Sorry it's been a while. Here's the latest. We're in Miami, hence the last post, and I've been spending most of my days trying to find a full-time job. I resorted to signing up with a staffing firm—one that is contracted by various companies in the local area that are trying to find new hires. At first, I was really psyched when they called me with a job op. I would be contracted to work with this great toy company in the area. I jumped at the opportunity to design really fun and edgy packaging for toys. The toy company didn't let me down either. Last Monday was my first day and it truly was amazing! They are one of the leading manufacturers of educational toys—plastic dinosaurs and zoo animals, play toys, puzzles, posters…you name it. I was brought onboard to help them through the week with mainly production work. When the week was up, they asked me to come back the following (this week). Then the creative director asked if I was interested in full-time. I was thrilled! The idea of working in such a fun and creative environment is ideal as a designer. So here's the part were it gets iffy.
Along the way, I found out that because the toy company hired the staffing firm to find them a designer, they would be legally obligated to pay the staffing firm 10% of my annual salary if they were to hire me. A sorta finders fee, if you will. 10%! Whoa! In the end, the toy company decided they would need to find someone else to hire full-time, as it was obvious they could not dish out the dough. So the staffing company has turned out to be not all that great. The chances of finding a full-time job through them is near impossible. I guess one could potentially just accept contracted work through the firm, but I'm looking for a full package—compensation, benefits, 401K… the whole shebang. We'll see what happens. I've got two other interviews to look forward to though. One with Verizon, who might want me to head their Hollywood, Florida office, and the other with an advertising company in Miami Beach. I'm already doing it, eh? Referring to random cities in Florida, expecting you to know exactly where they are or something. Sorry. I'll keep you tuned in to the progress.
On another note, I'm happy to report that Sahba is loooving his residency in Family Practice Medicine! The hospital is fabulous! The staff are all friendly and helpful. And the field itself has proven to be more versatile than anesthesia. Already Sahba and Dan are planning and perfecting all kinds of things to offer in the their private practice (they both switched into family medicine from other fields and are in the same residency program). Adorable!
