The Energon Pub

Okay, so I'm an electrician with no hours for the last month, been laid off before, and now it's pretty much happening again. Went from having overtime in one week to nothing the next. Really a shocker.

So I've been looking for a new job, and I've been in contact with the cable company and also one of their subcontractors. With my experience, this field could be good for me to work in, steady work, alright pay, tools supplied along with a truck.

I've been waiting back for two calls, one the cable company itself and one from the sub. I was starting to think they didn't like me cuz it'd been two weeks since my interview. Then I got my copy of the background check they ran on me. Only thing that showed up was a ticket I had back in September 2006 for driving with expired registration. I borrowed my dad's car that day, was driving around, didn't know he hadn't replaced the stickers yet, and got a ticket for it.

Fast forward to today, and I finally got a call back from the guy I interviewed with. I thought I was about to hear "we're calling to offer you the position", instead I got that I can't be employed by either company because I failed my background check. He didn't say why, and I asked, but he said he'd have a HR person call me.

Hours go by, no HR person calls me, so I googled ther corporate office in another part of the state and called them. Talked HR there, she pulled it up, and told me I can't be considered for employment because I had a misdemeanor on my record. I told her I wasn't aware of anything, and she pointed out the license plate violation. Told me I could not be considered for employment because of a criminal conviction.

After I spoke to her, I called the county courts where I paid my ticket. The Clerk of Courts was VERY sympathetic and understanding. And also thought it was insane. She said first off, that's NOT a misdemeanor, it's a MINOR misdemeanor, which isn't the same thing. Second off it was a 0 point offense, meaning I have no points on my license because of it, and third it was 3 years ago this month and would be dropping off soon. She said it would be no more serious then running a stop sign, less so even since it's a non moving violation. She told me to even have the lady call her at the courts to verify all this.

So I called the HR person back, who was now kind of rude about the whole matter, and told her this information. She said it didn't matter, because it was company policy that you have a clean criminal record. Well it got heated and I eventually hung up on her because she simply wasn't helping. I had asked for someone's number above her to speak to, she didn't provide it, again stating it's policy and there is nothing she or I can do about it. I just told herSo I know for sure I'm not working there after talking to her.


But I for the life of me cannot imagine, never have imagine, or wouldn't have imagined being turned down for a job over a non-moving ticket.

Moral of the story is I hate job hunting.

You're completely justified in being furious! Good lord, these people wouldn't be able to hire *me*, because I have three speeding tickets and a PJC from when I worked as a bartender and had the usual 18 year old use a fake ID and get served a beer and then bingo, I just served alcohol to a minor.

(If you use a fake ID around me, I will kill you.)

Want to get really upset? With my above stated 'criminal' record, I got a NY state pistol license. And a concealed carry in NC.

That is the most absurd policy I've ever heard in my life. I can't think of anyone I know (and I teach college) who could pass that standard! I presume this is a relatively *new* policy for them.

I'm sorry you had such a bad experience. I'd've been blindsided by this 'background check' thing, too! I hope you can find another job--one that actually understands that things happen--it's not like you had 'armed robbery'!

HK, HR people are actually *paid* to be jerks. I think they get bonuses if they're rude at the same time.

I too despise HR people. They are simply dreadful to deal with. I go around saying it all the time, mostly from bad experiences from past dealings.

I just called the guy back that I interviewed with, who also happens to be one of the field techs like I was applying for. I wanted to explain why I failed the background check (which I admitted to having the ticket during the interview, so it didn't suprise either of us, and he even said it shouldn't be a problem). He said he really thought that should be a non-issue, but that HR was the one making the decision. I also told him that the ticket falls off the mandatory 3 year record in a month. He then said "Please, please reapply in a couple months then. We're VERY interested in you and your skills".

I guess they don't often get electricians applying to install cable. But hell, try to get a job around here as an electrician right now. Also impossible.

Might this have been Time Warner Cable? If it was, I'm not surprised. Their customer service sucks. Welcome to Ohio.

Sorry to hear about this, it really is unfortunate. I've not had any really bad experiences while hunting for a job, but I hope this kind of crap doesn't happen to me. But keep your head up, things are bound to turn around soon.

