Today, I received a rejection letter from a company I interviewed with three weeks ago. They didn't mention giving my $200 portfolio back. Guess I'll keep using my 4-year degree to wait tables. FML
I agree, your life sucks (15465) - you totally deserved it (1437)
On 11/10/2009 at 1:20am - work - by blargggggg (woman) - United States (Missouri)
So get it back? Depending on what you do, your portfolio is your life and they can't keep it..silly person
OP: oh no...you graduated from college and now you have to wait tables? JOIN THE FUCKING CLUB....your not special
not to mention, depending on the restaurant, you'll probably make more a year there then you will at a desk job. I used to make around 1.5-2k a week waiting tables...ill take that any day
a lot of times when you send a portfolio as part of an application you sign a disclaimer that you understand wont get it back. thats why you only send copies. ;)
#2 - not always. My sister is a graphic designer and they send copies of the portfolio in bound book form... so while they are copies of original work, it is very expensive to produce.
OP - You need to follow-up. Insist they return your portfolio. You already got rejected for the job, so there's really nothing to lose in asking for your property back. Go in person if necessary.
what 21 says; be insistent in getting your portfolio back.
What field are you trying to go in to OP?
#24 - On 11/10/2009 at 11:15am by TheTruth1428
the fuck you doin op
thats when you walk in there like youre the shit and own people in the face ?
:D
For a person with a 4-year degree, you don't seem very bright. If a portfolio is $200, make copies of it, that explains itself, and I'm only 17 telling YOU this.
A four-year degree isn't something that hard to obtain. It's just a bachelor's degree probably. I have a teaching certificate from my university and worked at a pizza place after graduation. Although I have a teaching job now, the OP just needs to suck it up and stop being offensive. Things will work out at some point.
By the way, maybe people "choose" to work in restaurants??? Not because they aren't educated. Jerk.
#12 - On 11/10/2009 at 8:53am by just_me_tmp
to #12: Who gave you a teaching certificate? Your spelling and grammar are horrendous.
#16 - On 11/10/2009 at 9:12am by lamariposa
16 is actually spot on, aside from the uncapitalized "t" at the beginning of his post. Given that it's a minor error, though, it's likely to be a typo rather than an indicator of some serious deficiency. So good job on making yourself look like a real cock.
#45 - On 11/10/2009 at 7:46pm by pope_suburban
To 45, read 16's post, read the post that 16 is referring to, then come back. Thank you.
#46 - On 11/10/2009 at 9:21pm by sadistmonkey
#16- Exactly where did #12 have any spelling errors? Are you high? Also, as far as grammar- Nobody has perfect grammar. Besides, I understood #12's post just fine. I think you are just reading it wrong.
Also, News Flash: Just because this person is a teacher doesn't mean they are an English teacher. Asshole. I actually find this person's post to be very insightful.
#48 - On 11/11/2009 at 11:28am by NKU_Grad_09
#16: I would like to add that no one "gives" you a teaching certificate. You EARN it. If I don't have grammar that suites your liking then you don't have to read my posts- Although I don't think my grammar was all that incorrect. Also, I have no clue what you're talking about when you mentioned my spelling was also horrendous. I don't see one misspelled word in my post.
It would probably be a good idea to stop smoking pot then reading FMLs. Thank You.
#51 - On 11/12/2009 at 9:10am by just_me_tmp
Seriously, grammar nazis piss me the hell off. If you don't understand someone's post cUZ DeY RItE liEK dIZ that's one thing but heaven forbid someone makes the most minor error (or in this case, no error at all) that would only be noticeable by someone who isn't reading the post for its content.
#52 - On 11/12/2009 at 9:40pm by sadistmonkey
yeah, just make copies of the thing on a black and white Xerox and you might as well staple the thing together while you are at it. It more than likely cost $200 to simply bind and copy,TJStarzZ (lol what a name). Nowhere did this person say anything about losing the work itself. Kid, you have a lot to learn about life.
To Blarg. We are all in the same boat, man. The economy sucks and there aren't any jobs anywhere. Here is to using our four year degrees to do what is far beneath us. Hopefully the economy will get better sooooooon!
#6 - On 11/10/2009 at 6:53am by lamariposa
No work is beneath you if you're doing it. People like you are the ones that don't deserve jobs because you feel entitled and think you're better then everyone else. Think the work you are doing is beneath you? Quit and let someone who would appreciate it have that job. Trash.
#25 - On 11/10/2009 at 11:17am by TheTruth1428
You and me both, OP. four years, graduated cum laude (hurr he said cum) with two degrees, and still I'm waiting tables. Awesome times.
YDI for being Amish and not knowing what the hell a photocopier is.
P.S
I am sorry for any offence caused to any Amish visitors on this site.
