Satisfying Potential Employers

Unemployment is on the rise. Our economy isn’t as great as we’d like it to be. Gas prices are soaring and therefore so are the prices on everything else. Now is the time to be the best candidate for whatever job you are seeking, and in these conditions, who isn’t seeking…to one degree or another?

Well, I am seeking. There is a particular company for which I long to work, for a vast array of reasons. This company is in another state, one which I love for its climate and landscape. This company has locations close to all the major metropolitan areas in this state I love. The reputation this company has for how it treats its employees has so far been positive. And the icing on the cake: employees in the field of my choice are making twice as much money and getting 20+ hours more per month than I can get in my local market. What’s not to like?

But there’s one problem.  I am not the only one who realizes the awesome opportunity in working for this company.  Competition for the jobs I want is astronomical.  This company has the opportunity to select only the cream of the crop.  How do I qualify for that status?

Well, what is the cream of the crop?  I think it begins with experience.  The best candidates should have extensive experience in the field, including specialty areas for which the company does offer services.  Candidates should also have experience in management, as this company requires all employees in the position I desire to share the management responsibilities.  Additionally, candidates should be experienced with expanding existing locations and opening new ones due to the current growth of the company.  Candidates should be prepared to relocate at the drop of a hat.  Due to the nature of the company’s business, candidates should not have a criminal background or use illegal drugs.  And finally, the candidate should possess a complete understanding and appreciation for customer development and retention in the company’s industry. 

I have all of the above qualifications.  My first interview with the company assured me of such.  But I still haven’t secured the job, and I have been trying for 8 weeks.  People I know that don’t have all the above qualifications have already been hired.  WHAT AM I DOING WRONG?

Who knows.  Maybe I didn’t offer to hand over my first born, or perhaps I should have slipped the interviewer tickets to the Superbowl next year.  All I know is that time is running out.  The positions must be filled within a few short weeks, and most of the positions are already filled, judging by the number of people hired already.  All I can hope for now is a miracle.  God knows I have prayed on this extensively. 

I guess it is time to formulate a plan B.  What am I going to do if I don’t get this coveted position?  How will I ever rise above the ever growing mountain of obstacles I currently face when trying to make ends meet?  Where will I find the patience to endure the anti-employee environment that exists where I currently work?  What hope will I find in a geographical area that has suffered the worst disaster it could ever imagine and cannot seem to get it together ever since? 

Only the Lord can direct me.  I have to remember to keep my faith in His will.  He knows what is best, I know it-I just have to get over myself.  It isn’t like my current predicament isn’t my fault.  Maybe I just have to suffer the consequences of a series of really bad decisions, including moving here and trying to live at a standard that I really couldn’t afford.  But honestly, I wish I would just learn the lessons I am supposed to learn and get it over with!

Dealing with Death

We’ve had a death in family this weekend.  It isn’t like it was a complete surprise, but it still is very hard for me to accept the barrage of feelings that accompany it.  My great aunt died from complications related to congestive heart failure.  She didn’t have the highest quality of life lately, so most would say I should be grateful that her suffering in that way is over.  The problem is, I never witnessed to her.  Ever.

We were brought up Catholic.  Of course, my aunt’s generation was particularly devout.  My mom doesn’t practice or anything, but she doesn’t like that I am a born again, Bible believing, Independent Baptist.  I was forbidden from talking about my religion or pushing my beliefs on anyone in our family, and like a coward I complied. 

I have gone through the routine of telling myself that my aunt really, really loved Jesus.  She said so all the time.  She lived her life with certain standards because she thought that is what one does to show love for Him.  But I really don’t know if she ever knew Him.  And I never once asked.  I know that it isn’t the regular practice of a priest to tell a parishioner that Jesus said in John 3:3, “Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.”  I also know that it isn’t the regular practice of a priest to tell a parishioner that it is “Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost,” Titus 3:5.  So, that is why I feel guilty.  I may have my aunt’s blood on my hands. 

I feel on par with the man given one talent, the one that digged in the earth, and hid his lord’s money.  I wasted the time and opportunity given me to do the one thing the Lord has left me on this Earth to do: spread the Good News.

Please forgive me.

What Happens To Managers?

Have you ever worked with someone for some time, found that you agree with them on what should be standard operating procedures, and then watched them completely change after being promoted?  What exactly happens when these folks are endowed with a promotion?  Is there some kind of chemical reaction to promotions?  A curse that is cast upon their decision making abilities?  Or is the fact that these folks will lose all sense of what is right the reason they are chosen for promotions in the first place?

I just can’t understand why things that are so simple become so difficult after a promotion.  Now, I know that not all who are promoted go through this, but I must say it seems to happen quite a lot.  And from what I can see, this phenomena does not seem to discriminate in so far as which industry it effects. 

