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In 1988 and 1989, I was performing as a professional magician
and doing the stay-at-home dad thing. I went to PTA meetings and shuttled
Jessica to whatever after school events she needed shuttling to. I was even
part of a parent reading program intended to prep us to read with the kids, though
that didn't last long because I thought Alice in Wonderland was wonderful and
The Pearl by Steinbeck was an awful tale. It was a nice almost year.
Then Linda came down ill and things changed.
Chronic illnesses necessitate change.
It became apparent that Linda wasn't going to be returning
to work, and our need for an income hadn't happily vanished with her good
health, so…
I went job hunting and found a temp service that kept me
working for a little while. After that I worked for Washington Inventory
Service (WIS). After a few months working for them, my knees were telling me I
needed a change. So I went job hunting again. I walked into Fred Meyer in
Everett, WA. It wasn't too far from home, and I had been there only the week before
to do inventory as a WIS employee.
I walked up to the manager’s desk, and started talking with
the grocery manager. Told him I wanted a job, that I worked for WIS and knew
ten key, and had handled money in the past. As we talked, he reached into his
desk, started pulling out papers and without breaking stride, handed them to me
telling me to fill them out. I looked at what he handed me and realized that
these were the types of paperwork you filled out when you got the job.
I looked at him and said “So does this mean I’m hired?”
That was the start of my 15 year association with Fred Meyer.
Aw, what I wouldn't give for more of those kinds of days.
[beginning of rant]
I am once again in the job market, and oh how the process
has changed. Everything is on-line these days. Want a job at Albertsons? Go to
their web page. Medical offices? Go to the web page. Computer industry? Web
page. Bah humbug. What a way to find people to work for you. If the paperwork
doesn't catch their attention, the person never has a chance to sell him or
herself to them. I get that it is a new tool, and yes, it has changed and will
continue to change the way hiring is done, but I just thought I would do my old
man harrumph (even though I love the tech) to get it out of the way so I can
focus on getting a job. [end of rant]
