Message received loud and clear

As a columnist, you know you’ve hit the big time when readers say they’ve asked editors to cancel your column.

Actually, I have a pretty easy time, in terms of reader response. Nearly everyone who writes has an interesting question or comment, and only a few teach me new words to use when I hit my thumb with a hammer.

In response to this summer’s columns about applications — and my advice to avoid them — I received a range of e-mails, including one from a reader who wanted to know what fantasy land I live in. Two interesting letters appeared within two minutes of each other.

First, MV wrote: “I run a 60M/450 employees hospital-based program for mentally ill/DD youth, and if someone does not follow our procedure, they will not get interviewed … Not even my doctors are exempt … Following rules does count.”

And then Randy described three job opportunities that were cut off by computerized application processes: “… Finally, for the third employer, I received an e-mail telling me that, after filling out their application, submitting my résumé and a cover letter, doing the affirmative-action questionnaire, and agreeing to all their requirements of working there, the entire submission procedure failed. No explanation why, no further help. Zip.

AMY LINDGREN

WORKING STRATEGIES

“I certainly hope you don’t hear whining from employers who say they can’t find enough talented people… . We are out here, trying desperately to make contact with them, but their Web sites simply are thwarting our attempts … P.S. My applications were for director of IT positions, so I am VERY computer- and Web-literate, and I was STILL stifled in my attempts.”

Wow. If an IT director can’t navigate these electronic applications, who can? I sent an excerpt of Randy’s letter to MV, in hopes of influencing at least one employer’s hiring practices.

Last week’s assertion that age bias can be largely averted by the way job-seekers present themselves and their experience brought less mail than usual. Only a few people wrote to say I was blaming the victim, and slightly more told me they agreed with my views.

One reader alerted me to the ability of employers to discover your age through the Internet. As a member of an online alumni group, Linda’s high school graduation date is found easily via Google. For what it’s worth, I told her that it’s not the usual practice to check a candidate’s background until an offer is pending and that age would not be a likely deterrent at that point.

By far the most mail this summer came in response to the column in which I pondered the value of work for women who quit for family reasons. Should they work below their abilities just to keep a foot in the market?

Judie wrote with this sobering message: “Please remind women that, if they choose to stay home, they are not contributing to their Social Security. Because women often get paid less, work fewer hours if they go part time and sometimes have to take jobs as contract workers, they’re almost guaranteed to not have enough money set aside for retirement.”

Others told stories of not feeling equal at home because they didn’t earn income. Most women described part-time work as the best option, and some noted that “work” can mean different things.

The last word goes to Kathleen, a reader from Georgia who signed on with Office Angels, a firm that places stay-at-home workers in part-time positions: “Virtually every ‘stay-at-home mom’ I know is working in some capacity. Some are continuing in their fields; others have branched out into new directions, often as a result of experience they’ve gained through volunteer endeavors. Many become entrepreneurs, [meeting] needs they may have uncovered in their ‘nonworking’ days. I think many of us absolutely find that it’s worth it to work — but not in the 9-to-5 corporate world.”

Thanks to everyone for reading and for taking the time to write.

- Amy Lindgren owns Prototype Career Service, a career consulting firm in St. Paul, Minn. She can be reached at alindgren@prototypecaree rservice.com or at 1071 W. Seventh St., St. Paul, MN 55102.