Tuesday, December 22, 2009

Post mortem

Brickboy 9

Not getting The Job is a disappointment, but it is not a disaster. For a start, we have health, a roof over our heads, lovely children and each other. Fixit will still do his apprenticeship, so we have a wage and a future. And post-Fixit's breakdown, there have been people at his work who have jumped in to help out on points where management let him down. For example, one guy took it upon himself to supervise the Journal (an important part of accreditation and something that had not been started one and a half years into his apprenticeship) and now handles liaison on all journal matters between the TAFE and the Civil Aviation Authority. Some senior workers have made it a point to call Fixit over and say we're doing such-and-such job, you'd need that for your accreditation so come and work here. Other workers request Fixit to work with them because they value him as a co-worker and can see that he is eager to learn. So he will go on at the current place and it isn't the end of the world, or indeed as bad as it was.

Preparing the bucket 10

The disappointment is that The Job was really an opportunity to put a bit of glitter in our lives instead of drudge. There would have been perks (cheap flights! real holidays!!). There would have been 8-hour days and fixed shifts. Extra hours would have been paid for. Overtime rates at that! Gasp. There might have been more money, although he never quite got to have that discussion. But his current workplace has declared that there will be no pay rises until qualification. Fixit would have had time and energy to plot an exercise regime, which, with the current 9 1/2 hour days, motorbike rides out to the airport and having to mind the kids three nights a week because of my job, is currently not happening. Plus he would have been in a work environment where there was an overall plan for his training and people could tell him what he'd be doing next, instead of him having to find out what he needs to do then set it up for himself. So you can see why we got so excited about it and why we were so dashed when it didn't happen.

Cherub helps 12

The line I'm taking is that their recruitment people are idiots. This assessment is not just based on missing out on The Job; Fixit does schooling with people from there and several of them are failing every subject and all they do is bitch and moan and disrupt the class. Someone HIRED THOSE PEOPLE, and then decided Fixit was not what they were looking for. QED, idiots. They're mad to knock back Fixit, he would have been an asset: a loyal, hard-working, talented employee. That's my unbiased opinion and I'm sticking to it.

Ready to decorate 17

We've requested feedback, which they offered in the rejection email along with the cavalier statement that it would not be provided until at least mid-January because they were having a holiday. That's nice for them I suppose, Merry Christmas!

Decorating the tree18

Meantime, we have moved through complete shock on Day 1, to abject disappointment on Day 2, anger on Day 3 and now we are just getting on with it, although occasionally we mutter rude words in their general direction.

Star on Tree 25

We are looking forward to Christmas now. We'll still have a happy one. And as you can see, we put our own glitter into our life.

19 comments:

  1. God I hate job applications. I hate how many hoops they put you through, I hate how much they make you invest in the idea of working with them, I hate the way they make you plan where you're going to live and map out how the whole shebang is going to work out and then poof! they can hire someone totally stupid instead.

    So congratulations on taking charge of the sparkle, aint nobody can take that away.

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  2. Wishing you a lovely and peaceful Christmas. You're boys (all your boys) look so excited doing the Christmas tree ritual. The recruiters are fools to themselves and a burden to others. Such disappointments are very wearing but you are talking/writing very clearly and sensibly about it. Sit tight with your family and friends. Here's to a better and happier new year, different than you had hoped, but good all the same.

    Carolyn x

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  3. Your tree is very impressive and appropriately sparkly! Though not quite as sparkly as the smiles from the boys.

    Onward and upward, job-wise, not the mention their loss. Pity about all the frustration and disappointment that goes with it though.

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  4. You know, so often job application procedures only ensure that the applicant can jump through the prescribed hoops adequately. S often that doesn't have anything to do with being the best person for the job. It happens everywhere.

    Have a wonderful glittering Christmas.

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  5. My gosh, this is one fantastic post, the photos and your words. But then, when I first met you I could immediately see that you make a lot of your own sparkle!

