What a B*TCH!

So I got a call from the lady at the Borough's HR dept. today. At work. Not 20 minutes into my work-shift, while I was at the desk on check-out duty. She was wondering if I had any library experience, specifically experience beyond the page level and why wasn't it on my application. Of course it would have helped if she'd have LOOKED at my application. If she'd only looked, she would have seen that I've got 5 years of library experience. I verbalized for her that almost 3 years of that experience included duties beyond the average page level and into the realm of assistant duties. She asked again, if I've worked as MORE than a page for the borough. I replied again that YES, almost 3 years of that library experience was at North Pole where the pages do work that is normally reserved for Library Assistants, in larger libraries (such as the one I'm currently at). And AGAIN, she didn't seem to quite understand, because she asked "well, does that mean you were a library assistant???" I told her that I have never had the TITLE of library assistant, but that I have experience consistent with what a Library assistent does at my current library. She responded with "Well, we're not looking at what your duties & abilities are, we're only concerned with what your title was. Were you ever a library assistant?"

And I told her "No, that's why I want this job, because I want to BE a library assistant."

And ya know what she said??? "Well, then it looks like you don't meet the qualifications for this job, based on your past job titles. That means the job will go exterior with nobody from inhouse qualified enough for an interview."


FORGET MY F*&KING JOB TITLES!!!!! My experience, what _I_ AM CAPABLE OF, met the qualifications. Hell, what's-his-name Brown held the job title of FEMA director, and look what a "fantastic" job he did of it. And got knows he had the title but no qualifying abilities. It's NOT ABOUT "job titles", it's about who's got the best qualifications. Or, it should be anyway.

So, I got shot down for an interview, having been the only one INSIDE the borough system, because I haven't previously held a job TITLED "Library Assistant". Evidently I'm not allowed to even interview for a job TITLED "Library Assistant" unless I've been a library assistant already. Whatever screwy type of sense that makes!

So, without considering my capabilities and experience, I've been denied an interview, by HR, before those who I'd be working for have even seen my resume. NOBODY at HR has previously been a library assistant, or a librarian, or even a page, and here they're saying what I COULD and COULD NOT do, based simply on current & past job titles. *shaking head* F*&KING IDIOTS!

So, tomorrow I'm going to call work, and ask who my Union Rep. is, and Monday I'm going to go talk to that Union Rep. about the Union looking into me getting an interview. It's BULL***T that I'm not even granted an interview, when I was the only one who actually applied. I'm not asking for the job. I understand that they need a pool of possible employees to choose from. But I should certainly have a SHOT, based on my past & current experience and the fact that I bothered to apply. I'm also going to talk to the Library Director (very nice guy, and a good boss!) and see if there's anything he can or will do. Again, I only want the shot. I'm not asking (or expecting) to be handed something I don't rightly deserve, but it's bull***t to turn people with experience down based on lack of a title. That's like something you'd expect in another society, not American society.

Oh, and for what it's worth, the woman who would be my highest supervisor (below the Library Director himself) knows that I applied for the job, and she knows that there was only one application from in-house. And I'm hoping that she'll see that my application wasn't sent to her for consideration and will call to HR to inquire into WHY it wasn't sent to her. I think she likes me, as an employee (I worked beneath her at North Pole Branch before), I hope so. I hope I'm not being shuffled aside for somebody's "sure thing". That's what the FIL thinks is happening. He thinks that this lady at HR has a relative or friend who's got less REAL qualifications, and isn't in-house, and the HR lady wants to narrow the field for her friend/relative. I hope that's not the case.

So, I'm rather peeved tonight. And I just had to share.