« I hate power metal too, but this is ridiculous | Home | Audacious hope and whatnot »

Gotta love the formality

As I mentioned last week, I’ve acquired the necessary working papers to secure myself a part-time job. I’m going to need one—in fact, I already do—as my research position at the university hasn’t started yet due to a never-ending revision process on the contract which will authorize the research funds, meaning, in part, my paycheck.

So I’ve scoped out a couple places I’d really like to work, and narrowed it down to Backstage, the metal club I like to visit, and the beer store on the corner run by the delightful old Turkish lady. I get the sense that the old Turkish lady might like to “keep it in the family” and not hire me, but she freaking loves me, so I have at least a shot.

First things first, I call up Backstage and inquire about the busboy position they have posted on their website. (Excuse the goofy link formatting, it’s how their website is designed. I’d rather see them hiring for a web developer than a busboy, but let’s not get into that.) I mention the position I saw, and the guy on the phone acts a little mystified, and says that I’m welcome to go ahead and submit a formal application with resume per e-mail, highlighting my pertinent prior experience.

That’s right. A formal, written application—for a busboy position. Every time I’ve ever inquired about a similar position in the US, it was always just, “Yeah, sure, whatever, be here Monday around 5.”

I’ll entertain the notion that I could have sounded foreign on the phone, and so the guy wanted to check me out. But far more likely in my mind is that he wanted everything laid out in the clear, so there were no hangups with taxation and hours negotiation and whatnot.

Socialism still wins, even if this is a pain.