Help Wanted

One of the more fun things about being a 2L without a job lined up for the summer (and it’s already mid-January, for God’s sake) is experiencing the range of emotions that bounce around in my brain whenever I feel my cell phone ring during class. It’s set on vibrate so if it ever rings during class, I immediately start to wonder who is calling (the few people who ordinarily call me on my cell usually don’t call during the day so it’s probably not one of those people), why they’re calling, if they’re calling to offer me an interview and whether they’ll leave a message.

(It’s a little like the old days, for those of you old enough to remember, before caller ID when the phone would ring at home and you’d get all excited wondering who might be calling and if it might be fore you and whether it was something good. Or going back a little farther, to when I was in college and lived on campus and had a box in the college post office. They put in these little brown slips that said “you have a package.” Did someone send you cookies, a brick of money, something from home you asked your parents to send you, a crate of cash, presents, a box full of $100s or home made brownies? Oh God why is the line so long? Why is the post office closed at lunch time? Why is it closed all weekend? Ok, anyway…)

(Another fun thing is when you get spam e-mails and wonder if maybe they are from someone offering you a job. For example, today I got one with the subject "SOMEONE IS INTERESTED!!!!" It's conceivable that if someone told me they were interested in interviewing or hiring me, I might send an e-mail with that exact subject line to someone I know to tell them that wow, someone was interested in me. Of course it's unlikely any potential employer would send me an e-mail saying they were interested by writing SOMEONE IS INTERESTED!!!! in the subject line, but still...)

Then when the phone buzzes again a minute or so later signifying that the person who just called left a voicemail, all hell breaks loose upstairs (in my head). I wonder how much time elapsed between the end of the ringing and the message because if it was only a minute it was probably someone I know saying “Hey, what’s up? Call me back.” But if it was longer then maybe it’s a potential employer leaving a long message explaining who they are and why they are calling and what I should do next – call back now, call later today, send them an e-mail, call their secretary, do nothing because I already have the job, etc. Then there’s the repeated looks at the clock on my computer waiting for the class to end. Forget about paying attention to the professor. Or should I just step outside class to see who called?

Usually I calm down and realize that depending on which class I’m in, where I’m sitting in relation to the professor and how sharp the professor is, I can probably get away with looking at the “missed call” thing to see what number the call was from. If it’s someone I know, I’m crushed. (No offense to anyone I know who is reading this blog who may have called me in the past – don’t worry, I still like you and please don’t stop calling). But if it’s a number I don’t recognize…wow! All sorts of possibilities! Could it be the World’s Greatest Law Firm calling to offer me a job (without even an interview)? The Greatest Government Agency On Earth calling to tell me how much they loved my resume and how they want to interview me but it’s really only a formality because they’re sure I’m the best candidate they’ve ever had for a summer job?

Finally, class ends. I leave the room. I check the voicemail and uh, well, I’m writing this blog post because I still don’t have a job so you can guess who called. Or to be more specific, who didn’t call…