(no subject)
Oct. 30th, 2003 01:18 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
quidditchgrrlHas been a rather pumpkin-y week. Had loffly Pumpkin Pie chat on Saturday night and I've finally gotten around to carving the pumpkins I stole got from the farm. I did a Harry pumpkin like the one ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
aome has as her userpic for the moment. 'Tis very cute, if I do say so myself. They will of course be smashed when the neighborhood kids realize that we are not home at the start of trick-or-treating.
One of my girls submitted an application to work for me this week. I get a call from her yesterday wondering when she is going to get a call from HR. Our HR person (our system is fairly small and we have only one HR person) wants to know why we haven't scheduled interviews with the applicants that she sent back to us (which was a half-dozen we'd screened out previously, for various reasons).
HR: Why haven't you looked at the other applicants I sent you?
Me: Because there is something wrong with them all! One doesn't want to work at this branch, one doesn't want to work weekends, another you noted had poor communication skills and you couldn't get her to answer your questions, and three of these folks have major scheduling conflicts! What about my girl?
HR: What girl? How do you know her? I don't know her.
Me: (trying vainly at this point to keep rapidly rising temperature in check) You don't know her, she's a girl I mentor. She has the exact availability for the evening shelving job I have. You know, the one that's been open since mid-summer?! I want her to interview for this job. Why haven't you called her?
HR: I haven't looked over her application yet. I don't have it.
Me: (seething) Yes, you do. I sent it over on Monday morning. It was on your desk at 9:15 am Monday.
HR: I haven't looked at it yet.
Me: I have to get someone in this job, and she is the only one so far who can work the hours we need.
HR: I don't understand why you don't want to interview any of the other applicants...
Me: *has aneurysm*
There has been an insinuation made during this time of heavy screening and interviewing that really irks me. I don't look at any of the personal information on an application. Indeed, I usually don't know the name of the interviewee before they arrive. I'm interested in why they are looking for a library job, their job history, and how they answered the questions in the screening interview. I know that our HR director is always thinking about diversity, but honestly, I can't go on that when I'm looking for someone to fill a position. Either they can work the hours or they can't. The insinuation is that we are screening out non-white applicants somehow (which is ridiculous since there is no EOE paperwork) and purposefully not interviewing them. *head explodes*
Let me just say for the record that my job is in an all-white area. All-white, super-wealthy, uber-suburban. Not only the patrons, but many the staff as well. I hate it with the passion of a thousand fiery suns; some days it does get to me, all the affluence and the soulless lives of leisure these people lead, the way they treat people they perceive as inferior. But that's a rant for another day.
We interviewed a great lady for a morning shelving job, but she has school-aged kids and absolutely no game plan for Christmas vacation and what she would do with her kids for the four hours she would be at work. Totally blank look, and I think she was under the assumption that we would simply let her off for the two weeks. *thunk* The consensus between my boss and I (based on the fact that between us we have a substantial amount of anecdotal evidence and 15 years of employment patterning to work from) is that she would be great until Christmas time, when she would become overwhelmed with having to work and quit when we need her most.
What our HR person is doing is kind of out of line with the hiring goals of our library: hiring people who can do the job, work the hours, and who we feel are committed to staying at least a year in the position. If we have to hire someone who can't work the hours, we're not meeting our employment goals for the department.
Gah. Am utterly frustrated. It really does take a lot to get me worked up into a screaming hissy fit. Calling me a racist is certainly one way, and questioning my judgement on a simple matter is another. Done and done on that score.
And hey! It's Protection from Pornography Week! Where you too can butt into people's private lives and try to micromanage morality. Fun for the entirecult congregation family! :D
aome has as her userpic for the moment. 'Tis very cute, if I do say so myself. They will of course be smashed when the neighborhood kids realize that we are not home at the start of trick-or-treating.One of my girls submitted an application to work for me this week. I get a call from her yesterday wondering when she is going to get a call from HR. Our HR person (our system is fairly small and we have only one HR person) wants to know why we haven't scheduled interviews with the applicants that she sent back to us (which was a half-dozen we'd screened out previously, for various reasons).
HR: Why haven't you looked at the other applicants I sent you?
Me: Because there is something wrong with them all! One doesn't want to work at this branch, one doesn't want to work weekends, another you noted had poor communication skills and you couldn't get her to answer your questions, and three of these folks have major scheduling conflicts! What about my girl?
HR: What girl? How do you know her? I don't know her.
