Looking for Work in Katoomba

Trip Start Dec 03, 2004
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Trip End Nov 31, 2005


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Flag of Australia  ,
Thursday, January 13, 2005

Wednesday I determined to start on my mission: find a job in Katoomba. Ross, who owns the hostel where I'm staying, said he had an ad in the paper looking for people who need casual labourers, and in the meantime, I should just paper the streets with my resume. Now, my readers may know that door-to-dooring and telephone cold-calling are not my strong suits. So the idea of this made me somewhat nervous.

I decided to start with what I knew best: the Internet. I sent email to a spa that was hiring spa attendants. However, I'd made the mistake of not realizing that "the Blue Mountains" is a fairly common name throughout the world, and I got a speedy email back informing me that while they were pleased with my interest, the fact that I was in Australia and they were in the Phillippines would make arranging an interview, not to mention my commute to work, rather hard. Oops!

So I went down to the local library to mock up a resume, which took some time as I was trying to think of ways to make my diverse job experience sound more like something your average cafe, guesthouse, or restaurant would like to see in the past of an employee. Then I headed back to the Flying Fox with a copy of the local paper in hand, ready to make phone calls to anyone who seemed willing to listen.

Of the ten calls I made, only two were a) answering their phones b) willing to talk to someone with a working holiday VISA, but the two places took my info and said they'd call back soon about an interview, never did.

Then, somewhere in my small intestine, I found the guts to go from door-to-door. I dressed as nicely as a backpacker can and went from boutique hotel to boutique hotel (with a stop at a couple cafes and, in desperation, at a ratty corner store) trying to force my resume upon them.

"Sorry, dear, it's the wrong season for us to be hiring. Should've tried before Christmas, or maybe at Easter," was what I heard over and over again. Darn! Bad luck and bad timing. But I do have some work: Ross has found me 3 hours of gardening work for a local lady.
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