sundries

[rm]

My perpetually late werewolf story is going to be done TODAY. I have been plowing through it this morning and will continue to do so. Because it needs finish. And the editor needs it like forever ago.

Bristol: still don't know. Trying not to obsess (as opposed to what I've been doing for weeks?)

Patty has a cold.

Nothing sucks more than finding out about a conference stuff I'm working on would be perfect four 5 days after the abstract deadline.

‘Whitening’ the Résumé. I've heard about this before from friends, and I've even been told to use Rachel on my own resume lest my own unusual name trigger racist assumptions. Even so, the article is still shocking to me and a really clear sort of look at "here's one result of systemic racism."

Twenty years ago today 28 people at École Polytechnique were shot by a gunman who ultimately killed himself. He actively targeted women, separating men from women in some rooms he entered and then shooting the women, to, he declared "fight feminism."

Los Angeles Episcopalians elect lesbian bishop.

The IAF auction is almost over. It ends tomorrow, in fact. There's some gorgeous stuff bid now It all benefits the Interstitial Arts Foundation, which supports the type of art many of you reading about this care about.

Bizarre YouTube thing on a look back at the Beatles from the year 3,000.

You know what I like? When my Amazon ranking has only three digits!

New upstairs neighbors. I'll be frank, they sound like the sort of very straight and normal 20-something women that intimidate me.

Yesterday was filled with Costco related aggravation in which I at first could not join because I don't have a driver's license and then was told over and over my passport would be acceptable if it was a "New York State" one. I had to explain, OVER AND OVER again that passports are not issued by the state, but by the federal government, and then come home in a snow/sleet-storm to get various proofs of address. I was finally able to join (and hey, they're gluten-free chicken basil meatballs are amazing) and had another irritating conversation with them about a household card for Patty ("do we have to prove domestic partnership or just her address?" "what do you mean?" "the form says close family, we are gay, do you need a domestic partnership certificate? or just proof that we live in the same house?" all of which somehow lead us back to this idea of New York State Passports).

Comments

Re: heh, be careful what you say

[chris-walsh.livejournal.com]

"No papers. State to state." -- Sean Connery, The Hunt For Red October Yeah, let's keep that true...

[bethynyc.livejournal.com]

You probably know about the non-driver ID that you can get through the DMV. It looks just like a license only without that pesky driving thing, and with Non-Driver Identification at the top!

and ::headdesk:: at the idea of NYS Passports.

[rm.livejournal.com]

Yup. Weirdly, some places wont take those as ID. Normally I just rely on my passport. And then, there was ysterday.

[realtsunamigirl.livejournal.com]

Twenty years ago today 28 people at École Polytechnique were shot by a gunman who ultimately killed himself.

This is a major emotional matter for me happening as it did when I was in early puberty and just learning what it meant to be a woman. It was especially affecting as it occurred in my own country.

I have written about it in the past, here and here if you or anyone else wants to see how this has affected a Canadian woman.

[realtsunamigirl.livejournal.com]

Sorry, the first link wasn't going through properly, this one should.

regarding point six

[newwaytowrite.livejournal.com]

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/a-survivor-speaks/article1390009/

her response to question three I thought was brilliant and so simple.

[kirby-crow.livejournal.com]

You know what I like? When my Amazon ranking has only three digits!

YES! :) Congrats!

[tsarina.livejournal.com]

I find the idea of Costco up there so weird, because I associate it with suburbia and people driving giant SUVS to buy huge stuff in bulk. How do you get any of that stuff home?

Now I will never have all the answers to your previous mysterious upstairs neighbors and their furniture moving sounds.

[rm.livejournal.com]

We have a granny cart and the Costco is 10 blocks from us! A lot of the stuff is jsut too big for us to buy, but some of the food options and spices and stuff are really good, especially if having a party. I also want to get us a new TV soon and some new luggage for the cruise, so those were big reasons we joined. Also we have a friend who lives near by, so I'm thinking we go shopping with her and split up some of the packages.

[aviv-b.livejournal.com]

State passports - what a good idea! I don't know about you, but there are some states I travel to that do seem like foreign countries. And in NY where lots of folks don't drive or have cars, I wouldn't think that would be that unusual.

[delchi.livejournal.com]

Domestic partnership certificate? WTF? My roomate in VA and I had costco cards and all I had to do was ask for a second card, and they handed it over. Something smells here.

