Jobless reader trying to be selective

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Hi Gilbert,

Working? Oh, no…like to but not yet.

These days, I’m getting to be more & more selective with regard to job selection. Not that I’m more fussy but I’m becoming more ‘battle-hardened’ & realistic. Let me explain. It’s a bit like choosing fruits. When you have enough experience in choosing fruits, you can basically take a quick glance at a display of fruits & decide whether it’s worth to take a second look. This hard-earned experience comes from the hundreds of emails & interviews I have attended during the last 2 to 3 years. I did managed to land up with a couple of jobs but that’s because I was desperate.

One of them was a particularly bad experience & I quit after one month. No regrets. The boss was one hell of a conman. During that one month, I received lots of complaints from customers chasing after items that were never delivered (even after 3 months) and ex-employees chasing after unpaid salaries & commissions. Not only that, he didn’t live up to the promises that he made during the interview. He has this very bad habit of lying. After I handed him the resignation letter, I asked for my salary and he said to collect on the following day. What’s so difficult about writing a cheque? Anyway, the next morning, I had a hard time getting my cheque. Now, if that’s not hard earned money, what is?

There were a couple of part-time jobs that were not really suitable and I didn’t stay long. The older workers were already having a hard time before the current recession, now it’s even worse. Most of the older workers are capable of more challenging jobs other than the usual landscape technician(gardener), bus captain(bus driver), certified eco-assessor(toilet checker), security officer(security guard), cleaner, healthcare attendant & other similar jobs. Thank goodness, they didn’t re-design all the job titles. When you’re above 45 years of age, it doesn’t mean you’re weak & slow mentally. Some of us used to be in middle & upper management positions and are still capable of doing similar jobs.

Regards,
Ben.