I would like to propose that every employee take an oath that once promoted, they absolutely will not forget where they came from or how things should be done.  All employees know what makes sense, what is productive, what keeps up morale, and what is fair (well, if they have worked in the field for any length of time).  This knowledge should carry forward, regardless of how high an employee advances up the ladder.  This way, all subordinates would know what is expected of them all the time, no matter who is in charge.  Morale would stay high, production would be at optimal levels, and life at work would be good. 

Perhaps we should create a vaccine to avoid this.  An anti-irrational-new-manager vaccine.  We could all voluntarily donate to the research for this vaccine, and once perfected we would be guaranteed a work life of fair and equitable treatment.  Sign me up!

Whose Lies Are More Important?

A friend of mine at www.idealcrap.com is posting this article for me on his blog.  I would like to post a copy of it here, just for posterity’s sake.  Well, actually, I am new to blogging and I don’t have anything else to post here.  Hopefully this will stir someone in the world to comment on my new blog and I can get started on some of my own threads. 

 

Lately I have heard much complaining about Sarah Palin and her alleged lies.  So, in my quest for the truth, I have tried to find out just what did this woman do that is so horrible?  What I have found is not exactly what I wanted to find.  I just would rather believe that people aren’t trying to deceive us and that most of the discrepancies are just misunderstandings or things taken out of context.  So, for the record, let’s state what I did find.

 

• Gov. Palin did want the money to build her bridge.  She did keep the money that was allocated prior to the time she changed her mind, but most states do that anyway.  She is misleading us with her story of telling the government “no, thanks,” since she didn’t say that until later.
• The allegations surrounding the firing of Monegan have not been fully investigated at this time.  I don’t know if there is any evidence or not, but I do know that every politician gets accused of things by someone, and not all of them are true.  Sometimes things are said but are reported out of context.  I am not surprised that a politician could have used her power to help her family get what they wanted.  With that being said, if she did it, it was wrong. 
• Apparently, Gov. Palin did talk to the librarian about removing books from the library.  Nothing was banned, no list was formed, and the librarian was fired but reinstated.  Not necessarily because of the book banning conversation, but who knows?  That’s just it, no one knows. 

 

So, okay, I have reason to believe Sarah Palin has not been completely honest with us about everything she has done.  But, she is only running for VP.  But what about Obama?  Has he lied about anything?

 

• In his speech in Selma, Alabama, Obama said some things to make us associate him with the civil rights movement that just weren’t true.  His father was not brought here by the Kennedys, nor did Selma have anything to do with Obama’s parents meeting and conceiving him. 
• Obama told us he didn’t know about the awful, anti-American statements his pastor regularly made in church.  Yet Obama claims to be a member of that church, and that membership proves his Christianity.  Of course, he later changed his mind and suddenly remembered the statements, but I guess he thought they weren’t important enough to change churches.
• Obama claims no attachments to Islam, yet he is associated with Farrakhan. 
• Obama voted against the Born Alive Infant Protection Act, even when it included language that protected Roe vs Wade, as he previously said was required for his yes vote to occur.
• Obama claims he will lower taxes for 95% of us.  But if he raises taxes on capital gains, the self-employment tax, the taxes on subchapter S corporations and fossil fuels (all of which I have found evidence that he favors), surely that will effectively raise taxes for all of us.

 

Essentially, my point is that all politicians lie.  I don’t like any of them I’ve ever known anything about.  What I do know is this:

 

• Obama favors prohibiting citizens from carrying guns.  In other words, the only people with guns will be law enforcement and criminals.  Isn’t that also one of the first steps of a government that doesn’t want its citizens to defend itself from tyranny?
• Obama favors the Freedom of Choice Act, which would remove any and all restrictions ion abortion in every state, including the partial-birth abortion ban.  He also favors abortion based on the sex of the baby and does not think the parents of minors should be notified before their daughters undergo a potentially life-threatening and definitely life-changing abortion.
• Obama favors endowing Constitutional Rights to non-citizens who are suspected of terrorism.
• Obama favors the tax paying citizen funding of universal healthcare providing coverage to illegal immigrants.
• Obama favors removing the states’ rights to prohibit convicted felons from voting.

 

I don’t like any of the candidates, but I absolutely will not vote in such a way that contributes to Obama’s cause.  His wife had the audacity to say her first time being proud to be an American happened recently?  She has no right to ever step foot in the White House, in my opinion.  Americans need to stand up and be indignant over the lack of patriotism being shown by many of its citizens.  We need to quit being apathetic, because if you keep letting someone else take care of things for you, eventually you won’t have anything left to take care of.

Hello world!

Well, here we are, I’m writing my first post in my very own blog and I don’t know what to say!  I guess I will just write about whatever strikes me, and if I ever get any readers I’ll take it from there.  I am sure there will be much about politics and religion, so consider yourselves forewarned. 

Later!

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