9.29.2001
The Green Fairy calls me Friday from work. Seems Qwest is going to have another round of layoffs. The guy who manages the developers caught wind of it before he was supposed to; Tuesday the development staff had their own little farewell party offsite; they've been virtually unseen since Wednesday. Green has a key to the storage closet, so he's been dispensing cardboard boxes left and right upon request. His boss walks by, notices the increased traffic in paper products. "So, morale's at all-time low, huh?", he says, in a feeble attempt to start conversation. Green tells him the layoffs are imminent; were supposed to be the 19th, got moved back to the 25th; not sure of the new date - but hasn't he heard about it already? They're only keeping 8 - 10 people out of the group. Whether he's prevaricating or truly has no knowledge, his boss says no, he hadn't heard about it, but he'll look into it. Green is upset; I'd been laid off from Qwest in the first round last year (always best to be in that first wave if you're prepared for it) so I knew the drill; he just found out that although he'd get 8 weeks severance, it would be a good month and a half before he could get his paws on it. He would have to sign the papers, send them in certified. Wait for the response, send that in certified. Wait for the waiver period to be over, blah blah blah. Financial strategy is as important as IT skills and the ability to write a resume and interview. He assured me that he would be doing little else but posting to boards, applying to jobs, and refreshing resumes for the next couple of days. Amazing. Senior management hears from "The Street" that they need to be more profitable, some big mouth financial analyst allows as how Qwest could lose some excess pounds (i.e. headcount) and all because of some attitude-problem BMW-driving snot-nose wet-behind-the-ears MBA, thousands of lives will be thrown into a tailspin. Where are all these workers going to go? Where are they going to get new jobs? Well? Mr. Financial Analyst? You seem to have all the answers; where's your well-researched reply on this?
9.27.2001
How's this for the kind of new job opportunity that never existed before? Sorry to be so cynical, but project reports, conferences, and interaction with "high-level" officials isn't going to solve the problem. And a whopping 45K ain't nearly enough to convince me I should put myself in harm's way. Of course, it's only a temp job. So someone else on the other side is as cynical as me. And knows you only have to do this for a while until political reality rewrites the agenda. "Counter-Terrorism Project CoordinatorThis position is based in Denver, ColoradoDuties include, but are not limited to: Serving as liaison between our Client and the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) and the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) concerning the management, budget, progress reports, coordination with the project's officers and representing our Client at all project-related conferences, workshops, and meetings... One year of prior professional experience required, two to three years preferred. Health department experience would be a plus, must have a scientific background. Ability to effectively represent our Client and interact with senior level management officials on Client's behalf is essential. Salary range between 35K and 45K/yr. No relocation, looking for local candidates."
9.26.2001
Just when you thought it couldn't get any worse... In the wake of all the problems everyone's been having since the attack on September 11th, companies have decided to crack down on illegals. So Epoch Assisted Living, in Colorado, has decided to check its workers' birth certificates and documentation. But not all its workers' papers. Just the ones who look Mexican. My Nebraska-born, Cuban-American dad is very p***ed off right about now. If I were him, I'd sue. If he were me, he'd already have an attorney on retainer. Do Human Resources personnel ever think these things through before they just pop off and do something?
I can't believe how blatant the bad behavior's gotten. What employers think they can get away with! Last Friday, I got a call from the City of Greenwood Village. A friend of mine had applied for a job with them and they were calling me for a reference.
I know for a fact that he didn't sign a release form, he didn't put down his former employer's phone number, and he listed me as his former supervisor. Well, the human resources lady took it upon herself to call his old company anyway, and they sent her (by fax) his quarterly expectations sheet right out of his file. And goodness knows what else. She was grilling me about its contents and how he measured up to them, almost interviewing me over the phone, as if I were up for the job. She even asked who my supervisor had been. I had never had a reference call like that before in my life; it set off all my alarm bells.
Worst of all is that when his old company had let him go, they did this little "we're not really firing you for cause it's a mutually agreed upon resignation thing". So, he has a signed document that to third parties they will not release the reason for his not working there anymore. Well, looks like that one's right out the window... so much for confidentiality or legal agreements!
I am probably skipping over details in my haste, but suffice it to say, he didn't get the job (honestly, a good thing; they're unethical as hell and now I know how Sueann Ocrant got away with murder several years ago down there in Greenwood Village). On the one hand, he has a good case - if my story holds up in court. On the other hand, it's taken him 6 months to even get this far, and he's been having to beat down doors to get a recruiter to call him back. Someone with his skills should have been able to get another job in IT within a couple of months at the most. I think it's his ex-employer bad-mouthing him to everyone who will listen.
I hated to have to advise him to lie on his resume, but since they were going out of their way to depth charge him, in good conscience I couldn't sit by and watch them do that. I'm going to rewrite it so that his old company never gets a chance to throw that poison dart in the first place. Sometimes I wonder why I do this; when stuff like this happens, I know why it's my mission.
Happy 46th Birthday, Aquamarine Fairy!
"As the Senior Network Engineer you will work with the Telco Engineer to rebuild the base infrastructure. This position is 100% hands-on, working with 2600 and 3600 Cisco routers, 6500 Catalyst switches, and VPN Concentrator and PICS firewall. Experience with T1 lines and F/R is a plus."
I love these ads... 100% hands-on? Ummm, what, I can't install things telepathically? You mean I'm going to have to carry all the network packets by hand through the office? Well, OK, but only if they get me new sneakers. PICS firewall... hmmmm, is that anything like a PIX firewall? Hey, if you're going to be nothing but lousy keyword matchers, recruiters, at least get the keywords right.
I think the best part of all is that some dimbulb who can't spell PIX properly either will get the job - hey - his keywords match; let's hire him! It will serve that employer right.
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