Hope Springs Eternal

It's the resume season here once again, and it hasn't yielded as many amusing ones as last year, or in previous years. I take this as a good sign.

. . . .

This morning's mail, however, indicates a reverse in that trend may be in the works. We seek a Director of Development. We're a medium-sized independent school, and the ideal candidate would have ten or more years of experience in professional fund-raising, preferrably in an academic setting. The person we hire will be someone who will have the gravitas (a word I generally avoid because of its current trendiness but is in this instance precisely the word I need) to be able to ask a donor for a half a million dollars.

. . . .

Candidate Number One for today just completed a Master's in Pastoral Counseling and has been working as a bank teller; prior to that, she was an Avon lady. Candidate Number Two for today has just graduated with a Bachelor's degree in theatre. His paid employment includes lifeguarding as well as maintenance in the Catholic student center at his college.

. . . .

I'm sitting here shaking my head. What are these people thinking? Are they thinking?

. . . .

We are unusual in that we acknowledge every resume that we receive. Granted, it is through form emails and printed postcards, but the work of acknowledging takes up time. My time. We are so busy with the myriad of end-of-year things, with the hiring, with the time-consuming meetings to plan for next year. I'm a little -- just a little -- resentful of the Avon lady and the lifeguard for taking me away from essential parts of my job to deal with their credentials. At the same time, a small piece of me is impressed with how good they must feel about themselves to apply for this position.