The Chocolate World Job
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My mental struggles have once again cost me the chance at a job. It likely would not have been a great job, but it would have provided us with some much-needed additional income.
Exhausting all job possibilities in the Lebanon, Pennsylvania area, I expanded my search to Hershey, including Hersheypark. The Hershey area has an abundance of retail, so much more than Lebanon, so I had hoped that I could find a manager job somewhere. I cannot say I want to be a corporate retail manager again, but we need to pay bills and I would like to prepare to take the next steps with my own business, which requires money.
I had no intention of finding a job with Hersheypark but looked at the listings for The Hershey Company for the added features of Zoo America and Chocolate World. Chocolate World was in need of an area supervisor, starting at $17 an hour, based on experience. I debated it for a day and considered the idea of someday moving to Hershey, a much nicer area than all of Lebanon County. We had talked about this idea before, but Hershey is an expensive place, and we seem to be stuck in Lebanon. I briefly looked at housing costs and was not happy with the results. Despite this discovery, I applied anyway, a little excited about the idea to work in a place filled with candy and toys.
A woman from human resources called me a couple of days later to ask me a few questions and set up an interview. She was an impolite woman who reminded me of human resources at the bank where I briefly worked: old-fashioned, judgmental, and lacking in people skills. She asked to which position I applied, and I responded with “it was an area supervisor,” unable to remember the exact wording of the long job title. I apply to so many positions that it is nearly impossible to remember the exact job titles that go with which company. She said “we don’t have an area supervisor” with an attitude before asking if it was a retail position, as if I knew that they had other management openings within Chocolate World.
She then asked why I thought I was qualified for the position and I started to talk about my management experience. She rudely told me I needed to slow down, expecting me to know that she was typing what I was saying. As the brief conversation went on, I started to get a gut feeling about the job and the company. I am not the type to…