Also LOL on the state passports. I used to joke about needing a passport to go from NJ to NYC.

[eumelia.livejournal.com]

ID's are a funny thing.

I have a diver's license (17 year old angst!face!), a student card, my military service ID (I was blonde!) and my Ministry of the Interior issued ID that I had to get when I was 16 (and boy was that a bad hair day) - it's a law to have a form of ID on our person at all times.

It's only when I read posts like this that I realise that it's odd to carry my "papers" every where, to present them to security guards when they don't like the way I look (which they usually don't, my politics are worn on my sleeve, or around my neck, or on my bag).

State passports, now that's a comedy of errors waiting to happen!

[requiella]

I had a bank refuse to accect my passport as ID. They kept asking for "goverment ID". I eventually spoke to a manager saying a passport is ~federal~ ID. This was to withdraw $200.00.

[delchi.livejournal.com]

There is something similar going on in the tech industry with CVs. Although it is not expressly racist it is 'just plain wrong'.

As it turns out many HR departments are pre-screening CVs before sending them on to department heads. The HR people are instructed to look for certifications ( MCSE , CCNA, etc ... ) and if the Cv does not have any listed to trash it. The sad thing is these HR people have no clue, what they are looking for , they just look for the alphabet soup. The department heads complain that all tehy are getting is resumes from people who have just taken tests and have no real experience, while the people with enough experience and do not need the certifications ( 15 yrs experience for example ) are having their resumes tossed.

There are alot of evil things that go on with the whole CV business. It's become less and less of a display of skills but tailoring the document to get you past the drones who open the mail and into the office of the decision maker. This includes racist bits like you mentioned , as well as other sneaky bits. Luckily for me I have made a name for myself in the industry and usually ( at least over the past few obs ) the CV is just a formality after someone decides to hire me. Some people would use the dreaded "P-word" here , but I don't think it applies. I have worked long and hard both at my job and presenting my work at conventions and in papers to establish a reputation and history of knowing my job, and doing it well.

[kalmn.livejournal.com]

i work in tech and have for the past fifteen years.

what you mention here does in fact suck, but has so very little to do with what rm's link mentioned that i'm really amazed about how you can make everything all about you. (rm, please do not then laugh at what i'm about to post. ;)

[guruwench.livejournal.com]

I remember the Polytechniqe Massacre very well... thank you for mentioning it. May we all remember.

[kalmn.livejournal.com]

my resume (for tech support/system administration, a traditionally white male field), says "e.a. lastname" and has for years. i have a recognizably swedish last name and live in a state that is mostly of scandinavian descent. so for someone just reading my resume, it's easy to imagine that i'll, what do we call it now... "fit in with the team".

sucks, but i'd rather be employed than not. and i'm sad but not surprised to hear that it also works along other lines of oppression.

[tekalynn.livejournal.com]

Re 6): Yours is the first (and so far, only) post on my flist I have seen which was NOT written by a Canadian.

[guruwench.livejournal.com]

Same here - and only the second mention on my flist, period (not counting my own post).

[ladyofthelog.livejournal.com]

My priest, who is an openly gay woman and who has run for Bishop of Minnesota & California, only to be defeated by straight (and, I think, male?) candidates, announced the news about the Diocese of LA this morning. The whole congregation cheered and clapped.

It was a good morning.

[miep.livejournal.com]

are you in chicago?

[darkrosetiger.livejournal.com]

I've never had to "whiten" my resume, because there's absolutely nothing on there that indicates my ethnicity: I went to predominantly white colleges, and unless I use my middle name, my name's about as bland whitebread as you can get.

Because I have no regional or ethnic inflections in my voice, most people--even black folks--assume I'm white. So when I go in for an in-person job interview, unless it's with someone I already know, there's inevitably the double-take moment of, "Wait--*you're* Nancy?"

[feyandstrange.livejournal.com]

Oh, and IIRC I didn't get any hassle about adding my partner to the household membership, despite not-same last name and mild gender ambiguity. I doubt they will care. Then again, in my neighborhood "household membership" often means "we all work at the same restaurant and buy supplies at Costco".

...which reminds me, I love him, but dipshit most his Costco card and now I have to replace it. Sigh.

[gement.livejournal.com]

Yeah, in my neck of the woods (the small town in the Red-state half of Washington where I grew up), they just say "And the second person on your membership?" A membership gets two people listed on it, if desired, and that's that. I'm actually on the membership of a guy I used to date. We never lived together, we didn't identify ourselves romantically at signup, and we haven't shared a zip code in 6 years.

