I had to fire someone for the first time yesterday.  Ironically I ended up having to (getting to?) do it via email since the employee was off site and didn’t respond to my phone calls.  Since this position was/is important we immediately re posted the job ad on craigslist.  I get the strangest emails from job seekers on craigslist…

I received an email today from a designer with a short cover letter that included this sentence:

“I have a strong of atheistic,…”

After a minute I realized they probably meant “I have a strong sense of aesthetics” – but the bad grammar and misspelling made my day.  Given my views on religion I suppose I have a strong sense of atheistic too!

It amazes me how many people can create a cover letter and/or resume without feeling a need to click spell check.  My theory is that they must not need work that badly.  Meanwhile, I’ve had friends and professors review my resume to get it perfect, acquiring recommendations on LinkedIn, etc., but haven’t received a response from a potential employer for over two years.  I have easily applied for over 1,000 jobs and procured only one interview (at UCLA in 2008).  To be fair, I’m not a desperate unemployed wreck who will take whatever I can get.  I’ve been very selective in the positions I’ve applied for (both in pay grade and location) and competition is expected to be stiffer.  Regardless, these are positions I’m qualified for, in some cases overqualified for, yet I haven’t received a single phone call.

I haven’t posted about that before, but at this point I don’t think anyone at my current office would be surprised that I’m keeping my options open.  I also have doubts anyone at my office has or ever will read my blog, I’ve been successful in keeping those worlds separate so far.