Resume of Career Catastrophes

1099 = The Bane of My Existence

2012-01-25T23:57:00.002-06:00

I have to get the 1099s out the door by the 31st of January. I started this project way later than I should have. And discovered today that the project will take 3 days longer than I have. No, we can't call a temp to help. I will have to put in some extra long hours and suck it up because I thought I had a file and it turns out that the file is corrupted and is 2 days worth of heavy duty work to recreate. I am less than happy.

So, tomorrow I will get done what I can get done. Friday I have a class all day (Ironically, the class is on Project Management, which I apparently needed to take a couple of Fridays ago to manage the project that is now the monkey on my back!).

I do not like "year end" stuff. And I should have known better about the 1099 project. I should have known to start it weeks ago. But I had other things that were a priority then.

Best get to bed so I can tackle the project tomorrow with a (relatively) clear head.

Money to Burn

2012-01-19T21:41:00.002-06:00

I am not a religious person. I am vaguely spiritual. This pretty much never comes up in the workplace but when I work from home I tend to do so in the glow of a candle. Oh, I have electricity, but I tend to light the candle when I work from home and burn a stick of incense and they are both "Money Drawing" candles which I stop and think about/meditate on now and then as I work both because there are a number of people on my mental list that I pray for and the candle is a really visual reminder for me to do that and the other is to stop and analyze if what I am doing is something that has the potential to bring in some money.

This process doesn't replace the need to have a "day job" where I work for someone else, but all of the work I do at home that is actually "work" (as opposed to time spent on the internet for leisure, housework, etc.) is something I hope I can eventually do to replace the necessity of working for someone else.

I am going to try to get to bed early tonight. I have had a series of late nights lately and have another planned for tomorrow and don't want to be too tired to enjoy it.

Also, when I was going out tonight, a young man (preteen) asked if he could carry my trash out for a dollar. I didn't have a dollar but I had a $5 bill and I have been doing some cleaning so gave him a couple of heavy bags to carry. And he did the job, got his money and seemed happy. Sortve nice to see a young person with some ambition. And I realize that saying that makes me sound about 100 years old.

So, I guess I do have a bit of faith, burning money candles and all. If nothing else, they assist me in remembering all of the people that I say a little prayer for.

Order your Chaos

2012-01-14T22:30:00.002-06:00

I've always been a very organized person at the office. This penchant for "a place for everything and everything in its place" falls apart at home, though. I TRY to keep things neat, organized and under control at home but it always ends up falling apart and I find myself scrambling to find things, keep things in order and have actual work surfaces that are not piled high with "stuff".

My current desk at the office is far less than optimal. I often have multiple projects at any given time and I have things stashed here and there because there just is not enough room on my desk to keep everything "in progress" out and not get into a stack on a stack situation. I have to have room to use my computer and my adding machine (don't judge me, I know there is a calculator on the computer but it doesn't run a tape and sometimes I need to attach the tape to show Bosslady my reason for coming up with a number that I entered somewhere).

I am trying to keep my home office from falling into disarray, as well. I have multiple projects and need more "real estate" but it just isn't practical in the space I have available. Sometimes I end up cleaning things off the desk that I need and then can't find them when I really need them. Case in point, this morning I needed to pay the utility bill. It is one of three bills I pay with a check every month (all of them related to my apartment because they refuse to get with the program and get online!) and the checkbook was not in its place. Fortunately, I did recall a conversation with myself when I moved it which helped me to be able to find it quite quickly, but it would have been nice if I had just put it back where it was supposed to be. Sometimes I am my own worst enemy.

I am working on a big project. I am hoping that the end result is that I am MUCH more organized. Wish me luck!

Same Shit, Different Year

2012-01-05T22:51:00.003-06:00

Early last February, I contacted a company that my company buys a product from regarding some bills that we had been charged sales tax on and we are tax exempt so should not have been charged tax.

In April, I was FINALLY contacted by Person A at Very Big Corporate Entity (VBCE) who said "just short-pay the next invoice the amount of the taxes that you should not have been charged".

In May, we got an invoice and I short-paid that invoice per the instructions of Person A.

In June, I got an email from Person B at VBCE saying "Hey! You are past due! You did not pay your invoice in full!" I responded that Person A had instructed me to do so.

In August, I got a fax from Person C at VBCE saying "I'm in the collections division and you are way past due and now you have 2 more invoices.. PAY UP DEADBEATS" to which I responded that Person A at VBCE had told me to do so and that I had informed Person B of that in June. I got a response that indicated that both Person A and Person B no longer worked for VBCE and why was I short-paying invoices? I explained that we were tax exempt. VBCE asked for a copy of our Tax Exempt Certificate, which I faxed.

In September, I got a fax requesting our Tax Exempt Certificate from Person D. 2 days later I go the same request, via email, from Person E. I faxed and emailed copies of the Tax Exempt Certificate to both parties.

In October, I got a harshly worded SECOND REQUEST letter from Person D stating that they still did not have our Tax Exempt Certificate on file. Now, I want to note here that VBCE is about 1500 miles from my office, so I cannot just drive over there. I re-send the Tax Exempt Certificate to Person D. A week later I get yet another invoice where we are being charged sales tax. I contact Person D only to be told that they no longer work for VBCE. I contact Person E and find out it is his last day with VBCE and he can't really help me, but he gives me the contact email for Person F who is taking over his files. I email Person F about the new invoice and that we are not supposed to be charged sales tax and get a request for a copy of our Tax Exempt Certificate, which I sent to Person F. Person F responds that she will get back to me. A week goes by and I've heard nothing from Person F. Then I get an email (at 7AM) requesting our Tax Exempt Certificate. I respond, with Certificate attached at 8:30AM that very same day and get an autoresponse that this is Person F's last day with the company.

At this point I admit I sortve snapped. I fired off an email asking why this was taking months to resolve and I'd sent multiple copies of our Tax Exempt Certificate and had corresponded with now SEVEN different people and pleaded with Person F to fix things. Person F did respond saying she couldn't fix it, I needed to contact Person G.

I contacted Person G who... wait for it... REQUESTED A COPY OF OUR TAX EXEMPT CERTIFICATE. I enumerated to her each person that I had sent it to already but also attached it to the email I sent. (There are apparently no working phones at VBCE because I have BEGGED for a phone number to be able to speak with someone and every single request has been summarily IGNORED).

Person G contacts me at the beginning of November and says that she got a memo from Person H saying that they can't enter our tax exempt status into their system because the Tax Exempt Certificate says "Small Corp, Inc" and they have us in their system as "Small Corp" and since it isn't an exact match, the certificate is meaningless to them.

And so, I get a valid certificate which has "Small Corp" on it and send it off to Person G and Person H. That was 22 November 2011.

This morning I got an email from Person I at VBCE. Person I states that they have the email thread from Person G (who is no longer with VBCE) and did I ever send Person H the Tax Exempt Certificate and, by the way, we have an outstanding balance that needs to be resolved immediately. I refer Person I to the very email thread that she sent to me, specifically the 22 November correspondence in which I state "I have sent a copy of the Tax Exempt Certificate from "Small Corp" to yourself (Person G) and to (Person H)".

I then send Person I a copy of the Tax Exempt Certifcate and request that she acknowledge receipt of the Certificate. Her response? "I will. Send. A email to Person H. And ask whether this was received." (Punctuated in the quotes as it was in her email).

I respond that I would like the receipt of the certificate acknowledged. Response (3 hours later?) "I told you I'd asked Person H. She's out of the office until next week. Harrassing me will not get this resolved overnight. You are very unprofessional and it's YOUR fault that it's taken so long for this to be resolved".

Oh no she didn't....

Yes, she did. She has blamed a failure of THEIR staff on me. I have complied with every single request that they've made of me and somehow this is MY fault? It's my fault that 7 people before her who were sent the certificate by fax, email and US Postal Mail have not received it? It was my fault that it took them from February to November to see that "Oh, this corporation name does not match what we have in our system" even though they've been sending us invoices and we've been paying them? UNBELIEVABLE.

I responded that I have no hope of this being resolved overnight or, quite frankly of it being resolved at all given the history of this whole matter. I told her I did not need a response from her, I will deal with Person H when they come back to the office next week.

Meanwhile, I will begin searching for another source of the product we get from VBCE. Because a year to handle a simple issue is 11 and a half months too long.

New Year, New Resolve

2012-01-02T15:09:00.002-06:00

So, I didn't update much in 2011. I attribute this to having worked all year (yay!) and therefore I did not have large blocks of time in which to blog nor did I have too many catastrophes to blog about. This is both good and bad. Good that I didn't have catastrophes, bad that it caused me to neglect posting to my blog.

So, my resolution for this year is to get a post in at least once a week. I also want to do more connecting with other bloggers and get to reading more blogs. To that end, I will try to visit the blog of anyone who comments on my blog as, really, that is the polite thing to do and I need to be much better about doing it.

I hope that everyone had a Happy and Safe New Year celebration. Are we all ready to get to work now? While I would like a few more days off, I am ready to get back to work, too.

Wish me luck on avoiding career catastrophes for another year! See you soon!

Sunday Thoughts...

2011-12-11T19:10:00.002-06:00

For those who were curious, Thanksgiving ended up being just fine. A tich awkward, but fine.

I have already signed up for some seminars for 2012. I have one per month so far. I figure that continuing education makes me more marketable and while I do not anticipate NEEDING to be marketable, the reality is that you should always be on your toes and ready to give your elevator speech. Still, I like it where I am and I would like to stay with a job for 3-5 years before I even think about moving on again. Of course, the clock is ticking as far as being an "older" employee and I know that my age will work against me more and more as the years pass. So, I am also hoping that some of the seminars I am taking will help me be a more marketable freelancer if it comes to that.

On the down side, I can pretty much rest assured that there will be no holiday bonus this year and that the 1st quarter of 2012 will be as stressful as the last quarter of 2011 is proving to be.

Still, I like what I do and I am still learning new things at work, so I can't complain!

Unexpected Holiday Dinner

2011-11-24T12:47:00.002-06:00

You might not think that a holiday dinner has anything to do with the workplace. And in most cases, you would be correct, which is why the two of those things converging for me this year makes my Thanksgiving plans a bit surreal.

I was at work yesterday, entering deposits. The phone rang and it was the owner's wife. Not unusual, she calls sometimes. But today she didn't want to talk to him. She had called for me. She was calling to invite me to Thanksgiving dinner. At their house. I think I was too surprised to say much more than "ok"... as she rattled off directions to their home.

After I hung up the phone, I sat for a minute reflecting on what had just happened. In a minute's time I had gone from sitting home and probably having Chex Mix for my grand Thanksgiving Feast to being invited to the very posh home of one of the owners of the company I work for. I quickly realized that there was no way I could get a manicure or liposuction done on Thanksgiving and the panic set in. And although I had thought to ask what I could bring (and was told "nothing") I also realized that to go without a hostess gift would surely be a fatal faux pas.

Now, I was not born in a barn and am far from uncultured. I spent three years at boarding school with the sons and daughters of some of the world's elite families. But the last couple of decades of my life I've pretty much lived in urban settings that are, ummm, well let's just say "less than posh".

As tempting as it was to do something like bring a dessert, I figured that the other attendees of this meal are all going to be of the "you can never be too rich or too thin" mindset. I can't afford a $ 70 bottle of wine and have no idea if they are red wine or white wine drinkers. And I almost think bringing the wrong wine is as bad as not bringing a gift at all. I am sure that WHATEVER I bring, it will be likely stowed in the back of a cabinet somewhere or brought out to be served to a business associate that Mrs. Owner does not particularly care for.

Don't get me wrong, I LIKE Mr. Owner and I've only met Mrs. Owner a couple of times. Enough to know that I respect and admire her and that she and I are NOT in the same league from a socio-economic point of view and I am a little (ok, a LOT) intimidated by her.

Still, I will go to dinner and hope that I don't do anything stupid. And then I will come home and breathe a huge sigh of relief. And probably have a good, stiff drink.

Hope everyone who celebrates has a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Anniversary

2011-11-05T17:25:00.002-05:00

Nov. 1 was my one year anniversary where I work. Technically, I started as "just a temp" and my REAL anniversary is December 27th, but this way I get to celebrate twice, which is pretty awesome!

I still like the job and am still very happy to be working there. I'm still learning things, too. I figure that's a positive because it indicates that I am willing to keep my mind and options open.

One of my co-workers brought me a rose for my anniversary. I love getting flowers and almost never get them, so that was really cool.

This is a busy weekend. I'm not accomplishing everything I had hoped, but the weekend isn't over yet. Speaking of which, I should get back to work!

Hang it up, Telemarketers!

2011-10-25T22:16:00.002-05:00

I have to confess that in my younger days, I did work as a telemarketer very briefly. In spite of having a good phone voice, I wasn't very good at getting people to buy things that they didn't want to buy and so my career as a telemarketer was very short-lived. Even though I got paid per time I was able to finish my whole script, I was never pushy if someone said they weren't interested (probably part of the reason why I didn't last long in the job).

Where I work now, the telemarketers are relentless. Sometimes they will call EVERY DAY for a month at time and my boss doesn't want to talk to them so it's my job to screen them out and for the most part that's pretty easy because they either mispronounce his name or use the long form of his name when he uses the diminutive with anyone who knows him. But these folks can be VERY rude and I've had them cuss at me and really, if you want my boss to buy something from you and you cuss at me, it isn't going to happen. I don't care if you have a Platinum Deluxe Ball Buffer Pro that you're selling, if you cuss at me when I try to screen your call, your balls are going to be in the wringer, buddy.

The other thing that happens time and time again is that we get people who call for boss #1, make their pitch, get rejected, hang up and then seconds later, they call for boss # 2 and get rejected, hang up and then they want to talk to Office Manager... and yes, rejection AGAIN. One company has called twice a day each day this week and I try to be polite when they do this but eventually I get very firm with them, even when they don't want to hear it.

I can't believe that telemarketers actually sell enough to make their continued existence worthwhile, but apparently they do or I wouldn't have to put up with them calling the office every day. Some days I feel like answering the phone and saying "if you are selling something, we don't want it, please state your message at the tone and A GOOD DAY TO YOU!"

October already?

2011-10-13T21:42:00.002-05:00

I can hardly believe that it is October already and that as of November 1, I will have a whole year in at my present job. I am still learning new things all the time and have got some tasks down really well, still working on completely mastering others. Given that this is an entirely new industry for me and focuses much more on skills that had been a smaller part of previous jobs, I think I'm doing pretty well.

I feel pretty fortunate to even have a job and even more fortunate to have a job I like. Sure, there are some days it gets frustrating but overall, I do enjoy my job. It's much harder for many people that I know to find work that they can even tolerate, let alone like.

Lots of big changes on the homefront lately, too. By and large, it's been pretty positive for me. I am managing to get things done that need to be done. On the down side, finances are tighter and I have a bigger workload now. Speaking of which, I need to get some dishes done.

Fuzzy Focus

2011-09-22T21:42:00.002-05:00

I've had a hard time focusing lately. I feel like I am being pulled in multiple directions and I'm just not sure how to get on track. There is so much going on in my life.... so much going on in my head. I just want (need) things to calm down.

I have a contract to negotiate soon. It's not related to my day job and it's something I do annually but I get really worked up about having to do it every year. I am just hoping that the negotiation goes smoothly, that I'm not going to have to make too many compromises and that I can just get it done and get on with my life.

I am also thinking that between now and the end of the year, I need to get myself a makeover (a new look and a new outlook) and maybe make some decisions about what I want to be when I grow up. I still like my job, but I don't feel invaluable and feel like it is my job to make myself invaluable. I have been taking in some seminars/classes to expand my skills & knowledge but I just feel like there is something else I need to/should be doing with my life.

I am also thinking of writing some bits here that may eventually get put together into a book. But I probably won't get to that until 2012, there are just too many other things going on.

No More Work Nemesis!

2011-08-28T16:11:00.002-05:00

My work nemesis, Mr. Know-It-All, has left the company. I'm not sure when or if there will be a replacement hired. I wish I could say some magical "moment" happened before he left and that we came to some sort of understanding... that he wasn't really a blowhard and I am not the ditzy moron he believes me to be. Alas, no such understanding was reached and I doubt if our paths will cross again. Sayonara, Work Nemesis.

However, things have been hopping at work lately. There is a lot going on and the coming week will probably be quite a challenge. We have two people going on vacation and I am slated to take a class on Wednesday. I am looking forward to the class but know it will put extra strain on the bosslady and that's never a good thing. Tomorrow I will have to finish up some of the things I started on Friday and then commence the research I was told to do. It'll be a busy day tomorrow. Tuesday is usually the heaviest mail day. Wednesday I have class. Thursday I'll be making up for not working on Wednesday and Friday is check-writing day, which is always pretty busy. Then we're heading into Labor Day Weekend, which will mean three days off!

