Wednesday, November 19, 2008

Saus Doesn't Pay the Bills Yet.

This harsh reality set in when we all noticed our dwindling bank accounts. We did not get much of a severance package from our previous employer, so we needed to look for new jobs. And while we now had a copious amount of time to work on our business plan and search for locations, we needed to dedicate some of that time to looking for a way to sustain ourselves. And let me tell you, searching for jobs and putting up with bull-shin phone interviews and in-person interviews whilst trying to start a restaurant is tough. It has its pluses, however...we are not interested in finding careers, as we already have one as self-proclaimed entrepreneurs, so it made us a bit irreverent on the phone with prospective employers. Here is a conversation I had with the Girl Friday over at this security software company I applied for:

Girl: Hi! Renee? Hi, you applied for the sales position.
Renee: Oh yes! Hi!
Girl: Yeah, so, the way we like to get to know our candidates is by having them telling a story!
Renee: Oh...Okay...So, do you want to know about my previous sales experience?
Girl: No, no...just a story! Any story. We want to make sure our reps have positive attitudes on the phone!
Renee: Okay.
Girl: Yea, so like, one guy talked about how he got caught smoking pot in his grandmother's house. But you don't have to tell me a story like that. Just, like, any story!
Renee: Okay...well...I guess I can tell you the story of how I ended up going to BU.
(I proceed to tell her the lamest story of how my sister, my friends, and I visited schools in Boston and got lost and ended up on BU's campus and how we ate at the Pizzeria Uno in Kenmore Square and I was impressed at there being a Chicago pizza chain on campus so I applied and was accepted...(I told you we are serious about food.)
Girl: (feigning enthusiasm) Oh cool! Okay! So any other interesting things about you?
Renee: Um...well...I'm Assyrian...
Girl: Oh Syrian! WOW! One of the girls who works here is South Indian...do you know where that is? (how many things do you see wrong with this question? I see three: Assyrian, Syrian - very different. Southern India? Not near Syria. And do I know where it is? Really? Come on!)
Renee: (thinks she is being funny, so I reply with sarcasm) I think so! Isn't that south of North India?
Girl: (turns out she was serious and is now offended) Oh. Okay. So you did go to college, didn't you?

Needless to say, I didn't get a call back.

I hated the idea of working another 9-5. I can speak for Tanya and Chin when I say that we were having too much fun working on something that is actually ours. We used our unemployment wisely -- we worked on the business plan, looked for spaces, did some taste testings with our chef, Ryan (who is busy with school, so it was probably more fun for us-he makes the food, we eat it - a charmed life, for sure), and meeting during the day to plan.

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