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5 AM. The alarm rings.
5:02. another goes off. 5:10, I get up. Today was orientation/introduction for an internet based start-up, aimed to combine social media and applicant tracking systems. Or something like that. It's suppose to be like linkedin on drugs. All I knew was that at 9am I had to be there to learn about the launch and everything. Why up so early? There was no other way. I don’t drive, no one else could drive me, so public transportation it was. The night before I wrote up the directions to get there: Catch the 220 bus at 6:03. Walk a block and catch the Blue rail at 7:03. Catch the 54 bus at 7:33. Get off about 2 miles away from the office and walk the rest. 3 hours of commute, for a part time position as a writer/blogger. 3-5 articles a week, and something like 10 bucks an article. Not very much income. But I’m broke, so I really wanted it. Anyhow, at 6:05 the first bus comes. Good. I get off right at 9th and O, and walk to 8th and O. The 7:03 Blue rail comes at 7:05. Cool. I get on. I count the stops in my head. 1, 2, 3…. 9, 10, 11.. Wait. I was supposed to get off at the 11th stop, but I didn’t even hear 47th ave announced, the stop before mine.
I begin to panic a little. I gave myself an extra hour when I planned the trip, but I also had planned to be bored for an hour, not panicking on how to get to my destination. I check outside. It IS the blue rail though... I wait. The bus starts moving towards more barren lands. Then, it hits me.
I got on the right rail line, but going the wrong way.
Fuck.
Before I have the chance to get off, the end of the line is called. The rail is going back the other way. No need to transfer. I’m fine. Other than the fact that I have now lost about 30 minutes, one way, which after calculating makes me… screwed. I get off at Florin, it’s now 8:33. I call my boss. The line is out of service. what?. I try again, no luck. Then I catch the 54, and it’s scheduled to arrive at it’s destination at 9:04. It’s destination, not mine. I get off at 9:06, I start jogging and with speed walking with my laptop, my good old 16”. Not ideal. I arrive at 9280 W Stockton and walk inside to suite 102. A lady in her cubicle greets me. I’m in the wrong place. Damnit. NOW things are just. *sigh* I ask around, and I have to go another couple blocks to find the nearest starbucks or hotel or whatever that will let me use their wifi. Before I leave, I take one last look at the place. 9280. I look at my index card. 9290. Fuck. I sprint over to the next building, 9290. I walk into suite 102 again.
It's now 9:54. I walk into a dark room and spot what(who?) may have a cute girl and a guy sitting in chairs facing a projector. Beside the girl is exactly 1 empty chair. Mine. The boss comes out from the back room, he was getting something for the guy.
“Hey Bo.”
“Hey. You were suppose to be here at 9.”
“Yea I know. I took public transportation here. I got on the north bound instead of the south bound”
“Oh. Well I was wondering where you were, you could have at least called or something.”
I tell him I did, he turns to his assistant who checks the phone. Turns out I’m right.
“But I know, it’s completely my fault” I say.
“Yea well you know it’s the first day so already you're making this somewhat hard for me. You know punctuality is a…. quality that is very important. You’re not starting out very well.”
“I know.”
Pause.
“I have a tough call to make. I’ve already finished the presentation.”
“Right.”
He pauses.
“I think you’re done.”
I blink.
“Do I go now?”
“Yeah.”
“..Thanks for the opportunity.”
I walk out the door. It’s starting to get sunny and I’m already sweating a little from all the travel. I walk my ass back 2 miles, and wait 30 minutes to catch the 54. I make the transfer back onto the Blue rail. I get off at 8th and O. I look across the street. Across the street stands a sign. A sign for the Blue rail. The south bound blue rail.
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Shit man. I'm really sorry.
I've had a few fuck ups like that in life, where things just don't go your way and you end up being late. For it to happen on the first day is even rougher.
I volunteer at a local medical clinic, it's free for people who don't have healthcare insurance. I decided last week to go down the surface roads to get there instead of the freeway - thinking it might be even a little faster and less of a drag on my gas mileage, as my 2000 Jeep wrangler doesn't like going 70+ Mph on the freeway.
I passed my turn, couldn't get back because it was a one-way street, and ended up getting there about half an hour late. The woman at the front desk asks me, "Do we need to talk about scheduling? Is early-morning not going to work for you?"
I looked at my watch... 8:30 am. I was supposed to be there at 8. I wanted to tell her to fuck off, but I didn't and just said I took the wrong turn and was late. My bad.
Getting on the wrong train would be a fucking nightmare.
I would call your boss and apologize and explain a bit more, and say thanks for the opportunity anyways. Who knows, he might realize you're normally a very punctual person and change his mind, maybe give you one more chance.
best of luck to you and I'm terribly sorry man!
Edit: Cleaved an unruly sentence
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Man that really sucks dude. May I make a suggestion though? You need to be more assertive. When he's standing there and you know the news is most probably gonna be bad, that's you're chance to jump in. You tell him that it's never gonna happen again, that you're willing to work late to cover up the time you missed. And if he still says you're done, you don't accept it, you tell him that he's making a mistake(respectfully of course). Let him know that you think you're the best man for the job and give him a couple of reasons why. Nine times out of ten that guy is going to rethink his decision. Anyone who's willing to put that much effort is usually a different breed. Just my two cents, hope luck treats you better in the future.
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Sucks man. That's like a bad luck brian moment right there.