But you should reapply in a couple of months, like he said. Hopefully they won't pull a "you-previously-applied-and was-rejected" excuse on you.

I want to get the hell out of Ohio so bad. It sucks.

Rodimus Prime wrote:Might this have been Time Warner Cable? If it was, I'm not surprised. Their customer service sucks. Welcome to Ohio.

Sorry to hear about this, it really is unfortunate. I've not had any really bad experiences while hunting for a job, but I hope this kind of crap doesn't happen to me. But keep your head up, things are bound to turn around soon.

But you should reapply in a couple of months, like he said. Hopefully they won't pull a "you-previously-applied-and was-rejected" excuse on you.

I want to get the hell out of Ohio so bad. It sucks.

I wasn't going to drop any company names, but you know it!

Don't feel bad, it will get better, it always does. The misdemeanor thing is rediculous, I have about 12 criminal misdemeanors on my record, mostly Public Intox., Indecent exposure, Disorderly conduct, assualt, mob action, weed possession, etc...and I have no problem finding jobs. I'm a machinist, and I was laid off for 7 months from Jan-Aug of this year, and I went back to school for a bunch of stuff related to the field. So anyhow, I get a call telling me to come back for "Massive overtime"...which lasted all of 3 days. Then, they keep me at a straight 40 telling me there was no money to pay me beyond that. So a couple weeks go by, then other perspective employers start calling (who I applied with when I was laid off), and now all of a sudden they "need" me, and I can work as long as I want. Total BS, they only gave it to me because I threatened to leave. The market is getting better though, I'm doing about 4 interviews a week. The south is more insulated from the economic woes of the nation, have you looked down there?

Pontimax 01 wrote:

Rodimus Prime wrote:Might this have been Time Warner Cable? If it was, I'm not surprised. Their customer service sucks. Welcome to Ohio.

Sorry to hear about this, it really is unfortunate. I've not had any really bad experiences while hunting for a job, but I hope this kind of crap doesn't happen to me. But keep your head up, things are bound to turn around soon.

But you should reapply in a couple of months, like he said. Hopefully they won't pull a "you-previously-applied-and was-rejected" excuse on you.

I want to get the hell out of Ohio so bad. It sucks.

I wasn't going to drop any company names, but you know it!

Figured. My downstairs neighbors moved in last month, and when the guy came to hook up their cable all he did was disconnect my line and hooked up their. So *I* was paying for *their* cable. For 2 days. I kept calling their customer service, telling them their technician f**ked up, disconnecting my cable and they need to come and fix it. I didn't know what the problem was at this time. It happened on Saturday, and they didn't show until Tuesday. Now, I don't mind that I was without cable and internet for 2 days. I don't watch much TV during summer anyway. But what pissed me off was their lack of professionalism considering it was their f**k-up. The girl on the phone was nice, but the whole company's policies just suck.

AS far as being laid off I can totally sympathize with you. I was laid off for 4 months recently, putting in between 4 and 5 applications per day online (every local place I went to told me tho apply online... lovely).
And after doing odd jobs and extra roles in 3 movies I finally found something.

Something I never imagined.. I am now a support technician and work on laptops and pc's for the local school system..

I would never have imagined finding this job either but the Lord provided.

IT work is great and I love my job (I have not been able to say that in years).

Keep your chin up as things will get better for you.

Cyber Bishop wrote:IT work is great and I love my job (I have not been able to say that in years).

Keep your chin up as things will get better for you.

Yay! I remember you posting when you got laid off, CB. I am so glad you found something and even more that it's not just a job--but one you really enjoy!

HK, optimistic.

hellkitty wrote:

Cyber Bishop wrote:IT work is great and I love my job (I have not been able to say that in years).

Keep your chin up as things will get better for you.

Yay! I remember you posting when you got laid off, CB. I am so glad you found something and even more that it's not just a job--but one you really enjoy!

HK, optimistic.

Thanks.. I never imagined I could be this happy with a job..
I am have started my second month and have been told that I far exceeded their expectations.. Looks like I will be here for a while.

