Day 166: Think before you pull out your wallet parents

My Project: 365 Creative Writing Prompts

Day 166: Think before you pull out your wallet parents

My friends and I got together the other day. Alice was not in a good mood, in fact, she was fuming mad.

“Get this,” she came straight to the point, “Margaret’s maternity leave is almost finished, and she doesn’t want to go back to work. She wants to be a stay at home mom. She’s a qualified chartered accountant and now she wants to quit her job!”

“Do what I did,” Victoria said, placing a calming hand on Alice’s arm. “The very same thing happened with my eldest daughter Cindy. She studied law, passed the bar exam and got hired by one of the big law firms of Toronto. A month later she and Eric got married and three months after that she got pregnant. When it was almost time to go back to work, she announced that she wasn’t going to, that she was going to be a stay at home mom.”

I said “That’s fine honey, but I invested in your future by paying your tuition, amounting to close to $200,000. Now you have a choice, you either go back to work or you are going to pay me back. I won’t charge you interest, but if you’re gonna throw your future away, I want that $200,000 to be paid back to me. And not with $20 a month, we’ll set up a payment plan. We make the amount payable over 10 years, which will amount to $1,666 per month.”

She started laughing and wondered where in the world she was going to get $1,666 a month. I said, “Well honey, that’s your problem. But that’s how it is.”

When she saw I wasn’t joking, that I was in fact deadly serious she wasn’t laughing anymore. When her maternity leave finished, she returned to work. Problem solved.”

I don’t have that problem with my daughter, Angela,” Maggie piped up. “I wouldn’t mind a grandchild, but when I talked to Ruby about it she was having none of it. “Do you think I put myself through university, studied my ass off and worked two jobs just to chuck it all away in a kid?” she said. “Forget it, mom.”

It seems to me that the problem lies with the parents. If mommy and daddy pay for tuition the son or daughter is more likely to chuck their career at the first opportunity than if the student pays out of his or her own pocket. They know what it took to get where they are and are more likely to appreciate it. 

Think before you pull out your wallet parents!

Day 54: Discrimination – Old vs. Young

My Project: 365 Creative Writing Prompts

Day 54: Discrimination – Old vs. Young

An HR manager recently posted a message that he had hired a woman over 50 and had taken quite a bit of heat for it from the younger generation. There were a number of comments, I put in my two cents and commended him for his decision. I added that giving the choice between a 25-year-old and a 50-year-old, I would pick the 50-year-old every time.

Most young girls marry, start a family and go on maternity leave several times. Next, the kids get sick and mom has to take time off to look after them. With a 50-year-old, you avoid all that. Women that age are not only experienced, they have grown up children.

Well, when I said as much, I was severely criticized and insulted. It was even said that I discriminated against my own kind. Maybe that’s true, but I’m no stranger to discrimination myself. Over the years I’ve been discriminated against for being too tall, too thin, too young, too old, being from a foreign country, speaking with an accent … you name it, it’s been done.

If I’m partial to older women vs. the younger generation it has a reason, several reasons actually.

Take Tina for instance. Tina’s parents spent close to $250,000 on their daughter’s law school education. She had a brilliant mind, did her articling in one of the top law firms in the city, with a firm job offer after graduation. Six months before she graduated she met a man and married him. A month before graduation she announced she was pregnant and moving to Chicago. Her parents begged her to finish her education. She could practice law in Chicago after the baby was born. But no, Tina didn’t want to listen, she wanted to be a full-time mom. Today she has two children, is divorced and her parents are still paying off her student loans.

Then there’s Betty. Betty is an administrative assistant in a bank. Shortly after she started her job she got pregnant and went on a year’s maternity leave. When she came back she back she announced she was pregnant again and took off for another year of maternity leave. When she came back to work she was already pregnant for the third time and off she went again.

Next up there’s Yasmine. Yasmine also works for a bank, has four children and shows no signs of stopping. Her children range from age 6 to 11. All four go to school and after school they are looked after by their elderly and disabled grandparents. One is blind the other in a wheelchair. When Yasmine comes home from work, she picks up her kids and promptly kicks them out. In spring and summer, they play (unsupervised) in the condo building’s garden, in fall and winter they are banished to the corridor. When it’s time to eat she calls them in and after supper sends them to bed. When asked why the kids have to go to bed so early she openly states that she can’t stand having them around. Well, if that’s the case, why then have four children?

Are there other examples of young people acting irresponsibly? Yes, tons of them, but I think you get the idea. No need to go on and on.

