October 17, 2000
Prospective Employers - About as reliable as cable repair men
by mike <mike@pfft.net>
I've got a bone to pick. (I always have a bone to pick - no bone, no column for you to read. You should be happy I have so much pent up aggression.)
This time it's not about my boss. It's not about my old boss. It's about a guy who might someday be my boss. Yes - he's my prospective employer.
In August, I applied for a 911 dispatch position with a local dispatch center. I wasn't selected for the opening. I was the second choice, it seemed. I was devastated.
Just last Thursday, I got a voicemail from the boss-to-be in question. It was:
"Hi Mike, I'm calling to let you know that we had another position open up. From your e-mails, I'd say it looks like you're still interested, so I'd like to see if there's a time next week that we could meet."
Wow! This great job that I missed out on has another spot, and it sounds like it's all but mine! I call him eagerly the next day. He's busy in meetings, so I agree to call him on Monday. I call Monday, and meetings again. On Tuesday I call again, and he tells me that he's interviewing another person for the job just to "give them a fair chance."
PFFT! You can't do that! You can't make it out to sound like I've got the job already and just need to meet with you about it and then tell me you're interviewing someone else! That's like offering me a starring spot in a porn movie with the hot paramedic chick from "Third Watch" and then telling me I'm actually just going to be the guy who gets everyone coffee.
It's a respect issue. Don't give me the job. Fine. Give me the job. Great. But don't ever screw around with me and pretend I have the job when it's still a toss-up. Bastards. I don't even work for this guy yet and he's already jerkin' me around. It's like I'm living in New York.
You know, I could just start my own island nation somewhere and make it all nudist. ...and only let beautiful women on the island. Or, I could start this TV show about 14 people on a deserted island, and they have to survive on their own, and every now and again one gets voted off, and the last one there wins a million -- wait, that's been done. Dammit. Back to watching "Ren & Stimpy" for me, then.
Published: October 17, 2000
Editor: robin