one at the registrar’s office – secretarial; one at the Dean’s office of education – clerical; and one at the mailroom – sorting mail. Instead, I accepted a position that I read about in the classified section of the Newark Star Ledger:
New Directions for Women
Feminist newspaper for intelligent women
Excellent writing skills a must
BA necessary. Graduate degree preferred
Grant through CETA
I found out later that the grant meant low pay and strange office space.
But the ad spoke to me. My skills were needed, finally. I sent a resume and in days got a call back and an interview set up.
I deliberated on the appropriate outfit to wear. A graduate student didn’t own attire for a business interview, so I bought a navy blue suit and a black purse. I studied the train schedule and took the 8:10 Erie Lackawanna commuter train.
The ride was 22 minutes long. The train was old and dark and musty.
The commuters were old and dark and musty.
I departed the train station, an antique building that was ugly when it was built in 1902, and even uglier now. I reviewed the directions the editor had given me over the phone – her name was Pauline– and I stared at the small, hilly, gray streets. Everything was gray – the streets, the houses, the sidewalks.
The men racing to the station looked gray.
But I walked as perkily as possible on new black heels up the three blocks and down another until I reached my destination. It was a three-story, narrow home, like all the other three-story narrow homes on the block. The bottom step was broken concrete. The other five steps were wood, painted gray.
I rang the doorbell. No one answered, but the severe operatic sounds of a woman’s voice singing murder and pain flew out the open window
I knocked harder, then shouted, “Hello?”
The radio softened a notch. I heard a disgusted, “Damn!”
Then the front door opened to a large, bathrobed, 60-something woman with curlers in her black-dyed bangs and pink fluffy slippers on her feet. Her round face expressed anger and annoyance at first, then surprise as it moved into congeniality.
“Oh, hi. I’m Pauline. You’re Pamela? Welcome to New Directions.”
She turned quickly back into her home, expecting me to follow her. I wanted to race out of there and return to the train station, but she twirled around quickly and caught my eye with a black stare.
My career began.
Thanks to Google Images.
Pam, I had to go back and check if this was fiction or not!
You capture so much of what crazy interviews can be like.
Now, I need the next installment, please.
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Every single bit is non-fiction. Proof that fact is much stranger than fiction. Yet, I’m sure we all have ‘scary interview’ stories. Due to demand, I’ll continue with the story next week…
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Oh great! I look forward to that.
As for scary interview stories, don’t get me started …..!!!!
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But that’s the point of me telling my story. I WANT to get you and everyone else started!!!
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Okay, okay, watch this space! A bit of censorship will be needed.
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Can you hear me rubbing my hands together in glee??
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I can!!
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It’s so hard to map out a life in advance nowadays – my own is testament enough to that one. It’s more a case of seeing an opportunity and grabbing it with both hands. Good luck.
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But part of the challenge is figuring out — ‘IS this an opportunity?’
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You were/are an intrepid person! My last job’s first day was in So Philly during the Republican (Democratic?) National Convention and my exit off 95 was closed. I got off at the first exit I could, but ended up driving around lost in the meat packing district, getting questionable directions from food truck workers….When I found the office – finally – there was no parking. I had been warned parking would be tough and the police ticketed cars that tried to park in questionable, but enticing spots! I was over 2 hrs late for my first day of work, so I parked in a spot I thought would be ok for 2 hrs and I thought I could come back out and move the car. To make everything worse, my nerves had caused a huge hive to break out on my face between my lip and nose giving me a demented look. 😱 The lovely people just laughed sharing their own stories of parking woes on So Philly streets and all was well, tho, yes, when I went to move the car, I had gotten a $75 ticket!
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I started to feel hives coming on as I read your account of your last job’s first day. Sometimes we wonder why we put ourselves through this stress. But we just want to succeed – why do people/places/’stuff’ make it so hard???? :-0
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Adventure… not always what we expect! Did you write for New Directions?
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I guess that’s part of the ‘rest of the story’ next week. 😉
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This is a great story, Pam, and I also would like to hear the next installment. I also was crazy enough to get a Master’s in English, but lucky enough to be working as an editor when I finished…and that turned out…not so well at this point, because those in “power” no longer value editors or proofreaders. But this is not my “stage,” let’s hear the rest of the story…
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Maybe we need a support group for people with English degrees!! Ha ha. But truly, our editing/proofing/writing skills are not given the respect they deserve. To be continued…
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Love it – brave you! The University missed out big time – and you? Well, you got an adventure worthy of your gifts, because you found those who could see and use them. Would that the whole world were so lucky, and did what they were made for all day. I’ll be laughing for a while…the image of young you in a smart suit and your future boss in her bathrobe and slippers. You couldn’t make it up!!! Hmmm – you didn’t, did you?! Hugs, H xxx
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I didn’t make up ONE word on this experience. I like to think I’m good at creative writing, but even I wouldn’t have come up with the opera singer and pink slippers. This was definitely a one-of-a-kind ‘job’ – more next Friday.
