Looking for work...

Looking for work is never fun.  In the current market, with the now accepted practices, it is humiliating.  First you need to prepare a resume/CV.  In my case, having been doing what I do for 32 years, that is not a small task.

Then comes the actual application.  For most firms this is an online process.  A key part of this process involves retyping your resume/CV into their online forms after you upload it.  Why? so their automated system can search for keywords.  The problem with this is who prepared the keyword list?  If you are a surveyor (I am) you know that data collector, datacollector, DC, and jigger all mean the same thing did the poor individual in HR stuck with the task know that?

But say that you got lucky and hit 70% of the keywords the computer was looking for, your application is now ready for initial review by a human being.  Odds are this person will not be have any experience in the field you are applying for, they will just be scanning for some basic yes/no conditions.  The intent of those conditions is not considered, it is a simple pass/fail test.  The net result of this arrangement is best shown in this snippet of an email I recently received:

We have carefully reviewed and considered your application.

The minimum qualifications for this position are:
An Associates degree with course work in civil engineering, drafting, engineering mathematics or a related field AND three (3) years of experience preforming field surveying or engineering technician duties. An LS license is preferred.

Although your application reflects many desirable skills and experiences, they do not meet the minimum qualifications needed for this position.

Damn near crushed my fragile ego.  Okay, not really, I laughed.  At least this entity was courteous enough to respond, most submittals just disappear in the void.  When did "don't call us, we'll call you" quit being rude?  their response was accurate.  I do not have a two year degree that included course work in those areas.  I have though prepared and taught some of those classes.

I am lucky.  I am really exceptionally good at what I do, and have more than a few well placed people in my field that know that.  I find work, not always quickly, or someplace I want to go, but I find work.  The people I feel for are those without connections like that.  People that are chewed up and spit out by a system that really doesn't know how to evaluate them.  Talented people who come away feeling like a 60 year old prostitute in fishnets and a mini-skirt standing on a wintry street corner in Chicago.

New toy

Well it really isn't a toy and I expect to get some serious use out of it, I just bought an Android tablet.  I have been using an Android phone for awhile now and found it really useful.  Well useful for most everything but being a phone, coverage is still bad no matter what the carrier.  Given that the tablet just seemed to make sense.  One of the side benefits should be more frequent posts.  The phone easy to access, but entering anything more than a couple of words was a pain.  Tiny "buttons" not so tiny fingers.  This should work much better.