Now women over the age of 50, on the other hand, are a whole different kettle of fish. When they get hired, an organization knows it’s getting value for money. Women who re-enter the job market at that age are either widowed or divorced and need the job for the money. The chances of an older woman quitting because she’s getting married are slim to none, and the chances of her getting pregnant and going on maternity leave are zero.

Other benefits of hiring older women are that they will show up on time, every time. They are experienced, they know what they’re doing, and take pride in their performance.

So, if you want to say that I discriminate against young people, go ahead. My conscience is clear. 

www.connymanero.weebly.com

The royal family and … me

The royal family has taken some heat lately.  First Harry gets photographed naked, next Kate is caught topless by paparazzi.  People have something to say about both incidents and opinions fly left, right and center.  Others write about it, putting in their two cents.

Take this blog entry for instance that I received this morning.  I realize that everyone is entitled to an opinion, but this time the writer got it so wrong, on so many levels, that I had to respond.

She calls her blog entry “The ten common sense, simple rules of life”.  Sounds interesting, right?  Right, except that the writer is hopelessly misinformed or a little naive.  Let’s look at them one by one …

1.If you don't want to be photographed topless or naked while outside, or in your hotel room, keep your clothes on.  She obviously refers to Kate.  In my opinion Kate had every right to take her top off to get a tan.  She wasn’t in public, she was on holiday in a secluded hotel garden.  The photo was taken with a very strong lens, clearly her privacy.  I have a friend who regularly suns herself topless, to avoid ugly tan lines and nobody seems to care.  Of course, my friend isn’t royalty but both women have something in common … it’s their right to do as they please on private property.

2.If you want a job, then go get one.  This is where I took the blog post personal.  Is this really how the employed and the housewives see the situation?  “If you want a job, then go get one”!  I would like to point out that I have been trying to get a job for months.  I visit several job sites per day; I’ve sent resumes by the dozen, have registered with numerous employment agencies and have gone on several interviews.  Despite my best efforts, I’m as jobless today as I was months ago.  And of course, I’m not alone.  Countless others find themselves in exactly the same position.  Let me assure you blog writer, finding a job is a job and your statement is like spitting in the face of the unemployed.

3. If you don't want to be known as a Ho, then don't act like one.  And just exactly how does “a ho” act?  Does showing cleavage, wearing a short skirt and 3 inch heels make one a ho?  What do you suggest, that women dress like the Amish, with a skirt down to their ankles and a blouse buttoned up to the neck?  Or shall they wear a burka and cover up their entire female form. 

4. If you want to be your own boss, then start your own business.  Me and countless others would like nothing better than starting our own business.  Not only would I be my own boss, I would have a job.  There’s a snag though, I don’t have the financial resources to start my own business.  My guess is that lots of others share that notion.

5.Facebook is a colossal waste of time.  That’s a matter of opinion.  If you don’t like Facebook, don’t sign in.

6. Keep your shirt on.  The ladies who are fond of the male form will disagree with that one.

7. Never eat Italian food at a family restaurant.  I’m going to let this one slide.

8. Don't play golf when it is lightning outside.  I’ll let that one slide too.

9. Don't spit into the wind.  I would say “Don’t spit” period.  It’s one of the most disgusting and unhygienic practices ever.

10. Always cross with traffic.  I have no idea what this means.

While it’s fine to have an opinion, and to blog about it, it’s always a good idea to be sure you don’t have the cat by the tail.

Age discrimination

Age discrimination is against the law, but it would seem that companies have found a loophole.  While they can’t specify in the ad that only young people need apply, there are other means of letting older people know they are not wanted.

This week I saw an ad …

“Wanted.  Executive Assistant with a flair for writing.  Salary $45,000”

Perfect, I thought.  Not only have I been an assistant for more years than I can remember, I have written three novels, two children’s books and about 600 articles.  An interview had to be forthcoming.

When I didn’t hear from the agency I gave them a call myself and asked to speak to the person who handled the job ad. 

After some uncomfortable hmm’s, aah’s and euh’s, the woman told me that the company was looking for someone they could train and mould to their requirements.  

Fine, I’ve had training before, I could do it again.  As for moulding, for $45,000 a year they could mould me into anything they wanted. 

“Yeah, but you’re probably set in your ways,” the woman said.
No, I’m not set in my ways.  If a company wants me to do things their way, I can change.

Eventually the consultant let the cat out of the bag … the company wanted someone with no more than two years experience.  In age discrimination language that means … we want a young dolly bird.  Strange, I thought, $45,000 for someone with hardly any experience!

