I Love Technology

I am continually amazed at time saving that is accomplished through computers and the internet. When I first started looking for a job it involved want ads in the newspaper and pounding the pavement. Taking that same approach now is largely a waste of time. Rarely are Help Wanted signs posted at businesses, and by the time the classified space is sold and printed a company could have dozens of resumes by posting online and checking email.

So today my brush with technology involves applying for a job. I found a job posted that looks like it might be almost exactly what I'm looking for. I could get hours that would allow me to volunteer with a volleyball team in the area, either college or high school. It could be one that would be satisfying to me through using my education. It could give me a sense of being a valuable member of society by helping others meet fitness goals and achieving a healthier lifestyle with all of its attendant benefits.

I liked what I saw in the posting, so I type out a cover letter email highlighting how I could be a good fit for the company. I go over some of the qualifications listed in my resume. I go on to erasing the default signature line in my emails (a link to this blog that I'm sure nobody reads and really just serves a purpose as an online journal). I hit the "Send" button and smile quietly to myself thinking that I have a new possibility to relieve my stress and provide for my family.

Then I realize that I did not attach my resume. Seriously? Now I look like an unprofessional idiot who can't get things right. And I like to think that I'm detail oriented. At least I didn't use that term to describe myself in the cover letter. Shouldn't my email recognize what I want to do and do it when I forget to do something.

So, I switch to "damage control" mode and quickly put together another email apologizing for the missing attachment, and I make sure to include the resume this time. I don't have much time, because everyone at the place is going to be checking their email from home in the middle of the night. I get the new email on its way through the ether of the internet, and I sit back and relax in how fate seems to be smiling on me again. Then I realize that I forgot to remove the signature line from the second email. So now I have a link to my internet musings on a job application. Makes me feel like Charlie Brown. I just can't manage to do things right no matter how I try.

Well, at least I don't feel like I need to "sanitize" anything on here. I am kind of boring, and no one reads this thing. Maybe it will be a good thing. Some HR type won't return any correspondence but will be strangely fascinated by my boring. "No way will we hire this guy, but I just can't stop reading because it is so completely unenlightening."

...Especially in this economy. (as my nephew would say on his Facebook status updates)

PS I guess it might not be all that bad after all. I have heard mention that HR types like to be able to find something about a potential hire. If they don't show up online it tends to raise a red flag. If only...