The Job Workings, part 3

Where I last left off, I had interviewed for a position doing helpdesk support which, while not a type of position I like, the pay and stability was really attractive to me.  Unfortunately, the interview left me highly intimidated and internally shaken.  The IT director, who was part of the interview, was the type of interviewer to hit hard and fast with intensely difficult questions that are beyond the job involved, and had some courteous, yet sharp (and to an extent unfair), criticism for me.  But despite all that, I turned out to be the best candidate and was accepted for the job.

A month in, however, I found myself under criticism from my manager over something that had more to do with him and his own personality than with me and my abilities.  In response, I went about applying some field magic to help with things.  Namely, I did Crown of Success work via setting lights.  I also dressed certain key spots at work with Crown of Success oil, as well as Commanding oil to gain influence with my coworkers.

Unfortunately, the situation was just too difficult for me to overcome, magic or no.  With time I would have done well, but the manager just didn't like me.  He even stated that my abilities are fine...but he seemed to think I didn't have the energy level for it.

So, they decided to do a bad job of hiding the fact that they were interviewing my replacement no 20 feet from me while leaving me alone to man the phones.  This was 2 months into this job.

Fed up with being lied to, I finally asked my company what was going on and had my fears confirmed on a Friday.  Fortunately, the client company was decent enough to give me one last week there.

I spent that weekend coping, and bringing a lot of magical action to bear on the situation.

SOL AND JUPITER AND SATURN, OH MY!

First, I contacted Tzadkiel, governor of the planetary sphere of Jupiter.  I conjured him and asked him to bring forth Yophiel and Hismael to bring forth the blessings of Jupiter into my sphere, and to bless me with an abundance of job opportunities, and to guide me toward the job that would be best for me.

There were elements of macro and micro enchantments involved here, and it was all spirit work with little materia involved.  I did, however, give an offering with a physical basis.

Next, that Saturday, I conjured Tzaphkiel and, at the advice of my magical group, asked him to send Agiel and Zazel to bless my sphere with stability.  This was more macro than micro because it mostly targeted my general sphere.

That Sunday, I conjured Michael and asked him to send Nakhiel and Sorath to assist me.  With this, I specifically asked for them to let the light of my personality shine forth and help me to find a job with stable hours, that suits my abilities, that challenges me well, and where I will be needed for the long-term.

Throughout all the conjurations, I instructed each power to work with the others as appropriate.

Now, during this particular weekend, I got a call out of the blue on a Saturday regarding a job opportunity.  This itself was odd, given that recruiters normally only operate during the weekdays.  The job opportunity involved was for a company that, after searching online, I found no presence of within the city I live in despite the claims of the recruiter.  But still, I went with it, and Monday they told me I was scheduled for a phone interview on Wednesday at a very accomodating time that allowed me to get home from work first.

Thus, Wednesday came along, and I got home from work.  I decided to prep with a little magic by doing the Conjuration of the Commander from TSS.  The interview went well, and I got along great with the interviewer, who was actually the manager for the position.  I found out more about the job, its challenges, and my responsibilities.  I answered technical questions and gave my opinion about related things.

Less than 24 hours later, I had the job!

I was floored!  Never have I ever been accepted for a long-term position after just a phone interview!  Given the circumstances, I could see why they did it the way they did, but I wasn't going to look a gift horse in the mouth.

So, I finished at the helpdesk job, barely having anyone even bother to say goodbye, and got ready for the new job, which was desktop support and definitely preferable to helpdesk for me.  I started the new job the next week on a Wednesday, literally one week after my interview.  All in all, I was unemployed for 2 days total.

And that's the job I'm working at now.  It has its challenges, and it gets frustrating.  Plus, being the only "Computer Guy" onsite has its downsides.  But I'm happier with it.  It's closer to home, pays just as much as the helpdesk job, and it fits well.

WHAT I LEARNED

This has been another lesson that magic can only take you so far when used on a situation that is stacked against you too much.  However, when used well on the right points of a situation, it can do a lot.  It's like any other tool in that way.

I also got a solid lesson in what to look out for in future jobs, and what traits of a manager raise a red flag for me.  And in the future I'm going to make sure I do myself the favor of responding to them with proactive steps to minimize the severity of the blows they can deal to me.

WHAT WOULD I DO DIFFERENTLY

In this series of posts, I talked about situations I found myself in.  If I were faced with those or similar again, the first mundane steps I would take are as follows:

• Keep my resume updated at all times.
• At the first sign of any instability, start regularly looking for and applying to job opportunities.  Brush up on interview skills and common interview topics.
• Research the local job market and send notes to all my recruiters that I'm exploring opportunities (again, at the first signs of instability).

Those are just a start, in my opinion.  They can also apply to any contractor getting to within a few months of the end of their contract term.  And, dear readers, if any of you have suggestions for additions to this list, I would definitely be willing to hear it!

On the magical side of things, there other steps I would take or do differently as well:

1. At the first sign of instability, I would enchant a master copy of my resume by the powers of Jupiter.
2. Also at the first sign of instability, I would perform macro enchantments with the powers of Jupiter, Sol, and Saturn.  Jupiter would be for abundance, Sol for guidance and influence, and Saturn for stability.
3. Any cover letters I send would be enchanted by the powers of Venus.
4. I would create some kind of talisman for job finding, such as a mojo hand.
5. Perform some kind of mass micro enchantment, such as shoaling or a large candle working.

And that is in addition to the workings I described in these posts, which includes:

• Uncrossing one's financial or job situation.
• Setting lights targeting aspects of the process of interviewing or onboarding.
• Deploying field magic such as influencing oils on your hands prior to an interview, and dressing key locations around your workplace with success and influencing products.
• Success workings to support one's efforts on the job.

And that, dear readers, concludes my report on The Job Workings.  I learned a lot from this, and I hope you do too.