[feyandstrange.livejournal.com]

And I totally want a CA state passport now. The rest of the country thinks we're aliens anyway.

It really bugs me when idiots don't accept passports as ID - but I grew up in the passport offices, so that goes to show.

[aviv-b.livejournal.com]

I wanted to take some time to think about the "Whitening of the resume" issue because this hits close to home.

I'm an HR Director for a small but well known firm in Chicago. Yes, I generally screen resumes before sending them to managers based on the criteria they give me. We always try to find out what will substitute for a desirable credential, but I'm sure many HR departments don't.

As for names, I agree, if you think your name (due to religious, racial or ethnic identification) is holding you back use your initials. Kind of turns my stomach that I have to tell you that but many times (like right now) you may not have the luxury of being that picky.

But here are some pitfalls that you may not be aware of:

- Many companies use screening software (we don't). They are screening for specific words or phrases. You don't hit enough of these key words, your resume doesn't go forward. Unless you're screened manually, you will get shut out. So check resume web sites for key words in your profession. Yeah, it sucks but don't get shut out if you meet the requirements because didn't use the lingo.

- For goodness sakes, there's no excuse for spelling errors, especially spelling the company's name wrong. And no, spellcheck is not your friend if the company has a foreign name or an unusual spelling.

- Ditto for pitching your resume to another job. If I'm hiring pastry chefs (totally made up, we have nothing to do with food) don't have "wants to be sous chef as your goal." In fact, get rid of that shite, it will only be used to screen you OUT.!

- In the interest of space, we often compress stuff on our resumes. That's fine, just make sure you don't leave off stuff the employer wants. You should probably have 3-5 basic resumes that you then tailor to the specific job. Sending your standard CareerBuilder file without an attached targeted resume is a mistake. Its not customized, and frankly its a PITA to read. So no, don't just shoot your resume out there without reviewing that it covers every single item the employer asks for (assuming you have everything). That might mean eliminating an accomplishment that you feel proud of (won employee of the month award), for something mundane (proficient in Excel).

- Keep personal stuff off resumes. Should be obvious, but given that there is real prejudice, you don't want to give your potential employer a reason to screen you out. So anything related to your religion, sexual orientation, or politics should be excluded unless its related to a job.

I don't care about this stuff and whether you are telling me that you are a Druid or you go to my synagogue, or are a devout Christian or an atheist, I have to wonder if you have another agenda in making me aware of this.

Now if your last job was working for the Obama or McCain campaign then you are going to have to include that. Or you worked for your church. But you do not have to tell me (and I quote), "I am a hard working, married, born-again Christian with a lovely stay at home wife and three children."

Part of what I look at is goodness of fit. How well do I think this person will fit into an extremely religiously diverse and gay-friendly work place? But I'd be just as wary of a resume that had "Proud member of PFLAG" on it. Hey I am too, but what is your purpose in telling me?

Right now I have lots of qualified people looking for a job and if I have to choose between two people who are equally qualified, but one seems to have a need to let me know about their affiliations, frankly, I'm choosing the one who is focused on the job. That's life.

And if you do have issues because you have experienced job prejudice, please leave them at home when you interview. Cause, no one wants to hire a bright, qualified, but abrasive person. That's also life. And having been that bright, qualified and abrasive person in my younger years, I can attest that it doesn't get you anything but rejection letters.

And in the spirit of the holidays, if you have any specific questions you'd like to ask about job hunting or resumes, feel free to send me your questions via private mail. The only things I won't do is discuss my employer or write your resume.

[viciouswishes.livejournal.com]

In my dealings with Costco, it's always been just a member of the same household, sharing the same physical address whether it be relatives, spouses, domestic partners, or roommates. But I've always found that the least amount of questions you ask (unless you're being treated badly like with your passport), the better.

[arielstarshadow.livejournal.com]

I like Costco, but they do have some weird policies which seem to make no sense whatsoever. It drives me nuts that they only accept cash, check, or American Express. What?!?! So instead of handing them my bank account linked credit card, I have to actually write out a check. O.o

[abnormal-apathy.livejournal.com]

Really??? I've only ever used my debit card!

[abnormal-apathy.livejournal.com]

Thanks for the heads up on Costco. Brendan and I are planning to join so at least now I know what to expect.