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Guest column
Like father, like son; just not what we planned.
My youngster, of the right age and sound-working papers is searching for employment this summer and he is getting pointers from my husband. The irony is not missed by any of us since my husband has been actively looking for work since the beginning of the year and has been honing his efforts with every keystroke and e-mail. It is not the talk that every mother envisions a kid will have with his parents, but here we are.
For a teen, every franchise or major chain he enters to inquire about work is quickly resolved in two questions. What is the age requirement for employment? Where do I fill out an application? Local stores are a little more efficient -- they will take a name, a phone number or resume for a future call back. But it is back at home with the average 45-minute effort to apply electronically for a position that requires not just the basics (when applicant can start and what hours he/she can work), but the evaluative statements that clearly couch the demands of the job.
“True or false: I like learning new things when on the job.”
This is job-searching 2012; a great name for a reality show but not such a great reality. How does it make sense that a customer service job doesn’t necessitate an initial face-to-face or phone interview to determine how the person presents him or herself to customers? Is this the best process to find the best candidate in an employers’ market? How can computer programming really decipher a resume to match the job’s qualifications? Where is the human element?
One of the many jokes that will come out of this demanding experience is my spouse’s resume match for not one, but numerous offers to be hired as a hairstylist -- something he will readily admit is as relevant to his career as his ability to perform brain surgery.
Of the vast number of mistakes we’ve all made looking for work, accepting wrong positions, examining our self-worth as defined by our vocations and getting fired due to our fault or no fault of our own, there will be many days of job searching in our futures. Though urban legend suggests we will have up to seven careers in our lifetimes, it seems more pertinent to admit that it’s a full-time job to find one.
Lauren Lev is an East Meadow resident and a direct marketing/advertising executive working on Long Island. She teaches advertising and marketing communications courses at the Fashion Institute of Technology/SUNY and LIU Post. Her story on a Jewish education program impacting our local community will appear in “Thin Threads: Real Stories of Hadassah Life Changing Moments” in late spring 2012.
