'Job hunting' ... or some sort of joke?

[canesisters]

I work at a landfill, not a glamorous place. Im at the scale house, which is the first building visitors come to, so sometimes I get ALL sorts of crazy questions. Lately, Ive been getting Crazy Job Hunters. It's gotten so bad that I'm starting to wonder if there is a hidden camera somewhere.

There are 4 businesses located here. Us (the landfill), the county inspectors office, a gas-to-energy plant, and a recycling company.

For the past few months, several times a day young men show up at the scale and we have a version of this conversation:

Hello, can I help you?
Needa applications
Im sorry; we dont have any open positions.
They told me to come get a applications.
Im sorry, if were not hiring, I dont have an application to give you. There are 3 other companies on the facility, which one are you looking for?
Alls I know is they told me to come to the landfill and get a applications!
Ok, well, if you can tell me what position you were trying to apply for, maybe I can point you in the right direction.
The landfill.
Right, but the landfill isnt hiring. What job are you applying for?
Look! I just want a applications!
And Id love to help you, but like I said, were not hiring. You dont know what sort of work you were hoping to get?
I was told to get a applications here and thats what Im asking. Are you gonna give me one or not?
Like I said, Im sorry but I dont have any to give you. Maybe you should find out what company youre hoping to get a job with and come back later.
Angry scowls and glares. Stomping off.

Now add to this that they most often come in groups of 3 or 4 all crowding up at the door. In several months, Ive YET to see a single one dressed nice and most often they are wearing muddy, stained, torn, dirty clothes. Yesterday a guy was I swear in his pajamas! They come in with no idea of what company they want to be hired by what job they are hoping to do and so no idea if they are qualified or not. Really? And within 2 or 3 minutes they are angry, raising their voice and leaning in at me (trying to intimidate me into giving up the application(s)??). What if we WERE hiring???? What if I WAS the one making the hiring decisions!!!!! What sort of impression are they hoping to make by trying to pick a fight with me?? And its not just here, I see this sort of behavior all over the town. And apparently Im the only one who is put off by it. Some days its all I can do NOT to launch into a fight with them.
Sheesh

 

[catjac1975]

And they wonder why they cannot get a job.

I work at a landfill, not a glamorous place. Im at the scale house, which is the first building visitors come to, so sometimes I get ALL sorts of crazy questions. Lately, Ive been getting Crazy Job Hunters. It's gotten so bad that I'm starting to wonder if there is a hidden camera somewhere.

There are 4 businesses located here. Us (the landfill), the county inspectors office, a gas-to-energy plant, and a recycling company.

For the past few months, several times a day young men show up at the scale and we have a version of this conversation:

Hello, can I help you?
Needa applications
Im sorry; we dont have any open positions.
They told me to come get a applications.
Im sorry, if were not hiring, I dont have an application to give you. There are 3 other companies on the facility, which one are you looking for?
Alls I know is they told me to come to the landfill and get a applications!
Ok, well, if you can tell me what position you were trying to apply for, maybe I can point you in the right direction.
The landfill.
Right, but the landfill isnt hiring. What job are you applying for?
Look! I just want a applications!
And Id love to help you, but like I said, were not hiring. You dont know what sort of work you were hoping to get?
I was told to get a applications here and thats what Im asking. Are you gonna give me one or not?
Like I said, Im sorry but I dont have any to give you. Maybe you should find out what company youre hoping to get a job with and come back later.
Angry scowls and glares. Stomping off.

Now add to this that they most often come in groups of 3 or 4 all crowding up at the door. In several months, Ive YET to see a single one dressed nice and most often they are wearing muddy, stained, torn, dirty clothes. Yesterday a guy was I swear in his pajamas! They come in with no idea of what company they want to be hired by what job they are hoping to do and so no idea if they are qualified or not. Really? And within 2 or 3 minutes they are angry, raising their voice and leaning in at me (trying to intimidate me into giving up the application(s)??). What if we WERE hiring???? What if I WAS the one making the hiring decisions!!!!! What sort of impression are they hoping to make by trying to pick a fight with me?? And its not just here, I see this sort of behavior all over the town. And apparently Im the only one who is put off by it. Some days its all I can do NOT to launch into a fight with them.
Sheesh

 

[majorcatfish]

wonder if you talk with your supervisor about putting up a sign "sorry not taking applications at this time"

here in north carolina even if you are not hiring you must give them a application, if the wrong person comes in and you do not give them one they could sue the company for discrimination.

 

[Ridgerunner]

In my former life I sometimes had to interview people for a job. The ones that practically always got hired were the ones that had done their research beforehand and wound up interviewing me. I dont mean ridiculous questions, but things that showed me they had done their homework and had a brain.

One that stands out was a young lady interviewing for a translator/secretarial job at a construction site in Kazakhstan. She wanted to know my opinion in how long it would take for Kazakhs to learn the business and be able to run these jobs themselves without foreigners managing the projects. A proud, ambitious, intelligent, and honest young lady. Of course she got the job and within a year was the second-ranked secretary in the organization.

I think several people on this forum will appreciate this story and understand why I thought so highly of her. She was an attractive young lady, in her mid-20s. An older European man hit on her in a public area. She said in a loud tone Why would I (special emphasis on I) go out with you? (Special emphasis on you, as if he were pond scum).

 

[baymule]

I feel for you Canesisters. I owned a business and the dregs of society would come in, dirty, wearing awful clothes, flip flops with dirty feet, greasy hair, and want an application. Most of the time I told them we weren't hiring. They obviously did not want a job. Probably they were on unemployment and job hunting was part of the requirements. That is probably why people are coming in to your place of work.

 

[so lucky]

Oh Cane, you could have a ball with this. Wouldn't it be fun to make up some applications to hand out? Odd silly questions. Something totally off the wall, like "Please list your great grandfather's address" or "How many pairs of shoes do you own?" "Who was President Taft's Secretary of State?" "How fast can you run a mile?"
They probably wouldn't even read the questions, but it would be fun if any body took it seriously. Don't you think these folks signed up for some type of public assistance, food stamps or something, and having to "actively look for a job" is part of the deal? After all, it's getting close to Christmas, and even the rattiest among us have someone they want to buy a present for. :/

 

[seedcorn]

I feel for you Canesisters. I owned a business and the dregs of society would come in, dirty, wearing awful clothes, flip flops with dirty feet, greasy hair, and want an application. Most of the time I told them we weren't hiring. They obviously did not want a job. Probably they were on unemployment and job hunting was part of the requirements. That is probably why people are coming in to your place of work.

Agree, have to show applying for work for unemployment.

 

[baymule]

I had men come in for applications and they took the application out to the car for their wives to fill out. Those applications automatically went to File 13.

 

[canesisters]

Major, our company policy is that we only accept applications if we have an open & posted position. So I'm not worried about how upset they get. I literally don't have any... I can't give them out.

And Bay, I think that is the very reason for another policy - apps may not leave the premises. In the past, I've had a couple come in - he asks for an application - they go together to the spare desk and she stands behind him telling him what his answers are. Wow! That's the responsible self-starter we're looking for. Doesn't everyone want to hire folks who require a supervisor at their elbow all day?

Lucky, if I didn't think that it would come back to bite me, I would start handing out fake, hand written applications on scraps of notebook paper.
Do you want a job? check Yes or No
Will you show up most days and try to come back after lunch? check Yes or No
Would you like to start out at Supervisor's pay or will you need CEO pay to start? check Sup or CEO or write in your expected weekly pay

 

[TheSeedObsesser]

White trash... that's what they are!