First, applications are almost completely online. Convenient, yes, but with it are some big negatives. Although I have fabulous internet service and I rarely suffer from disconnections, I find that 3/4 of the way through almost every online application, my service goes out the window. This means I have to start all over again, because heaven forbid it saves your information as you go. The next part that drives me batty is the questions at the end. These are not your typical "Have you been charged of a felony?" or "Do you have reliable transportation?" questions. These are seemingly random questions that I believe some psychiatrist created to weed out the weirdos. To be perfectly honest, I have no feeling toward convicts that are released from prison (God honest question from a Home Depot application). Then they give you the tricky ones. Ones that can be interpreted in several ways. If you see a co-worker taking a pen home from work, you would report them. Strongly agree, agree, disagree, strongly disagree. If I say I would, does that say I am honest or nit-picky? If I say I wouldn't, does that say I'm stealing cash out of the register when no one is looking? I am literally calling my friends and family for there take on these questions.
My other concern about the new job market is that they advertise for opening that do not exist. Merely a decade ago, if you looked in the paper for a job it meant that the job existed. Lately I have been dragging my tush to places and inquiring about ads I saw online or in the paper and these people tell me that they have no openings, but feel free to fill out an application. Or (even better), they need help, but only for two hours a week. I live in the middle of nowhere. It takes me half an hour to get anywhere. Why would any sane person be willing to fill a two hour slot. Can they really not find a current employee that is willing to work that????
Today I had a promising interview. It was not meant to be an interview, but I'll take what I can get. I stopped by a hotel that had an ad online for housekeepers. When I asked if they were hiring (what I use to assume was a rhetorical question) the nice lady said she had no clue, but she handed me an application. I found a quiet spot to fill it out. The whole time I was filling it out I noticed this other older woman staring at me. I said hi because I felt obligated to say something due to the manner in which she was watching me. As I was signing my name at the bottom of the page, she came over and sat down frighteningly close to me, snatched my paper from my hands and said "Lets see what we have here." At the time, I did not know she was the HR person, but I was hoping for the best that she was not some random nut-job trying to steal my identity. She finally announced who she was and reviewed my application. She asked about my previous experience and I tried to respond with serious and some humor. She said she would call me the beginning of next week. I was feeling good...
On the ride home I was analyzing the entire meeting. I know that my mind focusing on things and over-thinking is a dangerous thing. It occurred to me that the dear woman I had spoken to just moments ago referred to me as "a sweet girl" nearly a dozen times in our twenty minute impromptu meeting. My first thought: Score! I made a great impression. Then I got thinking: Oh crap! What if she meant it in a "I feel terrible that I am going to have to turn down such a sweet girl because she has next to no experience" sort of way. I guess only time will tell.
I truly hope that I will get this job. The job-market has drained me to my very core. I do cry during animal abuse commercials and global warming does sort of concern me, but if I have to answer one more of those ridiculous questions, I think I'll go insane.
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