This story has been beta by TheMischieviousPuppyDog.
Enjoy!
Jaune took a deep breath as he prepared himself what was to come. He had four interviews back to back, and only one job offer. He thought about it and had decided to conduct individual interviews instead of a group one.
Jaune was not a huge company with many employees, and conducting a group interview would be inappropriate. Plus, he wanted to get to know each interviewee personally before hiring them. Clementine, Ren, and Velvet had been a stroke of luck for him. However, he couldn't depend on Ren and Velvet forever. Ren was a Huntsmen-in-training and soon would need to work fewer days as the school year went on. Even if he wasn't participating in the Vytal Festival Tournament, he needed to help out Beacon prepare for it.
It was worst for Velvet, as she was a second-year, her team was planning to participate in the Vytal Festival Tournament. It wouldn't be long until Velvet would quit, though Jaune was expecting it. Velvet was a blessing, but Jaune didn't want to hold her back from Beacon and becoming a Huntress.
Back to the potential interviewees, he had set the appointments for the morning at 9, 10:30, noon, and 1:30. An hour for the interview, and thirty minutes to prepare for the next one.
After making sure his hair was combed, his clothes neatly organized, his face shaved, Jaune was ready.
The first one to come was the human male with had finished a high school education, wearing a dress shirt, tie, pants, and dress shoes. Overall, appropriate attire for an interview. Not only that, but he showed up to appointment right on time. Thus, Jaune began his basic set of questions.
"So… Oeuf Benedict, tell me about yourself."
"Well that wasn't bad," breathed Jaune as he dismissed the candidate, marking him down as a potential candidate. The Oeuf had been polite and courteous enough during the whole interview, but easily nervous. He had no experience in dealing with customers, and when given a scenario, stuttered his way through it. It was understandable as this was the guy's first job interview ever, so Jaune was willing to let it slide for now. He wasn't one to reject candidates for lack of experience, just if they were willing to learn. The only negative things about the boy were that he slightly gushed over Pyrrha Nikos, asking if she would swing on by soon, and asking how much he would be paid within the first few minutes of the interview. It showed to Jaune that the boy would most likely forget his position if a celebrity swung on in... not that he had any, except for Pyrrha apparently.
Jaune quickly took a swig of water that he had prepared before getting ready for the second interview of the day. Minutes later, the Faunus with panda ears swung on in five minutes early for the interview, wearing a conservative dress. Marking down as another potential candidate, Jaune offered her something to drink before starting the interview process once more. The Faunus quickly introduced herself as Bao Zhi.
This one went slightly better than the first candidate as she presented her resume. Bao had more experience with talking to other people than the first candidate and presented a strong front. Jaune noticed a tattoo on her wrist, but it wasn't anything that screamed outrageously. What was cause for concern was her education level. Though she had dropped out of college due to personal reasons that he didn't push to ask, she had at least an Associate's Degree in Dust Engineering and was licensed to work in a lab. So why wasn't she applying for those type of jobs? A few more questions later, and Jaune figured out that her applying to this job was a backup plan in case her other job interviews fell through. Jaune had a feeling the girl was prepared to be discriminated from her interview.
As luck would have it though, the girl's Scroll rang towards the end of their interview. Bao looked embarrassed, but Jaune merely smiled while gesturing to her that she should pick it up if it was important.
"Hello," asked the Bao with trepidation. Seconds later, her face split into a huge grin as the conversation went on. Jaune could feel the excitement that was building up in the Faunus's body and see it quite well too, based on her shaking.
"Thank you, thank you, thank you so much!" cried the Faunus into her Scroll, "I can start right away!"
Bao closed her Scroll, making a fist pump before remembering just where she was.
"Ehehe," she laughed nervously as she slowly turned to Jaune, "Umm...,"
"It's alright," smiled Jaune as he neatly organized her resume and other files into the folder, "I'm happy for you. Someone with your skill level shouldn't be working here full time as a front end worker. Don't worry, I won't say anything."
"Thank you very much for the opportunity for the interview, but I've been offered a better position," apologized the Faunus quickly, aware of how unprofessional she was being, "I'm so sorry that I wasted your time today!"
"As I said, don't worry about it," said Jaune, waving it off, "Congratulations on your... first choice in jobs?"
Bao nodded as she gathered her items, "Once again, I'm really sorry about this! I'll come back as a customer for sure, though! I'll spread the word of your clinic at my new workplace!"
"Much appreciated," chuckled Jaune, "Enjoy the rest of your day!"
The Faunus nodded and quickly left, her face still flushed red in embarrassment.
"Well, that was a thing," shrugged Jaune to himself as he took this time to grab a snack to eat, preparing for the next interviewee.
As he snacked on some chips, he reviewed over the next candidate's resume.
"Arvo Whitehollow," murmured Jaune as he flipped over his resume. The Faunus had listed a variety of skills on his resume that showed that he definitely had experience with customer interaction. Jaune remembered the glowing reviews about him when he called a few of the references. The only question he had was why the boy was looking for another job if everyone told him he did an excellent job?
