You don't know?

Searching for a job is hard.  Searching for the right job is even harder. 

So much has changed since I last looked for one that I feel like a fish out of water.  Let's face it.  I started working for First Uni*n in 1996 & never looked back.  I loved what I did there.  Right up until the H*lls Farg* merger. 

When last I searched for a job, you asked questions about salary, benefits, hours required, job duties, etc.  Now if you were just changing companies, all you really needed to ask about were the salary, the benefits & the hours.  The person interviewing you asked all of the questions & was really looking to see if your answers matched your resume.

Needless to say, there have been changes in the last 15 years.  Now you post your resume online & based upon key words &/or phrases, you may or may not match a job.  I've gotten about 5 or 6 phone calls for sales jobs.  I'm not selling insurance.  It isn't who am.  It isn't who I want to be. 

I've also had 2 interviews in the last month.  I thought both went well.  Apparently not.  I haven't gotten a call back letting me know either way.  It's hard.  I worked for the same company for 14 years & was let go because of a witch hunt.  How do you explain to a prospective employer that there was a witch hunt & they were looking to get rid of people who knew too much, were paid too highly (not me!) or who didn't fit their corporate image?  I've been honest about everything. 

Maybe it's because the only questions I've had have been about salary & benefits.  Both interviewers told me that they don't know the salary being offered.  It's handled through HR.  Really?  Don't people who go into an interview these days want to know what they'd be making?  If you are the manager of an office, why don't you know what the offered salary will be?  Aren't you the one who will be reviewing my work?  Recommending me for an increase? 

Do you realize how silly that sounds?  I mean.  After all, if your job is paying below a certain $$ amount, it may not be worth the interviewee's time.  One job I interviewed with was for a part-time position - 3 days a week.  If the office is closed for a federal holiday, there would be no pay.  Oh! And there are no benefits for a part-timer.  What would entice me to work for a company that doesn't pay me for the days that I'm scheduled to work but they're closed?  That means that for 10 days a year, I don't get paid.  That also means that for the 3 days I do work, if something happens to me healthwise, I can't call out sick but also won't be able to go to a dr visit because you're not offering me insurance.  I better be healthier than the proverbial horse everyone is always talking about!!

The other interview I went on seemed to go really well.  The interviewer was friendly & informative.  We seemed to hit it off well.

We'll see.  I'm not holding my breath.