Maybe it's a blessing in disguise tho. I dont understand ur reasoning for wanting a job with a 6 hour commute (total) and with low pay. Surely there's something more local even if it's not related to what field you want to work in?
btw i recommend using google street view to find the bus stop and building you want to go to. It gives you a visual reference to go by instead of just numbers and street names.
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Recommend a trial run of your commute before your first day if possible. Only silver lining here is I suppose it's not exactly a dream job you lost, but still disappointing nonetheless.
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Dont worry.
3 hours commute for that kind of money?
Naaaaaahhhhh ! Dont worry about it.
Believe me I have had worse.
Like the time I went to a job interview in a skycraper and made the mistake of looking out the window (I have a pretty nasty phobia of heights), I started feeling really anxious and nervous because of the height and didn't even try in the interview, just wanted to get the hell out of there haha.
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Sounds like hell. Good job avoiding that place though. You can do better.
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Sorry to hear that. It sounds like you really tried to be there early. Sometimes in life you do your best to plan and it just doesn't work out.
You could have tried what Fumanchu suggested, but in a lot of cases they've already made up their mind. I'd be suprised if they actually changed their mind on the spot considering they probably have a number of candidates for the job and they are feeling that you are wasting their time, even if you were not. At this point, what you could do is write them a letter. Write them to thank them for the opportunity and to again apologize for being late. Say a lot of good things about the position, such as how excited you were about the blogging and what you planned to write. It's a low probability, but at this point it can't hurt if you want the position. Beyond that, take it as a lesson learned and move forward to the next opportunity.
What I used to to for key job interviews---jobs I really wanted---was to scout out the location beforehand. That is, actually go to the office the day before the interview so you know the route. This would be especially true if you had never been there before, have multiple transfers, or an especially confusing route.
Also--if you really want a certain job or position, research the company beforehand. If you are doing an interview, mentioning info about the company or being prepared to know what they do is important. If you don't know what they do, that could easily come out in an interview and will probably sink your chances right there.
Good luck!
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On June 16 2012 08:36 Fumanchu wrote:
Man that really sucks dude. May I make a suggestion though? You need to be more assertive. When he's standing there and you know the news is most probably gonna be bad, that's you're chance to jump in. You tell him that it's never gonna happen again, that you're willing to work late to cover up the time you missed. And if he still says you're done, you don't accept it, you tell him that he's making a mistake(respectfully of course). Let him know that you think you're the best man for the job and give him a couple of reasons why. Nine times out of ten that guy is going to rethink his decision. Anyone who's willing to put that much effort is usually a different breed. Just my two cents, hope luck treats you better in the future.
Agree with this... that those pauses were missed opportunities for you to keep the job if you were fast enough on your feet and if you wanted it badly enough.
But either way, that time has passed, shit happens (really unfortunate shit), and good luck to you in the future! 
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On June 16 2012 09:38 DarkPlasmaBall wrote:Show nested quote +On June 16 2012 08:36 Fumanchu wrote:
Man that really sucks dude. May I make a suggestion though? You need to be more assertive. When he's standing there and you know the news is most probably gonna be bad, that's you're chance to jump in. You tell him that it's never gonna happen again, that you're willing to work late to cover up the time you missed. And if he still says you're done, you don't accept it, you tell him that he's making a mistake(respectfully of course). Let him know that you think you're the best man for the job and give him a couple of reasons why. Nine times out of ten that guy is going to rethink his decision. Anyone who's willing to put that much effort is usually a different breed. Just my two cents, hope luck treats you better in the future. Agree with this... that those pauses were missed opportunities for you to keep the job if you were fast enough on your feet and if you wanted it badly enough. But either way, that time has passed, shit happens (really unfortunate shit), and good luck to you in the future!
This is definitely the case. Your would-be boss was probably also a little irritated with how short you were with him, not offering any input to his decision, etc. He wanted to give you a chance to tell him you have your shit together, but instead you just agreed that he had a hard decision, which actually made it pretty easy, because you didn't tell him you have your shit together.
Take this as a learning experience. You should probably learn the following two life tips if you don't already know them: 1. Plan for the unexpected by allowing extra time. In other words, don't leave so that you'll get there with 10 minutes to spare, give yourself 30 or 45 minutes, so if something happens like you remember you left your Social Security card at home, you get it and still get there in time.
2. Learn to recognize when someone is giving you a way out.
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I wouldn't have said thanks for the opportunity.
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i assume you live in sac?
anyways that sucks man
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United States24779 Posts
Maybe beating a dead horse, but how does the pay they offered even cover the cost of all that public transportation? From what I can tell you were denied a job that wouldn't actually make you any money. There definitely is a lesson to be learned, but not much is lost!
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It's not a big deal. They're barely paying anything.
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when venturing into uncharted territory by public transport, I always take the extra 8 seconds to ask 'this bus going to X'?
And a story from my interview at Blizzard: Bastard busdriver let me out way too early (I had asked....), but I even had a map of the neighbourhood, so up yours, stupid bus driver!
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On June 16 2012 13:33 Rimstalker wrote:
when venturing into uncharted territory by public transport, I always take the extra 8 seconds to ask 'this bus going to X'?
And a story from my interview at Blizzard: Bastard busdriver let me out way too early (I had asked....), but I even had a map of the neighbourhood, so up yours, stupid bus driver!
Yeah I mess up subway directions too. Not careful enough.
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EPT