I've been trying to get out of retail hell for years. It seems that the only interviews I get are for other retail jobs. My worst experience was being told they couldn't give me a job because I didn't have a job. WTF??????????

Evil_the_Nub wrote:I've been trying to get out of retail hell for years. It seems that the only interviews I get are for other retail jobs. My worst experience was being told they couldn't give me a job because I didn't have a job. WTF??????????

Hahhahah. I hate the job market.

I remember (not as good as yours, but...) being turned down from a sweatshop because I was 'overeducated.' I also remember not being hired by Macy's because they said I'd get a better job in six months and leave them. (I had no job, my ex husband had cleaned out my bank accounts, and I had $12 to my name). I ALSO remember being dinged from Macy's *again* because I wasn't pretty enough to work the makeup counter. They'd actually hired me, signed the paperwork and everything, and this evil cabal of poreless-faced women sat in judgment upon my hideous face. Job offer? Torn up.

(Wonder why I hate pretty women? Solved!)

My sympathies: retail is AWFUL. Only thing I can think of that's worse is (shudder)...customer service.

HK, hiwelcometomacyswouldyouliketoputthisonyourmacy'saccount?

Evil_the_Nub wrote:I've been trying to get out of retail hell for years. It seems that the only interviews I get are for other retail jobs. My worst experience was being told they couldn't give me a job because I didn't have a job. WTF??????????

Retail truly is hell. Once you're involved in it, everyone pigeon holes you into that kind of job. If you dare apply outside of the greedy monster that retail is, you get scorned. My gf is a Walmart manager, been there 2 years, since she graduated with honors in her 4 year psychology degree, and she can't get out of it to save her life now. Once they have you, they don't let you go. Of course, I guess this happens a lot. Right now I can't get anyone else to call me back for anything not directly related to what I've been doing. And because of the silly rule about the ticket crap, I'm not even eligble to work for them.

And I've also had that held against me before, about not having a job at the moment, so they won't offer you a job. It's like wtf... I didn't apply for the hell of it, I certainly didn't show up to an interview dressed up because I was bored, and I reeeeeally don't want to be told I can't have a job with you because I don't currently have a job. Idiocy. I hate HR people.

I've had bad job problems, but they get better. I'm a government employee in Canada, and if you know the Canadian government, you're there for life. I've heard about people who have been brought up on sexual harassment, found guilty, and only got shuffled off to an equally paying job. You REALLY have to mess up to lose your job here. But it's been a bumpy ride to get here.

One time I was working for an IT company, very loyal to them. I could have taken better and more secure jobs (at least interviewed for them), but turned them down. I didn't realize it was a stupid move at the time; I was young. Anyway, the second that work turned south (or east, if you know what I mean), I got laid off. They gave me the story about helping me find a job with some contacts. Oh, their HR people know people. Anyway, they gave me two names of consulting firms I could have gotten from the newspaper or the Internet, and I'd already applied to those places. Yeah, great help. (My direct supervisor was awesome here, though. Very personable and friendly, so it wasn't a total loss. He still asks about me when he runs into a mutual acquaintance.)

I worked at another place (for three days) as an HTML programmer, fixing outdated or badly written pages. Anyway, they really didn't know what they wanted. They wanted this format, then that format, then these codes, then those codes (and some codes they wanted used were deprecated, but who was I to argue?). I had a certain set of files to fix and, every time there was a change, it contradicted or amended what they wanted me to do before, so I had to go over my work again and again. Anyway, I got fired (not even laid off, but FIRED, so I couldn't apply for employment insurance) because, and I quote, "you kept going over the same files." I hated those people anyway; they just weren't nice. Side story: To top it off, I had a CD from the library in the CD tray at work (one of those books on CD that have about 6 or 7 to a set). I called to get it back, but "Oh, we don't have anything like that here." Had to pay $60 to replace the set, which would have been more except the guy who runs the library was ultra fantastic nice and let me just swap it with an identical copy from eBay rather than pay the exorbitant full replacement price.