Still looking for ways to streamline things at work. There should be a "flow" to things by now and it just isn't quite there yet. So, for the next couple of weeks, that'll be my focus. Trying to get my shit together in a lot of areas of my life right now, might as well add work to the fray, right?

Illogical Logic Puzzle

2011-08-11T21:17:00.002-05:00

This entry isn't about me or my work situation. It's about something a friend told me about.

Company R employs 4 transport workers. 2 of them have a special license which allows them to transport things that the other two cannot legally transport. ALL people with the special license, regardless of where they work in the nation have a cap on the number of hours per day that they may work. THIS IS FEDERALLY MANDATED.

Worker K is one of the special license people. K drove Route A and routinely finished within an 8 hour work day.

Worker C is the other special license person. He took over Route A and routinely finishes in 10 hours.

This job requires that each team member be on call for one week per month. The Route A driver used to be excluded from this requirement due to having a cap on the number of hours per day that special license people are allowed, by law, to work. This recently changed and now ALL workers are required to be on call for one week per month.

Worker K is the back-up for Worker C on on-call weeks (however, oddly, Worker C is not made to be Worker K's on-call backup). This means, the way the rotation is currently set up that Worker K is essentially on-call TWO weeks per month because Worker C regularly uses up all of his allotted work hours on "regular" calls, thereby forcing Worker K to cover his "on-call" calls.

Company R has decided that Worker C is "padding" his hours to get out of having to ever do "on-call" calls. This is likely true as it was established by Worker K that Route A could be completed in an 8 hour time frame and it takes Worker C 10 hours to complete that very same route... or, at least, it takes 10 hours on the weeks he is on-call.

Company R has decided that since it NEEDS to have 4 people in the on-call rotation and that Worker C is basically shirking his duty that both K and C need to be fired so they can hire people who will work on-call reliably.

But, the important thing to note here is that FEDERAL LAW mandates the cap on the hours special license people can work... so unless they hire people with the special license to work who are oblivious to the work hour cap, Company R will repeatedly be in violation of FEDERAL LAW by having their special license people work over the Federally Mandated hour cap.

It would SEEM that the LOGICAL answer is to hire someone whose sole duty is to take the "after hours" calls. Some weeks this would amount to a full-time position, other weeks it would not. Company R would likely not suffer a financial loss doing so, in fact, it would save them money by having to only pay REGULAR wages, not overtime wages.

Oh wait... THAT would MAKE SENSE and therefore, would NEVER happen. And I'm sure that the Men in Black would spirit away anyone crazy enough to propose it. Ahhh, bureaucracy!

Productivity...sortve

2011-06-11T13:25:00.002-05:00

This last week the Boss was out of the office. I got tons of work done. Unfortunately, the work I got done was 98% things that were things that the Boss usually takes care of, so I am another week behind. Which is bad enough but then there's the fact that the week before I was sick for two days so I am now about a week and a half behind. I am thinking that over the next couple of weeks, there may be some long days so I can catch up on things.

Yesterday, I was on track to get things done except that we have someone working on a special project and we could not get the work station that was set up for her to do the project to work the way that it was supposed to work and so she had to sit at my workstation. That made me a little miffed. Then the other Boss was trying to get the pen mouse working and couldn't so I futzed around with that for a while and couldn't get the damned thing to do what I wanted it to do which means I will be working on THAT next week (at the request of the Boss).

Not much else going on. The only other thing I could write about is the really, really strange restroom habits of some of the other women in the building I work in and I am pretty sure noone really wants to read that. But it's bizarre stuff, folks.

Have a wonderful weekend!

Project From Hell

2011-04-19T22:24:00.002-05:00

So, Mr. Know-It-All handed me a project last week and it involves breaking MONTHLY data for the LAST THIRTY YEARS down into daily data. Why they can't just use the MONTHLY data is beyond me. So, I've been working on this project. Meanwhile, I have stuff I *NEED* to get done that isn't getting done and there is no light at the end of the tunnel with this project. Well, I suppose the light at the end of the tunnel is that it needs to be done by the end of tomorrow and I've got 7 of 30 years done so far.

It's tedious. It involves calculations. It CANNOT be automated. And it's making me LONG to do tasks that are really not my favorite things to do because at least I wouldn't be doing this TEDIOUS project.

I haven't had the performance review yet and you KNOW that I am not griping about that. I'll be perfectly happy if it NEVER happens.

Long weekend this weekend (I get Friday off) so I am hoping to be able to get some things done around the house. I need to get to the Post Office for sure. And need to contact the landlord again because non-working appliances are a pain in the posterior. And really, three weeks is a LONG time to be without one of your major appliances. (Fortunately, it's the one I am most able to devise a work-around for).

Tomorrow, I have things I must get done. Other than the Project from Hell. Wish me luck!

In which I try to talk myself out of a panic...

2011-04-07T20:51:00.002-05:00

I've never been particularly fond of performance reviews. I'll admit that even though I know I shouldn't, I take most criticism very personally and because I feel that my work is an extension of myself, it's hard for me to separate criticism of my work from criticism of me as a person. It's been two weeks since the 90 day probation period was up at work and I FINALLY mentioned it today and heard the words I'd been dreading "well, then... I guess it's time to sit down and have a review".

Oh crap....ohcrapohcrapohcrap! The panic has set in... I find myself reviewing everything I've done, wondering if I've done something wrong or bad or not right. I kick myself for saying anything. I worry that they're going to tell me that they really don't like me. I worry that the enjoyment of this job has just been me deluding myself. I worry that they don't think I am as competent as I believe myself to be. Basically, my mind is throwing at me every bit of criticism I've ever gotten in past reviews and it has my stomach in knots.

But then.... they let me sign up for a seminar today. That they're paying for. And it's in June. So, maybe they're not going to tell me I suck and should be scrubbing toilets with my toothbrush in the bus station bathroom.

If I were reviewing myself, I guess I'd cite that I can be unfocused sometimes. That maybe I should work harder on my accounting skills. That maybe I should try harder to solve problems myself. I'd probably pick on the fact that I can be chatty (which is funny, because I had a boss who chided me for not being friendly/chatty enough). Ok, so... what would I tell me I'm doing well? I'm, ummm, I'm tactful even when sometimes I don't want to be. I make good coffee. My desk is neat. Yeah, you see the problem there? Way too many negatives, way too lame positives. Which is why the panic comes washing over me.

So... I guess I get to sit and stew about this for a while. Maybe the boss will forget (I hope). Maybe I can work on my weaknesses and make improvement so by the time she remembers, I won't be such a hot mess.

Had to happen some time...

2011-02-28T21:20:00.002-06:00

So, I had a lousy day at work today. Which, after about 4 months, isn't too bad. I mean, it usually takes under 3 weeks for the shit to hit the fan in some way, so I did pretty well this time. It wasn't something awful, I just did something stupid and got called on the carpet about it. I went to lunch, sat in the car and cried, listened to some loud music, ate a chili cheese dog (with mustard and onions) and then went back to work. The rest of the afternoon was frustrating because nothing worked the way I needed it to and, well, altogether, I am just going to chalk the whole thing up to " a case of the Mondays" and hope that tomorrow will be better.

It's frustrating because there was something that REALLY needed to get done last week and it's not even really started. I keep getting handed new "hot" tasks to do and I can't get the regular stuff that I am supposed to get done completed. And the bosslady is swamped with doing taxes and stuff so she doesn't have the time to help and there is the whole issue of my being there supposed to be HELP, not putting things back on the bosslady.

And if I didn't have a shitstorm of stuff going on in my personal life, I'd just work on stuff at home. And I suppose you could call "bullshit" on that because here I am blogging but after the day that I had today, I would be ineffective, at best, as far as getting anything done this evening.

I worry about stuff like today because the reality is that I am still "on probation" and I'm not stupid enough to think that I am irreplaceable. One call to the agency that they got me from and I could be out on my ass. Sure, I am now an "employee", but really, I know in today's economy "here today, gone tomorrow" is the harsh reality.

Tomorrow will be better, right?

Under the (icy) weather

2011-02-02T18:46:00.003-06:00

I know I haven't posted in a while. First the weather was really awesome so I was enjoying it and then the ICE came and everything went to Hell (if, you know, Hell was a place of ICE and not FIRE) and I was too frozen to post anything plus I have been working from home which is simultaneously awesome and awkward because I love that I can do it but don't want to push my luck, ya know? I don't want them to decide that since they can get along without me in the office for a day or two that they can get along without me all together.

And I AM working at home. I am getting things accomplished and that's good but I have to admit that the mess in my apartment is pretty distracting and the fact that the fridge is RIGHT OVER THERE is a temptation but then today I pretty much sat at my desk for hours and hours and when I finally got up I was all locked up because even though I CAN get up and move, I get into a task and completely forget to get up and move and that's not a good thing.

So, after working hours tonight, I did do a little housekeeping and I need to work on the bit of the livingroom that I can see from the office (I never want to live somewhere without a room that I can use as a home office ever again. The whole idea of having a room that is the "office' is such a good idea that the thought of going back to having the computer in the livingroom and not in a separate space is pretty loathesome at this point. Which may means I am doomed to live in this apartment forever or at least until they raise the rent to the point of utter ridiculousness like they did back where I lived 4 years ago. There, I moved into a place and over the course of years the rent crept up and crept up but the property wasn't really improved or even really well maintained. I know that the current management company where I am is going to try to say that they have "improved" the property but new siding isn't cutting it... how about a laundry room that actually has working machines? How about an office that doesn't sent me delinquent notices when I have never, ever been delinquent? How about some SECURITY and a pool that's open for more than a couple of hours more than a couple of weeks a year? Oh yeah... and a toilet that doesn't run... And some actual weatherstripping so I am not paying to heat/cool the airspace outside of my apartment?

*AHEM*... sorry about that....

So, I have been busy while I haven't been here and I'll try to get back more often. Hope that the weather wherever you are isn't too awful. We will thaw soon, right?

Weird Day

2011-01-24T20:28:00.002-06:00

It was a weird day at work because I screwed something up but it was something there was no way I could have known how to do it right and no way I could have known it was wrong. It seemed ok to me, I had done it the way I'd done it last month (it's a monthly task) and had been told that I'd done it correctly last month (it was wrong last month, too... sigh...)

Corrections will have to be made and now I know how to do it right and there shouldn't be any issues going forward and it's not the part of my job that is my strong point so while I do feel bad that there will have to be corrections made, I am not beating myself up about it too much because, like I said, I had no way of knowing that what I was doing wasn't correct.

Still, I am a perfectionist and having to admit to clients that I screwed up won't be easy and it's not as if I can actually say to clients that I had no way of knowing it was wrong...

Once we get into second quarter, things should be better. And by then I'll have a better handle on things. At least, that's what I am hoping. I feel like my inbox is always overflowing and my out box doesn't see much completed work...

And I somehow managed to both receive and lose my copy of "The Art of War" today.

Seating for Sixteen

2011-01-19T19:13:00.002-06:00

Today's mission at work was to find a restaurant that could accommodate a party of 16 on a Saturday night. You would think that in a large metropolitan area, this would be easy and I would say to you "nay, nay dear reader"... Indeed, the metropolitan area is large but apparently a party of 16 is a humongous undertaking. Oddly enough, when I lived in a smallish rural area and had a group of 30 people to accommodate, there was no problem at all. SEVERAL venues didn't even blink at the request and there was no shoving me off on the "private dining" overlord who started talking about 3 course dinners with 3 choices... nope, 30 people were seated in a main dining area and ordered off of the regular menu. Sure, I DID call ahead and let them know the party would be coming but they didn't require a deposit or anything as the party of 16 did ($500 deposit... holy cats!)

I did finally find a restaurant that was suitably "upscale" that could work with a party of 16 on a Saturday night at 6PM. The deposit is holding the reservation. The cool part of this is that I am actually invited to this soiree and will get to go to a restaurant that I could not normally even DREAM of affording (which is no reflection on the salary I am paid, this is just one of those ultra-pricey venues).

So, I hope that the experience is a good one and that the server doesn't implode or something serving this HUGE party. You know, for a city that hosts huge conventions, I am a little stunned that a relatively small party of 16 seems to be such a huge undertaking.

I'll let you know how it goes after it's over (in a couple of weeks).

Chasing Organization...

2011-01-07T23:25:00.002-06:00

It always amazes me that I can be so organized at my job and my home can be so chaotic. I TRY to keep things organized at home but time and time again, things just spiral completely out of control. What's the most frustrating, though, is that I haven't quite been able to put my finger on what is so different at home that I can't seem to get a handle on things and keep them from being chaotic.

There are probably several factors that lead home to be chaos....

- No well-defined "work" space
- Not enough storage space
- No audits or overseers to make sure things are in order
- Trying to relax at home

And, I suppose that you could successfully argue that any/all of those things are just excuses. And you would, perhaps, be correct... at least to some extent.

So, I will be spending at least part of the weekend organizing the chaos that is my home/home life. Wish me luck!

The Long and Short of It...

2011-01-03T19:29:00.003-06:00

It came up again today in conversation... should women over 30 cut their hair short? (The reasoning being that long hair is more a "young person" thing and as an older, more mature professional, long hair is just unseemly).

I've heard similar discussion about whether overweight women should keep their hair short (I'm a tich more vague as to what the actual reasoning is here...)

My own stance on this is that one of the few actual "perks" of being a grown up is that no one can dictate to you how you should wear your hair. If you're 40 and want to rock braids, more power to you. Fifty and want to die your hair neon green? As long as you won't get fired for it, what the hell? Does anyone remember Granny from the Tweety & Sylvester cartoons? Her hair was always in a bun. And you can't very well make a bun from short hair.

As long as it is clean and styled nicely, a "professional woman" should be allowed to have hair of any length she wants and not be considered less of a professional. Hell, most of the over 40 IT dudes I know have ponytails (we won't talk about their lack of hair on top of their heads).

Another nightmare for professional women is going gray... while gray hair allegedly makes men look "more distinguished" it can work against a woman. For the most part older women are generally viewed as less attractive and less productive than their younger colleagues. I've noticed in interviews that I am often the oldest person in the room by 15-20 years. I have noticed in "cattle call" type interview situations where a bunch of people show up for the interview equivalent of speed dating, that women who LOOK older (either evidenced by gray or salt-and-pepper hair or perhaps more than just a few facial wrinkles) always seem quickly eliminated. While it is certainly possible that they didn't have the qualifications, it is more likely that they weren't the "image" the employer was looking for (young, vital, perhaps "eye candy"?)

To sum up.. the colour and length of one's hair should be a matter of personal preference. We should be looking beyond what is on the outside and focusing on what skills people bring to the table. Which may be solely my opinion... and that's the long and the short of it.

Year End = Busy

2011-01-01T23:59:00.002-06:00

Despite what many people think, "tax time" begins way before April 15th. Especially when you own/work for a small business. At the end of the year, beginning of a new year, there are reconciliations to do, documents to gather and files to audit. All of which I am working on at my new job.

I have to say, the new job keeps me very busy. Which I like. It also makes me worn out by the end of the day and I have to say my housework hasn't been done in AGES because I am just way too exhausted by the workday.

Still, I enjoy the job, so I am not complaining. It's probably a good thing I'm not married because my husband would probably be pretty ticked off right about now... (then again, if he was married to me, he'd be used to cooking his own dinner and washing his own clothes so maybe it wouldn't be an issue... or maybe I'd find a man who thought maid service was a good idea (and if I were married, there would be no "servicing" of the maid by my husband!

But, I'm not married so there is no ticked off husband AND no maid service. Such is life in the world of MsCleanslate.

I suppose I should head to bed so I can be productive tomorrow. No rest for the wicked and all that!

Work by Numbers...

2010-12-28T20:32:00.002-06:00

I am not an accountant. I've performed accounting functions over the years, but I am not by trade nor practice an accountant. My new job has many accounting functions. I am picking up on doing what needs to be done but there are times when things just aren't balancing or I pour over a statement again and again and it won't come out right and I admit I get frustrated.

So... one of the things I need to do over the next few months is read up on accounting stuff and learn what I should be doing and how I should be doing it. It's hard coming in at the end of a year and trying to make order of chaos when you don't know what the person who created the chaos had in mind whilst they were doing it.

The boss wants to discuss year-end and how things will progress going forward. I have some ideas of how we can get some consistency and things/procedures that can be changed to make things easier for everyone. I know that it's going to be VERY hard to sort things out/make sense of things for year-end and things are really just way more disorganized than I would like. I have a plan for this week and I know it will not go as smoothly as I would like because it never does but this whole working in the midst of chaos thing needs to get straightened out.