On to the next ad I had seen.

“Assistant required for VP.  Minimum 5 years experience.  Advanced knowledge of MS-Word, Exel, PowerPoint, Outlook and Acrobat.  Superb keyboarding skills.  Some bookkeeping required.  Salary between $25,000.”

Well I’ll be damned.  Here an assistant to a VP, who had to have at least 5 years experience and needed a string of software knowledge was offered a measly $25,000 while in the other ad a young bird, who didn’t need to have knowledge about anything – the company would train her to their specifications - was promised $45,000 . 

How does that add up?

What Do You Need To Get A Job?

The only thing you need to find a job ... is another job.

In the ten months that I was unemployed I must have sent off close to 100 resumes, registered with at least 15 agencies, was a daily visitor on www.workopolis.com and www.monster.com, visited numerous company and agency websites and stayed in touch with employment agency consultants. All for nothing.

Now that I have a job, now suddenly the job offers come out of the woodwork. In three days I received no less than four offers.
I turned them down. You know what they say about rather having one bird in the hand than two in the bush.

Years ago I was in a similar situation. I had a great job and received a job offer for more money, a lot more money. I made the move and came to regret it.

Not only was the work boring and the boss a real jerk, the location was the pits and you know what they say ... location, location, location.

So in this case I decided to stick to the job that I have, take it day by day and see what happens. I’m happy where I am, so why change?
There is a lot to learn, so there is a fair amount of stress, but I’m coping. Today for the first time I actually had a good day with a minimum on hassles.

Well, it was a good day, right up until 4:00 p.m.
I was near the completion of a particular job, hit the wrong button on my keyboard and lost all my work. I nearly flipped. All that work for nothing. Now I have to start all over again tomorrow. Fortunately the prep work has been done, so the second time around shouldn’t take too long.

First day on the job

After being unemployed for ten months and staying up until 3:00 a.m. each night, I was more than a little nervous about going to bed last night. I figured I would lay awake half the night.
The knowledge that my alarm would go off at 5:30 and I would have to get up with only a few hours of sleep, if any, make me even more nervous.

Yet this was not the case.

I preparation for my first early night, I had made myself a cup of extra strong chamomile tea (two teabags in one cup).
The results were satisfactory. By the time I went to bed, shortly after eleven, I was sort of tired and by some miracle I fell asleep within fifteen minutes.

When the alarm went off this morning, I felt fine. I didn’t exactly leap out of bed, but I didn’t crawl out either. It was all much better than expected.

My first day on the job was filled with new experiences. Lots of new people to meet and places to find. The set up of the offices is a true labyrinth, it’s gonna take weeks before I knew my way around.

Everything looks promising though. Good location, friendly people, nice work ... I think this will be alright.
The pay could be a bit better but okay, maybe I can do something about that in the future.

On a different note ... we went to see the bank manager today.
Remember the plans to sell our condo? Well, as it turns out we qualify for a mortgage and as such we’re no longer looking for a place to rent. Now we’re looking for a place to buy.

Stay tuned for updates.

Are breasts important while job hunting?

Goodbye to Workopolis, goodbye to Monster, goodbye to so many job sites I frequented on a daily basis over the past few months.
I won’t be visiting anymore because I found a job. It’s not exactly my dream job, but as everyone keeps telling me, it’s better than nothing.

Better than nothing yes, but it is a shame that experienced staff has to settle for less, while young dolly birds get the good jobs.

You might have heard that looks are not important while job hunting. Forget it, they are important. I recently wrote an article on the subject, so instead of repeating myself, the article can be found here:

http://www.helium.com/items/1211930-job-hunting

By the same token, they same that honesty is important. I disagree on that too.
In 2008 I worked with someone, let’s call her Samantha, who blatantly cheated on her time sheet. We were both temps, but while I recorded my working hours accurately, she added 2 to 5 hours per week to her time sheet.

As I worked for the accounts department at the time, I picked up on the fraud and pointed it out to the financial director. Nothing was done about it.

I spoke to the temp on the subject too and asked her to stop.
“No way,” she said, “the sooner I have my 500 hours, the sooner I will qualify to be hired full-time.”

To cut a long story short, the financial director knew about her deceit, HR knew about it and the agency Samantha worked for knew about it too. All of them closed their eyes to the fraudulent time sheet.

