I got the job searchin' blues . . .
This job search thing is going to be the death of me.
I know searching for a job is easier in some ways than it's ever been. You don't have to hunt through the classifieds in the Sunday paper anymore and then spend the rest of the afternoon washing newsprint off your hands. You don't have to physically drive yourself to every potential employer in a 50-mile radius and ask if you can fill out an application. Networking with friends and colleagues can really pay off. You can do most everything electronically. And that's great.
But sometimes technology can be a real pain the ass.
One job search site I frequent keeps asking me if I want to work at Burberry. You know, the high-end fashion people who make all things beige-and-black plaid. Sure, I thought. I'd love to work at Burberry. I was a little surprised to find out they had a manufacturing facility here in Ohio -- I was certain they were a British company. But hey, Japanese cars are made in Kentucky -- why not British raincoats in Ohio?
Turns out the site has London, England, confused with London, Ohio.
As if.
Okay, scratch Burberry off the list.
Earlier this week I applied for a position at a Cleveland-based health foundation with an office north of Dayton. In less than 48 hours, a company representative called me to do a phone interview. We spent 20 minutes talking, and it was going GREAT. She really liked me, the company sounded like a perfect fit -- I was thinking, "Hey, this really has potential." Then she says, "Are you familiar with the area east of Cleveland?"
Um, no. Should I be?
The job site had told me the job was in Concord, Ohio, which is near Greenville. The job is actually located in Concord TOWNSHIP, Ohio, which is NOT near Greenville. So I wasted 20 minutes of this recruiter's time AND looked like a fool, all at the same time. It's always nice when you can kill two birds with one stone.
I've set up searches on several sites to keep me informed of jobs that match my skills. Check out some of the suggestions I've received as good fits for my public relations and fundraising background:
Fleet mechanic.
Delivery driver.
Termite control service representative.
Registered nurse.
Information systems engineer.
WTF?
My favorite suggestion so far is "national spokesperson" for Liberty Tax Service. By this they mean the idiot who stands out front dressed as the Statue of Liberty, waving at passing motorists. This person seems inevitably to be a 300-pound man with a full beard.
I don't think I'm that desperate yet. But if you're in my neck of the woods anytime soon and you spot a five-foot-two-inch woman wearing a crown and waving a torch, at least have the courtesy to wave back.
This is an original Ohio Moms Blog post.
When she's not frantically searching for employment, Emilie Davis writes about the adventures of single motherhood at Doritos for Dinner.