I also need to catch up on some things at home so I have time to get other things done. I had a four day weekend last weekend and accomplished NOTHING. UGH.

I figure I need to do something about upgrading my professional image a bit. Yes, where I work is casual but I feel like I should look a shade more professional (because the women who work at the other office on my floor all wear full makeup, heels and the latest fashions every day and it gives me a complex to have them being all judge-y when I walk into the ladies room).

It's 8:45PM... can someone please tell me when I got old enough that 9PM seems "awfully late" to be up on a work night?

Tis the Season...

2010-12-23T22:49:00.002-06:00

Guess what?

Starting on MONDAY I will no longer be a 'temp' where I am working. I will be a 'regular' employee.

I am SO excited!

So, what have I learned from all of this? That I am probably better off working at a small company than trying to be a good little sheep in a big corporation. That finding a job where there are people close to my own age seems to be a key to success. And I reaffirmed that I am indeed capable of learning new skills and being impressive AND I am capable of being LIKED. Trust me, after the job I had before this one, I was beginning to get a complex and wondered if I was just plain not likable.

I am hoping that now I will be able to actually write something worth reading about the Resume of Career Catastrophes. Maybe something marketable. Fear not, though... I am sure I will still have stories about people I interact with on the job.

Have a wonderful Holiday Season everyone!

Update

2010-11-22T20:26:00.002-06:00

So, three weeks into the new gig and I'm still diggin' it. The only thing is that it is really unsettling being a contractor because it is very impermanent. I mean, I know that even having a "real" job in this day and age isn't a guarantee but I hate the nagging fear that comes with being a contractor. Especially on days like today where I didn't really accomplish everything I had hoped to/needed to accomplish.

I have a lot on my mind right now. I really don't need the stress of worrying about whether a job is going to last. Is it wrong for me to just try to forget that every day could be my last day there? I finally feel like I have found a place I can be happy. I just wish I felt more secure about it all.

The Clock Reset!!

2010-11-05T19:07:00.002-05:00

I am sorry I didn't get here to reset the clock earlier, but I started the new job on Monday and have been out of the loop for the week.

So far, I really like it.

It's another contract position but it's not for a set time and there's hope I may actually become an employee at some point (at least that is MY hope).

Am running out again tonight but I'll be back and write more soon!

Back to the waiting game...

2010-10-27T14:50:00.002-05:00

I had an interview this morning. First interview in 2 weeks. I want this job. I am absolutely terrified that I am not going to get this job and if you cannot get a job that SCREAMS "good fit" then what do you do?

It's an industry I haven't worked in before. You know what? The industry (which I won't name here) is so specific that there just aren't going to be a lot of people who are not scientists who HAVE worked in the industry. In the past decade I have learned legal and medical terminology, I taught myself HTML and some CSS, I learned 3 new (to me) software packages and was doing front-line phone support for them in a WEEK. I am not some idiot who just fell off a turnip truck and I can do this job.

I am supposed to hear something about this job today. It's 3PM and I've not heard anything. As the clock ticks toward 5, I become more and more anxious.

I want to reset the counter. It's getting close to 90 days. And November is coming, which means businesses are going to stop hiring until after the 1st of the year.

The waiting... is the hardest part.

Maybe she was right...

2010-10-14T23:01:00.003-05:00

In 1992 I was told by an efficiency expert brought in to the place I was working that I was in the wrong field and needed to get out immediately. I was five years into the career that I remain in to this day. I was told that I was absolutely lousy at what I was doing and that I could never hope to be a success at it. I had (and still have) no other skills.

Most of the time, I have felt that this person was wrong and that I AM good at what I do. Or, at least, I am not a dismal failure at it.

But there are days, like today, when I look at it all and wonder if maybe she was right. That maybe I do completely suck at what I do even though I've been doing it for a long time now.

I have no idea what else I could have done or what I could do now that's different.

Maybe she was right. Maybe I should have listened. Maybe I'm just fooling myself into thinking I am capable. Maybe after a good nights sleep it will look better in the morning.

The State of MsCleanslate

2010-10-11T22:20:00.003-05:00

I've been neglectful, but it isn't willfully, my friends. A check of the ticker in my sidebar will show you that I am still not working, so I haven't been distracted by a new job.

No, I've been distracted by dealing with the job hunt. Whilst I am being asked to take tests to measure my integrity, I am dealing with people who I honestly believe have no clue what that word means.

Potential Employers... you aren't doing ANYONE favors when you tell people you'll "call them either way" and then never contact them. Believe me, I will remember every single business that did this to me and I will never do business with them AND I will tell whomever my employer is to never do business with them. Sure, that's a pittance in relation to your HUGE customer base, but it would have taken a 15-second email to keep my wrath at bay. It is shady ethically and it is JUST PLAIN RUDE.

To the lady at the agency who knew the second she saw me that she wasn't going to hire me but spent almost an hour with me anyways (and then never made any contact...I'm forgiving you for this because you could have told me "we filled the position" and shooed me out the door and you didn't), I know that you could have (and likely your boss thinks that you SHOULD have) done things differently and I thank you for your time and consideration most sincerely.

I'm trying to keep my spirits up, but I know once we hit November, hiring will enter a freeze period. I am feeling the crunch, I am being less selective in what I apply for even knowing I will likely regret the compromise in the long run. "Bird in the hand......." and all that.

It's funny... I've been to a dozen agencies now... maybe more. They've run the gamut from the debutante cotillion type of atmosphere ("we just simply are not sure that you have the proper pedigree to work here...") to the trailer park atmosphere (don't blink, we'll be packin' up and movin' on any day now...) Or maybe a better analogy is that I have been to both the Nordstroms and the Walmart of agencies. The thing they all have in common? None of them have any work for me.

So, that's where things are with me right now. Be Well.

When it stops working...

2010-09-19T02:42:00.002-05:00

Since my job ended, I've found myself growing more and more depressed. Every rejection seems to hit a little harder, cut a little deeper. Every lead that just stops responding bothers me a little bit more. You'd think it would be the opposite, that I'd be getting used to the rejection but that's not what's been happening.

I've seldom left my home office except to sleep or use the powder room since Monday. And tonight it hit me that maybe that's part of the problem. The office is no longer a place of work, it's where I live.

And it needs to stop.

Experts tell you that if you have trouble sleeping that you should only use your bedroom for sleeping (and, well, other things that are legitimately bedroom activities... *ahem*) that way your brain gets trained to associate the bedroom with being a place you sleep. I would conjecture that the same lesson can (and should) apply to other areas of the home. I mean, certainly, there are rooms in the house that are meant to be multi-functional. And there are times when space constraints make it impossible to separate activities into specific rooms. (Ahh, how lovely it would be to have the money to have a house with a library and an office and a media room and a workout room...). But I think I'm losing my focus by living in the office.

So, I've cleaned off my desk and am going to try to turn over a new leaf. And try to actually be AWAY from the office a little more. I know it sounds counterintuitive to say that maybe I'll get more work done if I am in the office less, but I think that it will actually work out that way.

Full Standstill

2010-09-16T00:49:00.002-05:00

So, the job that was moving glacially slow in hiring... has come to a full and complete STOP. I have heard the sum total of NOTHING since LAST Thursday. I think it's probably safe to say that I won't ever hear another peep about it. And that is something that I, as a professional person, just don't understand. How can you work with someone for three weeks and then, with no warning, just never contact them again? You know, if I had done something and had been escorted from the building in handcuffs or something, that's one thing. But nothing like that happened. I went and met with some people, people who I was told were not part of the hiring decision, and then... NOTHING.

There weren't awkward moments. There were no questions I couldn't answer. I am at a complete and total loss to explain how/why everything just STOPPED.

It's terribly hard to learn from an experience when you are given no feedback and when you cannot fathom what it is that you said or did that was so horrific that you just never hear from them again.

Oh well, guess I just gotta get on to whatever the next thing is, right?

It either happens or it doesn't...

2010-09-09T11:41:00.003-05:00

So, the job that is moving glacially slow in hiring went to the next step this morning and I got to actually meet with real, live people and not just people on a phone.

There are... inconsistencies. I was told that this was a newly created position. When I was being introduced to everyone I was introduced as "A candidate for X's old job". Twice someone mentioned "...but I thought we'd hired someone for that position..." when I have been told that I am the sole candidate for the position.

There are some VERY worrisome aspects. The people in the office I'd be working in have no idea what the corporate office people are hiring someone to do. It was mentioned that they have no idea who would be training me or who would even have the TIME to train me. There was a brief mention of shipping me off to corporate "but I'm not sure how that would work, I mean, the company won't pay for it since you're just a contractor..." so now I am worrying about how I would afford a trip to a locale 1500 miles away.

And then there was the whole bit about what a nightmare it is to actually get hired on to the company I'd be a contractor for until they decide to hire me (IF they decide to actually hire me). And being told that you have to completely start over with the hiring process, re-apply for the job, be interviewed, go through all of the background checking and everything ALL OVER AGAIN.

I can't shake the bad feeling I have about this. So... it either happens or it doesn't. If it does, I hope they get their shit together. If it doesn't... then it doesn't. Back to the job boards...

Thanks but I'll do it myself....

2010-09-08T15:52:00.002-05:00

I've been working with an agency on a job that is moving painfully slow. I just got the most aggressive, assholish email from the agency contact and you know what? Screw it. I'll find a job on my own. I don't need someone being an assclown because I have asked for clarification and they can't be bothered.

Enjoy the fact that you have a job, Mister Man.

I'll take back control of my destiny, thanks.

Quick Correspondence

2010-09-08T00:44:00.002-05:00

Dear Hiring Manager,

I have just completed my third interview for a job with your company. The job is a data entry clerk position. It does not involve payroll. It does not involve information that affects National Security. The position does not require me to perform complex neurosurgery. It requires me to sit at a desk 8 hours a day and enter data into forms on a computer. Data that no one but your company cares about.

Telling me that you will probably schedule a FOURTH interview (with one more interview phase and two background check phases) is not filling me with joy or confidence. Nor is it making me think the job is uber important. It is making me think that you are yanking my chain and dragging your feet hoping that the heavens will open and your perfect candidate will fall from the sky into your lap. Because right now, I am your sole candidate and you've already dragged this process out long enough that the two other candidates for the position found other jobs (which they took) and so now you are left with me.

And honestly, if I'm not what you want because you want someone with a college degree to sit at a computer all day and enter information into forms, then just tell me that so that I can move on and not waste any more of your time or any more of my time.

I was born at night, yes. Not LAST night, though.

No Love,
(and surprisingly little patience)
MsCleanslate

Labor Day

2010-09-06T16:13:00.002-05:00

Although it has been over a month since I was last employed, I still thought I should write a post on Labor Day. After all, looking for work is a job in and of itself, right? If you answer that in the negative, I conjecture that you've never really had to launch a full-scale job hunt.

That being said, I am not actually working on job search things today because there is enough other stuff that I have neglected that I need to get some things done. First up will be cleaning up the mess that is within the line of sight from my desk! Truly horrifying.

Also, the office needs cleaning (again) and I believe that *I* could use a good scrubbing. Also, need to get the laundry put away. See, all of these little details! It's a wonder I have time to get anything done, really.

I have some filing that desperately needs to get done, too. Which means I need to find file folders and get them labeled. Also... I have some three ring binders that I need to work on getting put together as I would like them to be functional.

I picked up some Fast Flats (Dr. Scholls) over the weekend. I am not someone who wears heels but there are just some times when I do wear shoes that get very uncomfortable and I thought that these were a cool idea. I will probably keep them in the car. I was looking for a link for these when I found FootzyRolls. Once I am working again, I will likely look into getting a pair of the FootzyRolls for comparison.

I should probably get to work on the things I need to get done today. I haven't gotten the kitty litter in from the car yet, so I guess I get to put THAT task off for another day. (I am trying to ignore the cat glaring at me as I type that!)

And, for the record, neither Dr. Scholls nor FootzyRolls provided me with either product or monetary compensation for mentioning their products here. Though should either company feel compelled, I would love to work with them.

RESPECT?

2010-09-02T11:58:00.002-05:00

Last Friday, I had a phone interview. It went well. A second phone interview needed to be done. It was scheduled for this morning (Thursday). Guess what DIDN'T happen? Yeah, the person who was scheduled to be in the call forgot/blew it off. It isn't even Friday. Nice. So now, because someone was too damn important/busy/forgetful to show up for a PHONE CALL, I have to wait until TUESDAY to try again. There are THREE STEPS to the process after that, each taking a week to 3 weeks to process. With any luck, I may have a job offer by the end of the year!

In unrelated news, I had an entrecard ad placement turned down. Ummmm, excuse me? I sortve have to laugh that someone with the word "bitch" in their blog title apparently thinks MsCleanslate here is too offensive.

In any case, getting back to the first part of the post, it bothers me that I spent an hour waiting for someone to come and interview me this morning and now they can't even be bothered to reschedule until next week (so, no consideration AT ALL for the fact that I might, you know, have BILLS TO PAY).

In any case... way too much damn drama in my life lately for my taste. And nowhere near enough sleep. Back to the job boards for me.

Wonderlic(k) my censored

2010-08-24T21:24:00.003-05:00

One of the tests that seems to be the "hot thing" for employers to be using these days is an evil little thing called the Wonderlic test.

Some questions are like this:

The ninth month of the year is:

October
January
June
September
May

And those are fine... I don't mind that...

I am even ok with these:

Assume the first two statements are true.

1. The boy plays baseball.
2. All baseball players wear hats.
3. The boy wears a hat

Is the final one:
True
False
Not Certain

I'm totally cool with these, too:

PRESENT/RESERVE, Do these words:

have similar meanings;
have contradictory meaning;
mean neither the same nor opposite?

But THIS? No! NO! NOOOOO!!:

In printing an article of 48,000 words, a printer decides to use two sizes of type. Using the larger type, a printed page contains 1,800 words. Using a smaller type, a page contains 2,400 words. The article is allotted 21 full pages in a magazine. How many pages must be in smaller type? (The answer, according to the key, is "17"... I have no freakin' clue how they got that and it makes me bleed from my ears to try to figure it out)

For the record, I am not stupid. I had IQ testing done in 8th grade (long story) and I assure you that I am not stupid. I admit I have a problem with math, mainly with word problems. I always have. To give you an idea... in the 8th grade I was scoring "Graduate School Level" in vocabulary and reading comprehension and 3rd grade level in math. I CAN figure things out but the Wonderlic is TIMED and you only have 12 minutes and if I get stuck on a math thing, that means that I am not going to be able to answer all (or even close to) 50 questions. Plus, while I CAN figure out math problems without the aid of a calculator, I am QUICKER if I can use one. (No, I am not one of those nimrods who would not be able to make change for you if her electronic cash register was down...by the way, would you like fries with that?)

Hey! Wonderlic people! I have a question for you... who is going to be footing the bill for me when I end up in an asylum because of your test? Ponder that and Wonderlic(k) my **CENSORED**

Testing...

2010-08-19T19:28:00.003-05:00

I've watched trends in hiring come and go. The current craze seems to be a combination of psych testing and something that closely resembles the SAT tests (vocabulary and bizarre word problems to test, I guess, math aptitude and logic functions?)

I don't have a problem with this, except I cannot fathom what most of this has to do with the job for which I am applying. The tests I had to take today had some other types of questions "Name the city once divided by a wall" was one of them. Is this some subtle clue that I will be tutoring the boss's kids? "Name the permanent home of the United Nations"... wait, what? Is this something I am going to be asked in the course of my daily work? Is it some kind of test of "were you paying attention in your high school history class?"

And everyone wants to pull your friggin credit report. Guess what, if you've been laid off and out of work for a while, your credit is probably suffering. Doesn't make you a bad person. Doesn't make you a deadbeat. And without a job, your credit isn't going to recover, so using the fact that someone has subpar credit against them sounds ill advised to me.

Plus, drug testing. I understand that companies don't want addicts working for them, but I'm going to answer your phones, not pilot the company helicopter.

But these all seem perfectly reasonable to employers and they just dangle the carrot and you jump through the hoops and humiliate and dehumanize yourself because you want/need to have a paycheck so you don't end up living in a van down by the river.

That being said, I hope that one of these days jumping through all the hoops will pay off for me.

