Friday, January 15, 2010

First Day

So, this is the first day of this blog.


For those of you out there who at the moment are unemployed, I know exactly what you are going through. Last September the place where I was working closed it's doors. We all saw it coming, just kept hoping that it would change. It didn't.


So I have been "job hunting" since then. I am running into the problem of everyone applying for employment for which they are not qualified. This makes it difficult for the employer who then has to wade through all of the apps., weed them out, and cut down to a decent size number. Hopefully, you are one of them. So many are now only accepting applications on line, which means that there is no chance for a spontaneous interview, or a good first impression with the receptionist. We all know from previous experience that when that receptionist hands over the application, the hiring manager will ask what their perception of this person was.


I recently ran across an on line application that asked for my social security number. This is an illegal question, the same with your birthdate. These can only be asked after you have been hired. The reason for this is identity theft and age discrimination. Both of which are also illegal.

Same thing when they ask for the year that you graduated from high school.


Since most of us have graduated at the age of 18 it is very easy to figure out how old you are from this information. Once again, age discrimination. So to this company, which is corporate owned, I will be going directly to the establishment and filling out a paper application. I may find an e-mail address and send a resume that way also. I then can explain that I do not give out the above information until hired.


No matter what, it is hard going out there. Nobody wants to go to work and dread going everyday. For if we can't love what we do, we don't become better people, we just become less than what we should be.

1 comment:

  1. Hang in there Pat! I know exactly what you are going through. I had to completely change my career path in order to find work and took a nice pay cut because of it. I guess we just have to learn to better prepare in the future..

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