get a job

I have been a manager for over thirty years. And one thing that was always drilled into me, both as a job candidate as well as the guy on the other side of the desk was: be on time.

I was/am in the position of interviewing for a low-level technical support job with a huge international firm.

I was tested in various areas deemed appropriate for the position.

To date, I have passed three screening tests with perfect scores or in the case of the ability to use a keyboard, over three times the qualifying score for speed and accuracy. Accordingly, I was scheduled for an interview.

I rearranged my schedule. Was at the appointed place on time and ready for this final hurdle.

And then it happened.

Nothing.

I was left high and dry to wait.

and wait.

and wait.

An hour and a half later, no interview.

Left to cool my heels.

I contacted the source to alert Human Resources as to what had occurred (or rather what had NOT occured)... and no answer there either.

I called again the next day.

And was told our people don’t do that. You are mistaken. Good day.

So not only am I stood up by the employer for the meeting they scheduled, but am told that it is all in my head.

Makes me wonder what else might be at work here.

Age? I am nigh 50. (almost double the age of anyone else being tested)

Race? I am not officially a minority (all but two of the people testing were as were the hiring managers)?

Categorized as a threat? (Post testing group orientation elicited the question from the hiring manager of whether anyone had any technical experience. I responded that I did. I also answered the question concerning how much experience. (I was told that this was great, but, with a laugh, that the manager had no such background and that it wasn’t needed to follow the scripts for technical support.)

Arrogance? (we’ll show you for being too qualified. Just make you wait!)

I may never know.

All I have been left with is paperwork documenting that I am a highly qualified candidate and an appointment the company refuses to acknowledge exists or to keep.

So I continue to look.

And wonder….

And often after the interview you hear nothing or (just as bad) an email to the efffect of the position is no longer scheduled to be filled due to budgeting. It is like things evaporate before your eyes…

But my odd jobs are adding up.

Small favors at $20 a pop… or $30 a pop… or $12…. or reimbursed groceries.

They all add up.

Last month was good.

This month less so.

No benefits.

But….

It does

ALL

ADD

UP!

Applications until I am sick of them.

Recruiters that solicit with no results…

Job Boards and Trade Association…

Nada.

Keep trying. And forget the statistics…

In December, the number of unemployed people searching for work exceeded the number of advertised vacancies by 7.3 million, Conference Board senior economist Gad Levanon said in a news release.

Statistics will kill you.

And all I need…

is ONE.

The announcement came through an alert to a website.

Page change

It had.

No one called me.

No one called any of my references.

and the selection (predictably) was not me.

The new hire was now the contact for the slot formerly showing the recently retired incumbent. They chose someone they had worked with locally. Surprise!

so the beat the goes on….

is a necessary part of the process at this level.

It is a format as old as time.

We have some questions to ask…

Start with the resume.

Go through checking for inconsistencies.

Can you talk the talk?

yes I can

Tell us how you would…

and I do

Then the acid bath…

How do you think I did?

Then there is hemming and hawing and political correctness.

A reminder that they usually promote from within.

And the admission at the end you did very well…

Now it will be atime of back ground checking and vetting and reference checking.

I have gone from an applicant…

to a contender…

and now a final cut….

So far so good.

Now I just need to trust in folks.

And the next thing may be very soon…

Being as good as my references say…

But for the moment…

I am just a candidate.

Scared and excited…

This would be SO MUCH FUN (and they pay you as well?)

I got a call the day before Christmas Eve. Full of promise and hope. We would like to see you. Can you see us on any of the following days and dates? And I am given an array of six appointment times to select from.

This is for something I applied for over a month ago.

Something that would be a real challenge.

Something that I have trained 30 years to be able top handle.

I have references at four agencies in three states lined up and waiting.

Show time is Tuesday.

And with a simple phone call I get a present this Christmas…

Hope.

One of the difficulties when you have gotten to a point in one’s career where you have a track record is that you are a victim of the in betweens...

You have significant experience which makes you over qualified for most postions…

You have also to face the issue that as you get to ever more senior positions you encounter tunnel vision on the part of the human resources department.

That is…

You have a position that requires multiple years of experience, but they effect is that the organization involved typically feels that the experience must be in the same position and industry as the position hat is being filled.

The strange truth I have observed is that at the highest levels, experience in a specific industry can actually hurt the efficacy of the person in the slot because at these level;s the issues of strategic planning, budgeting, and people management are universal.

A good manager is equally effective whether the problem involves producing widgets, or selling corn flakes, or providing consulting services.

It all boils down to the triangle of control…

You manage people, time, and resources.

Any one leg being short can be compensated for by more focus on the other legs of the triangle.

In a perfect world, the legs are moved toward creating an equilateral triangle.

In most organizations, the triangle is skewed in favor of people, or in available time, or in available;e resources.

The trick is in getting past the human resources equation that says you replace likes with likes…

to the highest levels of the organization that realize that the need is for creating synergy and balance.

This is an art, not a science.

And one that is best handled by folks who have been tried by enough fires to realize the importance of good decisions crafted by the pain of having experienced the consequences of bad decisions.

It is not a skill that can be taught.

No matter how good the education, there is no substitute for having sat in the seat and made these decisions yourself in real tie with real people and real fire.

And so I remain…

Seeking a match…

In an economy that has reduced the number of slots…

without the wisdom that to replace like with like will merely increase the chances of repeating the same mistakes that created the economic downturn in the first place.

I can create organizations from scratch, and save organizations from themselves…

All it takes is the wisdom at the top to realize that it is the PERSON that matters most.

Well, the folks at the General Services Administration have issued a ruling.

DENIED.

The only ray of hope is that while I am prohibited from appling for the jobs that are reserved for existing employees (look after your own I suppose), I AM qualifed for the Senior Executive Service

The only issue is that most of the openings are in Washington, and that most of these positions will be in flux until after the Presidential Transition period after the next election in November.