Insomniac Thoughts

2010-08-19T02:29:00.002-05:00

This is mainly fueled by something a friend is experiencing and it got me to thinking. I think it is very interesting how employers expect their employees to work hard, to go the extra mile, to provide excellent customer service, show up early, stay late, work overtime, sacrifice time with your family, friends, loved ones, be on-call, work weekends and holidays.... give, give, give... and they think that they can just take and take and never worry about giving their employees the chance to recharge and find subtle ways to punish people who take time off or are punitive to those who fall ill after putting in long hours.

I am all for putting in a good day's work and receiving a fair paycheck for that work. I am all for going the extra mile and providing excellent customer service. I'll take my lumps when I deserve them and once in a while, even when I don't. I show up early, I stay late, I work weekends but it is very, very rarely that I receive even a "well done" or a "thank you" much less any sort of real, tangible appreciation when I go above and beyond what is expected or even what is reasonable.

Is it really reasonable to have an employee be "on-call" for a week at a time when that means they will easily work 60-80 hours (or more) during the on-call week and then have to work their regular 40 hour week afterwards which puts them "on the job" for 12 days in a row? Factor in a call at, say, 1AM which keeps the employee out until 3AM and then they return home, get three hours of sleep (if they are lucky) and need to get up and get back to the job. Is that wise? Is that safe? Are we really looking at the best interests of ANYONE in that scenario?

Maybe this all made sense back in the days when people got a job after they left school (high school or college) and stayed with the company for 35-40 years. When companies had some loyalty to their employees. When your boss knew your name and your spouse's name and the names of all of your children. And your kid got a nice pen & pencil set from your boss when s/he graduated from High School.

But now? Now it feels like employees are a commodity. Use them up and discard them as quickly as you can and then gripe about all of the money you have to spend on training and how hard it is to find good help. Don't think twice about telling the employee whose Grandfather passes away that if she goes to the funeral, you'll consider it "job abandonment" and not to bother coming back if she leaves. Don't come right out and ask a woman if she has kids or a husband (because that isn't LEGAL) but hide the question by asking "So, if at five minutes to five we ask you to stay an extra hour or two, is that an issue?" Penalize the people who had no choice but to join the workforce after high school who were, at the time, told that what was important was work experience and now, 20 years later, the only thing that matters is whether they have a degree (which they don't). I understand that a college education can be a wonderful thing, but there's something to be said for 20 years of experience, too.

And if you asked them, the employers, how their employees feel about them and their company, most would be surprised to know that their employees feel shortchanged. I suspect most would not care. Employees are a "resource" to be allocated and discarded. You think no more of dismissing an employee than you do of throwing out a pen that has run out of ink.

The well has run dry. As my friend says... "all of the Care has been dredged from Giveafuck Bay"... I can only hope that something that resembles balance can be found/achieved again.

Where is the "OFF" switch?

2010-08-17T02:37:00.002-05:00

I need to get to bed but I have insomnia kickin' my ass again. Tomorrow (today? ) needs to be a productive day which isn't going to happen if I don't get off of my posterior and make things happen.

Hopefully the Tylenol PM will kick in here shortly and I will go drifting off into dreamland.

I did get a good bit done today. Too bad none of it related to what I really NEEDED to get done.

Tomorrow (Today?) I need to make some files so I can get some things filed away, job searching, maybe run around with the vacuum cleaner? And get the laundry put away. Oh yeah... and deal with the litterbox that looks much like a small tactical (and icky) weapon went off. Bleah.

Also need to locate the accupressure beads. Can't seem to take enough pain reliever during the day to moderate the pain of a sore back... (pulled/bruised muscle? Perhaps sciatica?)

Well, it seems that that Tylenol PM are finally kicking in. Goodnight!

Two Weeks....

2010-08-14T06:54:00.002-05:00

It's now been two weeks since my job ended.

Yesterday (Friday) I had two interviews. One was a face-to-face interview and one was a phone interview.

The face-to-face interview was for a data entry position and, quite frankly, the amount of micromanagement (their word) involved would likely make me very unhappy. Not to worry, though because yesterday was their first day of "2 to 3 weeks" of interviewing.

The phone interview was the typical sort of questions about why I can't seem to hold a job (I've been working CONTRACTS, people) and then I was told that further paperwork would be emailed to me. It hasn't arrived. I am not holding my breath that it WILL ever arrive.

So... two interviews and I am guessing I will never hear from either place again.

And, while I want and need a job, I can honestly say I am not too sad about losing either of these opportunities.

There is something out there for me... I just have to find it.

Set the bar & still fell short...

2010-08-11T23:57:00.003-05:00

To further add to the quandry I had the other day... the one about how could an interview go well and then... no job offer... I got a letter today from the person I had emailed with that went on about how I was the first person interviewed and set the bar very high...

Ok... so, you liked me, were even IMPRESSED with me, but gave the job to someone else? I don't understand. Still... 300+ candidates, I made it to the dozen who were interviewed and while I didn't make the cut and get the job, I guess I was impressive.

But impressive isn't putting money in the bank.

I've got to figure out what it is that I'm missing.

What IS The Right Stuff?

2010-08-11T00:34:00.002-05:00

When you've done everything right and you still strike out, you begin to second-guess yourself. That's where I'm sitting now.

The last interview I had seemed to go well. We had a good discussion, none of the interviewer's questions stumped me or left me wondering if I had said the right thing. I even sent a bona fide snail mail thank you letter. (Important since some of our interview discussion dealt with technology being good but people losing sight of proper business etiquette). I dressed appropriately (in fact, I was dressed in business professional clothing, the others in the office were business casual). I made the cut out of 300+ applicants to get the interview. But I didn't get the job.

So, somewhere in the midst of all that I did RIGHT, something went WRONG. My job now is to figure out what it was so that I can correct it. So that the next time I'll get the job.

And also, I need to figure out how to get myself in more doors thus upping my chance of an offer.

I've got to step up to the challenge and get that counter reset!

Feelin' like a one trick pony...

2010-08-10T00:14:00.003-05:00

I continue to jump through the hoops presented to be able to get unemployment payments even though I know I'm not going to get approved for them. I guess it gives me a focus for my feeling that I am ineffectual and at the whim of entities far bigger than myself. I know it is a losing battle but I continue to fight because giving up is the easy way and Lord Knows I've never been able to do anything in my life the easy way.

I am plagued by worry and self-doubt. I wonder if I will ever again make the grade and measure up. I wonder if all there is left for me is an unfulfilling succession of temp jobs where I will never be a part of the corporate culture, always on the fringes, the outside, looking in. At the same time I know that the conformity necessary for survival in the corporate culture just isn't comfortable for me so maybe it's better that I stop trying to be a part of things and just detach myself and get used to being a drifter.

I think back to every single job I've ever had and realize that never, not even once, have I been accepted as part of the group. I go back in my mind through my school years and realize that not even then was I a part of the social structure. Wondering if my failure to assimilate in those early years plagues me yet today and I just don't know/understand the "language" of being "one of the gang".

And if that's the case, then I have... what? Another 45 or 50 years of being lonely and an outsider ahead of me. Another length of time equal to or greater than the expanse that I've lived already.

I've begun to realize that the only thing worse than being a one trick pony is being a one trick pony who can never master even that one trick...

It's been a week...

2010-08-05T16:57:00.002-05:00

It's been a week since I was de-jobbed. I'd love to be telling you that I've found something new and all is well, but I can't do that.

In fact, things are pretty much more grim than they've ever been. Because, you see, I am not eligible for unemployment.

State I live in now says "You haven't worked here long enough to qualify for unemployment here, go apply for benefits from State you used to live in..."

State I used to live in says "You don't live here anymore AND you left of your own free will, bugger off, there will be no benefits for you!"

Agency I'd been working for has nothing.

I did have an interview on Monday that I felt went well, but they won't be making a decision until tomorrow (after having interviewed candidates all week) so I doubt that they'll even remember me. Which is sad, because I think I would have been a really good fit for the job.

But I'm looking. And applying. And even though I know it is pointless, I filled out the stuff to apply for unemployment in State I used to live in. Because maybe in OCTOBER, when I will be eligible to apply for unemployment in the State I now live in, it will make a difference. I hate bureaucracy BS.

So... at one week, that's where things stand.

Counter Reset

2010-07-29T20:26:00.002-05:00

So, there I was at work today, minding my own business, when I get an URGENT email from my agency lady. "YOU MUST CALL ME RIGHT AWAY" it said. And so, I did. To be told that today would be my last day at this assignment. No reason given (I asked and was told that they were simply told that the person on maternity leave had come back and they no longer needed me).

So, ok. At least it was an "Honourable Discharge" and they didn't try to make up some BS. But a Thursday? That's different.

This all took place about 10:15AM. Noontime rolls around and the "ladies" in my department order lunch. Without a WORD to me. Hello... I am sitting RIGHT HERE and you are acting as if I am not... NOW who's rude?

Anyhow, I was a professional, worked through the day. Around 2:30, I tried to log into a program on my computer and couldn't. I tried another one... no go... I went through everything and couldn't even get on the internet FFS. I mention this to bosslady who tells me "call the Helpdesk". So, I call the helpdesk who tells me that they got orders to IMMEDIATELY shut me down.

So, I called agency lady. Told her I had TRIED to work the day and was locked out of everything that makes doing my job possible. She told me to pack anything that I had and leave. So, I did. I packed up what little I had (including the office supplies that I had purchased with my own money), powered down the laptop, picked up my bag and left. Without a word to anyone. And that, she said, is the end of that.

I am hoping to become re-employed quickly and that it will be sincerely less dramatic.

When do I get to leave High School?

2010-07-28T22:19:00.002-05:00

I know as I get older that more and more I will be working with/for people who are younger than I am. But I was hoping that at some point I'd get to work with people who were MATURE.

I'm not sure exactly what's up at work. Last week, they all prepared to go out to lunch together and leave me behind. Again. And, well, I have to admit that I may have snapped a little bit. And then they all scurried off, had a secret meeting and decided that they'd just *sigh* stay in the office. By that time, I was pretty much over it. But it's been one big festival of dysfunction since then. I say "Good Morning" and get met with stony silence. I ask questions... stony silence. The only time I am spoken to at all is when I get an attitude thrown my way over something, real or imagined that they think I've done wrong. And all of the things I've actually done wrong? Yeah... stuff I was never told about so had no way of knowing it was wrong.

I'm not sure if it was Monday or yesterday that near the end of the day, the rest of the dept. was told to go to the conference room. They came back somber and sullen. I am wondering if this relates to one of the gals having been EXTRA dressed up a few days in the last couple weeks. (Like, dressed to interview dressed up).

For a little while, I had been included in things... I thought I was making progress. Now... yeah...the Silent Treatment, whispering, scurrying off to the conference room or the boss's office. Honestly, if that counter makes it to 120, I'll be exceedingly surprised.

My agency rep has been on my back to do something that I think is a bad idea. Stony silence from her today, as well.

Wake me when the working world grows up a bit, will you? All of this dealing with dysfunction has made me TIRED.

Let's cut the crap, shall we?

2010-07-14T19:45:00.002-05:00

Dear Folks I Currently Work For,

Listen, I just want you to know that I know that you're not planning on offering me a position. I want you to know I know because then maybe you can stop pussyfooting around when you're near me in the office.

Feel free to speak freely about my replacement. I would prefer that to the whispering that happens now.

Today, when someone asked if his support team was "set in stone" and you practically screamed "NO! Oh no! No, no... not set in stone" did you think I wasn't going to notice that?

If it'll make you feel better, I'll just nod my head to any plausible lie you want to tell me to make me feel better about the situation. But, DO NOT, at the end of the 6 months of my contract, try to feed me some bullshit about how I just didn't work hard enough.

I've known from Week 3, when you told me that I was on borrowed time, that this was not going to be something permanent. I thank you for the afterthought courtesy interview.

But please, people, can we cut the crap? It'll make the whole experience better for everyone.

Thanks,
MsCleanslate

Bumpy ride...

2010-07-13T20:29:00.003-05:00

Soooo... Monday at work I was introduced as the temp who was around til the tranferring employee and 2 people they'd made offers to came onboard...

Imagine my surprise today when I found out that there's a hiring freeze and that they can't even bring the people they'd made offers to onboard. Which means... they're stuck with me...

Which would be interesting enough. But... there is now the fact that tomorrow evening, I have a phone interview for a different job with a different company for a job that is really so much more "me". Or at least would be more in line with the skills I prefer using.

And I can only imagine how upset they'll be where I am temping now (and they never miss an opportunity to remind me that I am JustATemp) if I get this other job and tell them that I'm leaving.

But, they never made me an offer... all they did was make some lame promise to think about maybe extending my contract or MAYBE offering me a job. So, I'm a little "If-you-liked-it-shoulda-offered-me-a-paycheck" (think Beyonce's "Single Ladies")

Will be interesting to see if anything comes of this latest recruiter contact... Wish me luck!

Time to Play the Game....

2010-07-02T22:45:00.003-05:00

I did get an "interview" for the job I am currently doing (in hopes of getting hired as a "regular" employee, since there are three openings). As I suspected, they are not going to buy out my contract but did say they may extend my contract or consider possibly hiring me. So... there are three open positions, they will be hiring 2 people and I am, I guess, a placeholder who MAY get hired or may be a perpetual contractor. ::SIGH::

At this point, I am not holding my breath. Whatever happens will happen.

They did, however, have me move over to the area the rest of the team works in (since there is now an open cubicle)

That's all I know at this point. (That they like me enough to evaluate me for an unspecified amount of time to determine if they might, possibly, at some unspecified future time hire me... )

I'm going to make a prediction, though...

Right now, I am the only person with my title. There used to be FOUR of us with this title. It'll be 2-3 weeks before the other people start. I am not fully trained on everything that the job entails. Two of the three people who left the position are gone. As in, physically not even in the building anymore. The other is working in her new capacity.

That means, if collections don't meet goal, if billing isn't done, if anything that is part of this position isn't done in the month of July, *I* and I alone will be to blame. Management will hold ME responsible.

So, for AT LEAST the next month, I will be doing the work of 4 people. I am not accruing any vacation, I am not accruing any sick time, I am working with NO BENEFITS WHATSOEVER, including having ABSOLUTELY ZERO paid time off. When, in 90 days, Management reviews my performance, do you want to take any bets as to whether the fact that the work of 4 people was dumped on one person who was largely untrained will be taken into account? I am going to state for the record that unless I put in a helluva lot of unpaid overtime (which will then set the bar so that I can never stop doing that), I have no hope of succeeding and keeping this job.

Is it, then, any wonder that I am still responding to people who contact me about job openings? It isn't as if I am actively seeking a job and following up on leads and sending out my resume, I am simply responding to inquiries I get. And I KNOW that they'd be mad at me if they knew I was doing this, but they're getting all of the benefit out of this and I am getting.... ummm... evaluated for an unspecified amount of time to determine if they might, possibly, at some unspecified future time hire me...or just terminate my contract after having worked me like a dog for three months.

I know what I suspect the outcome will be. We shall see how things play out.

Some days I don't know about myself...

2010-06-25T22:53:00.003-05:00

Major changes goin' on at the office this week. Promotions (not for me), people leaving (not me, yet), etc.

Biggest thing is that Tudie is taking another job within the company but NOT within our office. Yes, that's right, Tudie, my nemesis, will be GONE.

All of these changes mean... JOB OPENINGS.

And I'm not sure how to feel about that. Especially since they did interviewing today. About 12:30, bosslady tells me that if I am interested, I can apply via the company website. Why am I being told this today? The day that you are interviewing and hoping to make a decision? I applied for a different position 2 weeks ago and haven't heard a peep. I don't think that HR will even process my application by the time that the decision has been made. And I've already been through the humiliation of applying for a job (as a contractor who was seeking to be hired on by the company they were contracting with) and not getting it, so if it happens here, I will be no stranger to that whole dynamic.

No matter the outcome, I am both fascinated by and terrified by the prospect of seeing how the other newcomers will be treated. (Because of all of the changes, there are 3 openings). And exactly how do I handle it if they are welcomed and embraced (whilst I am still an outcast and can only imagine it will be worse if they don't offer me a position).

Paranoid Me then kicks in and thinks that they wanted me to apply so they could reject me and then terminate my contract early because it would be so awkward to have the temp who you had intimated in the interview might get hired on stick around when you passed them over for a position. I mean, logically, if you factor in human nature, wouldn't there be worry that I would try to sabotage the other newcomers out of spite over their having been hired whilst I was passed over?

The reality is that I KNOW that they wouldn't buy out my contract to hire me. I KNOW that. So do they keep me as a temp til the end of my contract and then pick me up as an employee? Knowing that none of the work I am doing as a temp will count towards my employee time and I will lose holiday pay and all of the other employee benefits? Knowing that I will be held to the standards of an employee, not a temp (required to work overtime and weekends, for example)?

