I am interviewing for a summer intern right now and I am appalled. Out of 20 candidates we picked the best 4 to interview. Problems-phone etiquette. If you have a cell phone-people calling you to interview you are not your friends and your phone should not be answered as such. If you want to make a good impression don’t answer if you don’t know the number and call back when you are in a quiet place and can talk.
Other problems. One girl sent a writing sample about Thomas Nast-a political cartoonist from the 19th century. She wrote about his cartoons “giving credence to the popular adage, “a picture is worth one-thousand words.” Well it took me 2 seconds to trace the origin of that phrase to 1921. Also, it existed in the past in ancient Japanese & Chinese proverbs, but still don’t teachers or students even check this stuff. If I was a teacher I would take points off for this. This is just careless (needless to say her writing sample precluded her from an interview).
Other problems-if you apply for a summer job in Boston and go to school in Wisconsin, Connecticut, Florida, Ohio or even in Boston, tell me the dates you are available. Also address the letter to me-my name is right on our website. Follow instructions-my ad says if you don’t submit a cover letter, resume and writing sample, you will not be considered. Also, don’t put your cover letter in the same document as your resume-I usually miss it. Don’t send me a form cover letter and let me know you at least understand what we do before you say you want to work here. Most of the stuff I get I would be embarrassed to send out.
Ted, just because (as you claim) the phrase “a picture is worth a thousand words” hadn’t been coined during Thomas Nast’s lifetime, doesn’t mean that people back then (or today) didn’t know that pictures, especially political cartoonist, were trying to convey complex meanings or concepts. Obviously, they did because Thomas Nast became so popular. If someone is writing a paper today about an historical figure, why should they be marked down because they are using modern phrases?
Wow – I was going to write exactly what Don wrote. This frightens me.
You need to put in there something about.. the modern phrase–you can’t just make stuff up and say it. My blog is becoming like shim’s as no one agrees with me anymore.
“Three-peat” I consider to be modern (although as I checked, it is over 20 years old!).
A 90 years old phrase is not modern. Following your logic, if I wrote an article about Adam and Eve, it couldn’t be in English. At least not without a proper explanation that many of the words/phrases in the article were invented after they both died.
The greater irony in all of this, is that your attempt to teach everyone the proper etiquette for submitting an employment application, at least for me, was marginalized by the fact that your hiring practices have been so darn discrimatory. (I purposely won’t go into more details, in hopes of saving you some jail time).
Ted, I know, I know… I am banned yet again from DSAs offices.
Darn!
Don FYI, I hire who is best for the job, you only see them all as young blondes, because that’s what you want to see. You have a 5 year ban from the office.
2014 will be a sweet year….very sweet indeed!
Yes because you’ll be 47 and my interns will still be 22.
We are approaching 1,000 words in comments. Bob should just draw a picture.
But I have to say Don’s argument is right on.
Shim, I like your idea of a picture, but given all the mathematical errors (Ted, I’ll actually only be 46 in May, 2104), grammatical hiccups, conceptual oversights and legal missteps posted in this one blog, might I recommend something more along the lines of a “collage.” Maybe even a small picture book?
don you will actually be 137 in 2104
I don’t care what Don says about discriminatory hiring practices. I cannot recommend that Ted hire 137 year-old interns — by the time you’ve taught them enough to be productive, they’ll likely just up and die on you. It just don’t make sense.