“I have met the enemy and it is us.” –Pogo
Keeping pace with usable job seeking information poses a challenge.
Never have so few had so much information and so little time to grasp the
learning curve. We are drowning in data and statistics.
In olden days, the
process proved to be straightforward. A company announced an opening, usually
under help-wanted. You mailed your résumé to Personnel. If you met the preliminary
requirements, you stood decent odds you could fumble your way through the
interview.
Today, you need the interviewing
dexterity of an ingenuous octopus. Even under optimal circumstances, the
process gravitates toward navigating a convoluted maze of obstacles and hazards.
Then, there is the exasperating
(anal) paperwork: With some positions,
the procedure is so exhaustive; it sucks oxygen out of a room. (The fields of education and nursing rank
among the highest.)
Once an initial
screening process commences, a candidate’s background, experience and finances can
be scrutinized down to the minutia. Everything from driving record, credit
reports, references, educational verification, court documents, medical records,
LinkedIn and Facebook accounts can be examined ad nauseam.
Let the position involve a modicum of confidentiality, trust or integrated skills, and you'll think you are being prepped for invasive surgery. You can expect a battery of trick-and-trap, behavioral and psychoanalytic questions that would cause a shrink to blush.
Walk into an interview
unprepared, and expect coming out as bloody as if you had gone five rounds with
Joe Frasier or George Foreman. Naturally, everything you need to know is
available online: All you have to do is be sure you known as much about the
next employer as the interviewer.
That, however, is a
given. Job-hunting crusades are nothing short of a mentally challenging, time
consuming, and physically demanding undertaking. Ever wonder why Cousin Joey
and brother Mackie can’t land decent employment? Chances run high they were
unable to maneuver the job market gauntlet.
Once unemployment
benefits expire, the individual has committed job-hunting hari-kari. Now the job
search boarders on chasing fairy dust. When all else fails—look within, for
there you’ll find your worst enemy.