A-levels mysteriously vanish
Back when I had to move down to Cornwall for family reasons, there were no jobs that weren't chalet maid or cook due to the nature of the town I'd had to move to. The nearest other towns were over 10 miles away and I had no car, and back then the bus services didn't get you to the other towns until after 9:30, no good for an 8pm start. The only job I could get, after 6 month of trying was at the local theme park, for a pittance and shitty conditions, although you got the benefit of watching holidaying girlies in their skimpies get soaked through on the log flume etc.

2 months until the end of the season and facing a winter on the dole, I saw an advert in the paper for an electronics company that was based in a manor house a few miles out of town, within bike distance. I rang up the number and spoke to someone, expecting that my a-level in electronic systems and 9 GCSEs would secure me the post of production associate. No, they said, overqualified... we'd be worried that you'd get bored and leave again. Ah ok, goodbye..

Didn't once during this phone call mention my name. So, I applied in writing this time and 'forgot' about my A-levels and retyped my CV (my Amstrad word processor at the time, an 8256, had no printer ribbon left;- give you a clue how long ago we're talking here?)

I got the job after taking in some PCBs that I'd soldered together as a hobbyist (I also used to work at the electronics supermarket Maplin a while before that so had some odds and sods still in my toolkit). After 18 months of doing really well in the job I wanted to take on more testing than building and was knocked back on account of my 'academic weakness';- shit... couldn't tell them I magically suddenly gained A-levels after they'd employed my for NOT having them.

Apologies for not being funny.
( Rotating Wobbly Hat That's not a banana. THIS is a banana., Sat 8 Jul 2006, 16:51, Reply)