Well, I’ve been out of work for a while and so I was very excited by a job lead that promised a very decent wage, and seemed tailor made for my skills. I thought I had a shot at it. So, I have a couple of phone interviews. Last week, however it takes a strange left turn.
Here’s a paraphrased synopsis of last week’s phone interview:
Interviewer: Well, your resume looks terrific and your writing samples are good. We’re mulling over a few other candidates as well of course. By the way, may we have your social security number?
Me: Whaaa? Uh, what for?
Interviewer: Oh, it’s just a formality. We just want it to keep a record of who is applying for this job.
Me: Hmmm, look I really don’t feel comfortable giving my social security number over the phone. If you were to definitely hiring me, that’d be one thing…
Interviewer: (Breezy laugh) Of course, I completely understand. Perhaps your birthdate? We just want to have something to identify you with.
(I thought - but refrained from saying - “You have my NAME, ADDRESS AND PHONE NUMBER don’t you???”)
Me: …Sure. It’s May 12th, 1969.
Interviewer: Thanks so much. We’ll get back to you and let you know what we’ve decided.
So, a week passes by. Nothing. I finally decide to call them myself. After getting put on hold for a long while, I get another HR person: “Hi, we were planning to call you today. Unfortunately, we’ve decided to go with someone else. To be quite honest, we decided we’d prefer someone who’s just out of college for this job.”
A little stunned, I meekly thank them for their answer and hang up.
The job is for a copy-writer. I’ve had almost fifteen years experience copy-writing and copy-editing for a major international magazine and a major internet web-site. But they’d prefer someone “just out of college?”