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Sounds like a great beginning!
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So many are asking ‘what happened after the beginning?’ that I guess I’ll continue next week. 🙂
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You had courage. I settled for the clerical—asst. secretary at Harvard, thought I’d work up. My supervisor pointed to her black Harvard armchair and said,”You see that chair? If you’re here 25 years you’ll get one of those, so it’s something to look forward to.” I never got my chair.
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Oh man, what a story! What a quote! 25 years of hard labor to get the ‘black chair.’ In some ways I do wish I’d taken the clerical position – at least I would have been in an ‘office’ without opera…or pink slippers.
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Oh Pam, I’m dying to hear more…
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I’m amazed at the response to this very true story. I’ll ‘tell all’ (or at least more) about my first job next Friday.
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Yup, we definitely need to hear more!
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Okay Easty. While you were digging in the dirt and learning about ancient cultures, I was …. on the Erie Lackawanna.
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I need more, too, Pam! Paula scares me!
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Lots of reason to be scared, too. I was petrified! More next Friday…
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what an adventure it is going to be with a start like that! 🙂
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Not the adventure I was hoping for, but many times in life, we aren’t given choices once a path is taken, yes? More to come…
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Yes, that is true, I look forward to finding out more 🙂
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Did boss lady clean up her act? Need to read more about her!
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This kind of lady never cleans up her act! She LOVES her act! More drama next Friday…
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Clearly you needed to buy a business casual bathrobe.
Please, Pam, tell me that you will continue this story next week.
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Your sense of humor always brings on a smile. Yes, business casual bathrobe indeed. Since you insist, I’ll write more about Paula…and me, next Friday.
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Awesome! I love the story so far!
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Please continue. I wish to hear more. 🙂
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Thank you! I’m amazed at how readers are interested in my New Direction in career. I’ll continue next Friday…
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Good!
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Have to say, I’m hooked in already. Can’t wait to find out where this goes.
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My goal is to hook my readers. And I didn’t even have to make up anything to do it. More hooking next Friday…
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We start with stars in our eyes, ideas of romantic days, doing good, changing the world and being terrific and the best idea person since (fill in name). 😀
😀
So, were you given tea? coffee? had to start immediately? How long did the job last? What was the ‘actual’ work? S.p.i.l.l. 😀
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I’ll spill next Friday. But you got it so right – the ‘stars in the eyes’ that get dimmed as soon as we enter “the real world.”
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😀 I look forward to next Friday, because I’m the curious type… No. Not as in nosy. 😀 😀
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You told us enough to want more. I assume you took the job. Ditto to the questions above.
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Sneak preview to next Friday’s post: I took the job. :-O
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Did you submit to the Erma Bombeck award this year, as I suggested a while back? You are a natural.
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Okay, just looked it up. Deadline Feb. 15. I’ll do it – thank for the gentle shove. 🙂
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I half expected you to get motion sickness on the train… But like everyone else, I am curious to see what happened next.
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Oh, you know me too well!! (Hard to believe we’ve never met ‘in person.’) And yes, there was some ‘train sickness’ on the way to the interview, for sure, thus the need for the walk up and down those hills. I’ll write a bit more about the job next week – fascinating how this very true story is catching readers’ interest.
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I kind of liked the station…and like grey too…as for your writing…I love it’s every hue…
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Nicest compliment I’ve received all week! The photo makes the station look nicer than it was. Or maybe I was just put off by the ‘gray’ day.
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What fun to read this. And like the others, I can’t wait to hear more. Hopefully you got more use out of that new suit!
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Ohhhhhhh, what a good question. I’m trying to remember if I ever did wear that suit again… (Does that give you a clue? More next Friday.)
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Pam, was that the same stare that Meril Streep gave Anne Hatherway in The Devil wears Prada? I can’t wait to hear the rest of the story.
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YOU GOT IT! The very same stare. Only scarier…..!
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Please, please, please tell me it got better from there!!!
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Hmmmm, that’s for you to decide when you hear ‘the rest of the story.’ Stay tuned for next Friday’s post.
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I love it! I was a recruiter for many years and have a ton of stories like this one. Others wouldn´t believe it, but I do. Can´t wait to hear more.
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Finally, someone who doesn’t think I made this up! You can’t make this stuff up! I’d love to hear your recruiter stories – maybe you should blog about it – people seem fascinated about how ‘horrid’ it can be out there in ‘new job’ land. I’ll continue with this a bit next Friday. 🙂
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You leave us hanging? Love your description of the commuters as old and dark and musky. Yikes. I hope no one is thinking of me like that. 🙂
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I know- my perspective back then was a bit different than it is now. I think. 😁
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And then what?!
