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Last Friday, Reny's held a job fair at the Civic Center
By Bob Higgins
March 15, 2011
Last Friday, Reny's held a job fair at the Civic Center. I was one of many Portlanders who applied.
Don't get me wrong, I'm happy with my current day and night jobs. My day gig has slowed down a bit of late,
and writing this column can only take up so many hours of the day, no matter how long I try to stretch it out.
That leaves a big hole in the day where I could be doing a job and making some of the extra green.
I managed to make it to the job fair around 1 p.m. The crew of interviewers had been at it all day, so
getting there in the middle of the day was one of those strategic moves on my part. Too early is too
eager, and the only thing the early worm meets is the bird. Too late, and I would be dealing with
fatigued interviewers who just wanted to call it a night.
I got to the "Captain's Club" room, and saw the huge pool of applicants. At least 30 people were sitting
at the tables, filling out all the forms and waiting for a chance to stand in line for a quickie 5 minute interview.
There was good natured ribbing among the applicants, one girl even asking me "What does it mean when
they ask you if you've ever been bonded?" I assured her it had nothing to do with certain nighttime
practices, or even a chance meeting with a bail bondsman down at county. After explaining it,
she felt pretty sure to put down "no."
There was even the standard "Have you ever been convicted of a crime" question, to which I heard
the standard reply from at least three tables. "Convicted?...er...no."
Ah, but I had a bigger purpose for applying. A faithful reader tells me that I casually mention the
fact that I am the owner of a second hand gorilla suit. He claims the story of how I got one begs to
be told, but he is to be denied once more. This is the slow season for gorilla-suiting, so a calculated
application of applying to be the opening day "mascot" was sure to get me at least a gig for a couple of days.
After filling out the forms with the pencils, and making the obligatory reference to Arlo Guthrie and
the gods of forms, I got in line and waited for the interview portion. The line was at least twenty
people long, and one staffer told me it had been about that length for most of the day.
A quick bit of mental math gave me a total of about 600 people showing up for about 50 jobs.
Yikes, perhaps this wasn't going to be as easy as I thought. Figuring my chances at 1 in 12,
I thought that I probably should have bothered to shave that morning. This was a spur of the
moment thing, though, so I had to go just as I was.
The best thing I could do was to make a lasting impression. After meeting with "Cindy"
(not her real name,) I quickly summed up what I was hoping to accomplish. A short term job
in the gorilla-greeter kind of position, should any be available.
She laughed that one off. "These are not actual interviews, just sort of a quick put-a-face-to-a-name
and application kind of thing. We'll be scheduling actual interviews later, with those who stand out."
One way to stand out in the crowd is to try to be funny. Notice I said "Try." We chatted for about
five minutes, going over the general work history, answering the obligatory questions, and then the real digging began.
"So Bob, say we hired you for a cashier position. You overhear one of the other cashiers being
rude to a customer. How do you deal with the situation?" I'll leave my response aside.
You can make the obligatory joke, but somehow tarring and feathering doesn't seem to
come across as funny when its mentioned by a wild-eyed fat man.
There were the "psych" questions, such as "what do you feel are your greatest strengths"
followed up by the ever popular "and weaknesses." Learning to deal with those questions
is all part of that interview karma interchange. You want a job, they might have one. You
do the dance back and forth, but the whole process is just that much easier when your partner
in the dance is at ease.
Still don't know if I made the cut yet, but am looking forward to hearing from them. If
they choose another applicant, no big deal, I already have two jobs. There is probably
someone in that line that is desperate, on their last legs, and looking for a shot. I'd
hate to be the person who takes that job from them.
But for the ones that wanted to come, but never applied, I have no pity. Remember,
everything is about timing, and creating that lasting impression. Ninety percent of
life is just showing up, and making them remember you when you get there.
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R.H. Reny, Inc.
731 Route 1
Newcastle, Maine 04553
Phone: (207)563-3177
Fax: (207)563-5681
E-Mail: feedback@renys.com
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