Thanks so much for all your thoughtful feedback on my last post. I’m very lucky to have such awesome people reading my blog. I’ve decided to write a letter to the CEO of the company to let them know what happened and then I plan to let it go. I don’t want to spend too much more time worrying about the negativity of that situation. I need all the room I can create for the positive, if you know what I mean.
That brings us to the assorted linkage of today’s program:
-Tomorrow we’re going to take the kids to the Promenade in Santa Monica and Alex and I are sneaking over to meet up with Thomas Hawk, Trevor Carpenter and some others for a Photowalk. The details can be found here at Upcoming.
–This is a very accurate and compelling story written by a woman raised in polygamy and struggling to get out.
–Cindy Samuels mentioned in an email the other day that my writing could be compared to Anne Lamott. Of course I then had to go reacquaint myself with her writing and found this gem. I think Lamott is fabulous and I had forgotten how much I identified with her truth. And it appears that where I’m getting to with religion might line up with her also. To think I might someday be as real and solid in my writing as her, well, it’s an honor just to be nominated.
-How many times do I have to ‘friend’ you before we are really and truly friends already? How many social networking sites have to spring up and be semi-successful before we begin using some kind universal ID system (maybe OpenID?) where I’m allowed to just suck in my already known and trusted ‘friends’ and stop having to go through the monotonous process or finding and friending you all again? Have Twitter, Facebook, Linkedin, Flickr, Involver, Upcoming and Pownce taught us nothing? And those are just the ones I use the most and the ones I can think of. There are many, many others. Make my life as end-user easier, already.
Are you actually using OpenID? Because I was thinking the same thing the other day. I barely keep up with Twitter and I live on flickr, but if there was one central place I could go to keep up with it all, I’d be there in a HEARTBEAT.
I’m purposely not joining other “communities” to remedy the guilt of not being able to actively keep up or participate.
Good for you for warning the CEO. I’d go another step – I edit your previous post to include her company name, at least. I want to know who to boycott.
You did the right thing. The woman who sent you that email is a hothead with a dangerous “send” button/trigger finger, and is a major liability to her company.
As for you… I had a crappy week job hunting too, and I want you to know that you’ve inspired ME to apply more boldly for jobs I know I can do but for which I don’t necessarily have the prescribed qualifications. I think your approach of writing a letter explaining exactly why you think your qualifications are more than sufficient is just right. This way, you show both that you’ve read the job ad closely and that you have good reason to apply anyway. Chutzpah!!!
Your story has reminded me of the Marilee Jones scandal. Remember her? Hired as a low-level secretary by MIT’s 21 years ago, she was so good at her job that by April 2007 she was the DIRECTOR of their entire admissions office. Admissions officers at other top universities said she was the best. Her progress up the ladder was transparent, and based on her skill and ability alone. Her Ivy league institution was filled with top-level students, all admitted on her watch. She literally wrote the book on best practices for college admissions.
But, it was discovered… she didn’t have a degree. Never mind that her record was rock-solid, her qualifications just as solidly acknowledged by her very peers. This wasn’t like one of those stories where a surgeon turns out to have a fake degree. A fake surgeon might do brilliant tonsillectomies, but the medical degree assures s/he will also be able to handle unexpected complications, etc. In the case of Marilee? There *is* no degree in “College Admissions.” The qualifications for that job are, instead, comprised *exactly* of experience and skill.
Your blog rejected my last comment because it contained a single hyperlink. But do google Marilee Jones. Boston Globe broke the story; Time Magazine had the fairest coverage. I’ve saved a lot of the best articles on my blog, along with several posts (you can choose my “Marilee Jones” tag for the archive — I was pretty rabid about that one for a while!) 🙂
Good lord honey. I hadn’t read the last post until just now. You are one of the most bright, talented, hard working people I know and any company would be damn lucky to have you.
I’m sorry Ms. [Redacted] was so ugly to you, sounds like she’s got some issues of her own. If I had a company, I’d hire you in a heartbeat, and give you your own cape.
i love anne lamott. have you read her memoir?
Anne Lamott’s non-fiction is her *best*, I think! My favorite is Bird by Bird (about writing and the creative process, and living courageously and creatively in general). I also loved Traveling Mercies which is is the most memoir-y of her books and a beautifully touching read, besides. Operating Instructions is about her first year as a mother — hilarious and so real!! Plan B was a tiny bit disappointing because my expectations were so high, and her latest non-fiction – Grace, Eventually is frankly disturbing. But never is Anne anything less than her authentic self, broken and hopeful; crazy and beautiful; messed-up and thoroughly redeemed all at the same time.
I’m glad you sent it there. I told my husband about the letter last night and the first thing he asked was whether you had contacted the HR department because while nothing might happen, it might scare her. Unless of course, she *is* HR….anyhow….
Funny someone mentions Marilee Jones – as an MIT alum who had a chance to meet Marilee and work with the admissions office, I found the whole thing quite sad – she brought a lot to the community, and I respect her integrity in announcing and getting out of the way so as to not interfere with the progress she had made. Sad, still.
anne lamott rocks. i would agree that your writing has an honesty that i get from lamott’s work too.
Good on you. I hope that the CEO cans your trigger-happy insulter. At least in Mass., that woman could be fired for cause, be denied unemployment, and otherwise made to look like the fool that she is.