"Something to ask Roman I guess," sighed Jaune, remembering how Roman somehow managed to run a background check on Clementine far faster than he could.
It was five minutes to noon before Arvo arrived, wearing appropriate attire for an interview. Jaune, however, noticed compared to the previous two, Arvo's clothes were a bit more frayed than the other two. Jaune pushed that thought aside as he shook Arvo's hand and sat him down.
"So, I see that you have a lot of references," began Jaune as he accepted the resume from Arvo, who had taken the initiative to print a copy out for Jaune. This alone put him a tick above the first candidate, who hadn't thought of printing one out for Jaune.
"All of them gave glowing reviews about you, but I have a small question," continued Jaune, "Why leave?"
"Err, well things happened," coughed Arvo, "First company went under, the second one cut down on staff, and the last job had new management that disagreed with my... skin condition."
Jaune caught on exactly what he meant by that last one. It meant that the new management had been prejudiced against Arvo for something he had no control over. The fact that the old management spoke highly of him had Jaune concluding that Arvo tried to work with the new management until he thought it wasn't worth it.
If it was one thing Jaune disliked, it was prejudice. Why would people dislike someone just based on their skin color, hair, race, etc? They were all sentient beings, weren't they? In the end, they were all just the same in the eyes of the Grimm.
"I see," noted Jaune, "Well, let me give you a quick tour of the office and the duties you would be responsible for."
Jaune took Arvo on a quick tour of the office, showing him around for a bit before heading back to the front. He asked a few more questions to Arvo before letting him know that he would let him know whether he had the job or not soon. Arvo graciously thanked him for the opportunity and left.
"Let's see, polite and humble, clear enunciation with a firm understanding," muttered Jaune as he made a few notes on Arvo's profile, "Never raised up the pay and vacations during the interview unless asked, so that's a plus. Didn't finish High School, but is currently finishing up his GED. Overall, he's a likely hire. We'll have to see the last one, though."
Jaune took a quick look at his Scroll to make sure he had the correct time. It was currently 1:45 P.M., and there was no sign of the next candidate. He checked the scroll once more to see if there were any messages from the last candidate, just to see there was none.
"Well, I guess she's not comi-"
Jaune's musing was interrupted when the door opened up. Jaune took a look and frowned at who had just entered. The last female candidate, or so he was assuming, wore a bright pink low cut dress that not only showed her bare shoulders but even the top part of her bra. It was also painfully obvious that the dress was two sizes too small. Jaune could see makeup caked over her face, distasteful jewelry on her ears and neck, and a hairstyle that screamed high maintenance parted down to the left side of her face with a bob cut, permed and frazzled.
'That's a lot of points off,' thought Jaune as he mentally docked off her score. Even if she was a college graduate, she shouldn't have come to an interview late and dressed like... this. Hopefully, this was just a woman who took the wrong turn.
"Kayen Millenial?" asked Jaune
"That's me," replied Kayen, chewing a piece of gum while doing so and dashing Jaune's hope.
'Oh, Oum I'm going to regret this,' thought Jaune before forcing a smile, "I hope you're fine today? The appointment was for 1:30, and you came a bit late. Is everything alright?"
"Yea, yea, I was a little late because I was waiting on my coffee order of an iced skinny hazelnut macchiato, sugar-free syrup, extra shot, light water. Like, is it that hard to make my order? And I also ate my lunch there, can't rush me on that."
'I lost her in her order,' blinked Jaune before shaking his head, 'And you weren't a 'little' late.'
Still, Jaune pushed forward, "I see. Well, let's get this interview started, shall we? Do you have a copy of your resume?"
"Like, shouldn't you have that?" scoffed Kayen, "So unprepared and unprofessional."
'I should just boot her out right now,' twitched Jaune, 'I already have one, if not two candidates on the list already.'
"Just asking, I have a copy here in my computer," sighed Jaune, "Let me print it out. Take a seat for now."
Kayen sat on the chair offered, crossing her legs immediately and began going through her Scroll.
"So... I see here that you graduated from college," started Jaune as he pulled the resume towards himself, "Though I don't see the name of the college here, nor your major. Could you tell me more about your degree, expand upon it?"
Jaune found himself being ignored as Kayen continued playing with her Scroll. Jaune had to clear his throat to get her attention.
"Oh, I took an online course at Haxact University at Mistral, getting a B.S. in management and fashion," replied Kayen.
"Do you have the diplomas?" asked Jaune.
Kayen fished out two diplomas and handed them to Jaune, who took a careful look at them. They certainly looked... real, but something screamed fake to him. Her behavior certainly didn't reflect her degree. He quickly took a photo of both degrees before returning them to Kayen.
"So, as for salary, I was thinking of a million Lien a year, with two weeks paid vacation days," said Kayen, "I'd say a month, but I'll be generous."
"That's not wh-" started Jaune, only for Kayen to cut him off.
"Oh, and when can I see Pyrrha Nikos? I can so offer her fashion advice for her next shoots. I mean, I only applied here because it's a step closer to a celebrity that I can-"
"Enough," snarled Jaune, getting really annoyed now, "I can see with these diplomas you would certainly qualify for a manager, but I'm not looking for one. You've been completely unprofessional this whole interview, and I am no longer looking to hire anyone. Goodbye and good day!"