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😳 continued next Friday.
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You mean this coming Friday?! That’s a long time away. You’re as mean as the TV ;)!
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Ha Ha. Just call me Downton Pam. 🙂
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This is fantastic, Pam! My last interview (for my current job) was via Skype. Two minutes before the interview began I saw the biggest snake of my life in my bathroom. I had my feet lifted off the floor during the interview while glancing around desperately to make sure the snake stayed away. Luckily I got the job!
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You see? We all have amazing ‘interview’ stories that defy fiction. I mean, you can’t make this stuff up! Did you ever find that snake???
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Yes – it’s now in the ceiling 😉
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Pam I’m so glad you took the brave step rather than settling for what you were first offered – I can’t wait to find out how it turned out.
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I think readers want a happy ending, but I’m not sure I have one. But I’ll post ‘the rest of the story’ on Friday. :-0
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Adventure away from the groves of academia. In the real world? It doesn’t sound like it.
xxx Massive Hugs xxx
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I don’t know, David. I think I kind of prefer the ‘unreal world’ in academia than what’s ‘out there,’ at times. I’ve been involved in both subsets, and you know what? We humans are just strange creatures, whether in a library or a corporate building, that’s what I say. 🙂
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Must hear the rest of the story. Hurry woman!
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I’m worried I’ll disappoint with the reality of ‘the rest of the story.’ But watch for it on Friday!!! xo
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Such a fun story — and for a minute I thought you were going to tell us it was all a big joke! Can’t wait to find out how it all turned out!
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Hi Kate. I know, many thought I was making this up. How do you ‘make up’ pink bath-robed bosses who love opera???
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Now that’s one of the craziest career starts I’ve ever read about. I’ve hired a lot of people over the years but that’s a new one..:)
I’m curious…what made you stay?
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Well, I’ll continue my ‘first real job’ story on Friday, but to answer your question…No, I’ll wait. No easy answer to why we stay in jobs/situations that make our skin crawl…!!!!! Naiveté? Desperation? Optimism? Cluelessness? I could go on and on. 🙂
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Lol…a teaser. Ok, I’ll wait until Friday..:)
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This is crazy!!! What happened next?
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Check in on Friday for the ‘rest of the story, which may include handsome men, locked castles, tongues, and, never mind. Just stay tuned.
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want to hear more you brave woman you!!! xo
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Brave? Or dumb? I’d vote for the last one. :-0 You’ll get the rest of the story/job on Friday…
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You didn’t get back on the train?
If not, “New Directions” takes on a different meaning.
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Witty, Bruce. Yes, I should have gone in THE OTHER DIRECTION, but alas, I stayed. More on Friday…
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You’re not going to leave us hanging there, are you? Please, please, please…what happens next? 🙂
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So interesting, remembering those painful moments as we glance back at what made us/got us to where we are today. What happens next will be revealed on Friday. I hope I don’t disappoint. !!!
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Wow, that was a reading! It totally captured me.
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Thank you! My Career story is definitely proof that truth is stranger than fiction.
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Pam, you left me hanging on the edge of my seat. I so wanted to know what happens next!!! And I love that a feminist newspaper is where you got your professional adventure. Please don’t want too long to publish the next part.
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The next part of my ‘feminist’ adventure on Friday. This story shows how real life, and thus our stories, don’t/shouldn’t wrap up neatly tied up in a bow. Life is so messy.
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I, too, had to check to see if your story was fiction. The opera music, the woman wearing a bathrobe, curlers, and pink fluffy slippers … too strange to be true. Can’t wait to hear what happened next.
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Thanks for believing in my all-too-true story. As you know, we all have them, hidden inside, many times too scared/worried about revealing them. The ‘rest-of-the-story will be revealed on Friday.
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Wow. I wasn’t sure if this was fiction or “true and crazy careers.” I saw you answered the question on the first comment. Congratulations on the job. It sounds like a ride 🙂
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Good pun. A true story of a long long ride into a career. 🤓
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You should write a memoir! This was great! 🙂
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Thanks! Hmmm, I think I’d have a 1,000 page memoir, the way my career began and weaved in and out. 😳
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Or maybe five memoirs?
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Well I know for certain none of my interviews could top that! They are few in number and all rather traditional. 🙂 But I’m definitely hooked into hearing what happened next!
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This is great, I look forward to the outcome. Many odd things have happened in my life that I couldn’t ever use in fiction, as no one would believe me.
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Wow! What a story! Truth truly is stranger than fiction! Some things you just can’t make up! And why would you? So, what happened next?? 🙂
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