Saturday, May 7, 2011

This, that, and the other thing.

Padawan had a job interview something like ten days ago. Same job, bigger building, bigger paycheck. He felt the interview went well and they said they'd "get in touch" in five to seven days. I'm not really sure how this works, but I always thought that meant you'd get a phone call.

I mean, I've never really had a real kind of interview. When I applied at Wal-Mart I had three interviews in the span of an hour, and at the end they told me what they'd pay me and that I could start after my drug test. When I applied at the restaurant I worked at I went in and said I wanted to apply, he gave me the application and asked me some questions, gave me a soda, and told me I could start the next day. When I applied to my current job I came in and filled out the application, got the tour of the store and was told I start Saturday. I didn't even have to answer any questions except, "Do you play an instrument?"

But I've seen lots of movies, and there's always a phone call.

Apparently that's not the way it works anymore.

Padawan got an e-mail congratulating him on being hired by Nerd Gamers-R-Us, and some forms he had to fill out and fax back to headquarters in Seattle were attachments. An e-mail. He got hired by e-mail. 

That's absolutely ridiculous.

Speaking of absolutely ridiculous...

Yesterday I was sitting at work when Padawan called. I wasn't off for another hour and a half, so I was worried something was wrong.

"Chanel, you remember that Survival Guide you read a couple of years ago?"

"Yeah..."

"Well, I gave it to Master Plo Koon. Do you mind?"

"No. I didn't really like it that much."

"Okay...well, he found a picture of Coffin in it. You drew a mustache on him and wrote dork brain next to his face. Do you remember that picture?"

"Oh yeah..." Coffin is a coworker and friend. We used to live across a courtyard from each other when I was eighteen and in my first apartment.

"Well...when he found the picture he..." But he couldn't finish because he was laughing.

"He what?"

More laughter. "He asked, 'Why does Chanel have a picture of that man that was shot in the news?'"

I didn't know WHAT to expect from this conversation, but that certainly wasn't it. I couldn't help myself. I just started laughing. And laughing. And laughing. I couldn't breathe. Everybody thought I'd lost my mind. 


THAT is the picture he found.

Now, I'm not really sure how he saw Osama bin Laden when he looked at this picture, but I love that he did. Master Plo Koon has an interesting way of seeing the world.

This is the same kid who declared, "I think we lost the Alamo because there were a lot of Mexicans," when we took him to the Alamo in San Antonio.

Also...

I'm worried about Choo Choo. She's got patches of skin peeling off and clumping up in her fur. I thought it was Mange, but by all accounts she wouldn't just suddenly come down with it at three years old. She would have been born with it. Skin irritation? Allergic reaction? 

If it doesn't get better I'll have to take her to the vet. 

13 comments:

  1. It makes sense, Padawan doing what he does, that he would get hired by email. Considering, it wouldn't surprise me that they notified him via a twitter feed or Facebook page. I imagine if they decided to downsize him, they would send him a game that was impossible to beat. At the end, instead of saying "Game Over" it would say "You're Fired."

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  2. I think e-mail is a little impersonal when you're telling someone they're hired.

    A Facebook or Twitter message would be pretty funny. I'd find that more amusing than an e-mail.

    Hmm... I wonder if they already do that? Certainly it would be a more fun way to fire people.

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  3. In my experience, they usually tend to either give you the job on the spot, like your examples, or not at all. This "in touch" stuff is usually a blow off...but not always. Plus, your boyfriend may be applying for a far more professional job than I would be qualified for...you know, someone who might actually taking their hiring process seriously. So, who knows?

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  4. Hey, I totally responded to this! Where did my comment go?

    Ah, bugger you, Blogger!

    Maybe the movies are just stupid. They're wrong about everything else, why would this be different?

    I think it sounds way more professional to have your HR person call and say, "Your application has been accepted. When would you be able to start?"

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  5. Congrats to Padawan for the new job. I think it's absolutely ridiculous to hire someone on the spot without asking them any questions. But there's probably so many idiots out there who don't know what it takes to apply for a job that employers probably know a decent worker when she's standing right in front of them. So I don't know what I'm saying.

    And not for nothing, but I can't read the sidebars on your blog page because of this eye-gouging pink going on in all forms. Maybe a little black on pink? rather than pink on pink? Anyway...

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  6. I'll tell him you said congratulations.

    I think maybe Coffin offered some sort of recommendation to the manager that may have helped get me hired. And it's not like they needed me to do anything hard. Just answer phones and say hi to people. How many ways can you mess that up?

    I'll see what I can do about the sidebars.

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  7. Much better. Contrast! We like contrast. I pretty much got hired on the spot at the prison. There was an interview process but they were so short of people at the time it was mostly just a formality. Scary, huh?

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  8. I've gotten all of my jobs on the spot, or at least with a phone call the next day. It would suck if I got hired with an e-mail - I don't check my e-mail that often.

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  9. Darev, I don't see a difference. All of my links have pretty much been clicked so they're still pink.

    A little. You don't want just ANYBODY working in a prison. You want honest, firm, hardworking people. Maybe they just knew you would fit the bill.

    Doug, yeah I don't check my e-mail regularly, either. But Padawan does because his iPhone connects to his e-mail or something.

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  10. I've only ever been hired on the spot or via phone call too. I've never heard of the e-mail-a-job idea. But hey, at least he got the job, right? Good for him! :)

    Good luck with Choo Choo! I hope you'll be able to find a way to help her. Poor little doggie!

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  11. He didn't seem phased by the whole e-mail thing...but it still strikes me as weird. And yes...we are SO excited for him to start his new job!

    I really think it's an allergic reaction. The vet can will know for sure.

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  12. WOOOHOOOO PADAWAN! New jobs are so exciting....and keep us updated about Choo Choo!

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  13. She's going to the vet on Wednesday. We're dropping her off at seven in the morning and leaving her there for skin tests.

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