This is a letter I sent to Indeed, a “job search” site. I really wanted to use stronger language, but figured the letter would be dismissed outright, not that I expect anyone to read it and/or act upon it.
To Whom It May Concern:
The late, great Pulitzer Prize winning author Saul Bellow once wrote that we have a word for everything except for what we really think and feel. Words are inadequate to describe my contempt and loathing towards you and your cohorts in the “employment business” for propagating the plagues of hyper-credentialism, political correctness and age discrimination in the employment world.
It is utterly inconceivable that someone with my skills and experience has been unable to find a fulfilling work situation in the 10-plus years since I left baseball. How many people can claim references from someone like Michael Lewis? How many people can truthfully claim that The Wall Street Journal called one of their books without a doubt the best book of its kind ever written?
Yes, I would rather write prose than code. Perish the thought that the day has arrived when the former is considered of no value. My combination of analytical and communication skills is very rare and the fact that I have not been able to move on to the next act of my career is in no small way due to how you and your cohorts have stripped away the humanity of the job search.
As my late mother, a Holocaust survivor, would have said to you, “Luzzim Brenna Vee Da Keen.” I am not naïve; I do not think this letter will do any good except to get these thoughts out of my head. I weep for the future.
#AmericaIsBroken
#disaffectedmusings
Disaffected Musings 
❤️
LikeLike
Thanks, Eileen. It’s virtually impossible to connect with decision makers because almost all companies use “gatekeepers” like Indeed. HR departments are almost always useless as they are afraid to hire anyone who is not an exact clone of the last person who had the job.
LikeLike
“an exact clone of the last person who had the job.”
In most cases, only if that person was of some “minority”. Be it a POC, LGBTQXYZ, or a “furrie” (whatever the hell that is). Corporations are too busy satisfying the demands of the “woke”, often at the expense of shareholders and even profits. Witness the beating that Disney has taken recently. This is found in many large corporations, small business is the opposite. We, for the most part, NEED the best available candidate, no matter who they identify as. I wouldn’t hire a 6′ 6”, 300 pound man who has pink hair and wears a dress to work as a salesman for our company. In reality it would not be feasible to hire that person at all, given that the majority of our employees are blue collar, beer drinking, meat eating working stiffs that are decidedly unwoke. I suspect we would lose several good workers that are impossible to replace these days.
As long as the person I hire has at least equal qualifications, we can survive any discrimination claims.
For myself; as a white, heterosexual male, on my 65th trip around the sun, I also am “unhireable” by most any medium/large business these days. Good thing I’m self employed or I might get mighty hungry.
LikeLike
Amen, DDM, Amen! Those who have been hurt by discrimination now want to use it to achieve their objectives. By its very definition, affirmative action IS discrimination. A truly level playing field means that race, religion, ethnicity, sexual orientation, etc. should NEVER be considered in hiring, firing, promoting, admitting to college, etc. Meritum supra omnes!
LikeLike
I couldn’t have said it better.
LikeLike
Thanks, JS.
LikeLike