But if you were truly Amish, you wouldn't be on the internet anyway wise-ass.
#9 - On 11/10/2009 at 7:44am by crazytoaster
What planet are you numbskulls from where a portfolio isn't returned?
Portfolio ≠ any unrequested submission.
A portfolio is a big heavy motherfucker (often professionally printed and bound, with all sorts of bells and whistles to best show the work) that you drop off when a prospective employer doesn't have the time to meet with each applicant individually. Cheap black and white photocopies won't even get you in the door at those sort of places.
That said, OP, don't be a push-over. Of course they're not jumping to blow money on postage returning a rejected portfolio, even if that is the ethical thing to do. You need to ask for it back, hon, which may include showing up.
Then again, if you'd give up after one rejection, that's less underpriced competition for me, so maybe, by that stretch of the imagination, YDI.
I agree. I'm a teacher full time in a public school and work at a pizza place on the weekends. I can't stand it when people call up assuming they are better than me because they don't work in a restaurant. Although I have a degree, in no way do I assume I'm better than everyone else for it.
I wish more people would realize education does help in the long run for a better job, but it doesn't always guarantee a position.
#13 - On 11/10/2009 at 8:56am by just_me_tmp
If it's copyrighted, they can't use it.
More importantly, if they rejected her, it's most likely that her work is shit and they wouldn't use it if she paid them!
Most people use four-year degrees as an excuse to make Mom and Dad pay for four years of drunken debauchery while avoiding the inevitable unemployment.
Yeah, if they rejected her then I don't see what the problem is with trying to go there and get it back, if they don't like it then it shouldn't be so much of a problem and OP YDI for not thinking in advance about all your options, you're the one who should have made copies and since you wasted 200$ on it then it's your responsibility to get it back. Did you not read some form you signed that stated they get to keep the portfolio? Didn't that hint to something? Even if they hired you and you wanted a job in the future elsewhere, wouldn't you want it back? I guess you were so sure of yourself... FYL for getting rejected though...
#19 - On 11/10/2009 at 9:30am by StaticDown
Call the company and make arrangements to have your portfolio returned. No biggie.
#17 - On 11/10/2009 at 9:19am by Jewelofagal
Agreed. At the same time, thank them for their consideration and say you're open to any feedback that might improve your skills.
"Dear (Company/Person),
"Thank you for your response to my recent application. While I'm disappointed I wasn't the right person for you at this time, I'm grateful I had the opportunity to interview with your company. I enjoyed the chance to speak with you, and to meet (insert names of anyone else you met here, including secretaries/receptionists) .
"I will call your office on (very near date here) to arrange to pickup my portfolio, unless you wish to keep it at this time for future consideration. If you have any feedback that would help me be a better (insert occupation here), I would welcome it.
"Again, thank you for your time and consideration.
"Yours,
"(your name here)"
#18 - On 11/10/2009 at 9:27am by CosmicPossum
Just to add some karma- I dropped out of doing my degree in the final year (I just had enough of the so called "learning environment") and jumped right into a great paying IT job. I'm still here 20+ years later and pulling a great salary (even in the current economic crisis). During that time I've fired quite a few phds- most were so dumb and so unable to come up with an original thought that I doubt any of them survived the first harsh winter.
#22 - On 11/10/2009 at 10:11am by hem
Waaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh, I have a 4 year degree and still have to druge through the day with some slop job for now.
Just because you sat through 4 years of school doe snot entitle you to employment of your choice. Many have work in menial jobs to get by or take second jobs just to get by. Get over yourself.
Anyone else sick of these "Today, I have a job, but I want a better job, waaahhhhhh" FMLs? At least you fucking have a job.
What everyone else is saying: go get it back.
And you are just like any other fucking server. I mean they are all only serving til they finish college or find a better job (yeah right) I bet you are a lazy ass too, since you are so overqualified for the job it's ok for you to suck at this basic, easy job. Hehe lots of bitterness for servers...
Don't whine, you have a job, that is good. one day it will be ok for you to complain about not getting a better job but for right now you need to learn ANY job is better than no job.
#28 - On 11/10/2009 at 11:59am by KarasuFyre
You feel entitled to some really high paying job because of your four year degree - in what?
If you majored in something very difficult and technical and useful to companies, and did very well in it, then yeah, it's completely understandable to be a little upset at not being able to get a job in that field. FYL indeed.
If you majored in communications or art history or another wishy-washy easy major with poor job opportunities, then YDI.
Did you treat college like an opportunity to get into a high-paying field with lots of job opportunities, or did you treat it like a four-year vacation paid for by your parents, where you could party all night and sleep through easy and pointless classes all day?
