Well, no job for me yet.

I was notified today that they had selected one of the other candidates.

On the plus side, I was told I interviewed very well, and got some tips on how to improve for the future.
On the down side, I’m still jobless, and as of the last couple days, I’ve applied to every relevant job on Workopolis and Monster, not counting ones I’m grossly underqualified for (eg Lab Manager with min 7 years lab managing experience).

Off to continue the job hunt!

They called back! I have a second interview for the Microbiology Technical job this Wednesday!

Cross your fingers for me!

Two good things about this second interview:

1. I’ll be more prepared; the first one I hadn’t had an interview in over 2 years so I was pretty rusty

2. I’m being interviewed by a different person, so I can wear the same suit I wore last week! ^_~

I think my interview went really well. ^_^

It was a nice little 45 minuts drive down to the place, which wasn’t bad at all. Apparently a lot of their staff live in the Tri-City/Guelph or London areas and just commute down to Paris.

Nice little facility; only about 2 years old so everything is state of the art, which is always fun . ^_^

As far as I could tell, the interview itself went well, and now I just need to wait and see if I get a second interview next week. ^_^
Cross your fingers for me again!

I finally have a job interview!
Of course, it would be the only job I’ve applied to that isn’t a permanent position (it’s a 14 month maternity leave). But hey, 14 months of experience and money is 14 months of experience and money! ^_^

It’s for Export Packers, in Paris, Ontario. They make “ready to eat cooked chicken products”. Mmm boy.
The job description was the same as most of the jobs I’ve applied for, and all of the jobs I’ve had (except Zehrs): Hot/cold/noisy/wet work environment. Standing and walking. Sample collection. Work lots of hours, with sometimes wonky shifts.
Been there, done that, got the t-shirt but had t sell it because I’m poor now.

My interview is Thursday afternoon (right after a very stressful exam, yay!) so wish me luck! ^_^

Dear Maple Leaf Foods,

Please call me. I don’t have cooties.
You have posted the exact same Microbiology Lab Technician job about 3 times since February. I have applied all 3 times.
You are obviously not getting the specific superhuman person you are looking for, so just give me a shot. Please pick up the phone, and give me an interview.

Love,

The girl who really needs a job and already IS a good “Microbiology Lab Technician”

_________

They keep posting the same job. If it’s not the exact same job, then they’ve got a whole bunch of Micro Lab Techs, and all of them happened to leave their jobs within the past 2 months.

Their application website is kinda screwy, though. It lets you save a cover letter and a resume.
The first time I applied (to several positions), I assumed it would send the resume/cover letter to whoever gets the job applications, but now I’m pretty sure it just send them a link to my MapleLeafJobs.ca profile and lets them view the stored resume/cover letter there. So all those carefully worded, job-specific applications were useless, I believe, if instead of sending them out it just told the HR person to check out my profile, because unless they checked right away they’d see a cover letter talking about a different job position they had open. Now I have a nice generic one there. Not as good overall, but better for this situation 😛

PS: give me an interview!

After sending out dozens of resumes (ok, probably only around 35-ish) I finally might have an interview. Emphasis on might, but hey, it’s the most response I’ve gotten so far. And it wasn’t even from a resume I sent out, it was from a placement agency (the kind companies hire to find good employees, not the kind that people go to to find jobs) that found me through Monster.ca

Anyone ever hear of Wheatley, Ontario?

Me neither.

It’s a teeny-weenie little town right near the most southern point in Ontario. 1700 people.
It’s about a 1/2 hour away from Windsor and that surrounding area. Frikkin’ far away from everything else except the States.
Apparently, they are known for their fish. Yay.

Anyway, this company called Omstead (“I get it!”) which I can only assume is a play on “homestead” (“Oh, now I get it!”) is looking for a Development Technican. Entry level, working with their frozen food products.

Blargh.
But since it’s the first company that’s expresses any interest in me beyond “we’ll keep your resume on file for up to 1 year”, I hope they give me an interview. I also hope it actually involves real lab work, since the lady at the agency doesn’t have full details of the job. The next issue would be finding a job for Josh in the area. For your viewing pleasure, I give you the Yellow Pages entries for Wheatley. There are 5. Yes, 5. (I will assume some are missing, since this Omstead place doesn’t show up on there, and their address is definitely in Wheatley). But still. It’s funny.

Hey, does anyone know if the Maple Leaf plant in Kitchener is a good place to work?
I just applied for two jobs there, a Microbiology Lab Technician and a Quality Control Technician. The Micro Lab one sounds like exactly what I want to do as a career, so of course the shift is Thurs – Mon and the “weekend” would be Tues/Wed. Oh well, the job part sounds super.

Just wondering if anyone has heard anything about them, employer-wise. Anyone around here know anyone who works there or anything?

I also applied for a job with the Canadian Food Inspection Agency. Yay for food microbiology! The job’s in Ottawa, and while I’d rather stay in the Tri-City area for now, the starting salary is $60,000 to $78,000 (depending on experience, of course, and I at least have 1 year more than “none”). Doing the job I want, and getting paid almost 3 times as much as I’ve ever been paid before? Hell yes I’d move to Ottawa for that! ^_^ I also submit my resume to their “biologist pool” here for the CFIA location in Guelph.