Kayen looked frozen for a bit before snarling back, "You can't fire me! You're being misogynistic! Just because I'm a woman doesn't mean you can judge me like that! I gave you a reasonable salary offer and package!"
"You were never hired," said Jaune coolly, "This was a job interview, one you completely bombed. Also, your 'offer' is just ridiculous. Now leave!"
"I'll sue! I'll scream! I'll say you raped me!" screamed Kayen as she tore her dress down, "I'll have your business closed down! I-"
Clank
Kayen suddenly froze for a bit before sinking towards the ground.
"Geez, people these days," sighed Roman as he stepped over Kayen. "Always annoying in some way."
"Roman," Jaune breathed a sigh of relief before checking on Kayen, "Thanks for the help, but won't we get in trouble for this?"
"Nope, Neo's got this," shrugged Roman.
Jaune blinked as he looked down to the body of Kayen just to see it had disappeared. He looked around to see just where the body had gone, but found no sign of it at all.
"How-"
"She's very efficient," replied Roman as he picked up the diplomas that had spilled onto the floor, "Oooh, Haxact University."
"Is that a good university?" asked Jaune with a dubious tone.
"Yea, best in the online non-accredited online college," Roman said with a sarcastic tone, "It's a fake. Haxact University is one of the top diploma mills in Remnant. Lots of companies get fooled by it, but it's so easy to verify its authenticity. The university puts in bullshit classes and straight A grades in their transcripts to make it seem like the said student is the best of the best, but that alone should be sending alarm bells ringing."
"Then what about the transcripts you made for me?" glared Jaune.
"Oh please, yours was rejected by a case of bad luck," scoffed Roman, "You can't possibly compare my hard work to these mass production diplomas. I made your transcripts seem like you were one of the top students, but not the top students. You should've been a shoo-in through the first stage."
"Wait, first stage?" asked Jaune.
"Yea, you don't think Beacon and the other academies accepted students with just transcripts did you?" chuckled Roman, "There's a second stage where they eliminate all but forty applicants. I think Beacon has the tradition of chucking their applicants into the Emerald Forest full of Grimm."
'Suddenly, I'm somehow glad I didn't get accepted,' gulped Jaune. He had not known about that particular fact, and with his luck and skill at the time, could've died very easily. Especially without Aura.
"Plus, I made sure I left a 'proper' paper trail for you, unlike those idiots. Especially with this gig you got going. You're in the system if anyone tries to check for your credentials, and it'll be hard to disprove that you're a quack, especially with all this popularity you got going for you as well as skill," continued Roman.
"Well, that's good to hear," sighed Jaune, "But seriously, where's Kayen?"
"As I said, Neo has it handled," replied Roman as he put his arm around Jaune, "Come on, take a little break. You've had a stressful time during your day off, so just relax. Can't work well if you aren't relaxed."
"Yea, I suppose so," acknowledged Jaune, "I think I know whom I'm going to hire anyways. Just gotta do a quick background check on him."
"Leave that to me," said Roman, "I can get him through the system easily with my connections. Now go take a nap. You look bushed."
Meanwhile, Neo was glaring at the unconscious Kayen she had dragged away. How dare this... slut try to blackmail her favorite masseur! Jaune was too much fun to tease, and Neo did enjoy his company. She grinned as she began to mentally decide just what to do to Kayen.
"Heard you were planning something," said Miltia as she and Melanie appeared behind her, "Roman gave us the 411 already. Got any ideas, and can we join?"
Both Miltia and Melanie were also displeased with the fact that this woman had tried such a tactic on Jaune. They were not going to lose their favorite masseur to some entitled person who thought the world revolved around herself!
Neo pondered for a bit before giving a malicious smirk. Kayen wanted the attention all to her? Then they'll maliciously comply. Melanie and Miltia were able to decipher what she wanted from her facial expressions and grinned.
Jaune yawned as he woke up from his nap, feeling much more refreshed. Humming to himself, he decided to take a quick shower before heading to the kitchen. Jaune checked the clock to see it was already past 5 before wondering where Roman was. Checking the kitchen table, he found a note from Roman saying that he had business somewhere else and that he had already finished a background check on both male candidates, both of which were clean. He had decided to hire Arvo for the position and made the call while sending the other candidate the polite rejection letter.
Aryo was, of course, excited when he received the call, and immediately accepted it, being able to work the next day.
Jaune smiled as he began to pull food out from the refrigerator, getting ready to cook dinner. He also double-checked the order forms to make sure the supplies that he had ordered had been sent. Content with that done, he began to cook, cracking some eggs into a bowl. As he whisked the eggs, he turned on the television set. It was going to be another busy day tomorrow.
And done! Sorry it took me much longer than normal to post, but things happen.
Reminder, I have a pat reon, look up azndrgn making fanfic. Donators get perks!
Also a shout out and thanks to Avelvnor Anzano for the name suggestion of Arvo Whitehollow!