A Note on Hiring Practices

This is rather random, and I suppose relates to the Great Unemployment Debate and What It Feels Like to Be Poor, but mostly it's just an insight into . . . well, life, as many people live it.

A friend of mine, whose small business collapsed a little after the economy did, finally thought he had a job. He answered a job ad that specifically stated the job was as a driver. The company picks up uniforms and linens from nursing homes and restaurants, launders, disinfects and presses them and then drops them back off. My friend was hired and instructed to come in for training.

He was not given the keys to a truck.

He was led in to the building where they launder the uniforms and, given a mask, shown the laundry facility and then asked if he had an up-to-date Hepatitis B shot. My friend, who is violently allergic to so many things it's easier for him to list what he's not allergic to, removed the mask and left, jobless.

This is not an uncommon tactic among companies that need to fill unpleasant, low paying and/or potentially dangerous jobs. I've been a victim of it myself, more than once. Telemarketing companies or companies hiring for extremely low level sales jobs will frequently list their jobs as "customer service" positions in order to entice people to apply. Telemarketing is hell and I salute the brave Indians doing that work. I've also never had a low level sales position where I didn't get screwed on commission. Which is, of course, why these companies have to lie to get people through the door.

They'll even lie once you're through the door. I learned to ask, straight out, if positions were customer service or sales. Then, I turned down a bank teller position (very low paying) for a "customer service" position that paid $2/hr more and was more convenient to get to. I specifically asked if the job was sales or not and was told, unequivocally, that the job involved no sales. I did figure out the recruiter was lying when I started having to sell things.

This is life at the bottom rung of the ladder. Consider that the next time someone starts mouthing off about how lazy those of us at or near minimum wage are.