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Monday, August 21, 2006

And Now For Something Very, Very Mundane

I guess it's time to stop with the political blogging for 10 minutes. According to Wired Magazine, political blogging is "tired," and not "wired." But who's counting, really? I'm here to talk about my job. For some, my blog may be the only point of contact with me since I disappear, blend into the background, and generally exist in a semi-hermit state. I try to avoid it, but it just happens. I am not a people person.

Now, the irony of this situation is that I work in the Human Resources department of a major corporation. In fact, I'm the first face a lot of people see when they walk in for the first time (not counting the security guards and the occasional celebrity you may bump into on the elevator). Being nice to people is actually part of the job description. I answer the phone, a device that scares me. Calling people I don't know is one of my phobias, and I do it dozens of times a day. This is what I will overcome for $13 an hour.

I process paperwork. That's the bulk of my job. Ever wonder who fills out those I-9 forms? I do. By hand. Working here has made me realize how much ground we still need to cover until everything is computerized. Signatures still need to be written on paper. We still need photocopies of IDs, and those confidentiality agreements still need to be filed (the original and a copy, in two different offices). Candidates still need to fill out applications when they come for an interview (although they are working on making it fully digital). Correction: I process a lot of paperwork.

Living in New York as a low grade junior employee means being broke most of the time. I'm usually very frugal with my spending, but at $1075 a month in rent it becomes very difficult to live even a modest lifestyle without having to put groceries on your credit card once in a while. I'll do the math for you: $1075 is more than half of my take home pay, particularly after all the taxes and pre-tax benefit premiums (and now my 401(k) contributions). I was making less than this in Boston and banking almost half of what I made; now I'm spending more than that on rent alone. I really wish they would give me a raise, though I'm about 10 months away from a review. I may not be working here anymore by then, depending on my luck. I hope it's good.

1 Comments:

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