Hurry Up & Wait......

August, 2007


As my prolonged state of Under-employment continues to DRAG on and on and on.....
I've begun to notice an interesting phenomenon.

The job hunting process is one Gi-normous game of HURRY UP & WAIT.

The rules of the game are simple.

• The folks doing the hiring have all the power and the people searching for a job have none.
• The folks doing the hiring expect full compliance with quick turn-around times and the people searching for a job must accommodate.
• The game continues for an in-definite period of time while the people searching for a job follow the rules and receive nothing in return.
• The stars of the universe need to align with the constellations during the Harvest-Moon OR your father (or any relative) owns the Company.
• THEN and only Then -will the game of HURRY UP & WAIT end with the person searching for a job - actually getting hired.

During a phone interview for a Manager position with a prestigious law firm... the hiring manager (who only worked Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday) promised to follow up with me to schedule the next round of interviews. When I hadn't heard from her a week later - I called her Tuesday morning and thankfully she answered.

Ellen - "Hi Ms. X, I'm just following up with you to find out when the next interview is?"

Ms. X - "Oh, Ellen - didn't I call you? You are meeting with several of the principal partners tomorrow at 2pm. I'm so sorry, I could've sworn I called you."

Ellen (stifling the urge to scream at the top of my lungs) - "Oh, no problem Ms. X, I look forward to meeting them tomorrow at 2pm. Thanks, have a nice day."

What followed next was a whirlwind of research, shopping for the perfect Liz Claiborne suit and a restless night sleep. After the interview - AGAIN I was assured I'd be hearing from the firm to schedule the 'meet-the-team' meeting. Nearly two months passed. I had to send two e-mails of inquiry to the part time hiring manager before she responded via e-mail and told me they'd hired someone else.

I jumped through hoops. I played by the rules of job hunting etiquette. However, the stars weren't aligned. It wasn't my time to win the game, I guess.

Over the last 14 months I have travelled great distances for interviews. Hell, I travelled from Milwaukee to Chicago TWICE at lunch time for one company. And, not only didn't they offer to pay for my gas mileage...they didn't feed me either.

Friday June 29th, I left a Temp. job early and travelled over three hours to meet with a perspective employer because he said it was URGENT. He needed to fill the position quickly. Time was of the essence. Ah, I'm STILL WAITING for an offer from that job hunting excursion.

HURRY UP & WAIT.

This game is not for the faint of heart OR the meek of spirit - that's for certain.

To quote a famous 'sport beverage' ad campaign -

Is IT in you?