Last week, while scanning the San Diego 'jobs' section of Craigslist, I came across a listing for some open positions at a downtown hookah bar. The write-up describing each of the open positions sounded interesting and even though they were looking for part-time help and offering only a minimum wage salary, I was interested. "You must be comfortable working in a smoke-filled space..." the ad proclaimed. The smoker that I was, I knew I could handle the smell of soft-scented tobacco for a few hours. They would be conducting interviews on Tuesday; the listing informed and I made a note to go downtown to check it out.
Still without a bike and no cash for the bus, I set out walking towards downtown from Hillcrest. Thankfully, it wasn't too hot and although there was a slight breeze, I was still sweaty and flushed by the time I reached downtown. I'd anticipated this happening and had another shirt in my bag, in addition to bottled water and a face towel. A quick stop on campus at City college (I could still use the facilities)to freshen up and I continued on, this time at a more leisurely pace so as not to start sweating again.
The hookah bar was located on G Street, south of Horton Plaza and two blocks from the Gaslamp district. From the intersection where I was, it appeared as if they were open for business--even though their hours (according to their website) stated that they didn't open for business until much later. There was a large crowd of mostly young people lingering around outside. I was about to head inside the bar when, upon closer observation, I realized that everyone standing outside the bar had employment applications in hand!
There were atleast fifty people standing outside! This was not what I'd expected.
Since I'd made the effort to show up, I figured I may as well stay. Per their instructions, we were to fill out an application and once we'd completed it, add our names to the list then wait to be called inside to be interviewed. As I was adding my name to the list, I saw that they would be interviewing sixty-one people for three positions--all with part time hours! And as it seemed, I was the very last person to sign the list. What's worse is, the interview process started at 4 o'clock and here it was not even 4:30!
The interviews were being conducted at a quick pace, with some people being interviewed two at a time. Finally, almost an hour and a half later, only me and a young lady were left sitting outside at a table.
"We're really going to have to sell ourselves, you and I." I said, smiling at her.
" Yeah, I was thinking the same thing. I guess this is what you get when you post an ad on Craigslist."
She was right. The crowd that showed up to apply for this job were a bunch of people just like me. We start our mornings everyday, scouring the employment listings on CL, looking for that one job and hoping that we're the only ones that find it. I didn't anticipate a crowd this big all trying for the same--minimum wage, part-time job as me. I figured there would be maybe 10 applicants at the most. This crowd was simply a grim reminder of how bad things had become--not just for me, but for everybody.
When I did get called in to be interviewed, I was relaxed and had the biggest smile on my face. There really was no need to be on edge and I figured the woman who was about to interview me was probably ready to call it a day. Normally, I would had a look of defeat on my face, but instead, I answered her questions truthfully and overall, I think I made an impression on her. We talked about the establishment, what they were looking for and what I could bring to the position. The interview was brief and she informed me that due to the overwhelming turnout, they would be holding call backs for another interview for a selected few. She didn't give me a definite yes that I would be called back, but I left there feeling pretty good and thinking that I may very possibly have secured one of the few open part time, minimum wage paying positions at the hookah bar.
I'll keep you posted.
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