Would you hire digits like these?

At 8:00 a.m. on Wednesday, June 26, I was driving downtown for a job interview at 8:30 a.m. My massive hurry led me to forego normal dental care rituals and opt for the alternative minty gum solution, but I felt confident that I would be able to impress the panel (albeit at a safe distance).

My hands firmly on the wheel in front of me, I could finally see the eyesore they presented. I’m the kind of person that does her nails maybe once a month and allows the polish to chip away on its own. Unfortunately, this means that 75% of the month, my nails are an atrocity – maybe not the best when convincing someone to hire you.

Would YOU hire digits like these?

I was to be interviewed for Winnipeg’s Greatest Summer Job at Red River College’s student residence, a job I wanted badly (even the name of the gig is enticing – imagine it on a resume!). But my nails were unseemly. Surely, the interviewers would see through my cracked veneer of a young professional when they saw my nails looking like that.

I crossed my fingers, parked with five minutes to spare, and ducked into Berns and Black Salon in hopes of convincing the staff to let me borrow some polish remover. I was sorely disappointed to learn that they are not open that early, so I hung my head (à la Charlie Brown) and sulked away.

I slumped next door to Parlour Coffee, hoping irrationally that baristas stock nail polish remover. Standing in line, I realized that I could see the salon interior… and in fact, I could walk over… and, yup!

With caution, I approached Mallory, the manager. The intrusion into her space was not unwelcome, and she was gracious enough to give me some remover and some swabs.

I may be exaggerating when I say the manager at this salon got me this job, but it’s a fun idea, anyhow.

Anyhow!

I suppose I should introduce myself to you. My name is Kayla, and I got this really cool job where I live in residence at Red River College in Winnipeg’s Exchange District and blog about all my experiences.

I did not get this job because I had fabulous-looking nails, but rather because I am interested in online communications. When YouTube was still a newfangled thing to most people, I was voraciously consuming video blog after video blog in an effort to connect with others around the world. I started making YouTube content, which fed my interest in filmmaking. One Film Studies degree later (from the University of Manitoba), I find myself making videos professionally (often for web). My freelance work in video production has made me very self-motivated and deadline-driven, which are precisely the qualities that RRC was looking for.

My wide variety of interests tends to get me involved in a lot of communities: from hip hop dancers, to board game enthusiasts, to amateur theatre troupes, and beyond. I hope that my time spent living in downtown Winnipeg will only further expand and enrich my connections to the diverse population of this fine city.

And you get to read all about it here, on this blog! Please comment on any of these posts, let me know about any events or recommended places to go or people to meet. And if you know the secret to life, the universe, and everything, well gosh darn it, I would love to chat about it!