Interview update

I had a few interviews in Sioux Falls today. After a hard ride yesterday (I anticipated riding about 60-70 miles and ended up with 87 instead) I had to be at Citibank at 10:00 after a few hours in the car. I nearly didn't get the opportunity to do the interview. They have required classes for the position starting July 18 and I will not be around for the first two weeks, so I would have to take the classes the next time around. My interviewer, Dan, wasn't quite sure whether to do the interview or have me come back later. Since I'd just driven one hour, forty minutes to get there, I was in favor of proceeding. Dan decided to go ahead and do the interview.

Most of the questions were along the lines of, "Describe a time when you encountered a customer with unreasonable expectations and what was the outcome." Since I have little retail experience, I could only relate to ministry situations for each of the questions that he asked. He basically got and hour of talk about church from me.

I don't know when to expect to hear anything back, but I'm only mildly interested in the position anyway.

I bummed around SF for awhile after the first interview to kill some time before my 3:30 at Rehfeld's Art and Framing. I hit Scheels and looked at the Lemonds and Treks (bikes). Back in the day, Scheels carried pretty low end stuff, but they had some pretty solid bikes including one "Livestrong" replica Trek for $9997.00. Needless to say, that isn't the kind of bike you ride, but you collect if you have a spare 10 grand sitting around the house.

I hit the mall for lunch but decided it was a bit too chaotic an atmosphere for the moment. I hit Old Chicago instead. Old C in Greeley was a second home in grad school. The beer list was a mile long with enough variety to keep this snob happy. The SF Old C was a disappointment in that respect. They had a few decent beers, but not enough to bring me back time and again to discover new friends.

After lunch, I headed downtown. I had no change in the car and only a debit card with me, so I wasn't able to park within five blocks of where I needed to be because of the parking meters. The temps were near 90 and my suit and tie were a bit much for walking around. I holed up first at Zandbros which was a favorite for Amy and me back in undergrad because of it's eclectic items and food. The air conditioning was a welcome relief, but I knew I couldn't stick around too long for fear that the aroma of the store (mostly incense and other exotic aromas) would linger when I went across the street for my interview.

I wandered down to another bookstore, hit an ATM and grabbed an iced cafe mocha at Coffee 'n Clay, a little coffee shop I had read about in the paper a few months back.

Finally, about 3:00, I headed down to Rehfeld's. I wanted to give myself enough time to linger, look at the art and get a feel for the place before the interview. I was pleasantly surprised at the quality of the work that they carry. Yes, they have a few things that really don't suit my taste, but they had some pieces that show a great deal of creativity and artistry as well. Their featured artist, Eyob Mergia, especially caught my attention with some really powerful pieces featuring musicians.

The interview went fairly well, I think. The biggest thing working against me is the fact that I have next to no retail experience and no experience selling art or high end home decor. My hope is that my love and enthusiasm for art, artist and patrons of the arts will overcome my deficiencies. This is a job I could see doing and loving. We'll have to see what the decision is.

At least I have a few interviews under my belt and can say that I'm at least trying to get a job. I'll probably spend some more time online and following up on some more job leads tomorrow.