Tales of the Lowly Statistic, Cont'd.

Deadlines are not much pleasanter than the sword of Damocles (as I think most people will agree), even if their unpleasantness is less literal and more figurative; consequently I haven't been very happy over the deadline for handing in "Arbeitspaket Teil 3," or in other words the third form one must complete in order to search for viz. receive a job through the Agentur für Arbeit. This form must be sent back to the Agentur by tomorrow, i.e. within a week after a job counselling appointment was made. Fortunately I bit the bullet this morning, filled out the form (asking Papa's advice here and there, because I read it through yesterday and some points were impossible to answer given my situation), printed out a copy of my c.v. to send along as requested, went to the post office and bought big envelopes, and finally tipped the whole thing into the mailbox.

The form basically wanted to know the location, hours, and remuneration which the unemployed individual would prefer, and then required information about one's computer skills, previous firms to and job titles for which one had applied, and one's best character attributes. For the latter one must check up to and including 5 qualities off a list, which includes "teamwork," "reliability," and "analytical thought." There were descriptions of the qualities underneath, but I still find the exercise quite worthless (aside from its being disagreeable to "toot one's own horn").

Firstly, behaviour is dependent upon the circumstances. It may not apply generally, but at least in my case I could be capable, intelligent, punctual, industrious, and openly cheerful in one job, and be incapable, stupid, tardy, idle, and withdrawn in another, depending on whether I feel suited for the work or not and depending on how detailed the employer's/superior's instructions are. Even within a job, there can be fluctuations. I would not be reliable, for example, if an employer wants me to come to work, or hand in an assignment, at a specific point in time every single day just because; on the other hand, if the employer has an urgent reason for wishing me to be on time, or if customers would otherwise be waiting, or if a co-worker would get into trouble if I were late, I would be extremely reliable. Secondly, it's difficult to judge of one's own qualities. Thirdly, one could lie through one's teeth to make one seem more appealing to future employers. But I guess that these types of character assessments are also required in North America, except that there the employer induces them from one's references, which I personally think is better.