And honestly, after the way I've been treated so far, do I HONESTLY want to work for this company in this department anyway? Honestly? The honest answer is "NO". But it is counterbalanced by the fact that I wouldn't have to struggle through interviews anymore.

So, it was with a "better the Devil you know" mindset that I submitted a damn application. Even though I'm pretty sure I don't have a snowball's chance in Hell.

And I am soooo (she said sarcastically) looking forward to having to submit to another drug & alcohol test.

I'm pretty sure that either outcome will be a disappointment (getting an offer/not getting an offer).

Can I just win the lottery now?

More waiting...

2010-06-21T22:02:00.002-05:00

I met with The Borg today. I was GRILLED for an hour. Why, when it CLEARLY STATES on my resume that I have been working contract positions does everyone ask me why I can't hold a job for more than a few months? Listen people, I had two contracts EXTENDED. I was rehired by one agency for a second contract position. But because I haven't had a job for 3-5 years with one company (due to contract work, downsizing, companies going out of business, management decisions to cut a position to part-time when I need full-time work...) I'm somehow not worthy of a good opportunity (which is, itself, a short-term contract... so why the concern about whether I'm in it for the long haul)?

My heart wants to believe I got the job. My gut says there's no f**king way I got the job. But then I go back to "why would you spend an hour with someone you aren't going to hire"? Because I have had the 8-12 minute interview when the moment the interviewer saw me s/he knew that there was no job offer forthcoming but it's rude (I guess) to say "there's no point to conducting the interview, I've decided that since you are not built like/don't look like Malibu Barbie I am completely uninterested..." But they do a cursory interview as if I am going to walk into their office, drop to my knees and give them a hummer that will convince them that I have the necessary "skills" to perform the job satisfactorily. ::SIGH::

And so... now... I wait.

So now.... I wait... (again)

2010-06-16T20:13:00.003-05:00

Tuesday, I was contacted by an agency who has a job available working for the Borg. I've done contract work for the Borg before and this job is a piece o' cake comparatively. Plus, it's NOT working with the lovely (term used sarcastically) group of folks I work with at the moment. So, of course, I jumped on the opportunity.

Wednesday, I went and met with the agency rep. I am cautiously optimistic after the meeting. I could do the job without a problem. Now I just have to get in to meet with the Borg to convince them that I could do the job.

I am nervous. I am anxious. I could actually make a good living again.

So...now I wait. Again.

I'm glad I don' t have to be you, redux

2010-06-11T19:56:00.003-05:00

I'm not a difficult person to get along with. Yes, I am rather quiet and I understand that people find me aloof sometimes (not true, btw, I am just quiet because I don't know you and am unsure of myself). I've tried very hard to have a good attitude about the place I am working now, in spite of having been called on the carpet about my "rudeness", I've really endeavored to be positive in the workplace.

But today... Today my co-workers ONCE AGAIN all went off to lunch together. Without a word to me. One gal stayed behind but it was her CHOICE and she had been cajoled and almost BEGGED to join them. Not ONE WORD was said to me. Not "we're going to lunch and we need you to stay and answer the phone", not "we're going to lunch", NOTHING. And, yes, I HEARD them all planning to go to lunch but it bothers me that I don't even matter enough to be given the COURTESY of being asked if maybe *I* had lunch plans.

And then the icing on the cake. The gal who is my supervisor called for the gal who had stayed behind. At that point there were TWO people at her desk talking to her, which I relayed. "Well, tell her it's an EMERGENCY" and I did and she said to tell SupervisorLady that she was BUSY and would have to call her back. SupervisorLady then called the direct line and cell phone of the gal that had stayed behind REPEATEDLY. As if she didn't believe that I had relayed the message. (I know who was incessantly calling because the gal that stayed behind bitched about it). She finally called SupervisorLady back and all SupervisorLady wanted was to know if she could bring something back for the gal that stayed behind.

HOW FUCKING UNBELIEVEABLY RUDE!! To speak to me and not even ASK if you could bring ME something but to call and call and call someone who didn't even want to go in the first place and who didn't want anything (not that I did, but that isn't the POINT) and not even have the COMMON COURTESY to extend an offer to me. Wow. And it's not even that I wanted or expected someone to buy me lunch, it's that it wasn't even offered to me and was strenuously offered to someone who sits FIVE FEET AWAY FROM ME.

The group at work go out to lunch together ALL THE TIME. They are all "Facebook Friends". And I understand that you "bond" when you've worked together for years and years, but... to blatantly exclude someone, as they have done with me... how is that excusable? (And then to threaten my job because I am not "a team player").

And yes, when I go out to lunch (ALONE), I offer to pick things up to bring back for people. Every time I've invited someone to lunch, I've been turned down.

I've bent over backwards to fit in. I've done favors. I've gone in early and stayed late and done all of the shit work that no one else wants to do without a single complaint. And it doesn't matter.

And so, I have to say to yet another supervisor (at least here on my blog), "I am SO glad I don't have to get up in the morning and be you." Because I can't treat someone like something nasty I stepped in even if they have given me a REASON to be less than nice to them (and I have HONESTLY done NOTHING wrong to any of the people I work with... nor am I rude, inappropriate or someone who has poor hygiene). In fact, they all went out today with the salesguy who has had HR in an uproar for his completely inappropriate behavior in the workplace (a rather "rough/crude" sense of humor). So, I really, REALLY don't understand what I've done that is so wrong that I don't rate even the barest of common courtesy.

I know I am a grown-up and I shouldn't let things like things like this bother me and maybe it's the fact that my co-workers (with the exception of the gal that stayed behind today and Mr. Inappropriate, the salesguy) are 5-18 years younger than I am and maybe there's some weird age-related "thing" going on (in addition to the fact that I'm "not from around here").

And so... the fact that I applied for a new job today (an agency called me) doesn't bother my conscience at all. The sooner I can let all of this be a bitter memory, the better.

THANK GOD IT'S FRIDAY!!

It never fails to amaze me...

2010-06-10T19:45:00.003-05:00

So, the other day we were supposed to have a conference call related to finance stuff. They rescheduled it at the last minute... (Whew! Dodged THAT bullet!)

Found out this morning that they rescheduled the call because "you (our team) weren't ready for the meeting"... WTF?? we spent 2 hours prepping last week, we were in the conference room with our computers up and running and our phone dialed into the conference call number. How is that "not ready"??

Were we "not ready" because we didn't have a plan to collect our goal amount? Well, I'll let someone know when I can pull rabbits out of my ass because I will admit that it isn't a current talent of mine. Were we "not ready" because we hadn't updated our spreadsheet that morning? Well, if someone other than Tudie, who is on vacation until NEXT WEEK, had been given access, maybe would could have done something about that.

Plus, I found out this morning that they're in hot pursuit of Super Collections Woman (an applicant for, basically, the job I am doing now who has a million six years of collections experience and apparently CAN pull rabbits (and maybe the occasional wild hare) out of her ass) and it slipped in conversation that someone was surprised that I didn't interview for the open position... and when I looked confused, the person looked absolutely mortified. (Whoopsie!)

Wondering if, in an ironic twist, I should apply for the open job I found today (another dept. completely but within current company).

1 Goat Suit, please!

2010-06-07T20:20:00.002-05:00

Tomorrow I have to sit in on a conference call. Conference calls are almost never fun. Worse when they involve finance, which this one does.

You know it's bad when the Finance Lady calls me and asks for explanations (because Tudie is on vacation this week). Fortunately, I had them.

But, the reality of the situation is this. There is absolutely no way we can make our collections goal for the month without some of the accounts that are 90-300+ days past due paying. And the fact that they are 90-300 days past due tells me that they aren't GOING to get paid.

Unless the equation includes "and then a miracle occurred", there is no way the collections goal is getting met. Again. And I will be fighting the urge to tell them that I never claimed to wear sandals and walk on water so if they expect a miracle from me, they're lookin' to the wrong person.

I will, of course, do the best that I can. But, honestly, I can't produce over a quarter million dollars on top of what we know and expect to get paid and if the collections folks at corporate have been unable to resolve the issues, what do they REALLY expect the TEMP to do?

Anyone know where I can rent a (scape) goat suit? I'd like to go into this meeting appropriately attired.

It's called... NETWORKING!

2010-06-05T00:16:00.000-05:00

So, check out the new button in my sidebar for the kick butt "Over 40 Bloggers" group (meaning that their chronological age is over 40, not just that there are over 40 bloggers involved in the group....)

I've got to get to bed before I end up face-down in the keyboard. Again.

Thanks so much for the speedy response....!

2010-05-27T21:00:00.005-05:00

So, on January 22nd of 2010, I applied for a job with JumboCo. Today, I received the following email:

Dear Ms Cleanslate,

Thank you for your interest in JumboCo! We appreciate the time you took to complete our online application process for the following position:

Requisition Job Title

We appreciate you sharing your education and employment information with us, but we also must inform you that this opening has been filled. We wanted to let you know as soon as possible so that you may consider other employment opportunities. (emphasis mine)

Thank you again for your interest in this position and JumboCo. New jobs post daily. We encourage you to continue to visit http://www.JumboCo.com and look for job opportunities that match your skills and qualifications. If you haven't already, we recommend that you take advantage of our automated notification system so that we can email you when new positions become available in your area of interest.

If you have any questions, please contact NeverAgainDarkenOurDoorstep at 866-555-2666.

Sincerely,
JumboCo

JumboCo is an Equal Opportunity Employer

Wow... did they really think I sat around for the past 126 days (from the start date to the end date, end date included) because it's been 4 months, 6 days ( including the end date) since I sent them my resume. Which is....10,886,400 seconds or 181,440 minutes or 3024 hours or 18 weeks and I've been hovering by my phone, obsessively checking my email and losing sleep over the fact that JumboCo had not yet contacted me?

I'm SO HAPPY that they have so quickly released me from the torment of pining away, waiting to hear from them so that I may pursue other opportunities.

Honestly, I don't think I want to work somewhere that it takes 18 weeks to make a simple hiring decision.

If anyone wants to know why people are unemployed for so long, it's because companies don't think twice about taking FOUR MONTHS to make hiring decisions. If I apply today, it means I need a job TODAY. MAYBE I need a job in 2 weeks... but I hope that every single person who applied for that job has another job now. Because I'm spiteful like that. And 4 months and 6 days is not acceptable in my book.

Drawbacks to being "just a temp"...

2010-05-24T20:51:00.002-05:00

There isn't a "standard" in the world of temps/contract workers as far as getting paid for time off. In some cases, I have had the "major" holidays as paid holidays (Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving (and sometimes the day after), Christmas Day (sometimes Christmas Eve) and New Year's Day as paid holidays.

The company I work for now doesn't do ANY paid holidays. Which means that next Monday (Memorial Day) I will have the day off (company I work at is closed) and I will not get paid for that day. It is, therefore, my intent to just enjoy the extended weekend and not worry that I'm not getting paid for it and there's not a damn thing I can do about it. My co-workers? Yeah, they all get paid. Whatever.

And, Bossman can be an asshat all he likes about my collecting. But the truth of the matter is that I've resolved about 2 dozen very past due accounts. Without a single phone call. Because I am not going to call people that someone else just called 2 days ago. I'll EMAIL them. I'll FAX them, but I will NOT call them. And I'm getting results. HA!

Still have heard nothing about the opportunity that came up early last week. Since they kept asking over and over if I was available immediately, I'm figuring that I was not a candidate who was chosen to move forward. It happens. You can spend time feeling bad about it or you can move on.

This is me moving on...

The Test

2010-05-21T22:48:00.002-05:00

It was a weird week... full of whispered conversations and just general weirdness. I think that they don't believe I am doing any work. I say this partly because bossman has now decided that he needs me to pull a rabbit out of my ass and be able to collect many thousands of dollars owed by month end, I am to report to him about 40 accounts on Monday afternoon.

Interestingly, I am fairly unconcerned about this. If I pass the "test", I pass. Yay. If I don't... then they let me go? I've been waiting for that to happen since my first week on the job so every time one of the bosses wants to talk to me, I am prepared for them to be telling me it's my last day, clean out your desk, etc. When that isn't what they say, I am a little amazed and end up pretty nonplussed by whatever it was that they wanted to talk to me about.

The thing is, if I don't collect the money, it's not a failing on my part. Many of the accounts are 200-300+ days past due. There are issues well beyond the scope of what it is possible for me to fix. I haven't the authority to address 97% of the issues at hand. (Customer unsatisfied with work done, customer doesn't have purchase order, customer believes the service was a warranty covered item...) There have been some accounts where the person I get in touch with has simply never seen a copy of an invoice (whether this is true, I have no idea... the fact that when I send them invoices, they pay them is a pretty good indication to me that they really hadn't ever received it) or maybe there is a new person in the position. I send what they request, they cut a check. But... when you need to collect a quarter million dollars and all I am able to collect is $500-2000 because the really big outstanding amounts belong to another department and I have been told in no uncertain terms that I am NOT to call those customers, what I do tends to look a little inadequate.

I've heard no more about the opportunity that was on the table earlier in the week so I will assume that they have decided to go another direction with it.

But I should probably be proactive and start looking again. Just in case I fail the 'test'.

Micromanagment does not become you...

2010-05-17T21:59:00.002-05:00

Maybe I am wrong, but last I checked, Tudie was not my boss. Yet, ever since Bosslady left for vacation, guess who has been micromanaging me?

At least a half million times a day (or maybe it just feels like that) she's asking me what I'm working on, how many collections calls I've made, how many promised payments I've gotten... Ummm, well, because of her stellar training ("You're so smart, you figure it out... class dismissed") I have had to figure out 2 new-to-me software packages completely on my own. I will NOT be in the position of sounding like an idiot when I contact a customer. I don't care how much Tudie micromanages me, I am NOT going to be fumbling through things when I am speaking to customers. Because a bill collector who can't answer simple questions? Is never, ever (did I mention EVER?) getting paid.

The other thing I've been trying to wrap my head around and can't is this. When a customer purchases something, they generate a purchase order. (I know this because when one of the techs wants to buy something, they call me and I have to generate a purchase order, therefore it follows that if someone is buying something from us, THEY would generate a purchase order). Yet, a great many customers who are disputing their bills are disputing them because WE can't give THEM a purchase order number. Wait, what? You folks created a purchase order and... lost it? The person who GENERATED the Purchase Order should be able to conjure that purchase order up again so the invoice can be paid. But yet, they are telling us "Sorry, we can't pay until you give us a Purchase Order number..." I think I am going to use that one next time I have a past due bill and see how it works. Maybe the collector's confusion will buy me a couple of days to pay the bill.

And big hearts to the tech who needed a PO today and just wrote the info on a sticky note and then LEFT ME ALONE. Thank you, Tech Dude, for not hovering and making me feel like I am screwing things up. Can you teach Tudie to LEAVE ME ALONE?

So, that's the latest from my own personal hell...

Oh yeah... and I got a rejection today... for a job I applied for IN NOVEMBER of 2009!! I think I figured out about 5 months and 2 weeks ago that I wasn't getting the job. But hey, thanks for contacting me, folks.

I waited 5 and a half weeks for this??

2010-05-12T20:55:00.002-05:00

So, today was the day I got my "training" to do the job I was hired to do. Do you want to know what that training consisted of?

Tudie: "I wasn't trained on any of this. They just gave me this PowerPoint thingy and told me to have fun... and ummm, I don't really know how to train anybody so here's the link to the PowerPoint thingy. Bossman says you're bright so I'm sure you won't have any trouble figuring it out...."

Ok. Yeah. That was ever so helpful. And TOTALLY worth waiting 5 and a half weeks for. And then she was all indignant that I wasn't ready to hop on the phones, at 3PM and start making collections calls. I've got 2 new software systems that I'm going to have to figure out myself and I'm just supposed to jump into calls with NO research? No idea how to pull up information in these systems (because I hadn't perused the "PowerPoint thingy" yet)? No... that wasn't going to happen. Because if I am going to be talking on the phone with people, I want to be able to sound like I know what the beejeezus I'm doing.

Oh and... bosslady is on vacation until next Wednesday. Who do they have filling in for her? Yep, it's Tudie. I give it until noon tomorrow before I get called into Bossman's office. I'll be surprised if I still have a job come week's end.

Opportunity Knocks (and then hides in the bushes)

2010-05-10T21:30:00.002-05:00

It's been a little more than a week since I got the call about the other opportunity. I've heard nothing new. I got a call from the same agency, different recruiter about another position today. Again, I expressed interest. We shall see if anything will come of it. If not, I'll just stay open to possibilities. I am still not feeling welcomed or comfortable where I am, although there seems to be an effort now to get me trained to do what they hired me to do.

