Help me get a job--any HR people here?

[Ira]

It's been a little over a month since I lost my job and became a bum for real, so now that the holidays are over, I'm really getting all my ducks in a row to earn millions and millions of dollars in 2008.

Yeah, I know they say that money can't buy happiness, but I want to find this out for myself.

One of the casinos down here is advertising for something that may or may not be up my alley--can't tell just by the job title. But those Indians have more money than God, so I'm going for it.

Since the Gaming Commission is involved, there are TWO applications you have to fill out, and each of them is 4 pages long! So obviously, these applications go by the "book" as far as HR people are considered. And HR people always try to trip you up:

They ask if you speak a language other than English, which I do. And they ask whether you read and write a language other than English, which I barely do.

Do you think this is one of those trick questions? Where if I say yes to speaking but no to reading and writing, they'll think I'm an idiot and liar and tell me to drop dead? Or is this a normally established distinction, and they just want honesty?

It's taken me hours and hours to complete just ONE of the apps, because although you can download them as PDFs, that means you have to fill it out manually.

So instead, I converted the pages to tiffs, brought it into Quark, and am completing it by inserting hundreds of little text boxes, so it stands out as looking professional.

This is a real pain in the a**, but since I'm doing it from home, I can have Bud.

[Jiminsav]

Ira,
Yiddish don't count, bubba..

[Ira]

Ira,
Yiddish don't count, bubba..

In the old days, I would have put Trilingual:

English, Spanish, and Brooklynese.

And for some companies in New York, they would appreciate that and grant me an interview.

[Betsey]

Do you think this is one of those trick questions? Where if I say yes to speaking but no to reading and writing, they'll think I'm an idiot and liar and tell me to drop dead? Or is this a normally established distinction, and they just want honesty?

Being able to converse in another language does not necessarily mean you are able to read/write it. For example, you may have grown up hearing parents/grandparents speaking their native language and you learned it from their conversations but you never had to read or write it because you learned to speak, read/write a different language. Or you may have picked up enough from co-workers to speak conversationally but never had the need to learn how to read/write it.

It may be a way of assessing your bilingual skills for job placement...for example, if you can speak a language, you may be better suited for a job where you will be using more speech skills than written ones and if you are more adept at writing/reading, you may be better suited for a different job.

Good luck!

Betsey

[Classic Finn]

Employers here will test the applicant for the languages they mention. Also here they will pay additional wages for the language you have been successfully tested on or have a language certificate for..

If your able to converse in a language other than your own is always a plus. Keep that in mind. At least here in Scandinavia and Europe.

For us we have no choice if we want to communicate with the world.
And no English is not my Native Language.

All of us here wish you success in the interviews and follow your heart Ira.

Regards
Heikki and Family

[Ira]

Thanks Betsey and Heikki.

So it's not a trick question:

I'll just tell the truth, that I can speak it, but can't read or write it at any truly acceptable proficiency level.

[elmo]

Hey Ira...when it comes time for a reference just tell them to start a thread here and ask us...I am sure it would get locked right away, but it would be fun for a little while.

Good Luck!!

[Dean_A]

Ira,

Here are a couple things you can try:

1) If the casino activated the Typewriter tool in Acrobat, you can use the Typewriter Tool in Acrobat Reader to type directly on top of the form.

2) If you have Acrobat (the full application), you can use the Typewriter tool regardless of whether or not the casino activated it.



I feel your pain though, I've had to do the same thing before back in the day.

[deputydogrick]

What are you looking for Ira we have a lot of buisness up here in the East, than I could get a closer look at your TD, and you could shovel snow again

[asianflava]

My wife is in HR but she got laid off too. Actually she's working for the mouse and living with her sister in Orlando right now. She starts in a couple weeks but it is only a temporary gig for her.

[caseydog]

For now, have you looked at Elance.com for freelance graphic design work?

And, what kind of job are you looking at in a Casino?

CD

[Ira]

Dean, I'm using full Acrobat Professional on the Mac, and although it's not the latest version, I don't see any Typewriter tool.

And that's what I thought--that I should be able to type into the form, but no dice. Anyway, using the additional text boxes is a pain, but it's coming along anyway. They're not too sophisticated over there, so I doubt these PDFS were set up with fields--but I STILL thought I should be able to type over it, like another layer.

Casey, I'll try that site, and they're looking for a Promotions Manager.

I was the Promotions Director for the economic development magazine I worked for down here, and I didn't think my skills had anything to do with that titled position--but I got the job anyway. Seems that a Promotions Director for that pub meant creative concept, copywriting, layout and prepress--to create materials for the ad guys to sell space, and to create materials for advertisers who didn't have any (ads and inserts).

I have no idea about the Indians' definition of that job title, but they have so many positions there anyway, I have to get my resume and these apps in.

[Jst83]

The Mcdonald's down the road from me is hireing, I know the manager I can put in a good word for you.

[Miriam C.]

Actually The Mouse or McDonalds would be a great job if in promotions.

[Classic Finn]

You mean the Golden Arch Supper Club
Classic Finn