    Sparkle on Stompers!!! Merry Christmas!!!!

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  6. Yeah....chin up gang, with glitter AND tinsel.

    (the company ARE berks)

    The tree looks gorgeous. What a lovely bunch of tree guys you got in. Nice work.

    Have a wonderful Xmas, with jobs, as is, in this lucky country.

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  7. We feel your pain, it's horrible to build up hope and have it dashed but, like you said, you've still got everything you started with, the job would just have been a bonus.
    You can tell Mr Fixit he's got most excellent pins for an old bloke :)

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  8. You lot are fabulous, and I am privileged to know you.

    Have a wonderful Christmas darl, you and your three gorgeous boys.

    x

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  9. Yeah, they are idiots and have missed out big time!

    And you are so right about the glitter. Your tree looks fabulous and what a beautiful series of photos!

    Merry Christmas to all at chez Stomper!

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  10. Lovely tree, lovely boys, lovely man (and lovely Stomper behind the camera)!

    And see there? That job wouldn't have been right for him anyway. Despite the perks, he'd have gone mental working with those idiots. I once had a job like that. It sounded good on paper -- set hours, good medical, holidays, clear path to advancement, etc. but the people I had to work with (and more importantly, FOR) were horrible. I lasted six months, and four of those were absolutely miserable.

    Fixit deserves better. And he'll get it, I just know it.

    OMG, my word verification is switang. Not sure what it means, but it sounds a bit rude, doesn't it? I can only assume it's directed against those idiots that didn't hire Fixit. Switang to the lot of them!

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  11. And mine is gronfo. They're all a set of gronfos, those fools who didn't hire Fixit.

    Can't think why your boys are so lightly dressed to decorate the tree. It's freezing. Brrr! (Oh, you mean it's not where you are?)

    Happy Christmas, dear Stomper, and all the best for 2010. May it bring you all manner of good things - you deserve them.

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  12. And don't forget.... you also have a bay window!

    (I've always wanted to live in a house with one of those...)

    Merry Christmas.

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  13. That's a nice looking tree! Even without the bling.

    Every real tree I ever see is all squashed and lop sided and lean against people's walls in a state of exhaustion.

    Chin up about Fixit, he is known now, and that goes a long way in those circles. There is always someone who knows someone who knows Fixit.

    Consider the interview process he just endured as practice for the big one up ahead.

    Oh, and probably don't expect much from the feedback. By then they will have had a couple of sleeps and eleventy beers and too much turkey. It will be a blur to them by the middle of January and you will most likely get a form letter. "Fixit was an impressive candidate but unforunately we found someone who was slightly more qualified. Thanks for entering and we wish you well with your future endeavours." Blah.

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  14. Go you, Stomper! Ramp up the tinsel and glam and have a great Christmas.

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  15. merry Christmas Stomper and your boys..

    May the new year be full of lots of purple sparkles for you!

    xx

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  16. Have a glorious, glittery, grand old Christmas Stomper! - every good wish to you and the boys,
    from Jelly

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  17. good on you - those dumb recruiters will be sorry - and don' forget karma - it always catches up :)

    have a lovely christmas - you're a beautiful family. 2010 will be a whole lot better for all of us

    xxx

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  18. I'm sorry for the grief and disappointment this has brought. Management and recruitment decisions often don't make a whole heckuva lot of sense. That goes double or triple when one gets up to the executive staff level!

    There will be a good place for Fixit. He has worked hard and has made contacts. That will pay off.

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  19. I know this is scant comfort but I hope it is a little amusing.
    Once when I applied for a bookshop job in a shabby crap remainder store that also had a basement X-rated section, I was interviewed by a very chubby fellow who was (no offence intended) gay. He did not hire me because he thought I was a butch dyke. His words. I only know this because he hired some insipid mouse who could barely lift a book, didn't really want the job, quit...and subsequently hired me, and thought I would be grateful for his mercy. FOOLS!

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Don't let the cat get your tongue.