Kicking Me When I'm Down

It's bad enough that yesterday was Valentine's Day, which makes me want to jab a pencil in my ear like no other date on the calendar (anyone that's known me long enough has probably heard my "I've never once had a good Valentine's Day" story at some point; if you haven't heard it, the title of the story is pretty self-explanatory), but on top of that I found out that I did not get the job (or even a second interview) from my phone interview the other day.

This really hurts because 1) I was sick all weekend and just barely feeling slightly better at the time of the interview, so I don't even think they got to talk to the "real" me; 2) I REALLY wanted the job...it's probably the closest thing I've found to the "ideal" job so far; and 3) they made it pretty clear to me that they doubted my business skills since I got a law degree. It seems like graduating with honors from a top-5 undergrad business program means absolutely fucking nothing to these people since I made the decision to pursue an even more advanced degree. Oh sorry, I was under the impression that I was increasing my marketability by studying law, but I guess I was mistaken.

However, as bad that seems, the real kicker arrived just today. This is one of those things that is so insulting and demeaning that all you can really do is sit back and laugh, and in the end I think that might make it all worthwhile. What could possibly elicit this type of response from someone who feels like they've seen it all, aside from a man eating his own head?

A single letter.

It was the worst (or best, depending on your point of view) rejection letter I have ever received, hands down. It came from the GSA, which is basically the low-profile, catch-all business services arm of the federal government. The position was good, but nothing spectacular; decent pay, working in downtown DC, student loan pay-back assistance. The letter, however, was outstanding.

Did they hire someone with a better GPA than I had? Nope. Someone with more experience? No way. Decide to promote from within? Not even close.

They didn't hire anyone at all.

Apparently the stack of applications they received were so under-whelming that they just said "screw it." There is a pile of work sitting there that needs to be done, but they would rather have it go completely un-performed at all than to hire me to do it. I know I've lost out on jobs because I wasn't in the top 10% of the class, or because someone else gave a better interview than I did, but this is a first.

I basically lost out to the ghost man. Unlike myself, it seems he has moved his career beyond standing on second base in little kids' pick-up whiffleball games when the guy who hit the double has to go back in to bat again. Lucky bastard.

Once I stopped crying, it really did make me laugh.