I had a job interview for an Account Manager position… a very odd job interview. I don’t really know what to make of it. So maybe teasing out my thoughts into an epic blog post, laced with humor and vitriol, will clear things up. What would really clear things up… having this post picked up [...]
Category Archives: Employers
Here come the recruiters, hide your long-term unemployed
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
Three recruiters contacted me last Thursday, all within about an hour of each other. The stars must have aligned just so, creating a world where my resume springs to the top of every job board search for “digital marketing professional.” Does this signal the end of the famine, or the beginning of the famine? I’ll [...]
Open letter to Conan O’Brien offering job search help
Friday, January 15, 2010
Norm Elrod
Jackson Heights, NY
joblessandless[at]gmail[dot]com
January 15, 2010
Conan O’Brien
Tonight Show with Conan O’Brien
100 Universal City Plaza
Building 2220
4th floor
Universal City, CA 91608
Dear Conan:
I’m so sorry to learn of your recent job troubles. Employers can be such a pain sometimes. I know from experience, having been laid off four times in the last decade, most recently in October 2008. [...]
Unemployment fan mail, because we’re all in this together
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
Unemployment is an emotional roller coaster. One day (one hour even) I’m way up, and the next I’m way down. What triggers the peaks and valleys isn’t always obvious or logical. And even if it is, the level of emotion is rarely warranted. I used to be fairly even-tempered… strange and goofy, but even-tempered. So [...]
Temp receptionist as keymaster… keeper of the bathroom key
Wednesday, January 6, 2010
The receptionist is keeper of the bathroom key. I prefer the title, “Keymaster,” as it sounds much more badass. This is an important responsibility; without bathrooms and keys to them, nothing would get done around the office after about 11:00 Monday morning. But the responsibility requires very little actual work. There is no rationing or [...]
I will never temp again… ok, maybe just this once
Wednesday, December 30, 2009
I will never temp again. I will never temp again. I will never temp again. That’s been my mantra after every temp assignment, dating back 12 years. And that’s what would run through my head during yoga class, were I to take yoga, or even own one of those mats everyone carries around with a [...]
Hat, meet gift box… a holiday temp job to get me out of the apartment
Wednesday, December 23, 2009
After visiting the mall this weekend, I’m extra happy that temporary holiday season job at the big department store fell through. What a horrible nightmare of crowds and slush and noise. Holiday spending may be down, but holiday shopping is alive and well. As is the Queens Christmas spirit, which translates into lots of pushing [...]
The holiday season job I didn’t want and didn’t get, part 3
Wednesday, December 2, 2009
[Read the holiday season job post, part 1 and part 2 so this post makes sense.]
Around 1:30, a full three hours after my arrival, an interviewer led me out of the horribly misnamed Turnover Room and into the interview room across the hall. Set up were two rows of five narrow tables, each with two [...]
The holiday season job I didn’t want and didn’t get, part 2
Sunday, November 29, 2009
[Read the holiday season job post, part 1 so this post makes sense.]
A security woman sat at the front desk – really more of a maitre d’ stand with a stool nestled in a corner – and glared at me. She seemed to want to rip my head off or fall asleep. I couldn’t tell [...]
The holiday season job I didn’t want and didn’t get, part 1
Saturday, November 28, 2009
What better time to find a job than the holidays? The whole retail industry staffs up to meet the demands of the year’s busiest shopping season. More eager shoppers require more overworked sales people to serve them while wishing they could just go home. It’s a holiday maxim, as accepted as Black Friday and mall [...]