Dispatch from the Field

E-mail from friend AC:

Hi, Here's a new one for your blog: "My company just hired 5 people today, despite the lousy economy." OK, what's the message here? That if her company hired 5 people, why can't I get a job too? That the economy really isn't THAT bad? That I'm not trying hard enough? What? What, already!?"

Dear AC,

Yes, take the hint. The job market really isn't that bad. We're just of a generation that is content sitting at home and blogging (or in your case, e-mailing) about our woes. What we should be doing is pounding the pavement, knocking on doors. Which is exactly what I will be doing if I get a job working for www.census2010.gov. Apparently they're hiring.

And the woman you describe above must have been at the Super Bowl party I attended yesterday, disguised as a man. Here's the conversation I had with her (him):

A-L: Hi, what's your name? Are you hiring?

Mr. You're-just-not-trying-hard-enough: Oh my gosh, I'm sooo busy. I could totally use more help.

A-L: So, you're hiring? Where do I apply?

Mr. YJNTHE: Oh, I'm not hiring, I'm just really busy. I already have an assistant. She makes about $50 an hour. That's pretty good, huh?

Of course I didn't know how to reply. Was that supposed to make me feel better? or worse? or was it just an arbitrary question? Anyway, I feigned a heart attack (after lots of chicken wings, half a burger, a gallon of spinach dip, and 32 butterscotch haystacks) and walked away.

So, I went back to the dining area, where a friend deduced that all of the companies that were advertising during the Super Bowl must be hiring. So after EVERY commercial, she turned to me and said, "So, they're hiring." There are lots of commercials during the Super Bowl. After a commercial from a wind energy company, and the subsequent "so, they're hiring", I turned to her and said, "Now I can finally put to use that PhD in Sustainable Energy that I've been sitting on all these years." I didn't have the energy to be aggressive, just passive aggressive.

AC, the moral of the story is don't go to Super Bowl parties. Stay at home and job hunt.

Your friend,
A-L