Hold Fast to Dreams...

Some days I think to myself... "SELF, Why do you keep bothering to be a professor? You just keep applying for positions and nothing seems to be happening. You should just give up and become a pharmaceutical rep! At least you will get paid."

But then I think to myself...  "SELF, It could be worse. You could be trying to get signed to a record deal like this guy..."

50 Tyson!!!

I guess we all gotta hold fast to our dreams =)

The Rejection Blues

So when I was kid, I remember loving a song from Sesame Street called "The Subtraction Blues."

"Subtraction Blues" 

(from the 21-23:30 min. mark)

I would hang out on the front porch of my house with my brother and sister, leaning casually on the steps, and listen to David (the second African American male cast member on Sesame Street) croon out the BLUES.....well the kiddie Blues. Back then I really thought I had an idea of what it was like to truly feel down in the dumps about the hard knocks of life. I mean what kid wouldn't understand having to give up or lose slice after slice of his own personal pizza? 

For those of you who are unfamiliar with the song I'm talking about, David just couldn't seem to catch a break...or keep his pizza from disappearing in front of his very eyes - he took loss after loss until his beloved pizza was gone and he was left with nothing but the blues..."The Subtraction Blues."

In my current state of perpetual rejection – in the form of rejection emails, rejection voicemails, and the oh so subtle "YOU SUCK SO BAD we won't waste the time it would take to formally reject you" cold shoulder – I was brought back to this moment in my life. I really have a deeper understanding of the blues as a result of my constant encounters with rejection; rejection from jobs in my career field but especially those oh-so-coveted jobs at OLD NAVYs, DRESS BARNs, and WALMARTs all across America!

While I have been perfecting my never-ending tango with Rejection, I have come to realize that corporations and companies have perfected the art of rejection. Clearly they all have taken the same seminar on "How to Make a Desperate Unemployed Person Feel Even WORSE" and passed with flying colors. Was this a prerequisite for moving into upper-middle management? Did I miss the memo?!

Just for your entertainment (a few horror stories of my own): 

Would you believe me if I told you that I walked into a place to apply for a job and the same man that told me that he was the manager (gave me his full name and business contact information) turned around and told me that I would need to speak to a manager when I called back to follow up on my job application? Well it did...there have to be laws against that sort of thing. Right? (nevertheless it happened)

Or better yet, would you believe me if I told you a company blew off all of my phone calls to check up on the status of my application, hung up on me regularly when I called, and then – after finally getting through to the manager– flat out told me they weren't hiring?! (This after the manager [the hiring manager] told me to my face that they were! She even too my application herself) I mean come on!!! Unemployed people have feelings too. We have dignity! I mean even bugs put up a fight when they are being swatted down left and right. Employers should extend common curtesy to potential employees or at the least try to think twice before blowing us off with such a lack of kindness... 

Everyone knows rejection is a part of life. Sometimes people we like won't like us, we won't always get what we want, and there will be times when our best efforts won't ensure that we succeed. Despite these facts, I think we all deserve a few breaks every now and then and a kind let down is one of them.  As the traffic to my Inbox seems to be dwindling and my voicemail box remains empty, It seems like I will have to continue this dance with Rejection. Until this pattern ends, I'll just have to keep singin the blues.....

"The Rejection Blues."

They Wanna Interview Me HOW?!

So a few days ago, I got (what looked like) a promising response from one of the gazillion companies that I applied to for full time, part time, or screw my dignity...just pay me because I'm desperate to do anything and preserve my sanity work! Little did I know, this was not a stroke of good fortune, but another episode in my job hunt misadventures! I thought you might find this one particularly interesting...

So in the email I got from the nameless company that I applied to on (you guessed it) Craigslist, it said that I was a prime candidate for the job that I had applied for. You can imagine my delight and enthusiasm. Yes, there were shouts of glee and jumping up and down in excitement ensued. After I came back down to earth, and read the rest of the email, I was surprised to find that my interview would not ensue in the conventional manner that interviews go.  No, No, this interview was special and different.....this would be an AIM Interview (side eye).

I was immediately skeptical, not because it was to take place on IM, but because of the fact that it was to take place on a Saturday, of all days,  and because I was not given a specific time to chat, but rather a window of time. (9am to 2pm; what a window right?!)  Despite my inner Jennifer screaming, "This is SOOOOOOOO a scam! Don't be hoodwinked or bamboozled yet again HEFFA!" I decided to forgo my initial instinct and try out this AIM interview thing...

Needless to say, after going through all of the trouble to set up a yahoo account just so that I could chat with this SUPPOSED manager on Yahoo chat (no offense yahoo! I actually think you're a nice company, just a tool being used by a deceptively crafty scam artist out to make me loose my unemployed mind) the interview went something like a dialogue out of a National Lampoon movie.