The thing is, though, that if I do a good job doing what they've decided that they want me to do then I will work myself out of a job. Which may be why this is a contract position. Because if I do a craptastic job then... Oh yeah, they have someone like that already... Tudie.

I'm not someone who is "motivated by money"... that being said, the other jobs that I am being offered pay more than what I am making right now which doesn't hurt nor does it make them less attractive. It's true that another job could end up being even worse than where I am now. However, I don't think that "Optimizing my personal space utilization" (aka sitting at a desk bored to death because you don't have the tools to do any actual work) is the picnic that you think it would be. Because Big Brother watches the internetz and I think they'd notice if I spent hours in the bathroom with my Battery Operated Boyfriend (tempted to test that theory... but somehow think that being fired for being a perv would probably not be a good thing to add to my resume at this time, plus, lube is not always easy to get out of one's work clothes).

I do have a project for tomorrow and allegedly will get some training on Wednesday. Would be weird if they finally got me trained and then I took another job. I have to keep telling myself that they have no loyalty to me, so why should I have any loyalty to them?

Speaking of loyalty... I have things to wrap up for LegalBeagle. More later!

Mixed Mess(ages)

2010-05-03T20:43:00.002-05:00

Tomorrow, Automatrons R Us (where I am "just a temp") has it's annual "Our Future's So Bright We Can Hardly Stand It" celebration. In the past when I've been a contractor, these soirees were "for employees only" and "justatemps" were not ALLOWED to attend. So imagine my surprise when I was informed about a week ago that my attendance at this function is MANDATORY. And I have to be there an hour before my normal start time. And it's farther from home than my normal workplace. Yeah, I'm thrilled.

Now, I suppose there are some people who would see this as a glimmer of hope that maybe they were going to be brought onboard full time. To this I say "nay nay" gentle reader. And here's why I say "nay nay"...

When I was first hired, there was talk of my getting a company cell phone. I hadn't heard anything more about it so I decided to probe a little today and was told that "Bossman doesn't think it's a good investment for Just A Temp". Allrighty then... this says to me that my "Just A Temp" status is not likely to change.

I hadn't been told by the agency pre-interview why the position was open but it slipped in the postmortem that I was covering for someone on maternity leave. The person on maternity leave is due to come back mid-June and they hired someone internally to cover for her absence and will be (allegedly) keeping him on after she returns. What I don't understand is why would they tell the agency something that isn't true? Why say I am covering for a maternity leave when I'm not? And most maternity leaves aren't six months. So... maybe they didn't want to admit it was a couple of month position and not a 6 month position? I know that there are people out there who would jump at an 8-12 week gig where they weren't going to be brought on full time. I was told by the company in the interview that this could become a permanent position. Was that a ruse as well? Were they afraid that if they were honest I wouldn't take the job?

I finally have access to the programs I need to do the job I was hired to do. However, I need some training to be able to use them. No one seems interested in giving me any training. They all seem as apathetic about that as they did about getting me access to the programs in the first place. (I find it very difficult to believe, especially since I know how to read their IT tickets, which are being emailed to me, that they escalated the situation at all. Everything I've seen so far was done 2 weeks after I was TOLD it was done/requested and everything is marked "low priority" or "not critical").

Meanwhile... another company I haven't heard from in well over a month let me know that a position they had allegedly submitted me for almost 2 months ago has been filled. (insert eyeroll here). But I am "on the top of their list" for the next opening at The Evil Empire. (See this? This is me not holding my breath...)

::SIGH:: I'd better get to bed. I need to be up early to be all "Rah Rah for the company that will never hire me...!"

Possibly interesting situation...

2010-04-29T21:53:00.002-05:00

I haven't resumed actively looking for a job, but I haven't "shut down" my profiles on any of the job sites nor told any of the recruiters I'd been working with that I was "off the market". So, today I got an email from a recruiter who has a yearlong contract position, $2 an hour more than I'm making now, similar commute.

I briefly weighed "honoring a commitment" vs. "looking out for number one". I factored in the fact that I am a month in and STILL don't have access to all of the computer programs I NEED to do the job they told me I was being hired to do. And all anyone seems to be interested in doing about it is grumping at ME that I can't do more for them. I don't control the IT dept. folks.

Meanwhile, I've acquired a few new skills so am able to do a LITTLE work. And I have acquired a friend in the new project manager (was a tech, got moved into the PM role, has never been a PM, didn't know what a GANTT chart was let alone how to create one... enter ME to the rescue!)

And the "team" that I work with gushed for an hour today about how happy they are that the gal who is out on maternity leave has now scheduled her return date. And they did the "we're going out to lunch so you have to watch the phones" thing today and so by the time they got back it was stupid to go to lunch so late and so I just skipped it. Again.

All that factored in, I decided to tell the recruiter to go ahead and submit me. My concern being that I can't get to the site where the job would be and back AND interview in the hour that I would be allotted for lunch and they made a huge, hairy deal in the interview for the current job about understanding that I would not be allowed to take any time off (asked if I had any standing appointments, vacations planned, relatives who might possibly be ill/dying) during my contract and that sick days would be frowned upon, I got grilled about my attendance, too. So, I'm not sure how that's all going to work out, but, we'll see.

On one hand, I feel a tinge of disloyalty. On the other hand, I have the overwhelming feeling that they would have absolutely no qualms about dumping me and the "carrot" of a permanent job with the current company is not real at all. Especially in light of the co-worker who seems to really want me gone.

I can already hear them gnashing their teeth and wailing about "all of the time and money we spent training you..." (I think a total of ABOUT 2 hours time has been spent paying any attention to me at all... maybe 2.25 if you count being called on the carpet for "rudeness")

So... we shall see how things will work out!

Search reboot?

2010-04-22T21:36:00.002-05:00

So, I'm almost through week 3 of the job and I get called into the bosses office today. Apparently, Tudie has reported that I am "rude" to her all the time.

After I picked my jaw up off the floor, I was informed that I could lose my job if I don't change my attitude. I had to pick my jaw up off the floor again.

Now, my friends, I have been called MANY things in my time, but RUDE has never been among them, especially not in the workplace.

So, WOW... just Wow.. I was just stunned by that. I've bent over backwards to help out every person I work with. I've done everything from filing to making copies to making coffee (none of which is "my job"). I brought donuts the first Friday I was there.

Now I have to decide whether to try to stick it out for the length of the contract or whether I should start actively pursuing other employment. My gut says it's time to hit the bricks again because when you're dealing with someone like this, who has been with the company for a while, there's no way to win.

I'm too old for this "she hurt my feelings" bullshit, especially from someone who has been as rude as she can possibly be from day one. Plus, honestly, this is a really toxic, negative group of people. I'm not quite sure how to work this, the whole interview thing and all when I'm working and can't take time off, but I don't think I really have a choice.

And hey, the touch of trying to make me feel guilty for "all of the time and money you've invested in me...." did you REALLY go there? What about the time I've invested? What about the fact that you knew I was coming a week before I got there and did nothing to prepare?

Ugh. That's really about all I have to say is UGH! So frustrating and it doesn't HAVE to be that way.

End of Week 2

2010-04-17T11:06:00.003-05:00

Well, I've made it through two weeks at the new job. The most significant thing to happen this week is that I did actually get a computer. It doesn't have access to the program that I need to do my job, but I did get a computer. So, now people can email me and I still can't do a damn thing to help them.

So, hopefully soon I will have a computer and access to what I need to actually do some work.

You know, if you hire someone because people are drowning in work and then don't give them the tools to do the job you hired them for, it's like sending someone to sit in a rowboat right out of the reach of a drowning person... "Hey look, help is here.... but NOT!" (I think my analogies could probably use some work but the cubicle fumes have gotten to me the last couple of weeks).

My desk is clean. I have office supplies (I went out and bought some of my own because Tudie is in charge of office supplies and people are ALWAYS complaining that we don't have something and I figured it would just be easier to get my own than try to argue her into ordering what I want.

This weekend will be spent catching up on all of the things that I haven't had time (or motivation) to do this week.

Then Monday... back to the grind. But at least there is a grind to go back to, right?

You can't be serious...

2010-04-14T22:18:00.000-05:00

So, the place I am working knew a couple weeks ago that they were hiring me. They had pretty much a whole week to prepare. And they did NOTHING. No phone installed in my cubicle. No computer ordered. Nothing.

98% of the job I need a computer to do. Without it, I am pretty useless to them. A fact they like to keep reminding me about.

I found out at 4:50 this afternoon that the request for my computer has JUST been approved. Which means it will likely be ANOTHER whole week before my computer arrives.

I am somewhat less than amused.

Damn Frustrating Day

2010-04-13T22:52:00.001-05:00

So I found out this morning that my computer still hasn't been ordered because temps don’t have employee ID numbers and you need an employee ID to get a computer. I am not sure how this is going to get resolved. I would guess that this means that they seldom (never?) use temps. How I loathe the term "temp".

There is a real lack of leadership. I feel like they think I am a major inconvenience. And that they are blaming me for not being able to be more productive.

Tudie contines to be a thorn in my backside. And NO ONE there communicates for shit.

I’m just really frustrated. And I am feeling like a liability. Not a good feeling.

I bet there are a lot of people who would love to sit around and get paid for doing nothing. I wouldn't mind so much if I had internet access or maybe there was a chance of getting picked for a jury. I have things I COULD be doing and things I WANT to be doing and none of them involve sitting at a desk all day with no internet access, no work and no shot at maybe getting to decide someone else's fate in the eyes of the Law.

Now I have to get to bed or I will end up snoring as I sit around doing nothing tomorrow!

Productivity (Personal if not Professional)

2010-04-12T20:45:00.003-05:00

So I still have no computer and found out that the phone at my desk doesn't even work. So things are still a total clusterfuck and who knows when they will get figured out? I am not optimistic that it will be anytime soon.

I guess if they want to pay me to sit here and take up space I am willing to take their money.

So the up side for today is that I can do my blog post at my desk and then at home I can edit it and get it uploaded. (If you are seeing this, then count the experiment as successful!)

I also wrote a big to do list. Maybe I will have time to enter that this afternoon. (Got that about 1/2 done)

Over the weekend I acquired a new phone. Now I can surf the web from my phone so I am a happy little gearslut. I am hoping I will be able to learn to work efficiently with it soon. There is definitely a learning curve.

I hate this feeling of being unnecessary and expendable. And it is irking me no end that I'm not even getting calls for interviews. (Not that I want to be out interviewing but are you seriously telling me that this is as good as it gets? A six month contract job is the best I can do?) Really?

Whether or not it's actually true, I keep telling myself that it's the economy, not me. Because sometimes the truth isn't particularly palatable or necessary.

Getting in the swing....

2010-04-11T22:36:00.001-05:00

I am still working on getting into the habit of having a routine. It's tough to get myself to go to bed and tough to get up so damned early in the morning but it will come with time. So will getting in a routine for keeping the house in order and getting the chores done.

And I have to figure out better, more efficient ways for getting things done. The trash has needed to go out for a week and this weekend I had an errand turn into a huge time eater.

I'm sure I will figure it out. And I have some other things I need to get done ASAP. Hopefully the weekend time-eater activity will turn into some ways to SAVE time.

And now... it's PAST time for bed. Goodnight!

Annnnnd... we have a reset!

2010-04-07T19:01:00.003-05:00

I am a little late in getting the ol' counter reset but it has now been updated. Yes, I have a job at long last. That's the good news.

The down side? It's only a contract position. Six months.

But, for now, it's a job. If only I could stop getting them to refer to me as "just a temp". Ugh.

So far... I am tired. I am sore because all they've had for me to do is filing because the job I was hired to do requires a computer and they didn't even order that until after 5 on Monday night.

And... I don't really have to worry about whether I'll have friends because, I won't. Remember, I'm "just a temp" and pretty much treated as very disposable.

But, yeah... all the filing that they'd put off for months? Done.

The gal training me.. Let's call her Tudie (because of her piss-poor attitude) gripes that having to train me is taking her away from her oh so important work. Yeah, that's why you're at less than 20% of your collections goal, sweetheart... it's ALL MY FAULT. That you haven't made your collections goal once this year... NOT MY FAULT... Maybe if you knew something about collections, it would be different. And the attitude you have... yeah... not impressing me. Why is it people with the "it's not my job" mentality and the "oh, that didn't get done? yeah Whatever" mentality have jobs and I can't find a full-time regular job to save my life??

Tudie admits she has never trained anyone before and that she barely understands how most of the systems work. (They implemented a new system a month and a half ago, after MONTHS of training).

So... this could be an interesting 6 months. They made a HUGE deal out of "how is your attendance"? at the interview. I think I understand why. I have an inkling that Tudie has a bit of an attendance issue. Along with her attitude problem. And right now most of my dept. is sick (if you include being with child as an illness, then everyone but me is unwell right now. Pray that my immune system holds)!

I'm gonna go now. I'm exhausted and have lots to do before I can hit the pillow tonight!

But... rejoice! The counter has been reset!

P.S. Not that there was ever any doubt, but my drug test came back squeaky clean! yay!

Passing the test...

2010-04-01T22:22:00.002-05:00

I may actually get to reset that counter soon, my friends. But first, I must pass the pee test. Oh, I've not done anything to make the test come up positive, but you see, there has been a little...issue... with the test.

On Tuesday morning I studied hard for my urine test (drank fluids and didn't "go" before I left for the test center. I usually "go" before I leave the house for pretty much any reason). I was the only person in the test facility when I got there so I was processed pretty quickly and then back on my way.

The test results were supposed to be done within 24 hours.

Wednesday passed. No word. Then the 24 hour turnaround was bumped to 48 hours.

All of this was very vexing because getting the job hinges on passing the alcohol and drug test and having a clean background check.

The background check came back clean by Wednesday morning. The alcohol test came back clean late Wednesday afternoon. Still nothing came back on the drug test.

At 5:30 Thursday evening I was informed that the lab allegedly never got the instructions to run the tests on my sample. Which was now disposed of. Which means I need to go BACK to the lab and have the tests run AGAIN and then wait some more. Because, you know, my stress levels weren't elevated enough.

So... hopefully I'll get to reset that counter soon. But I'm not holding my breath.

Friday = Frustration + Fiasco

2010-03-27T04:16:00.003-05:00

I went to the agency on Wednesday. The actual meeting with the Agency Lady was 7 minutes long. The whole odyssey took 6 hours. God Bless the Transit System. (/sarcasm) And, SURPRISE! Guess who I have not heard one more bloody word from. So, that was a complete waste of 6 hours.

Thursday I trekked out to another interview. I felt that the interview went really well. One of the interviewers even said he thought my last name was "cool". I was told that they were going to try to make a decision by Friday afternoon and would either decide to hire someone or call back their top three candidates. Well, again... SURPRISE! Guess who I didn't hear from? I can't figure out why I thought it went well and then no freakin' call back. I was told that there were 78 applicants, 9 were chosen to interview. Very nice things were said at the interview so...I don't know WTF went wrong.

So, when I got home on Thursday there was an email from yet ANOTHER agency about yet ANOTHER contract position. So, I send off my updated resume and the Agency Guy calls me. The agency guy who barely has a command of the English language. We spend 40 minutes rehashing my resume. He tells me I am not worth more than tiny monies plus $2 an hour. I tell him, politely and professionally, to bite me. He calls back a couple minutes later and says that his manager will submit me for the position at the rate I requested. Ha Ha, Agency Guy! Friday I get a call from Agency Guy's Manager, Ms. B. Ms. B can speak English! Oh Happy Day. Unfortunately, she wanted me to interview at 1PM and called at 11:30AM for somewhere that it takes 2.5 hours to get via mass transit. We spent most of the rest of the day trying to schedule the interview with someone not having the understanding that it takes 2.5 hours for me to get there and yes, I KNOW it is inexcusable to not have a car but that is the fact of my life, Jack and get used to it. I got told that the agency sent two other resumes over and that the company shunned the other people and only wanted to interview me. I tried to rent a car but it was way too freakin' expensive and a cab was out of the question for a 20 mile trip. So, I am supposed to tentatively plan to be there at 9AM on Monday. Unless I hear something this weekend. So, yeah, no problem... I'll get on a bus at 6:30 AM on Monday and trek out there and then try to find someplace to hang out until they confirm that, yes, the meeting is "on". That'll be a treat. Because, ya know, I have nothing better to do with my time than spend a day hoping that someone will want to meet with me. ::SIGH::

So, the week wraps up with a glimmer of hope that I'll get chosen for the 6 month contract position. Because I need to go through the stress of finding a job every 6 months, it seems. Speaking of 6 months, I've now passed the "6 months since I was last gainfully employed" mark per my handydandy count-up counter. Hopefully I get to reset it soon (to count down the days of my 6 months of employment? Or to count the days employed? Maybe that would be more "glass half full" of me).

