Monday, June 28, 2010

The 100th Post

Well, what do you know? This is my 100th post in this blog. I have something that truly deserves a rant & if you disagree w/this point, it just proves that you're a special sort of moron.

A few days ago, I saw a Craig's List ad for admin work. Now I know I'm overqualified to do just about everything that you could do as a temporary job where you can easily be replaced. If it's not entertainment work, this is pretty much what I want in a daytime job.

I can't lie about the fact that the industry is my passion & I've been more willing to do things in the entertainment industry than I would in most others.

Unfortunately, it seems you can't be honest about this fact if you want to do something that pays a reasonable wage. I'm not even speaking about reasonable for a lawyer; I'm speaking about reasonable for my own purposes, which by lawyer standards is quite low.

I make no bones about the fact that I'm not going to work for a wage I made pre-law school if the job isn't in the entertainment industry & for some entity/person who will be able to advance my career or profile in some way. As my mom once said, $6.50 an hour isn't enough for her to get out of bed in the morning. In my case, $12 an hour or less isn't enough for me to get out bed in the morning for a non-entertainment job.

Nor is working on weekends, getting up at 7 a.m. to get there or having to wear a business suit & heels. Want to see me in a suit & heels every single day, then pay me six figures. I did my weekend time, thanks. Entertainment has more wiggle room but no one would do that stuff unless they were getting paid for it & the people I know in the business wouldn't have anyone doing that for no pay.

Heck, they don't even like doing any of this stuff.

Here's the ad I saw:

NEED A DAY JOB? (for grad students, writers, artists, etc.) (Midtown)
Date: 2010-06-23, 2:05PM EDT
Reply to: CL@ogormanco.com [Errors when replying to ads?]

Our client, a top technology/finance firm, is seeking a college graduate with a stellar academic record to assist with various administrative duties and executive support responsibilities. This full-time job is ideal for a graduate student, a writer, an artist or a performer who needs/wants steady employment with reasonable, predictable hours. The firm has many "other agenda" employees and casual dress is the norm (think tee-shirts and sneakers).

In addition to an *outstanding* academic record (i.e., top school, GPA: 3.7+, SAT Verbal 700+), candidates should have strong organizational abilities, excellent communications skills and some prior office experience in a highly professional setting whether it be corporate, academic or government. The position requires extreme attention to detail and a commitment to the highest standards of excellence. Perfection in written communication is particularly important.

TO APPLY, send your resume as an MS WORD attachment and, in a cover note, please include your GPA, SAT and any other standardized scores, and a description of your "other agenda" (grad school, writing, music, etc.).

Compensation is in the range of $60-75K, depending upon qualifications and experience. Excellent benefits including health insurance.

about us: www.ogormanco.com

* Compensation: Compensation is in the range of $60-75K, depending upon qualifications and experience. Excellent benefits including health insurance.
* Principals only. Recruiters, please don't contact this job poster.
* Please, no phone calls about this job!
* Please do not contact job poster about other services, products or commercial interests.

PostingID: 1807042177


So, when I saw this I thought about a few things:

A) This place won't expect me to make a lifetime commitment.
B) I have a TON of real world experience & references; I should be able to make an argument to be considered b/c of all this.

It's been my experience that when you find ads for something you can do, though you may be overqualified for it, you can usually ask about your advanced qualifications, tell them why you're applying anyway & whoever posted the ad or the person doing the hiring will consider you, ask if you can do something you didn't even know they had a need for OR completely ignore you.

If I see a website or identifying information, I call up & ask directly about my experiences. You have to + I'm a huge proponent of speaking to a live person. It also keeps them from ignoring you & lets you decide if they're worth dealing with.

So I sent an e-mail that bounced back, left a phone message then decided to call up today since all of my stuff started when their office was closed. I call this morning & the owner recognizes that I left a message (but I had to call her back).

You'd think someone would WANT to have someone w/some experience at doing something & w/this ad, wouldn't mind having someone tell them what their circumstances are, right? No, this bitch says complete w/a rude tone of voice: "Here's a friendly tip: you're giving too much information. Just mention your credentials."

I said "You're the one who posted an ad asking people to tell you about their outside projects."

She says "Are you trying to irritate me?"

I said "You're irritating me b/c you can't answer a simple question." & hung up. When someone has proven to me that they are an idiot & not worth more of my time, I have no problem hanging up on him/her. Especially when that person adopts a holier than thou posture!

Before passing along her little tip, she claims she can't help either me or my spouse (whose situation isn't as complex & was very simply stated). So I have zero qualms about hanging up on her or telling anyone to avoid dealing w/her.

So I would avoid Mary O'Gorman, who's apparently too much of an elitist asshole to realize that it's not smart to show your ass to total strangers who may have long memories & even more contacts. Apparently, where one went to school, their GPA & SAT score has relevance to doing administrative work in her world; can we say "stupid?"

* I'm also a very reactive person. You'd never see me being an ass for no reason or mentioning anyone being bad unless they actually deserved it. Warning people about such things is in my view, a public service. *

Academic records might be all you have for someone w/no experience at a job.

However, when there IS a record of experience you just look like an elitist, arbitrary asshole when you ask people about that kind of thing.

Any court personnel & judge can tell you that a lawyer's law school GPA and rank of law school have zero to do w/an individual lawyer's ability to practice law or be good at his/her trade. The big firms are managed by elitist assholes; it's a stupid system that people have railed against long before I ever went to law school or even existed in the world.

If I see a big firm that isn't, I'll let you know.

However, it's expected among law students. An arbitrary & stupid tradition, but tradition.

Personally, I think law firms asking to see law school transcripts while demanding 2+ years of precise experience for some job are run by a special kind of douche bag. It's arbitrary & pathetic nonsense to ask about such things when you know someone has the skill to do something.

I know that when I get to hire people, I'd never do it based on that kind of crap. In college, people out in the real world tell students that your specific GPA doesn't matter as long as you've passed your classes, graduate in 4 years tops & don't have straight Cs. Sane people put experience ahead of grades.

In fact, no one ever asked me about that in a job. I wasn't even asked about my high school GPA when I applied at JCPenney.

So I want to know what sane, non-asshole employer would ask about that from people who have experience at doing a job they're trying to fill? Maybe we should see full academic transcripts from some of these assholes; I'll bet we'd find a bad grade or an instance of cheating or dishonesty somewhere.

It's like the good Lord says "He who is without sin, cast the first stone." He (or she) without bad grades, academic dishonesty or the best schools for everything may cast the first stone. This includes all of your work being 100% original generated exclusively from your own brain, including essays for college, grad school, etc.

Oh, and no use of study aids or outside help of any kind in law school. Could you pass that standard, employer who demands all this from janitorial applicants?

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