ME: Hello
Seedy Manager: Hello, how are you?
ME: I am fine, I am ready for my interview.
Seedy Manager: What is rush?
ME: Um....What is the name of your company?
LONG, UNCOMFORTABLE, AKWARD PAUSE
Seedy Manager: World Wide Data Entry Company
ME: Okay (secretly googling this company to see if it exists; it is a seedy website where you have to buy software and work from home in the hopes that you will make it rich)
ME: What would the hours be and what is the salary range?
EXTREMELY LONG PAUSE WITH NO RESPONSE

ME: Hello?  Are you still there?
Seedy Manger: SIGNED OFF
2 minutes later (yes I waited in disbelief thinking they must be having some technical difficulties)

Seedy Manager: SIGNED ON
ME: Hello?
Seedy Manager: Hello, How are you today?
ME: (CONFUSED FACE) Um....Hello again.
Seedy Manager: I'm fine and you?
ME: (UBER CONFUSED FACE) Um...you didn't answer my last question.
Seedy Manager: What is rush? We will get there in time.
ME: Well tell me what your company does exactly.
Seedy Manager: We distribute dialysis on schematics that various businessmen find useful in maintaining and improving their productivity.
ME: (???) Okay (side eye)
Seedy Manager: You would work from home and enter data about personnel payment.
ME: Is there an actual office that I could go to in case I have questions or problems.
Seedy Manager: That is not necessary, but if you want you can.
ME: Well what is the salary for this position and what are the hours that I would be working?
LONG PAUSE WITH NO RESPONSE
Seedy Manager: SIGNED OFF

ME: (MOUTH ON FLOOR, IN UTTER SHOCK AND DISBELIEF....This couldn't have happened again)

Seedy Manager: SIGNED ON
ME: Why won't you answer that questions about salary and hours and why do you keep signing off?
Seedy Manager: Hello, How are you?
ME: THIS IS SUCH A FREAKIN SCAM!!!  This is not a legitimate company which is why you keep signing off
Seedy Manager: We are real company. We do very legtmte business (their exact typing not mine...no exaggeration)
ME: YEAH RIGHT!
ME: SIGNED OFF

This interview was a total BUST!
 
I will forgive this scam artist's bad typing grammar and the spelling, because after all I'm an ENGLISH MAJOR with impeccable spelling and grammatical skills, but what I will not forgive is the complete disregard and wasting of my TIME!!! (Especially on a Saturday) I went on with my Saturday as usual, filling out gazillions more job applications and taking time for the occasional drink and venting session with friends.

So the moral of the story kiddies is that and AIM Interview for a job is a red flag that the job is a total scam! Trust your first instincts when it comes to trying so desperately to find a job in this waning economy.  If you have to ask "They wanna interview me HOW?" This job probably isn't LEGITIMATE to begin with!

"Mama Said There'd Be Days Like This...."

I don't know if it's just me, but the job market doesn't just suck... It Is Down Right Disfunctional and Depressing.

I wake up each day, only to log more useless hours applying for jobs that almost always turn out to be another "DESPERATE FOR WORK" scam.

If you are a young person with a college degree fresh out of school, or even a person who has been dumped back into the workforce (against your will) you know what I am talking about. Those countless Craigslist ads or mass produced websites that offer innumerable listings of jobs that REALLY PAY or jobs to KEEP YOU FROM GIVING UP HOPE, that promise the holy grail of job benefits if you simply apply. These ads entice those of us out here who really believe that we are only one application away from getting back in the door, away from financial insecurity, stress from mounting bills, and out of the misery that is the job hunt.

HOWEVER these ads never tell you anything remotely pertinent about the job they are advertising. You know, the ones that read:

***Front Desk Receptionist

Administrative and Support Services Personable, outgoing and talented. Must have computer skills and basic knowledge of Microsoft office applications. Candidate must be highly energetic and have great people skills.

Must Have:
* Must be reliable and have high personal integrity.
* Must have Great People skills.

Competitive pay. Medical. Dental.

Send in Resume and Cover letter expressing interest in the position along with references.***

You get all of your hopes up thinking: I can totally do this vaguely described, yet highly rewarding, possibly professional job! What we don't take into account is that these types of jobs are almost always scams that prey on the hopes and desperation of the unemployed... First of all there is no real contact information, nor is there an actual company name, not to mention the fact that the ad has vague phrases galore! ("Support services personable" ??? OR "personal integrity"??? ). I mean is doesn't even state whether it is full time or part time and if you were trying to make a living you have no clue how much you would even get paid, whether its annually or hourly (not even a hint of a range) BUT we are supposed to be chomping at the bit to apply for this job and all of the marginally described jobs on job sites.

In my months of hunting, day after day for and yet another bogus job in this JACKED UP (yes I brought that one back out of the past to describe the system) economy I have just come to realize that workers seeking jobs basically have no recourse and that needs to change! I'm FED UP and am sure many of you are too! Employers need to be more responsible, these BOGUS job websites need to be systematically shut down, and all of the unemployed workers out there need to speak up and let it be known that not only do we deserve better treatment than this but we are better than the crappy job offers and scams that are out there.

As I begin the hours-long task of job searching today, I can't help but to think "Mama said there'd be days like this," But she never warned me about MONTHS or YEARS!