Saturday, June 04, 2016

An Opportunity with the Federal Government

I applied for a position with the Federal Government I received a massage from that department just a few days before a Sun., asking me to to write an examination in British Columbia! There was not much time left so what I did was I did a little search to find a hotel but I was not aware, at the beginning, that it was a US long weekend! Most of the hotels I looked at in major hotel website had a Sold Out note! I eventually found one and in order to prevent a screw-up by Internet, I called and booked for two nights. We went to Edmonton last night and while we had a reservation, when we arrived at the hotel we were told that there was no reservation under my name. I went to their computer and printed the confirmation they had sent me and they gave us a room. So this time I called to be sure that the same problem doesn't happen not knowing that they would screw it anyways. So I went to the building that they had sent its address to me in the morning and I arrived some 15 minutes earlier! The building's main entrance was locked but there were two security guards inside. I waved at them and one of them came out. I explained to him that I was there for an examination and he knew nothing about it! He even didn't let me in but after a 10 minutes or so conversation two guys appeared on the floor and they introduced themselves as examiners for that positions. They were very courteous and friendly and explained everything in detail and with patient. Two other guys, examinees, joined us and we started the test. It was a very easy and childish examination, mostly except the first part which has something regarding the things they would train us on, if we were hired. I did well on most parts but that specific one and I guess it took about an hour and a half and then they gave us a break for 15 min. 
The next half of examination was showing proficiency with Microsoft Office. We had two half an hours to answer two questions using two different MS Office softwares. This part was a piece of cake. So when I finally left the building I was sure that I would proceed to the next stage which would have been interview and they told me since I was from out of town, they would set up the interview for the next day. So with that in my mind and lots of confidence I went for a lunch in Downtown Vancouver and we sat in a Boston Pizza in Broadway! My joy didn't take long. We were waiting for our lunch to arrive that I received a telephone call. It was the examiner and he told me that although I had passed most of the section,because I didn't get a minimum in the first section, I would not be considered a candidate and he wished me luck with the other applications! It was unbelievable but there was no room for argument. 
Another factor was that they explained before the examination that it was a temporary position to cover for someone who had recently left for maternity leave! Unbelievable! The bastards had not indicated that in the job posting! Had I known that it was a shity temporary position, I would have not most likely even considered that. Anyways it was too late to complain. Beside what can you do to the Government. The majority of these guys have well-paid jobs with all the benefits, nice and comfortable office and good pension. They have easy jobs which becomes easier every year because there's barely any change to them. They all retire the same job and spend the rest of their life travelling and spending the money the have accumulated. 

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