Sunday, August 5, 2012

Home from a nice weekend away, and more thoughts on the job search

Aaaah!  Mike and I just got back from a glorious weekend in Prescott, Arizona.  As I've written before, I love Prescott--it's artsy and laid back and full of my type of people.  And there's tons of live music.

Mike had never been, and I think the highlight for him was seeing the courthouse square in downtown Prescott where the famous scene in the 1971 cult movie Billy Jack was filmed.  This clip shows you exactly where we were.



We watched Billy Jack on Netflix a few months ago.  What a cool movie; a great reminder of our youth. That's the beauty of being with someone the same age as you--you have the same pop culture reference points.

Man, Billy Jack is cool...

Anyway, thanks for all your support on the job search front.  I appreciate hearing your comments and knowing I'm not alone in my frustration.  Misery loves company, no?  In case you missed it, I want to share what my buddy Vegas Flea had to say.  I know Vegas Flea in real life, and believe me, he's a no bullshit kind of guy.
I've experienced the same kind of thing. I once went for an interview for an IT position and was handed a ten page test. Basically, a college exam. I made it through about 2 questions and went back into the manager's office and asked,

"What's the salary for this position?"

I put the exam on his desk and left.

I've since tried to nip this bullshit in the butt, by forcing someone from the company to answer some questions before the interview process even starts. 
I had a similar experience a few years ago.  I passed the screening interview for a six-month instructional designer position.  Then I got an email with an attachment that was essentially a final exam for Instructional Design 101.  I called the recruiter and said, "I'm not filling this out.  I'm sorry your client can't assess my qualifications from the experience listed on my resume."

A couple of days later the recruiter called back and said their client was really interested in me and that I didn't have to do the test.

"Not interested," I said.  "Any employer who would expect a candidate to complete a test like that is going to be a real pain in the ass to work for.  Nope, not interested."

Of course, it was easy for me to say that because at that time I still had a job (that I hated) and was pretty much testing the waters.  So I could be picky.  Would I do the same now?  Yep.  Let them know they're missing out on a great candidate--and someone's who's a friggin' blast to work with.

Bahs-terds.  Hmmm... gotta wonder, what would Billy Jack do?

9 comments:

lightning36 said...

What would Billy Jack do? He'd start by rubbing his face with his hand say "I want you to know... that I try. When Jean and the kids at the school tell me that I'm supposed to control my violent temper, and be passive and nonviolent like they are, I try. I really try."

Vegas Linda Lou said...

Now that, my friend, is just fucking awesome!

Julie D said...

OMG, Billy Jack is my ALL TIME FAVORITE MOVIE along with the Streisand/Kristofferson version of A Star Is Born!

In fact I have all of the BJ movies in one nice little DVD package.

Don't get me started quoting him!

Bar L. said...

I LOVE BILLY JACK! I need to find it and watch it again too.

You're gonna get a great job. It will take time but I have faith that the next job is going to make you happy and make you money. It took me literally years to get the job I have now and I love it. Oh, and I had an AWESOME resume :) but it still took time.

Taradharma said...

to all those employers: FU! I'm with you, Linda, that's just ridiculous. I guess with the high unemployment figures they think they can get away with this, and probably, mostly, they can. But yeah, for the salaries they are paying, faggetaboutit.

Memphis MOJO said...

One movie is "The Trial of Billy Jack." The next one is "Billy Jack Goes to Washington," so you pretty much know how the trial came out, lol.

Vegas Linda Lou said...

@ Julie: What? You're a Billy Jack fan, too? We're more and more alike...

@ Barbara: I'm SO happy you're in a job you like. Awesome!

@ Tara: You're so right about salaries. I have yet to see what I was making back in 2001.

@ Memphis MOJO: Have you seen those movies? I heard they weren't as good as the original, but they're probably worth checking out.

Mimi said...

Love lightning36 comment!
even though I'm not familiar with those movies (deprived childhood??), will have to look them up online.

One other thought on the job search..I think some employers use it as a way of picking brains for free, as in getting you to do a presentation, then they basically copy that for their own training.
But again, you wouldn't want to work for a company like that. And that's not being ultra-picky, but what you're giving is time from your one and only life, so you've got to value how you spend it, and you don't want to give it to assholes.
The right job is out there Linda, and you just keep looking girl, it will come!

Julie D said...

Linda, we've known all along we are sisters separated at birth! Our mutual love off ATBJ (All Things Billy Jack) just confirms it.