Where did it say she feels entitled? She applied and got rejected. That's tough, especially when you're working a job that barely pays the bills and means the lowlifes of the world abuse you on a daily basis. Add on the portfolio fiasco-- which, by the way, blows my mind; a lack of common sense that egregious and you're all bitching about people who went to college?-- and it's a bad day. It's not as if she's claiming she should have the job, or that the world owes her something. She got rejected by people who kept her work and it sucks. That's it, that's all, and that's not the reason why your life is apparently in the shitter.
#35 - On 11/10/2009 at 1:42pm by pope_suburban
The simple fact that you have a degree does not entitle you to have a job any more than someone does, even if the only thing another person has over you was their place in the submission/interview line.
Also, unless your folio had the misfortune of actually being a copy that cost you $200 (what the...), you totally deserved it, although you should pressure them until they send back your folio anyway.
#31 - On 11/10/2009 at 12:30pm by blastvortex
I don't know why people are bashing the OP because she thinks people who work at restaurants are uneducated or beneath her. She never once said anything of the kind. She expressed frustration over having a degree in a certain field and being unable to use it. That's it. There was nothing in there about bashing someone else or being entitled.
Not feeling so cocky now, are ya, Ms. "I have a college degree, ergo I am better than all y'all , nyah nyah" .
Get a clue girlie.
This is not about degrading yourself or settling for less. It's about "paying your dues". A 4-year bachelor's degree is good, but it doesn't entitle you to a high paying office job right off the bat. What employers look for is work experience. Many college grads wait tables. It's what they're doing "for the time being" while a job opportunity in their field opens up. There's absolutely no shame in that. Don't get so full of yourself sister. You're not "all that".
This would make a lot more sense if she said she was owed a job. But since she didn't, and is instead expressing frustration about feeling that she wasted four years of her life, you're just coming off like someone who resents college students and grads because he pretty clearly couldn't hack it himself. I mean, really, reading comprehension like that? Not getting you much past high school. You missed out on the real snarky gold: that she didn't make copies of a $200 portfolio, but instead submitted original pieces like a total tool!
#36 - On 11/10/2009 at 1:48pm by pope_suburban
Dude that's the whole point of getting a fricken degree, so you can actually get a decent job. Yeah you're rarely going to be hired for job that pays 60K a year right after graduation, but she can't even find a job in her field. The whole system is a joke, if you don't have experience you can't get a job because you need experience. If you have experience you can't get a decent job if you didn't get a degree. Most people can't do both, unless they were one of the few people who knew what they wanted to do since high school and were doing it in some capacity since then. I'm in the same situation. I got a communication degree and am focused on TV/film production. I know I'm not going to be directing a 100 million dollar film any time soon, but I just want to work as a production assistant at a news studio for starters, which is one of the lowest paid jobs in that field, and you can sometimes get the job in high school. I have a degree, and can't find even one of those jobs because I don't have enough experience. Society tells people that if they go to college and get a degree you'll be able to get a decent job. It may not be great at first, but it'll be something to start with. A production assistant would be just fine for me.
Want to know what I do? I make phone calls to people begging them to donate money to support different political groups. So basically I went to school for 4 years so I could call people I don't know and let them treat me like dirt. FML
#38 - On 11/10/2009 at 2:43pm by israelnotjacob
Perhaps they were interested in hiring you down the line, and wanted your portfolio for future reference. Then again, maybe they cut it up and posted your work on the bulletin board for the "Bad Art of the Week Caption Contest." Either way, you should have asked before submitting it.
#37 - On 11/10/2009 at 2:02pm by TheIrishJaneDoe
This happened to me my first year of high school. Thankfully I was a first year in a class of third and fourth years, and my instructor finally decided that that meant I was fairly intelligent.
#39 - On 11/10/2009 at 3:12pm by musicjunkie22
whoops, I meant to comment on a different one. Guess my mouse slipped
#40 - On 11/10/2009 at 3:15pm by musicjunkie22
Um... so?
They are not required to give *anything* back you sent them.
#41 - On 11/10/2009 at 3:20pm by ozymandias
Just because there is no shame on restaurant work doesn't mean that the OP has to be proud of it. Plenty of educated people say "fuck it, my degree is boring and I love this business so I'll stick with it". The OP, on the other hand, really wants to work in his field and isn't happy in his current job.
stop complaining... there are people out there with higher degrees than you, and they can't even get a job waiting tables!
#49 - On 11/11/2009 at 12:33pm by ashleylauran2211
well all I can say to that is. go to some other place around your city to find a job, hell being a waitress for a little while is better than nothing. Atleast your getting interviews, think about it, you have people busting their asses for their entire lives and they can't get a decient job.
#50 - On 11/12/2009 at 3:30am by bikeduster