Games Agencies Play...

2010-03-23T22:44:00.002-05:00

A while back I'd done an experiment and put my resume, under my maiden name, up on one of the major online job sites, just to see if maybe it would get play that the resume with my legal (and, I guess, "weird") name wasn't getting. Sure enough, I've had agencies calling. It is THE EXACT SAME RESUME except for the name and phone number. Yet, not a peep for the one and calls for the other. Tell me that there isn't some sort of discrimination going on.

Anyhow, I got a call today from an agency that I'd sent my resume to and never heard a peep from. I was right up front with the caller explaining what I had done and why. Her first reaction was "ummm, you know that we'll be doing a criminal background check, right?" Fine. I have nothing to fear from a criminal background check. I had TSA clearance and worked with vulnerable adults in the past. I have had jobs where I was bonded and passed the BCA check to become a notary public. Once we got past that, she sent me a couple of tests. One was accounting which I was, honestly, weak at only 73%. But I never claimed to be an accountant and have never in my life taken an accounting class. The other was an Excel test (a version I've not used) and I scored 93% on that and the agency lady seemed quite impressed. Tomorrow, I go in for an interview. I am dreading it. Not because I'm anything less than what I have represented myself to be, but because I just know that this person has some preconceived notions about me now (she was hiding her name, what else is she hiding?)

I wanted to know if my name was keeping me from at least being able to get my foot in the door. I think there is a plausible argument that it is. But is it worth it to use a tich of bait and switch? I guess this interview and what happens afterwards will probably give me an answer to that question. I'll let you know what that answer is.

Also today, I sent a very brief, cordial email to the other agency who is ALLEGEDLY working "for" me on a job. I got a very snappy "I haven't heard anything and told you I would contact you if I did" in response. Nice customer service, people. I'm not impressed. If that's how you treat the people you work with, it's no wonder that you can't find a job for me. I wouldn't work with you if I wasn't so damned desperate due to your attitude alone. Can't wait to tell you I have a job so bugger off. Hopefully I will get that chance SOON!

Here's the status

2010-03-22T02:25:00.003-05:00

Heading into Monday (again) here's where things stand.

No appointments.
No credible pending anything (I say that because although I have allegedly been submitted for a couple of different contract positions, I've not heard anything in long enough that I don't believe the jobs are really available... they've either been filled or cancelled).
Back to Square One.

It's frustrating to keep finding myself back here. Even more frustrating is knowing that Other Half loathes his job and right now making a change isn't really an option. We need the income too much.

I'm not sure anymore how much of the problem is the economy and how much of it is ME. I feel like there's some rule about all of this that I haven't been told and it's keeping me from being able to get a job. And the very idea of working another 6 month contract is making me simply ill right now. To know I'd be right back to Square One in six months with yet ANOTHER short term job to have to explain on my resume just makes me feel queasy. But the reality is that I simply don't have the option to be picky right now.

Here's hoping that something turns up. Soon.

Perhaps a little help...

2010-03-19T22:12:00.003-05:00

So, as anyone who has been here a couple times might have guessed, I am finding the challenge of securing a job following my relocation very difficult. The CounterClock ticks ever onward, marking the days since I last toiled away and collected a paycheck. Panic has begun to set in. And it is damn difficult to network when you live somewhere that you don't know anyone.

The week came to a close with a fairly quiet Friday. Nary a peep from any of the inquiries I've made this week save a couple of form rejections in the ol' email box.

Tonight, Other Half came home from work and told me that it is his boss's last day (it was a voluntary thing, he didn't get fired or something) and that boss had given Other Half his email address with instructions to email MY resume to him so when he's out & about in his new position and he finds someone looking for help, he can drop my resume on them. So, hey... I may get my foot in the door some places that I normally wouldn't have... how cool is that? And this is someone who doesn't even know me which is pretty cool, I'd say.

So, hooray for networking even if it is a tich convoluted. Of course, I'm not going to rely on this netting me a job, but it might be helpful. And I will take all the help I can get right now.

A Lucky Sign?

2010-03-17T20:49:00.002-05:00

For the first time in about a week, I got some job-related news. It seems that another position has come available at The Evil Empire and the agency wanted to know if I was interested. Due to the overwhelming lack of response (even rejection) lately, I eagerly signed on the dotted line to be thrown back into the shark tank to see if I might get a nibble. I may come out of this with some teethmarks, but maybe I'll also come out of it sporting a paycheck. Which would, right now, rock my socks off! (For the record, I am actually not even wearing socks right now... but that isn't because of a paycheck, it's just because I never put any on today).

I was going to do more than I actually did today around the house but I was sortve expecting a package (because when I looked online it said it was "out for delivery") so I didn't want to get to running the vacuum or something and then miss the FedEx guy (who is like "The Wind"... you remember "The Wind" from the episodes of M*A*S*H, right?)

I'm really trying to have a good attitude. I'm just tired. And every day, I am more concerned that maybe I CAN'T really get a job and that if/when I do get one, I'll have lost my skills. I know it sounds absurd, but it's how I feel.

I hope something comes along soon. And that it is something good, not just something for which I will "settle". Time now to sleep.

13 of the listed positions prefer a degree...

2010-03-15T20:45:00.004-05:00

I got an email from one of the job boards today that informed me that 13 of the listed positions preferred that candidates have a degree. And you know, I don't have one. But I'll tell you something else... if the best job I can get with a degree is "Receptionist" or "Administrative Assistant", then I don't see the point to getting a degree. Silly me, I thought getting a degree was supposed to keep you from having to do the lowlier jobs.

The New York Times recently had an article that had this to say:

One fast-growing American industry has become a conspicuous beneficiary of the recession: for-profit colleges and trade schools.

The article went on to say that the school make big promises and don't deliver and that the education provided isn't adequate to get a high-paying job.

The reality, for me, is that given my age, racking up a ton of student loan debt probably doesn't make a lot of sense. I watched the struggle my mom had, graduating from college at 50+. Sure, she had the education but she had to fight tooth and nail for jobs because they wanted someone younger to fill the openings. She was working for people she could have given birth to who were not, quite frankly, very well prepared for working with older, more mature workers (she had a boss who tried to tell her exactly what to do with her day, in 15 minute increments... my mother had probably 30+ years of work experience at that point and knew time management skills, thankyouverymuch).

I was thinking last night that I finally know the answer to "if you could go back to any time in your life, when would it be...?" I'd go back to the summer I was 19. I'd suck it up and stay with my Grandparents. I might have been able to score a scholarship or at least have gotten through community college. I don't know that my life would have been better. I wouldn't have had any friends my own age but maybe, just maybe, I could have done something extraordinary with my life. And just once in my life, I'd really like to do something to make my Mom proud (I have come to believe that there is NOTHING I could do to make my father proud).

13 of the positions listed may prefer a degree. Zero of them should require it. All of them should be happy to hire someone with 20+ years of actual experience. But that's not the way things work so I'll just keep on looking and eventually, I'll find something, right?

Another Friday... ::SIGH::

2010-03-12T23:51:00.002-06:00

Another Friday and I am no closer to being employed. Got a rejection from one pending position (2 weeks after a decision was promised). There' s another position still pending that I have very little hope about due to the interviewer's attitude during the interview. Not a peep from the agencies who had contacted me 2 weeks ago. Oh.. and another position that I haven't heard "for sure" about but since I cannot report to work at 5AM (due to my transportation situation) and can't work weekends (again, a transportation issue), it's pretty much a given that I am not going to get that job.

So, what now? I have applied for a bunch of other jobs, but there seems to be about a 3 week "lag time" between applying and actually hearing from people and I have nothing on deck for next week.

I am contemplating going to a "job fair" next week just because maybe doing something different will help.

Honestly, I'm rather worn-down and feeling hopeless. But maybe I just need to get some sleep.

Baby Steps

2010-03-03T22:36:00.002-06:00

Still no word from what seems to be the main hope for employment. I do have an interview tomorrow that will be quite a trek but we shall see how it ends up going. It would be quite a lengthy commute every day.

I got sent a list of "Screening Questions" by another potential contract position today. If they go strictly by "things I have already done", then I have to be honest and say that I likely won't even get an interview. But, honestly, I do have the capacity to learn new skills, especially computer software skills, pretty quickly. Still, it's only fair that they might want to hire someone that they don't have to train and I understand that. Still, I can now at least try to pick up the skill so if I am asked about it in the future, I will be able to say that I have studied it and go from there.

I am certainly working on honing my follow-up skills this week. I am pretty sure that the main position I am waiting to hear about is not going to be decided in my favor. I need to let it go and move on.

That's about all there is to say at the moment. More when there is more to tell!

1 rejection & the sounds of silence

2010-03-01T20:39:00.002-06:00

I got the call today that I was hoping I wouldn't get. The one telling me I did NOT get the job I so desperately wanted. And, even though I KNEW that would be the outcome, it did not stop the tears.

The other job that I'm supposed to hear about? The one that I went and interviewed for last week? The people who were supposed to decide by Friday? Still not a peep. But, lo and behold, I found the job posted as a brand new position today by another agency. So, I know that I'm not getting that job. How do I know? Because the job description I found was verbatim for the job description sitting in my email box.

So, large multinational company who thinks itself clever to be gathering up another whole pool of applicants whilst you leave the poor suckers you've already interviewed dangling in limbo, I have to say a rousing FUCK YOU and the horse you rode in on. I stand by having called you The Evil Empire in the past. This is dirty pool and I hate that you feel like this is ok.

My heart is broken and my wallet is empty... The only thing on deck is a job that is a three hour (one way) commute. ::SIGH::

Another week with no new job...

2010-02-26T23:15:00.002-06:00

Well, here it is Friday night and I have no new news from anyone.

I was supposed to have an answer about one of the jobs today. No answer means that I PROBABLY don't get that job. She was planning to have someone start Monday morning. Can't do that if I don't get the offer, right?

There is another I am supposed to hear from next week, but I know I have next to no chance of getting that one.

I have an interview next Thursday... they are interviewing Thursday and Friday which likely means that they won't be hiring until mid-late March.

Everything else that is "allegedly" happening? Yeah.... I don't believe it.

Back to Square One.

Never get a 2nd chance to make a 1st impression

2010-02-26T00:17:00.003-06:00

Before I went to the interview today, I got the impression that I am REALLY not who the interviewer wanted to hire but all of the people she DOES want to hire don't bother showing up for the interview.

One of the cardinal rules of interviewing is always be on time. Well, thanks to good ol' mass transit, I blew that one all to hell today. So much for overcoming her reservations about me and getting a job offer.

As it is, she's doing a phone interview tomorrow (WTF? I could have saved the freakin' trip? For real? And it's really not exactly fair to hold different interviewees to different standards... GRRR!)

Bottom line, I'm not going to get the job. I should have known that from the initial phone call. I busted my ass to make it to the interview. I left home at 11:30 this morning and got home after 7PM this evening... so almost 8 hours... DAMN.

Did I do well in the inteview? I believe I did. She asked some weird questions. She also asked about "reliable transportation" and, well, thanks to today's mass transit SNAFU I guess it is safe to say I get points off for that...

The "testing"? I have to believe I nailed it... but, it wasn't anything that was scored or anything, more that they wanted to see if you had certain skills, which I believe that I demonstrated that I have.

Could I do the job? HELL YES! Would I love the job? More than likely, I would. And it is a "real" job not a contract.

Am I going to get an offer? Realistically, I would have to say no. I think the interviewer knew that before I ever got there today. I'm honestly not even sure why she had me come in. But I know that the transit SNAFU probably hurt me a great deal.

And yet... there is this little ray of hope deep within me... Which I almost wish wasn't there... because when rejection comes and you have that ray of hope, it hurts. And I really, really don't need any more hurt right now.

(And I really can't afford the travel that would be involved in the training, even if it's reimbursed... ::SIGH::)

More chasing rainbows...

2010-02-24T23:56:00.002-06:00

So far this week I had one interview that was pretty much a waste of time and one that went (I thought) well. I have another one on deck.

Interview #1 said that they'd have a decision within 2 weeks, but it's pretty much a lock I'm not going to get that one due to my effed up transportation situation.

Interview #2 is supposed to try to decide by the end of the week.

No idea about Interview #3's timeline except that they've been interviewing since Monday and apparently have not found what they seek.

#3 would, for the long term, probably be the best of the bunch. #2 would, for the short term be a good opportunity. #1 isn't worth talking about.

#2 pays a little more than #3. It has a shorter commute. It is also a contract. #3 is a full-time, regular position.

Would I like to end tomorrow with at least one job offer? Yes, yes I would. Will I? Probably not. Still hoping against hope for a Monday Morning start!

Seriously, Madame Headhunter?

2010-02-19T16:36:00.002-06:00

Just found out that the headhunter I'd spoken with yesterday. Whom I had TOLD I had appointments and would not be at home for the afternoon, PULLED ME FROM CONSIDERATION for a job because I could not instantaneously provide her with a completely customized, totally revamped resume IMMEDIATELY (because I was DOWNTOWN, nowhere near my computer) when she called and demanded it.

SERIOUSLY??? You couldn't have at least forwarded the resume I supplied? The one that I had PROFESSIONALLY WRITTEN? The one that showcases my vast experience? Because you wanted a resume that specifically said I'd set up chairs and cleaned up after meetings?

From now on, I have no choice but to treat anything presented by a headhunter as a "vapor" position. Meaning that, as far as I know, the position DOES NOT EXIST and is being used to bulk up a headhunter's "desperate job hunter" database.

If I have to manipulate information to highlight inferior skills and downplay the plethora of experience I have, something is wrong.

This, then, leaves me with one marginally viable potential job on the table right now. The rest of what is out there, the positions I was allegedly submitted for by headhunters? They don't exist.

I am beyond livid.

This is so damned ridiculous.

It's SUPPOSED to be easy...

2010-02-18T19:29:00.003-06:00

All of my experience with "headhunters" prior to the last six months was relatively simple....

1. Headhunter has position @ client company
2. Headhunter sees my resume and sees that it matches what client company was looking for
3. Headhunter calls me, tells me about job
4. I tell Headhunter "yes, I am interested in the job
5. Headhunter submits my resume to client company
6. I am offered the job

Done. End of story.

The last six months, it's been like this...

1. Headhunter has position at client company
2. Headhunter picks out 6-12 resumes he sees that match what client company is looking for
3. Headhunter calls 6-12 potential applicants, (I am one of them) and tells them about the job
4. Headhunter asks questions that would be easily answered if he had really read my resume, but I will give the benefit of the doubt because maybe they just want to be sure I know what I said on my resume.
5. Headhunter sends over 6-12 pages of forms that must be filled out and faxed back.
6. I fill out the forms and send them back.
7. Headhunter receives fax and spends 15 minutes rehashing what is on the fax. Allegedly "to clarify"
8. Headhunter sets up and sends online testing.
9. I complete the testing, scoring in the high 90's to 100% on each test.
10. Headhunter contacts me about needing to reword my resume.
11. Headhunter submits my resume, with very relevant information omitted, over my objections because they have "worked with this employer extensively and know what they are looking for".
12a. I never hear from the headhunter or the company again
OR
12b. I get an interview
13. I ask for a copy of what the Headhunter sent the company. My request is ignored or I am told "we didn't change it that significantly, don't worry about it"
14. The interviewer asks for my resume. I wasn't provided a copy of what the headhunter sent the company so I provide my standard resume.
15. Interviewer looks at resume and is confused.
16a. I have a 10 minute interview that I know did not go well
OR
16b. I have an interview that seems to go really well
17. I follow up with the headhunter, give them an assessment. I'm told I'll hear something "in a few days"
18a. I never hear from the Headhunter or the company again. Calls and emails go unanswered.
OR
18b. Headhunter calls to let me know I didn't get the job. Says s/he is "dismayed" because I "was the best of the 6-12 applicants that they sent to the the client company."
REPEAT... over and over and over...

Or Headhunter scenario B (in the last 6 months)

1. Headhunter has position at client company
2. Headhunter sees my resume and sees that it matches what client company was looking for
3. Headhunter calls but I miss the call. I call back ASAP.
4. I never hear from the Headhunter again. Calls and emails go unanswered.

Also REPEAT... over and over and over...

