Rejection I Can Take

So, I mentioned in an earlier post some bitterness over having been interviewed and then left to realize that silence means "no".

Today, I got told "no" by Canadian Tire and they didn't even interview me. This is the difference between a company I will consider applying to again and one that I won't bother to think about again.

We would like to thank you once again for your recent resume exploring the employment opportunity of <redacted> with Canadian Tire.

We have carefully assessed your qualifications in light of the requirements of the position. While your experience and qualifications were certainly of interest, we are currently pursuing other candidates whose background more closely meets our immediate needs.

While we will not be proceeding further with your resume for this position, please be assured that your profile will be confidentially maintained, in our database, for consideration as other appropriate positions become available. We also invite you to visit our website regularly and apply on-line to other opportunities that may be of interest to you.

We thank you for your interest in Canadian Tire and wish you success in your future endeavours.

Now I wasn't born yesterday. I know that this is an entirely automated process and that they likely didn't even glance at my resume. The greater likelihood is that my answers to their pre-screening questions on their recruitment website didn't match their search criteria and I got thrown onto a mass mail rejection letter list. Nonetheless, they are capitalizing on the use of technology to not piss anyone off and at least give the impression of caring.

Thank you, Canadian Tire. It relieves me to know that I can walk the aisles of your store and know that I am (sorta) loved.

Interview Preparation

I have the telephone interview in a few hours so I am doing a little preparation. The company kindly forwarded me a link to their company website (yep, found typos) and it was nice.

Google, however, is your friend. Google took me to a YouTube video.

An American news show did a cover story on this company's main facility and all I can say is "Whoa".  The website was pretty standard and uninspiring (in text, this could be perceived as a rather staid, dull business and it had a dead president on it's front page) but the television broadcast made it sound a lot more attractive because this organization is/has been involved in some very historic activities.

It also showed that the company isn't filled with suits which is appealing to me. I have an aversion to the overabundance of  "suits". And the suits that are there are bad ones. Like off the rack, not tailored. This is a good sign. Low narcissism quotient here.

So, let's see. Pros and Cons.

Pro: History, I like history.
The Con: It's old. Old often means, well, old. Old values, old approaches.

Pro: Website is professional.
The Con: Website is boring. However, the modifier here is that their business deals with a boring activity unless you are an archivist or a librarian. I could be swayed here.

Pro: Big, important customers. The company is not going to close shop soon as long as the contracts stay signed.
The Con: Government is the biggest customer. And we all know how that works. Hurry up and wait.

Pro: It's a big Canadian job in a big U.S. company.
Con: See above. No offense to American readers, but it is sometimes really frustrating to try to represent what is largely considered to be America's attic in a big organization.

Okay, well, so here's where we stand. I am wary, somewhat interested, but willing to play.

Dealbreakers? Any mentions of a journey, tradition, the term on-boarding, excessive use of business speak (B.S.) and anything that requires me to sing.

Snow Days and Interviews

Mounds and mounds and mounds of snow.


(source: http://www.thestar.com)

Spent a large part of yesterday shovelling much like most people who live in the east(ish). Fortunately the snow did not deter one stalwart interviewer. No ho, because she called me. Yes! Me. On her cell phone. From home. Well, because of the snow.

Scoooooore!

So, yeah, it's not the night job and I admit to being a bit bummed about that but it is the job that I have done before (and the one that pays the most). It's all good.

Telephone Interview. At least I can still have garlic.

(Did anyone else notice that the guy in the video manages his snow blower like a zamboni driver? and he left a strip in the middle)

Night Jobs

Happy Day! There are three possibles in my alerts today. One that is exactly a role I have done in the past, one is something that I have done, wasn't overzealous about but will handle and one...is a night job.

Strangely enough, it is the night job that appeals to me. Why? Well, I am not busy most nights anyway but the night job is a not a full 40 hour week (only 25) and the best part is that I can still continue to do my freelance stuff and go to school. See? Win.

Except hiring me would be like using a howitzer to kill a fly. I am supremely over-qualified.

Hopefully, my carefully crafted cover letter makes it through the automated person selector. Oh, who am I kidding?

Anyway, it could be a cool night job but not as cool as this guy's night job. He has a great attitude. Puts things in perspective. Thanks for the motivation, Angel!

Honesty Versus Marketing - the Conundrum

I have been in the corporate world and I have worked on my own. Two vastly different worlds with differing degrees of submission (some people would call it Being Committed) associated with them.

