Searching for work (part 1)

The main goal of working with PACE was to search for and find a job. I had originally made a resume in high school but it needed to be updated and ready for my job hunt. From my high school work experience in an office, I knew that I liked interacting with people, working with computers, and enjoyed keeping things organized.  At the time, I really wanted to focus on working nearby so I could get there on my own.

For a couple of weeks, I handed out resumes to companies I thought might be a good fit for me.  I heard the phrase “We will get back to you” a great deal during those weeks, and occasionally heard an explicit “no” from them.  Most never got back to me.  I finally handed my resume to the hiring manager of a Nevada Bob's Golf Store in the shopping area near my house.  He looked over my resume on the spot and offered me work!  He sat down with me to help meet my expectations of working Monday, Wednesday, and Friday mornings.  I thought of starting out with the morning to see how it felt, and then I could always add hours later.

There was one drawback to the job: they couldn't pay me! I was a little sad but my worker and I said we would think about it. Obviously the payment was a big issue for us and I wondered if it would be like this for the rest of my life.  At the time, it was the best offer I had and I wanted a job.  I didn't know how much longer it would take to find another job and didn't really want to find out.

The manager gave us a job description; I liked the tasks and knew I would be good at them.  We started brainstorming ways that I could receive something in return for working there.  Since it was so close to my house, I wanted to catch the bus there in the mornings and walk home in the afternoon.  We decided to ask Nevada Bob's to pay for my bus fare so I wasn't losing money by working.  The manager said it wouldn't be a problem and I had a job!