In the midst of her efforts to land a job after being unemployed for a few months, Tara Lazarus came across a particularly bold job application. When filling out her application to work as a cashier at a craft store for $8 an hour, she was asked to list any college honors she may have received.
Lazarus obligingly listed that she did graduate with honors with a degree in Psychology. However, this was not the least of the demands of the application: It also asked for a copy of any diplomas listed in the document, and her high school GPA for some reason.
“I had to call my mom and ask her to find my high school transcript and send it to me,” Tara said. “She got all excited and thought I finally found some full-time work. It was cruel.”
Tara finally completed collecting application materials for her sales associate job after five days. She also had to collect the names and numbers of three references, and write a cover letter that didn’t sound too generic or impersonal. She also listed the contact information for a store employee she knew from grade school who could vouch for her character.
After two weeks of expectant waiting and following up, Tara was offered the position. While doubtful that her qualifications actually lead to her receiving the position over others, Tara was still disappointed.
“They only scheduled me five hours a week,” she said. “That’s $40 before tax.”
