Phone Conversations

I had two phone conversations related to my apprenticeship search today. The first was unexpected, and the second was one that I initiated by leaving a phone message a few days ago.

During the late morning, I got a call from a farm in Vermont that I had previously emailed. The farmer had said at the time that he was done making hiring decisions, and that it was probably too late for this year. He said that he would hang onto my email just in case something came up. Something apparently did come up, so the farmer called me to talk to me.

He runs a horse-powered farm that includes a bakery, grain fields, and various livestock, and his farm sounds quite ideal. I was disappointed, however, when he made it clear that he would really prefer someone with horse experience, mostly because he wanted to be sure that the prospective intern would be comfortable with horses, and able to form a good working relationship. I got the sense that it was not as much that he was concerned about the intern's knowledge of harness and hitching, but more that he was worried about his/her inherent aptitude for horse work. He believed that some people are just not cut out for the work, and that a person (i.e., me) really cannot know if they are right for working with the animals without experiencing it. He still said that I should send my resume via email, so I did. I am hoping for the best, because I tried to make it clear that I am very dedicated to working with horses, and that I understand all of the challenges that I will face. I hope that he got that sense of passion from our conversation, but I am not sure. In fact, I am quite doubtful.

In the evening I got a call from one of the farms in Maine with which I had left a message. The woman who talked to me was very friendly and easy to talk to, and she made it clear that I did not have to have horse experience to work on her farm. She, too, mentioned that some people don't enjoy working with horses, but she did not seem to have the same attitude that some people simply cannot do it well. I really appreciated that, and I hope that I made a good impression. However, she did say that the farm was reviewing the applications of many applicants, and she said that she would prefer it if the intern could visit the farm before taking a position (which I obviously cannot reasonably do, as I live over a thousand miles away).

Though I have become a better "phone-talker" over the last few years, talking on the phone always makes me feel a bit nervous, as I have a hard time telling what kind of impression my words are making on the person on the other end. It is especially difficult if I am trying to make a very good impression in hopes of getting a job. I feel drained after all of these phone conversations. I am always left doubting whether I did a good job of making my case effectively. Additionally, the first phone conversation left me feeling very worried about the thought that I might not be a "horse person," and the concept that I might not know until I do it. I certainly hope and feel that I can be a very good horse person, but the Vermont farmer jolted me a bit with his lecture.

I have to keep up my morale. At least I have a good chance of being hired by the living history farm, if that is all that comes my way. And perhaps I made a better impression than I realized.