Dead corporations...
Cluetrain: I see dead corporations.
Questioner: In your dreams?
[Cluetrain shakes it's head no]
Questioner: While you're awake?
[Cluetrain nods]
Questioner: Dead corporations like, in bankruptcy? In foreclosure?
Cluetrain: Walking around like regular people. They don't see each
other. They only see what they want to see. They don't know they're
dead.
Questioner: How often do you see them?
Cluetrain: All the time.
Thanks to Thomas Vincent on the Cluetrain mail list. This is too true. One example has to be MCI. I have been job hunting for a while, and I keep getting spam emails offering me a chance to work in their new Small/Medium Business unit doing outside sales. Based on my experience it would be a natural fit.
So I visited their job site, and tried to apply for the job. I input my resume, and personal information. Then came the questions. That was my undoing. If you have ever seen one of these, you know exactly what I mean. You never know if they want you to say what they want to hear, or if it really has any meaning. I was informed when I was done that I did not meet their qualifications. This in spite of over 13 years of sales and service experience with US West (now Qwest) in their Small Business unit.
I wrote it off and went on looking when a few days later I got a phone call from a recruiter. She told me that she was going through the rejects because she found that a lot of them were mistakes (why have the system in the first place then?). I did the phone interview and it went really well (I think). In the meantime I got at least 3 more of the spam mails offering me a chance to apply for this exciting opportunity.
So why had the questions rejected me? She told me that it all came down to one question: How much money is acceptable to earn during your first year? The options were, less then 30k, 30-60k, or more then 60k. Having been in sales I know that it takes a year in any real sales job to ramp up your sales, I answered 30-60k. They wanted to hear 60k. I was unacceptable.
This morning I answered my ringing phone to get a REALLY LOUD recorder voice informing me that this was NOT A SALES CALL, and that I could go to the MCI web site and apply for an exciting job opportunity selling to the Small-Medium Business market. I hung up. So what does this all say about the company formerly known as Worldcom?...mj
12:21:35 PM 
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