Happy Friday, Gentle Readers,
Was it just this time last week when I was waxing rhapsodic about going skiing? Yeah, about that. After shoveling the driveway and sidewalk twice a day for two days straight, I'm ready for summer. Besides, after Christmas, snow is pretty much an annoyance. Who knows? Maybe if I get out on the slopes and get a few runs in, I'll feel differently — that is until I fracture something.
Please bring your signed parental permission slip to your interview.
One great thing about being a freelance writer is that there are no job interviews. And I hate job interviews. It was always the same questions over and over again. "What are your greatest strengths?" "What are your greatest weaknesses?" "Are you a team player?" I always wanted to answer "Everything," Nothing," and "No," respectively.
The only thing I hated worse than going to job interviews was conducting them. When I was in radio, I often had to hire people as board operators and news stringers. If I could read the handwriting on applications, I was often left speechless by an applicant's inability to construct a simple sentence or even spell. One person told me she was qualified for the job because she often listened to the radio. Another, and I swear this is a true story, tried out for a board job. I asked her to record an air check and handed her a pair of headphones. She looked at the headphones, then at me, and said, "I don't know how these work."
Apparently, the pool of eligibles has not improved since then. I know, Gen X-ers get maligned for grumbling about how members of Gen Z can't read an analog clock, write cursive, drive a stick shift, or come in out of the rain. But this latest trend has convinced me that we are just hours from doom. It would appear that Gen Z job applicants are starting to show up to interviews with their resumes, portfolios, and... their parents.
I kid you not. According to Business Insider, 20% of companies have reported that Gen Z applicants have brought their mom or dad with them to a job interview. I am not sure why. Do they need positive reinforcement and words of encouragement? Does someone have to hang on to their lunchbox while they are talking to Carol in HR? Could it be that if the person doesn't get the job, mom will go in and give the interviewer a piece of her mind? Someone should tell these people we aren't talking about yelling at a Little League umpire. I can hear it now: "You're not hiring me as a lead developer? I'm telling! MOM! Mr. Smith won't hire me! Make him hire me, Mom!"
On top of that, around 50% of the companies surveyed said that candidates showed up in inappropriate attire, asked for unreasonable compensation, or couldn't even make eye contact. I thought I had it rough. At least none of my applicants stared at the floor, showed up in board shorts and flip-flops, demanded twice the pay, and threatened to have their dad beat me up.
Uh, Congressman? Your sheet is showing.
Someone should ask Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-N.Y.) if he knows what the word "projection" means. The Blaze notes that during a Thursday hearing for the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration Integrity, Security, and Enforcement, Nadler teed off on the GOP because only Democrats care about solving the border crisis. I'll pause for a minute to let your laughter die down. Nadler's rationale for open borders?
"We need immigrants in this country," he said. "Forget the fact that the farm — vegetables would rot in the ground if they weren't being picked by many immigrants — many illegal immigrants!"
Hey, don't look at me, donkeys. Your guy said it. Does this mean his respect for other people from other countries is based solely on their ability to meet a crop quota? Well, that may be unfair. I'm sure he thinks they make excellent greenskeepers, waiters, and caddies, too. To be fair, he also said we need migrants to prop up the sagging birthrate and support Social Security and Medicare. He forgot about voting Democrat, but that's a given.
Wine Recommendation
Because I'm sick of turkey. Where's the beef?
Yes, it is time for beef, and I grabbed a wine specifically to go with red meat. Behold the aptly named 2020 Carnivor Cabernet Sauvignon.
This is a pretty serviceable Cabernet. I wouldn't call it flat, but while it is advertised as "bold," I found it a little tame. You can taste some berry flavors and a little oak. It leans dry with medium tannins and acids, but there are some sweet hints to it.
Don't get me wrong, I didn't hate it, but I kept expecting it to "do" something. It's smooth but without much character. If you are serving a beef dish with some really strong seasonings or rubs and want to play it safe, this is the wine for you. You can tell it was created to go with beef, the name aside. On the one hand, no one will spit it out on the floor. On the other hand, people are probably not going to ask for a second glass. Try adding it to some homemade chili during these cold months, and you might be on to something.
That's it for me. Have a good one, and I'll see you next week.
Join the conversation as a VIP Member