Done Dirt Cheap

Trying to get a new job that saves me gas by being closer to home, I recently applied for two customer service positions that I felt very qualified for. My qualifications were clearly laid out in my resumé, and yet I didn't even get an interview for either job. Earlier this year, I applied for a general reporter position at a nearby daily newspaper, hoping my Oregonian clips would at least get my foot in the door. Didn't get an interview for that, either.

This does have me a bit worried, as I consider what might happen should I lose my current job. Is the competition for jobs so great now that many who apply are very qualified? Or is it something else, like my, shall we say, advanced age compared to other applicants? Or my lack of upward mobility in past jobs -- do they judge me on not having supervisory experience, even if the position itself is not a supervisor job?

It's the not knowing, the forced guesswork, that bugs me the most. If I at least got an interview, I might get a better clue as to what they want and what I might lack.

All I can say is, as annoying as my current customer service job can be, it may well be as good as I'm going to get in that field. Someday I may be forced to get a job in another field -- maybe even requiring job training -- and that would not be easy. In future jobs I may ultimately have to accept a pay cut, or worse.

Ugh. And meanwhile, there'll always be people who say, just bring out that Inner Salesman, Greg! Sell, sell, sell! Smile, smile, smile! Coffee's for closers!

I made decisions back in the day, I know, that made this state of peril more likely. Not looking for available media jobs right after graduating from college. Not going for a two-year media degree instead of a four-year one, which ended up taking 10 arduous years to complete. Now I've budgeted myself out of all or most entry-level media jobs, and may face more silent age discrimination in future positions (in media and elsewhere) that I apply for.

Oh well. One advantage to having life experience, is that I know over time the unexpected can happen, and the tides can turn.