Another reason I was posting is to illustrate how, from the point of view of someone who is unemployed, these recruiters expect us to jump through so many hoops just to get even crummy jobs. I think that they also are trying to survive and have probably seen their business dry up significantly so are cold calling and combing monster.com, and present jobs to me that I have already seen there and could find on my own. Also, having 6 months of savings isn't enough these days. That's how I ran into trouble. I've been off now for almost 8 months. I don't think most people have the financial wherewithal to sustain 8 months of unemployment, or at least I don't, particularly when there ARE emergencies (medical, house, car and other) that crop up and can't be put off. I did have a phone, and electricity and all the rest until just recently. I don't believe in running up debt, so I guess others survive by borrowing or using credit cards or maybe have workign spouses, I don't know.

But back to the recruiter saga. It seems to me that when someone is unemployed, some recruiters feel (and have even told me directly) that I should be "happy to get anything what with this market". I would not mind getting a job, it is just that they don't really have any jobs, I think, but still take up all of my time asking for this and that and promising the moon when they don't even have cheese to deliver. I've been asked to consider jobs paying half of what I was making last year. It is not good to struggle for years to reach mid-career level making a good salary in a field like quantitative analysis on wall street, and then suddenly take a pay cut or a job at the Gap. No one would hire me on Wall Street coming from Walgreen's or the Coral House (where I am trying to get a job paying $3.35/hour plus tips, I will have to leave it off my resume) They would laugh their butts off, as if I could even get in the door, which I wouldn't be able to anyway.

Employers do look at salary and employment history.

It would also be great if anyone in a hiring position would remember that most, if not all, of us that were laid off, were laid off for reasons not our own fault. In my case, my entire dept. was decimated after 9/11.

But some people act like you are radioactive when you are truthful and say that you were laid off, even though others say that it does not matter because so many are laid off now. Well apparently it matters to the places I am trying to get a job ...

Anyway, this same recruiter is still trying to get me to do a phone interview <sigh> I called from a payphone since they insist on a conference call AND an in-person meeting first AND another phone call tomorrow with the lower level person at this company ALL FOR A THREE MONTH CONTRACT JOB. I have had many, many interviews and have never seen this ... after the phone interview tomorrow I will have to go for an in-person interview, if it goes that far, and possibly be called back for a total of 3 rounds. This, to me is totally ridiculous! A full time job, yes, but hourly contract position?

While on the phone this morning, the woman I was speaking with mentioned that yesterday she had called the phone company to ask if there was a phone number at my address and they gave her one. I said that this is IMPOSSIBLE since there is NO PHONE HERE! I bought this house a year and a half ago, and I suppose that the former owners had had a phone. (Me, I'm just a cell phone and cable modem user.)

She said that in fact she had left a message on the answering machine attached to the number which had a man's voice on the message. She wanted to know if I were staying with someone (and therefore, had actually had access to a phone all along and had been lying to her for some reason, I guess?) WHAT IS WRONG WITH THIS PERSON? I said that I don't know who she called, but that there is NO PHONE HERE and she can come over and check if she likes.

I actually do have a real interview set up tomorrow with a local gym, and this woman also asked me to blow that interview off so I could be available all day for this one.



[This message has been edited by CozumelJen (edited 06-20-2002).]