Me: (trying vainly at this point to keep rapidly rising temperature in check) You don't know her, she's a girl I mentor. She has the exact availability for the evening shelving job I have. You know, the one that's been open since mid-summer?! I want her to interview for this job. Why haven't you called her?
HR: I haven't looked over her application yet. I don't have it.
Me: (seething) Yes, you do. I sent it over on Monday morning. It was on your desk at 9:15 am Monday.
HR: I haven't looked at it yet.
Me: I have to get someone in this job, and she is the only one so far who can work the hours we need.
HR: I don't understand why you don't want to interview any of the other applicants...
Me: *has aneurysm*
There has been an insinuation made during this time of heavy screening and interviewing that really irks me. I don't look at any of the personal information on an application. Indeed, I usually don't know the name of the interviewee before they arrive. I'm interested in why they are looking for a library job, their job history, and how they answered the questions in the screening interview. I know that our HR director is always thinking about diversity, but honestly, I can't go on that when I'm looking for someone to fill a position. Either they can work the hours or they can't. The insinuation is that we are screening out non-white applicants somehow (which is ridiculous since there is no EOE paperwork) and purposefully not interviewing them. *head explodes*
Let me just say for the record that my job is in an all-white area. All-white, super-wealthy, uber-suburban. Not only the patrons, but many the staff as well. I hate it with the passion of a thousand fiery suns; some days it does get to me, all the affluence and the soulless lives of leisure these people lead, the way they treat people they perceive as inferior. But that's a rant for another day.
We interviewed a great lady for a morning shelving job, but she has school-aged kids and absolutely no game plan for Christmas vacation and what she would do with her kids for the four hours she would be at work. Totally blank look, and I think she was under the assumption that we would simply let her off for the two weeks. *thunk* The consensus between my boss and I (based on the fact that between us we have a substantial amount of anecdotal evidence and 15 years of employment patterning to work from) is that she would be great until Christmas time, when she would become overwhelmed with having to work and quit when we need her most.
What our HR person is doing is kind of out of line with the hiring goals of our library: hiring people who can do the job, work the hours, and who we feel are committed to staying at least a year in the position. If we have to hire someone who can't work the hours, we're not meeting our employment goals for the department.
Gah. Am utterly frustrated. It really does take a lot to get me worked up into a screaming hissy fit. Calling me a racist is certainly one way, and questioning my judgement on a simple matter is another. Done and done on that score.
And hey! It's Protection from Pornography Week! Where you too can butt into people's private lives and try to micromanage morality. Fun for the entire
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
(no subject)
Date: 2003-10-30 03:57 am (UTC)However I feel I should tell you you're treading dangerous water when you ask the candidates how they're going to take care of their children whilst on the job. That's not allowable under my company's guidelines, and the HR department could really get on your case if someone complained to them about it. I know because I worked for the HR department of my company for 15 years (I'm now with the corporate offices in a side department, away from the hiring end of things, which is a big relief).
(no subject)
Date: 2003-10-30 07:08 am (UTC)In all this, we do try to stay on the legal side of things. :)
(no subject)
Date: 2003-10-30 07:17 am (UTC)I'm so glad I'm out of the HR area with all its rules and regs. I now work in Compensation as an HRIS analyst, away from the lawyer and HR admin types. :-D It's a quagmire, naviating the goverment regs and making sure everyone in the company folllows them.
(no subject)
Date: 2003-10-30 08:53 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2003-10-30 06:52 am (UTC)Maybe the woman with the kids didn't really know what the job was about. I have worked with shelvers who thought that you would have time to browse through and possibly read a little in the books you were shelving; not to mention the guy who took a news paper with him and took a 10 minute break every half hour. I kid you not.
The pumpkins sounds wonderful! Yesterday was the first time I've tried carving pumpkins (Halloween has only recently come to Denmark), and I admit I'm hooked. I just wish I'd seen the HP design then.
(no subject)
Date: 2003-10-30 08:56 am (UTC)The lady's trouble was that she wanted to have a job where she would be able to not work during her kids' school breaks, take off whenever she needed, and wouldn't have to work on Fridays. *tears hair* This isn't the place for that - I would have recommended McDonald's or a temp agency.
(no subject)
Date: 2003-10-31 01:19 pm (UTC)Most people are not completely caucasian, like myself. I may have blond hair (as everyone in my family does) but I have more hispanic and native american in my background (over 50%) than I do caucasian.
With any company I have worked with, there have been minority issues whether it be sex, race or disability. I just hate it. It is useless and pointless these days. I really just hate when people start trouble about it. It is so stupid.
Thank you for listening to my rant.