Worked as a lawncare provider with a team of lawnmowers and weeders. Not a bad outfit, but they kept promising we'd stop off for water. I only had a single bottle of water for a 12-hour day since we never did stop off for water. Only worked there the one day since I got home with exhaustion, dehydration, and I think sunstroke. (And to top it off I lost the paycheck for the day! Argh!)

But for every horrible job I've had, I've had a good one too. Good jobs are out there. You just have to keep at it. I know that sounds trite, but it's true. Lately I've had a string of good luck; my last three or four actual jobs (not McJobs or retail jobs) have been great and my bosses were/are awesome.

That sucks about the misdemeanor thing, Pontimax. I used to work part-time at a jewelry store. My boss would have me go through job applications for him. He told me if the box for "convicted of a crime" was checked, to throw the app out. Usually they don't count midemeanors as crimes. Felony is the only thing most employers are concerned about.

Thankfully I am not in the retail anymore. I worked at a mall sneaker store for 6 years in high school and college and did 2 years at the mall jewelry store. Thankfully I could quit those jobs when I got my teaching job.

Keep looking. You will find something.

Wow! Something even weirder has turned up about that background check situation now!!! Really would LOVE to hear opinions on this one!

Got my mail yesterday, and noticed my statement from Dell. And then another letter from Dell that was marked differently. I opened it first, being curious.

What I got inside was an affidavit for fraud. It says thank you for contacting us about the above account opened in your name without your permission. And the account number is correct, it's mine! The letter goes on to state to fill the affidavit out and return it and Dell will look into the fraud claim. At the bottom, it lists a phone number to Dell for questions.

I called it right then and there, got some lady in India who was calling herself "Alice" today... (really?? you think we believe you? India apparently has more Tom, Dick, and Harry's then we do and they all work in customer service!). So I told her I got this letter and didn't know why. She said well you claimed your account was fraudulent. I said no, I never have and it makes no sense. I said I have my computer, I opened the account, and I've been paying you for several months. Why would I send you MONEY every month if I didn't buy something? So she checked the report made, and it was dated August 31st, 2009. Someone called Equifax (one of 3 credit bureaus) claiming to be me, and had enough personal information about me to convince Equifax to issue a notice to Dell to send out an affidavit because this person said *as me!* that they never opened this account! WTF!?! So I straightened her out, they cancelled the affidavit and claim. Then I had to go through this awful automated system with Equifax to put a credit alert on my SSN.

But this begs the question... Who could possibly have had enough information about me to actually call a credit bureau and provide the necessary details to tamper with my accounts? Well the only theory I have is that my background check was run August 27th, then a few days later this happens on the 31st, and I don't even get the results of my background check until September 3rd from the employer?? Sounds REALLY fishy to me. Remember, many employers also run a credit check on you now. So I'm seriously thinking someone whose job it is to see this information is using it to their advantage. I just don't know how telling Dell that the account was fraudulent helps them any. That's where none of this makes sense to me... They didn't get anything from it that I can tell, no charges have been detected, Dell knows now it wasn't me now, my credit cards are fine. And now there is an alert put on my accounts with all 3 of the credit agencies. I don't get it...

But it does make me hate this whole situation even more now. First being denied the job for something so petty, and now someone along the way has apparently taken private information and tampered with my identity and credit information. Wow, I hate privacy invasion dressed in the guise of employment opportunities.

There are people out there who get their jollies by messing with people's identities and messing their lives up. Could have been one of those HR people or some POS hacker type that looks for that kind of crap. You should pull all three credit reports and make sure they all match up. Fix anything that is not supposed to be there. For instance, I have addresses and telephone numbers of my ex-wife where I never even lived. I had instences where my middle name was listed as my first name. Make sure all your credit account are up to date. Such as if you have had something in collections that you paid off but still as listed in collections, get that straightened out. And of course look for things that you never opened or had. My credit report was a clusterf#%k due to my ex wife's junk. I had to get all of that straighened out before I could buy my house. It may take a bit of time, but in the end it is worth it. You know what is going on with you credit and can improve your credit score if you are able to clear some things up. It gives you a bit more peace of mind.

If you are really worried about your credit cards, you can request to get ones with new numbers.