Whatever It Takes

Nearly every job I have applied for requires proficiency in PowerPoint and Excel. I never had to use either, beyond updating spread sheets my former boss used to put together.

Still, when I filled out job applications, I would say that I knew how to do these things. A friend said she could give me a crash course. Meanwhile, I’d bought the software and had begun teaching myself on my home computer.

But in this unemployment world of being proactive and doing whatever it takes to make yourself marketable, I knew it would be best to take  a class. The community college offered some, but they weren’t for another month or two, and they cost money.

Then an out-of-work friend told me about a learning lab where you can learn it free through the state. I called and made an appointment.

When I arrived at 5:30 one evening, I expected to get right to it — to be placed at a computer with a tutorial and someone nearby to answer questions. When I left two-and-a-half hours later, I had accomplished all of the following: filled out three forms and taken a test consisting of questions like this one: Ted looked for a book. After he found it, he went to the front desk to check it out. Ted is most likely at: A. bank; B. store, C. library or D. restaurant.

Three other women and I met with the staff person. One had been laid off from a manufacturing company; another was a former restaurant manager and waitress getting ready to start classes at the community college. I wasn’t sure of the third woman’s history.

There was a lot of down time as various papers were filled out, person by person. I got increasingly frustrated because even though I wasn’t making any right then, time is money and I just wanted to get started. It was one size fits all, and we were not.

Still, it was free, I reminded myself. Finally, we learned that the next time we came, there would be more tests to take. But after that, we would be turned loose at a computer.

Just before it was time to leave, a young woman arrived. She had been there earlier studying, then departed abruptly, leaving her open text and notebooks behind.

She looked like she’d been crying, and explained to the woman on duty that she had to leave in a hurry because her ex-husband was threatening to take her kids out of state and she had to go deal with that. She said she was sorry she didn’t explain before she left.

The lab was about to close, so she gathered her things. Apologized again to the woman in charge. And said as she left, “I’ll be back Monday.”

I decided then that I would, too. And the next time, I would be sure and bring my friend patience.