I had an interesting situation happen that I wanted to share.  I had someone that I was connected to via Facebook.  I didn’t really know her but linked to her through someone else that I knew.  She put out a status update that she was fired just like that with no warning…she was worried and looking for work last November (or so).  I checked out her “info” on facebook, thought her work at Thumbplay looked interesting, and sent her a message that we should talk.  She was very agreeable and seemed grateful for the reach out.

We finally lined up some time on the phone and I told her about Creative Concepts.  Yes we are small but growing, yes you would start out writing so you could get to know our clients, but could grow quickly into a content editor and then business development if all worked out.  Lots of opportunities and while we aren’t a big corporate entity with floors and floors and tons of perks (and by the way aren’t those the ones going out of business or at the least laying off while we are hiring), it was an opportunity to make a move that provided flexibility and a future and at the very least provided some income for right now until the next big office job with lots and lots of floors comes along.

She said it sounded interesting and liked the idea that I was understanding enough to know that she may want to move to the big office if she found it….ahh, but that talk was all a lie.  This is what she chose to do:  she never responded back with an official yes or no even though she said she would (and wouldn’t that be good manners to do so and don’t manners count on a job hunt?), she continued to post status updates on Facebook saying she didn’t have any job possibilities, she actually sent me an invitation on Linkedin asking if I knew of any job possibilites would I pass them along, and then I read about her in Silicon Alley Insider where they had chosen 2 people to profile who had been fired, had no job possibilities and were on a job hunt.  Oh and did I mention the part about how on her blog she mentioned how she shouldn’t be on the toilet while having a phone interview (the same day I interviewed her on the phone) and one of her latest blog entires title is “I am the Gold Medal Winner of Bong Hits”…what if that employer with lots and lots of floors stops by her blog and reads just the title?

This is a classic example of how not to handle a job search.  The next time I go into the local schools and talk about the power of the internet, I will be sure to mention Heather Fink’s name and her approach to the process.  It will hopefully be a stellar case study that will teach the kids a thing or two because if I am not mistaken, Miss Heather still doesn’t have a job.