Letter to the editor

I was talking with a long-time friend from high school, discussing the way some of these local industries select new hires. The subject has come up lately among citizens of Panola and surrounding counties.

I won’t mention names because this newspaper won’t print them because as far as it is concerned, this isn’t fact, but just opinion. We understand their policy, but everyone (both job seekers and job decision makers) knows the situation.

I am not writing this letter for my benefit — I have become disabled in the last several months so my doctors decided that I shouldn’t be working — but to help make it better for those who are looking for work and have been unemployed for awhile.

I know that there’s always going to be people who have never worked and don’t want to work, but there are also people who just can’t catch a break. I’ve been through this process, and it’s very frustrating.

Here’s an example: About two years ago I was called in for an interview. Another person that I knew was called in for an interview for this same job during the same time. My work history going in to the interview was, from 1994 to 2000, I worked at the furniture store that is now the home of O’Reilly’s Auto Parts. From 2000 to 2011, I worked at a Sardis factory. After the plant started losing customers I was permanently laid off in 2011, but that’s still 17 years of good work history.

The other person who was called to the interview had no work history. He hadn’t worked anywhere and he was in his 30s. He had passed the test that was required. I had also passed it.

We took the test at the WIN Job Center. There were three parts. I made the highest on all three parts, so you can say I made three A’s on the test.

At my interview, I was expecting to be interviewed by someone from the front office wearing a tie and three-piece suit or a nice dress. But the people doing the interview were regular, everyday employees from the floor. It was three of them, two men an a lady.

One of them had on a tank top and gym shoes. Another one had on a green Army jacket with muddy cowboy boots. And the lady was chewing tobacco with Daisy Dukes on, spitting occasionally into the garbage can.

I was feeling left out. Why did I dress up?

And two of the interviewers didn’t even look at me the entire time they were asking questions. One of them was actually texting and talking at the same time.

There was a break in the interview, and the interviewers left the room. Another employee passed the room I was in, came in and told me I was wasting my time. She also told me that the three interviewers were saving that job for someone else.

She was right. The other person got the job. So it’s hard to know that your 17-plus years of working in a factory plus making all A’s on the test got beat out by someone else who never stepped foot in a factory and with no other work history. Yeah, he passed the test but with all C’s.

And this is just an example of the ways a lot of these factories with high-paying jobs are hiring people. We all know people have always and forever helped people get jobs, but please stop tainting the interview process. It’s all right to help people get to the interview, but give everyone a fair chance during the interviews.

Just picture this: The front office chooses John Doe, Bob Doe and Sally Doe to be the interviewers for next week. Sally Doe makes it home from work and gets a call from her best friend, Jane Doe.

Jane: “Hey, girl, I got an interview at your plant next Friday.”

Sally: “And guess what, girl. Me and John Doe and Bob Doe will be doing the interviews…”

Jane: “For real, girl? I know you gonna look out for your girl, ain’t you?”

Sally: “Girl, you in there. I know three more people told me they also had an interview, but they just gonna be wastin’ their time…”

It’s sad, but that is what is happening in the job world. I pray that one day my medication will regain control of my illness so I can get back in the work force. I want it to start getting better for me and my generation, but especially for my little girl and her generation.

Thanks,
Bobby “Six-9” Bradford
Batesville.