Application Angst

I am of a certain age. Enough of an age that folks (significantly) younger than me have referred to “people of my generation” in a non-ironic sense as an explanation for how or why I did something vastly different from what their worldview would have led them to believe. In my opinion, of course, I usually do things better than the younger generation – but I’m equally confident the younger generation believes they do things better than mine.

I suppose it is similar to appreciating that every mother out there is confident their kid is superior to all other children out there while also appreciating that other mothers feel the same way about their (clearly inferior!) children.

[At least until the kids in question grow up to be little a**holes and nothing under the sun would lead any sane person to continue to believe in the shine on that halo.]

Anyway, the point is, every generation does it just a ‘lil bit different.

I try to remember that whenever I’m dealing with a candidate of significantly different age than myself. You know, try to be open minded and all that.

Unless, of course, the candidate sics her daughter (who IS my age) on me like a barracuda attacking a prime piece of chum. Then the sympathy and attempts at open-mindedness are, well, less.

Example:

Me: How can I help you?

Application Angst (AA): I don't understand.

Me: (obviously confused) Understand what, exactly? How can I help you?

AA: My mother wants to apply, but you never sent her an application.

Me: Alright. Well, we do not have paper applications and have not in many years. If she's interested in one of our positions, she will need to submit an application online.

AA: Ok, but why did you not send her an application? She saw your jobs online.

Me: As I stated, our applications are all online. Also, since I'm entirely unaware of who your mother is, I wouldn't know to whom to send an application even if we had them on paper. So, if she's interested in applying, she will need to do so online. Please visit our website to apply to whatever job she's interested in.

I mean…come on. Paper application? If this woman had sounded even remotely like she personally remembered the Kennedy assassination, I would have dug real deep and found a tiny scrap of sympathy. Instead, this woman was more enthusiastic to call up a complete stranger and feign irritation at not having mailed a paper application than to help her own mother fill out an online application.

…actually, I’m a bit at a loss on how to close this one. Does that say more about the daughter or more about the mother?