UPDATE: As of March 14th, and this was originally published Feb. 3rd, this position still hasn’t been filled and they’ve upped the salary by $2000/a! So I guess I was right, and the guy was just being a complete ASS.
I am on maternity leave for another 5 months, but because my DH was laid off, I’m starting to panic about the finances. So I got this bright idea to start job hunting, for him, for me, mostly out of curiosity. I stumbled upon an ad for a ‘Graphic Artist’ at an embroidery company, in the next town. The pay was pretty decent considering the short commute.
Since I’m a photographer/digital artist, I looked into it further. Here is part of the job ad:
Skill Requirements:
Education: Completion of high school, Some college/CEGEP/vocational or technical training, Some university (I have college training in the ‘general’ area)
Credentials (certificates, licences, memberships, courses, etc.): Not applicable
Experience: Experience an asset
Languages: Speak English, Read English, Write English
Area of Design Specialization: General graphic design, Visual art, Corporate identity, Multimedia, Forms
Business Equipment and Computer Applications: IBM, MacIntosh, QuarkXpress, Illustrator, Photoshop, PageMaker, Corel Draw (I have used Illustrator-a little, I’m advanced on Photoshop, and I used Pagemaker in high school. But I have not used Quark Xpress or Corel Draw-all of which I made perfectly clear in the email that contained my resume)
Work Setting: Corporation
Specific Skills: Consult with clients to establish nature and context of designs and illustrations for reproduction, Produce final designs or illustrations (I am totally capable of handling these responsibilities, with maybe a small learning curve, but my advanced computer skills means that I can learn others quite quickly)
Essential Skills: Reading text, Document use, Numeracy, Writing, Oral communication, Working with others, Job task planning and organizing, Significant use of memory, Finding information, Computer use, Continuous learning (all of these skills I am good at)
Other Information: Redrawing and resizing company logo’s to be printed on promotional products. Obtain and supply quotes. Order taking and order processing various customer service functions. Web Design. (I have actually re-drawn and re-sized logo’s for broadcast…print isn’t a far cry. Then it seems, not only do they want a graphic artist, they want a CSR as well…hmmm)
So I send off my resume, on a whim really, and in it, says that I have certain computer programs as skills, but I didn’t specify on my resume to what degree my expertise lay with each program. So I made sure I was honest in my email, about how much knowledge I have in the programs specified.
I get a response back the next day with an attached job description telling me to look it over and let them know if I was still interested. Here’s what the description said:
“Position: Graphic Artist, Customer Service & General Office
Tasks include:
- Web Design and maintenance
- Producing Paper Proofs for client approval
- Ordering promotional products and checking for accuracy
- Design and send E-mail Blasts
- Order processing and follow-up
- Assisting corporate clients in our showroom
- Writing and completing sales transactions
Business Hours:
Monday – Friday: 8:00 am – 4:30 pm
Thursday’s: Must be available to work 8:00 am – 8:00 pm bi-weekly.
Extended holiday hours include working Saturday’s during the months of November and December.
The successful candidate must have excellent written, communication and math skills and be knowledgeable in Microsoft Office.”
So I think this sounds okay, and I could handle this job, seeing as I’m a great multi-tasker and I’m really quick to learn new things. I’ve also been hired for jobs I was less qualified for because someone recognized my keenness for learning. I send a reply saying it sounds good and I would like an interview. A couple hours later, I get a phone call asking me when I can schedule an interview, and we decide on Wednesday afternoon. He said I would fill out an application and then we would have the interview. (period…no mention of any test)
I’m now scrambling to figure out what I’m going to do with my kids if I get hired, and how much child care will be, and how I’ll really be able to leave my 6 month old already. I also have to figure out who’s gonna watch my kids during the interview. I start preparing a list of questions I have for them etc. I then spend the entire day getting my clothes ready, feeling excited about the chance to get into the ‘real world’ again.
So DH says he’ll watch the kids, my friend says she’ll watch them for only $50/day, and we figure out how it all works with the salary in terms of being worth it.
I get there, and it’s a showroom for corporate uniforms/products and gift baskets. The guy takes me over to a table in the showroom to fill out my application, after seeming surprised to see me-I was only 10 minutes early. He says to bring it back to the office when I’m done…so I do, and he makes me wait again, while he goes over my stuff-I’m assuming. Then he fetches me to do a test! A test! He asks me if I know Illustrator, I tell him only a little but that I’m way better at Photoshop, and I use it more. So he brings me to a computer and sits me down with a picture of a man in a uniform with a white background and asks me to remove a piece of background…so I do, then he says, remove the rest. So I do, with great ease. Then he wants to test me in Illustrator by having me turn the text in a logo to black. I manage to fuddle my way through this task, and then he asks me to take the globe graphic being used a ‘letter O’ and remove the lens flare and get rid of the grid lines on the continents. This is where I get stumped. I tried a couple things that didn’t work completely and I turn around and tell him I’m stumped. Now don’t forget I did say in my email, AND tell him walking into this test, that Illustrator was not my forte. Yet, he still seemed annoyed with me and tried to point out in my resume that I listed Illustrator as one of my skills. So I pointed out to him that it was version CS and we’re now on CS4, and he still acted as if I blatantly lied on my resume. (I mean wouldn’t you realize that if the version was 4 revisions old that would indicate the last time I used it?? Hmm? Wouldn’t you?) So I then reminded him that I mentioned in my resume that I only had a ‘little’ experience and that some programs I didn’t even know.
He tells me he’s going to have to cut the interview short! What? I asked him if there was no room for a learning curve and he said no. That 90% of their work needs Illustrator skills at a higher level than what I had…WTF? Am *I* delusional, or was that NOT specified on the job ad or description. He didn’t even give me the courtesy of a full interview just to humour me. Like really? If I had had the right skills you would’ve taken the time to get to know me, but because I didn’t, you can’t be bothered to give me the illusion of having a chance. I mean talk about wasting MY time.
Here’s what I have to say. Good luck to them. For the amount of work they want done, and the level of expertise they want, they aren’t offering enough money to be picky about people. Especially in a sub-urban area. I could very easily caught up to their standards and given them great customer service, but now they’ll never know. I mean, it’s an embroidery shop…what expert Illustrator is gonna work for that low of salary and ALSO do the customer service and office duties they require? Maybe someone desperate. So again, Good Luck.
I’m not upset that I wasn’t qualified, I’m upset that he didn’t show me the courtesy of a full interview for my time. I mean, I did show up on time, dressed appropriately, AND did know SOME stuff…why couldn’t he finish the interview for ‘future reference’? I wonder if after going through all the applicants and realizing he won’t find his ‘perfect fit’ will he call me back? NOTHING like this has ever happened to me before. It’s just so weird.
Needless to say I was pissed. I also had to drive home in a blizzard btw!
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Photographer. Mother of 2 boys.