I used to think Headhunters looked like this:

But now I'm pretty sure that they actually look like this:

Another Friday reeks of disappointment

2010-02-12T15:52:00.002-06:00

So, it's pretty much 4PM on Friday afternoon which means... I am not going to hear JACK SHIT about any jobs until Tuesday (Monday being a holiday). IF I was going to be offered the job I REALLY want, it would have been offered by now. The nice, long-term contract that I was allegedly in the running for? I am not even being considered for an interview which leaves... a short-term contract that has no opportunity for extension. Great. Don't get me wrong.... right now the opportunity to be working would be welcome but I don't understand why I can't get an offer for something long-term. I can't even get INTERVIEWS for long-term. I am, at this point, doubting that I will ever have a job again. I am absolutely dreading facing the fact that I am going to be absolutely ruined financially, but it is simply a reality-check away at this point.

The one person I can think of who might, potentially, have some connections and might be able to help me score a job (albeit on their calling in a favor and not by any merit on my part) has fallen off the face of the Earth (or so it seems).

So yes, my friends (ummm, not that I really have any readers, but if I DID, I would refer to you as "my friends") MsCleanslate is officially beaten and depressed. And, apparently, not employable. ::SIGH::

Efficiency and rudeness

2010-02-11T16:58:00.002-06:00

Apparently employment testing is all the rage again. At least now I don't have to schlep to the employment agency and spend hours testing only to be told that they have nothing for me, now they can email me a link, I can sit right at my own desk and spend hours testing only to never hear another word from the agency. SO much more efficient. (And I don't have to get all dressed up and look fab only to be told "I only work with people under size 10" (that was an actual verbatim quote from a staffing agency worker)).

There are three agencies now that have sent me testing and then I never hear from them again. I score in the high 90%'s on all of the tests, so I don't think that I am not scoring well enough for them to be interested. I suspect that they have some sort of quota to fulfill, so they scan the job boards, pick some names and contact people. They don't actually intend to HELP any of these people, they just contact them so that they can report that they've contacted "X" number of people this week so that they can keep their jobs.

And while I know it does me ABSOLUTELY no good to be upset about it, I find it unimaginably RUDE to send someone a bunch of tests, which they have to take the time to complete and then you can't even send a FORM E-MAIL in response? Seriously? And headhunters... you send me reams of forms to fill out and allegedly submit me for positions and then I never hear another peep? Not even a FORM E-MAIL that says "Our client thinks you suck" or something? Or "Our client received your resume and was so insulted that we had recommended you that they sent a personal representative to expel flatulence in our faces directly"... I dunno... I don't necessarily need the TRUTH but I need some sort of response. To this end, I send e-mails approximately every other day until I get SOME sort of response. If they were fool enough to provide a fax number, I'll fax them, too. I can deal with rejection but I WILL NOT BE IGNORED.

Because, here's the thing... I didn't contact these people first. They initiated the contact. If I had initiated the contact and they didn't respond, it would be different. But I LOATHE rudeness and no, my persistence is NOT being rude. Job seekers are told by "career experts" to be persistent. I am not abusive in my correspondence. I am not abrasive. I am not whiny. I am not petulant. I am professionally following up on a contact made. I expect that the people I am contacting will be professional enough to respond, even if by a form e-mail. I am not rubbish that you can simply discard.

Put me in, Coach...

2010-02-10T01:59:00.002-06:00

I need a career coach or something. Someone to help me with some scripted answers to questions asked in interviews. Because I am, apparently, a dumbass. Who doesn't test well. And, apparently, doesn't interview well.

Unfortunately, career coaches cost money. And I have none.

Questions I need good answers to:

What's your greatest strength?

What's your biggest weakness?

What's your work style?

Tell me about your experience.

Those are the big ones. Oh, and... "if you could work on only one task, what would your preferred task be?"

All of which come from real interviews. Interviews where I didn't get the job.

I need a coach. Or at least a good script. Maybe I should start writing notes on my hand. I hear it works.

Make me an offer, already!

2010-02-08T13:14:00.002-06:00

So, the "days since I was last employed" counter continues to tick away the time. And depress the everlovin' hell out of me. I have a phone interview tomorrow. The job would be ok, but it is a contract job which means that, in a few months, I'll be right back here doing the whole search thing again and for how long next time?

I want the job I interviewed for last week. I want them to call me today and offer it to me. Even if I can't start for 2-3 weeks because they don't want someone to start until March, I still want the offer today. Because if I get offered this contract job before I get offered the other one? I sortve have to take it and it makes you a real asshat if you back out of a contract. And the people who hire contractors.... they talk to each other... so you don't want to flake out of a contract. I know you're going to tell me that people do it all the time and I just have to tell you that maybe OTHER people do, but once I make the call that I am going to take the contract, I really feel like I HAVE to honor the commitment.

But I can't exactly call up the company and say OFFER ME THE DAMN JOB, even though I really WANT to do that.

And so, my friends, I am sortve in a funk. Because I need a job and there is no guarantee that I will be offered either of these jobs but I really WANT the long-term job because I am SO over the whole job-hunting "thing".

Another week down...

2010-02-06T01:44:00.002-06:00

If you will note, my counter is still ticking away. Another week has passed and I have still not one freakin' job offer. I don't suspect I will hear from the folks I interviewed with on Wednesday for a couple of weeks, if I ever hear from them again. That leaves me with a couple of potential contract positions and I think we know my "par for the course" with those. I am not exactly what you could call "enthused" or "pleased" at this point in time.

The job from Wednesday, let's call it "OC" would be a full-time, regular position. There would be benefits. From what I was told in the interview, I am guessing the salary would be about tiny monies +3, which is borderline acceptable. I am not so concerned with benefits as I don't even remember the last job I had where I had them and I've been ok. Commute is not wonderful but not horrible.

Contract job #1, let's call it "FM", is a 6 month contract, high probability that it will be extended. Low probability it will ever become a "real" job. Pay is "Whoot!". No benefits. Commute would probably be tolerable. I was, by the way, supposed to hear something from these folks by now. Yeah, that didn't happen. But it seldom does.

Contract job #2, lets call it "CO" is a 6 month contract. Low probability for extension. NO prospect for it becoming a "real" job. Pay is "Whoo!" (a step below "Whoot!") No benefits. Commute would be...LONG. This is allegedly supposed to "move quickly" but I guess that means something different to me than it does to the recruiter.

Still, at this point, I want the "OC" position. I don't want to have to be looking for work (for God knows how long) again in 6 months. I'm TIRED of that. If I could have the 4-5 months off and not have to be worried about paying bills, that'd be one thing. But I am not "enjoying" the time off because I constantly worry about keeping the bills paid and a roof over my head.

Also on my mind right now is a friend who is MIA. This is someone who does this from time to time, but this time it's been longer than usual and I am getting nervous. Not a damn thing I can do about it, though. ::SIGH::

2010-02-03T23:39:00.003-06:00

MsCleanslate ponders whether Mr. Hit & Run Recruiter might read her blog because the very next day after she posted her last post, guess who got in touch with her? I know, right? Anyhow, he CLAIMS he has sent my resume off to ~~a black hole~~ the potential employer so we shall see if anything ever comes of it...

Meanwhile, I've been on another interview. I really wish I could stop interviewing with people I could possibly have given birth to (ie, really young people). I know that makes me sound like a geezer but these Gen Y folks want to hire other Gen Y folks so they don't have to listen to us geriatrics talk about "the good ol' days" or irregularity or whatever it is that geezers talk about.

I had figured in advance that there would be at least one "special" interview question so I studied up so I had a good answer for the question. I realized, too, that maybe I should have a good answer for "what was the last book that you read" because I really don't think that "Are You There Vodka, It's Me Chelsea" is a really good answer to the question. Unless the interviewer is by chance a really big Chelsea Handler fan.

Anyhoo, I got about 3.5 hours of sleep before I woke up and got up. I got another 2 or so after a few hours of Bejeweled Blitz and I have to say that I am pretty surprised to still be awake now. I'm pretty tired. But, I think I "nailed" at least a couple of the interview questions and am hoping that maybe this one will be "the one".

Actually, I just want all of this "dress up and put on makeup" crap to be over so I can spend my 4 hours a day commuting to a thankless job for which I am compensated with a meager paycheck because that, my friends, is my life.

An open letter to the "Hit &Run Recruiter"

2010-02-01T16:30:00.002-06:00

Late last week, I was contacted at 11:55AM via email about an open position. I am well-qualified for the position and responded by email AND by phone at 12:01PM (so, about 6 minutes had elapsed...) I got no response. I called 4 more times that day and left messages plus sent another email. To date, I have heard.... NOTHING.

Thus, I decided that Mr. Hit & Run Recruiter is not serious about me and I have nothing to lose. As such, I have faxed the following...

Dear Mr. Hit & Run Recruiter,

You had contacted me on Friday, Jan. 29th, 2010 about an Administrative Assistant position in Glitterville, USA.

Since then I have made numerous unsuccessful attempts to contact you. If the position has been filled, that's fine, but it would have been courteous for you to have sent me an email to let me know it had been filled. Heck, you can even set up a "form email" for these situations and then it takes all of 2 seconds to hit "send". I've done hiring and I know it's tough to respond to every applicant, but in any position I've held that I was a part of the hiring process, applicants were never left wondering the status of their application.

Thank you for your time and consideration.

Sincerely,

MsCleanslate

P.S. - The next step is to track you down, come to your house and boil a bunny on your stove. Please save the bunny, he's awfully cute and you really don't want his blood on your hands, do you? (Actually, since you're pretty obviously a sadistic idiot, maybe you're into bloody bunnies... I mean, what kind of person contacts someone about a great job and then never responds to this person's desperate attempts to secure an interview for said job? It's obvious to me it's just the sort of person who would whip out a big bottle o' ketchup upon finding boiled bunny upon his stove...)

Reliably transport THIS!

2010-01-21T02:21:00.002-06:00

The words "must have reliable transportation" have become the bane of my existence. Because what it really means is "must have vehicle available during work hours so you can run our bullshit errands and get us a latte! and don't spill it or get decaf!" This also weeds out anyone who, for whatever reason, relies on public transportation to get to/from work. Most of the time the people who rely on public transportation to get to/from work could also be classified as "underprivileged" or "disadvantaged" or, in street parlance "broker than a celibate ho".

I suppose you MIGHT get away with claiming that you use public transportation and eschew having a car because you are "green" if you look like an emaciated non-meat eating pseudo hippie who has enough sense to wear a business suit but still reeks gently of patchouli and sandalwood. But there are really VERY few people who can successfully pull THAT off. I am certainly not one of them.

There is no real hope for solving the transportation dilemma on the horizon. I am wondering if maybe I can convince an employer that a burro is "reliable transportation" AND an excellent source of fertilizer as I will need to leave it to graze on their lawn while I am slaving away at my job. I suppose I could also claim that it will cut their lawn maintenance costs. I mean, isn't that a GOOD thing? I will have to find employers with big lawns, though... cuz you don't want the grazing and pooping to create any ISSUES. (And do we really need any additional issues if we already have "grazing" and "pooping")?

Ok. So. Maybe a burro would be a hard sell. And there's the whole dilemma of having to find a burro in the first place. And convincing the landlord that it's really a sortve large, funny looking dog.

I thought that maybe a scooter would suffice and be all economical and suchlike BUT I think that most of the drivers where I live would just drive right over a scooter and barely notice that there was a "thwump" sound when they hit it. Bicycles fall under that same fear + they would guarantee I'd be sweaty and that is SO unattractive.

Gettin' better all the time....

2010-01-20T00:53:00.002-06:00

I had an interview last week. It went really well. They wanted someone to start on Monday . I heard nothing and so assumed that, once again, I'd done something wrong and didn't get the job. Sure as shit, got a brief email today saying that while I was "impressive" someone else was a better fit.

Had a phone interview today for a job that pays tiny monies. It is in a call center that is open 24/7. They expect you to be available for all shifts, including weekends. With no vehicle, I can't get there on weekends. So, basically, I had a phone interview today for a job I cannot possibly accept in good conscience if they decide to hire me.

To say I'm a tiny bit frustrated would be a gross understatement.

I don't understand how I possibly blew the interview that I thought went well. Everything they needed done, I could do. I had experience in all of it. I was willing to accept the tiny monies they were offering for pay. I was willing to commute the hour and 45 minutes (or 14 minute drive.... friggin' public transportation!) And... again I didn't make the grade. WTF? I've NEVER had a time when I had a half dozen interviews and got ZERO offers.

I don't know what to think anymore. Could it be possible that I found and moved to the one place on Earth where they hate me even more than where I moved from? I am beginning to think that must be the case. Maybe some mass memo went out to all area employers from the netherworld from whence I moved saying "Do Not Hire MsCleo... she sucks.... and not in the "fringe benefit" sort of way"...

As expected, the Sound of Silence

2010-01-19T01:15:00.002-06:00

I had sortve figured that it would be quiet job-wise because of the holiday. I was right. I DID get a psych eval for a job I applied for and did the eval. Whatever. It is what it is and I just freakin' deal with it because what else can I do? I do try to appear to not have the crazy, though. But, they ask you questions like "Which is worse? a) stealing from your employer b)raping your employer c) murdering your employer?" I am not quite sure what the proper answer is there but I am thinking that they would rather be robbed or raped. It's sortve fun as a former psychology student to try and figure out the balance between "honest" and "sociopath".

I'm stuck on another thing I'm working on and it's pissing me off. I hate having to rely on other people to finish shit. Also, the more I think about the guy that asked the illegal and offensive interview question, the more I really want to go back to his office and kick him in the balls. But I know that would be pointless because it wouldn't teach him anything. My secondary plan is to figure out how to make sure his business tanks. Because that'd be really satisfying. I think it's sad that his customer base is older people and I think if they had any clue how he talks about them, they wouldn't be so thrilled about the company. And no, I won't name the company or the guy because I don't want to give him the free publicity.

We shall see if tomorrow is any better. I am not holding my breath.

I've about had it with recruiters...

2010-01-15T03:09:00.003-06:00

It's disappointing when you go on an interview and feel it went well and then... the phone is silent, there is no new email and you know, you just KNOW that they were not as into you as you were to them. If they really like you and want to hire you, the follow-up is swift. If it doesn't come right away, you are likely not their first choice. I know this because I've done interviewing and hiring and if you like someone and you want them, you call them right away. Even if you haven't seen all the candidates yet, sometimes you just know you've seen "the one" and you call them right away. And then you interview the rest and hold them to the standard that "the one" set. If someone matches or exceeds that, you have a special file for people you will give your next available opening to/people you will call if, for some reason, "the one" is a bummer.

And then there was today's recruiter call. I called her back right away and left a message and she took her sweet time calling me back. The job was an entry level HR position. I told her about my background and she asked "Have you done sales?" Wait...WHAT? This is an HR job, there was no "sales experience needed" anywhere in the ad. As soon as I said no to that she couldn't hang up the phone fast enough. Here's a hint... if there is a specific NECESSARY skillset, you need to PUT IT IN THE AD.

So... to recap:

Monday= Interview (for which I received rejection on Wednesday)
Tuesday = Call from recruiter who I called back and left 3 messages and she never deigned to call me back.
Wednesday= Interview (they've not called/emailed me or my references)
Thursday= Call from recruiter who advertised a HR position, wanted unmentioned sales skillset and from whom I will never hear again.

Nothing on deck. No prospects. Monday is a holiday so I will hear/have scheduled JACK SQUAT on Monday.

I'm getting really tired of this. Can I just get a job already?

Sour Grapes for One, please...

2010-01-13T19:10:00.002-06:00

I got rejected by the company I interviewed with the other day. You know, Mr. Illegal Interview Question? Yeah... that guy. And I know that I didn't want the job that badly but that I can't even get a job with a second-rate, two bit organization that flagrantly casts aside regard for the law stings a little bit. What, were they afraid I'd try to make their business legitimate?

I was likely rejected because of both my voluptuous body and my offbeat name.

Well, I hope the Oglebunny takes DICKtation well and that she doesn't get carpal tunnel from handling Mr. Wizard's Magic Wand.

Now, if you will excuse me, I have a vat of sour grapes to stomp into a lovely foot wine."

Memorable quotes for
"Monk" Mr. Monk Gets Drunk (2005)

[after finding out how his favorite Cabernet is made]
Adrian Monk: I've been drinking that wine for fifteen years! It's Foot Wine! I can taste it...
Natalie Teeger: Oh, come on, you cannot taste it!
Adrian Monk: I feel like I can taste the feet... the toes... and what's between the toes...
Al Nicoletto: And the fungus. It really is barbaric.
Natalie Teeger: Okay, I didn't see any fungus! Look, I'm sure they have clean feet, there are probably rules about that stuff...
[She trails off as the grape stompers walk past them, stepping barefoot on the wet, muddy ground]