To grow or not to grow… a nose

Photo courtesy of Luke Bevans and his Google Pixel 6

As someone with zero retail experience, it turns out I might be a little overqualified for seasonal work…

I applied to 3 shops for seasonal work a few weeks back and to one shop for a permanent position. My application was rejected for the permanent position (not surprising) and for 2 of the 3 seasonal positions. I never heard back from the last one.

I asked a friend who is a manager in a shop (not one that I applied to work in) if she knew what might be wrong with my application, and her only guess was that I am overqualified and so the shop might be worried that I’d move on quickly. What’s stumping us is that I applied for seasonal roles… I would only be working for the season.

So that was a bummer, but at least I tried. 

I wonder if I’ll have the same problem when I finally get to Portugal… if teaching English doesn’t float my boat, I’m thinking working in a local shop would be a good way to settle into a new community. Luke will be working remotely from home, so we’ll need to find other ways to meet people. A shop job would be handy.

If anyone has any insight into this conundrum, please reach out by email or leave a comment on the post. I have been advised to write a very vague CV - something like, “worked in hospitals,“ but the moment questions are asked, I’ll be spilling the beans anyway, so I’m not convinced that’s the best solution… but if it gets me an interview, maybe it’s worth a try? 

I’ve never been comfortable with lying though, not even white lies. Whenever the subject comes up, a family friend likes to retell how, as a child, I used to follow up every answer to every question with “I think” as a way of somehow guaranteeing I couldn’t be lying.

Dad: “Isa, let Alex know I’m just popping into the shop and I’ll be back in a few.”

Alex, 2 minutes later: “Isa, where’s your dad gone?”

8-year-old Isabella: “To the shop… I think.”

And so it went for any and every question asked and answered… I was a true believer of the Pinnochio fairy tale - questionable now, whether it did more harm than good… 

Okay, that’s all for today, folks! Short and sweet. I’ve had two different viral illnesses in just over a week, so I haven’t been able to plan, let alone write and edit a proper post! I’m still very much in the recovery process.

I’d like to thank you all so much for following my blog these last three months, and I wish you a Very Merry Christmas/ a Happy Hanukkah/ a Joyous Kwanzaa/ Happy Holidays and a Healthy and Prosperous New Year!

Stay safe and stay warm!