Currently, I am self-employed also known as sometimes-employed and sometimes-starving. I love it but I would like to return to school and in order to do that I need to be gainfully employed with a steady income. So back into the corporate world I go.

But this time I would like it to be on honest terms except, my terms, they are kind of harsh.

Like, no, I am not willing to forego friends, family and the ability to have a pet instead of plastic plants in order to devote my entire existence to your fiscal success.

No, I don't really want to take work home with me.

No, I don't want the pasty white hue of my skin due to lack of sunlight to be a direct result of my working hours. I prefer that it be derived from my time at my home computer.

No, I do not want to be the United Way Campaign Manager. Ever again.

No, I will not sing the company song, I will not wear your logo to every public event I attend and I will not force my family and friends to either (disclaimer: unless it is plastered on a very cool piece of apparel or I haven't had time to do the laundry...again).

See, I can't tell them this stuff. They'd never hire me.

Therein lies my conundrum. I am my own marketing challenge.

How do I let them know that I will do a good job but not necessarily carry a cross for the organization?

p.s. I have added some bona fide employees and their song. It really does happen.

Really? People Do This?

So now I am wondering whether I am really dedicated enough to my job search because I go on to Workopolis (you can find a link to their site at the bottom left portion of this page) to have a look around (just in case they were holding back on me in their e-mail alert) and find this:

I have to admit I am a bit befuddled. Why???? and what????

Apparently people are having cosmetic surgery to make themselves appear more attractive so that they will increase their chances of getting a job.

What if this became the norm? Job qualifications could then be expanded to such"skills" as:

"Must have acquired a DD cup or at least have such an enlargement in process"

"Only veneers need apply"

"Must be amenable to a flexible work schedule, some travel and adaptable facial features"

I don't get it.

I can't wait to see the results.

Nothing Today, Thanks!

Monday, bleh.

A migraine welcomes me right alongside daylight. Must.continue.my.search.

I get a bit excited when I see a fresh batch of jobs alerts from my various job board accounts. I keep thinking "This one, it's in this one" and then I open them up and...

Today there is nothing.

Ah well, maybe tomorrow.

I can't help but wonder though if maybe I am being too picky. Food and shelter versus job enjoyment, decisions, decisions. For now, I can still opt for enjoyment. For now, anyway.

Spread Your Net

So, I know that it is important to reach out, to network and to conduct your job search in as many ways as possible. This is a good plan. Makes all the sense in the world. And one particular head hunter made it quite easy for me by contacting ME.

I agree to meet. Get the suit on. Brush the hair. Avoid garlic. Mentally run through my career in short, concise, well spoken sound bites so that they are on the tip of my tongue and I don't fumble like a victim of early onset dementia. I AM READY.

Within minutes of greeting me, dressed like she was off to a knitting Bitch 'n Stitch, she informs me that she is leaving the company she is representing (this after I am forced to sit alone in a room for 30 minutes and re-write my resume, long hand, on an application form!!!PEEVE!) and proceeds to spend the next two hours discussing HER career options and the reason she is leaving not only this job but quite possibly every previous job she held.

I know when I left she felt quite satisfied about her prospects.

Me, not so much.

Don't Call Us, We'll Call You...or Maybe Not.

I completely understand the standard statement on all job postings that gently informs you that "Only those candidates selected for an interview will be contacted". I get that. Zillions of resumes. Too many to reject individually.

But when you pick up the phone and dial my number and speak to me, I think I should at that point cease to be just a bunch of electronic pixels to be saved or deleted at will and become a real person. A person to whom some basic courtesies should be afforded.

Is it now common to conduct telephone interviews and then never get back to the interviewee? Yes, I am talking to you Indigo! Bah, I shop at Amazon anyway.

Pet Peeve

I am all for the wonders of technology. Technology makes things faster and more streamlined and...UNLESS YOU IGNORE THOSE CONCEPTS IN FAVOUR OF NEEDLESS REPETITION.

I am incensed every time I go to a job board, to which I have subscribed and uploaded documents and cover letters and articulated the minutae of my working existence, and click "Apply here" and get redirected to a corporate website that demands that I...repeat the entire process.

I have so many accounts in so many places that trying to remember a password requires a fairly sturdy personal data server.

When History Becomes the Present

Looking for a job requires a level of self-promotion that I have not had to access in some time. In fact, it requires having a good memory about things I did decades ago.

I fail. I had to call my mom to find out which year I graduated in. No, her memory isn't any better than mine. She just kept possession of the bits of paper they issue when you graduate.

That reminds me, I need to add "Excellent Organization Skills" to my resume.