Job Application Woes

Harcourt Brace has a scoring center here similar to McGraw Hill. They've advertised on Craigs List for Readers/Scorers, so I thought that would be a neat thing to do as a means of meeting people here. The location is very close to our house. And hey, I have a resume documenting my experience at McGraw Hill. I had to go to a temp agency in downtown SA to apply and from there the circus started. I've never applied for a lot of jobs and most of them have been easy, well, relatively so. I did, initially, flunk the typing test at the Washington Post because I had never typed on an electric typewriter. (Amazing how fast that carriage dropped down as opposed to a manual typewriter. But, did any of you ever type on a typewriter)? My solution was to rent one and practice.

At McGraw Hill, I just wrote a letter and went in for an interview. They handed me an essay to score and I was in!

Yesterday, they informed me that the ad I had printed out a few weeks ago had been revised and I should have come at 1:30 instead of 10:30, but they weren't busy so agreed to go through the process anyway. I spent an hour filling out and signing forms consenting to drug testing, acknowledging that I was aware of sexual (and other forms of) discrimination, would adhere to their safety standards, verifying that I was not a recipient of any government-sponsored subsidies, etc., etc., and going through a criminal check. They were not at all interested in my resume.

However, my "original" Social Security card was crucial. I only had my MediCare card with me and that wasn't sufficient.

I also needed an original transcript. Considering that I graduated from college in 1956 as a Music major, I didn't think it was relevant, but I know they have to follow the guidelines. Today, I went back to take my SS card and I actually had found a faded, yellowed transcript. However, she could not make a copy; it has to be an original. I went online to my college website and since I am not a recent graduate and don't have a student ID, it will have to be acquired through snail mail.

I've probably been written off now as a "Klutz?" Can I claim discrimination??