Then the day came that I met Samantha. So far we had only spoken on the phone and communicated via email, but during a lunch meeting I met her face to face.
And suddenly all became clear. Truth be told her face was not the first thing I noticed, her breasts were.
Excuse me, but they were hard to miss. Forget double D, they were at least triple D.

They were fully covered by a turtleneck sweater, but the sweater was so tight, nothing was left to the imagination. As were the leggings she wore that day. Skintight, revealing every curve of her size 12 voluptuous body.

I suddenly understood why the manager who signed his approval on Samantha’s time sheet didn’t see the extra hours she declared … he was too busy looking at other ‘things’.

I don't have such 'things', at least not such big 'things', so I guess I'll have to be happy with any type of job I can get.

The good news - the bad news

The good news ...

The A/C in our building is on again. In the beginning it was still a bit of a struggle, but now 14 hours later, everywhere is nice and cool again.

Looking back I don’t know how we managed. I think I’ll always remember how I sat in the living room with a cold wet towel around my neck and my feet in a bucket of cold water.

The cats are fine too. For the first time in days, they chased a moth. The knocked over a lamp in the process, braking the bulb and getting the lampshade a little skew, but I wasn’t at all upset with them. For too long I saw them sleeping on the floor with absolutely no energy. So it was good to see them running around again.

Now they're sleeping or just relaxing.




The bad news ...

While browsing Workopolis today I noticed no less than four ads from a well known employment agency. One for an EA and three for an AA.

I instantly sent off a message to my consultant drawing her attention to those ads.

Within five minutes the phone rang and she told me those were generic ads.

“In case one of our clients is looking for an EA or AA we need people on our books,” she told me.

“I would imagine with the current unemployment rate and the way people are desperate for work you would have enough people on your books,” I replied.

I can understand that agencies place generic ads, but then the ad should be worded as generic.

Why give people hope where there is none?

Do I have moron written on my forehead?

It would seem that with the high unemployment rate, scammers come out of the woodwork left, right and center.

A while back I was contacted by Marek Polonski, a Polish business man who needed someone in Canada to receive and send payments for his business via Western Union. I was to keep a percentage of the fee and on top of that I was to receive a generous salary.

As it turned out, Marek Polonski had a little money laundering scheme going on. I was lucky not to have gone along with this scheme because, if found out, not only would Marek Polonski be prosecuted, I would have to pay back all the money that I received in my account. Roughly about $1,000 per week.

Three weeks later I was contacted by one John DeMoor. He offered me more or less the same ‘employment’. Receiving and sending payments for his business + salary.

Today I received an email from John Mullins. Apparently he saw my resume on Workopolis and offered me employment as a financial adviser. To use his words ...

Most of our top Financial Security Advisors have joined our organization from totally different career backgrounds and they have taken our company's slogan "the freedom to choose, the power to get there" and applied it to their own career goals, to give them a satisfying and rewarding career.


Hmm, people from different career background that become financial advisers ... can’t say that I would trust them with my money or investments. Don’t you need some sort of university degree to give financial advice?

I also found it a little weird that a director of a financial company would contact me at 8:00 p.m. from a private email address. You would think that doing business would take place between business hours from a business email address, not from jmullinsf55financial@rogers.com

Still, never one to just throw away an opportunity, I replied to the email and asked how people from different background qualified as financial advisers.

I received the following response:

I will not reply to your questions because it does not seem that you are really interested in pursuing this career opportunity. Please do not be offended if I do not respond to any further e-mails from you.

Hm, touchy isn't he?

It just ticks me off. The unemployed have it bad enough, they don’t need scammers to take advantage of them.

TorontoJobs.ca workshop

A little cooler today. Only 29 deg C (84 deg F). Only ... hm, sounds funny. Well, I suppose compared to the 45 deg (113 deg) we had last week this is cool.

However, now I’m a little steamed up about another matter.

I received an email from TorontoJobs.ca in my inbox this morning to attend one of their workshops. I don’t know how they got hold of my email address, but apparently I’m invited. Price of the event ... $49.95

They should be ashamed of themselves. $49.95 to hear a bunch of blah, blah, blah on how to construct a resume, how to make use of employment agencies and how to network.

My guess is that those looking for a job know exactly how to construct their resume, make use of employment agencies and how to network, that’s not the problem, the problem is not enough jobs for too many job seekers.

From what I heard, an average of 500 applications are received for one job. At least 480 of those resumes are never read.

Do they really think out of work people are going to waste their money on such a workshop? Some will of course, some will do almost anything in the hope to snag a job. I wonder if they realize that government agencies run that very same course for free?