The Common Sense Test

Today I decided that I would put an ad out on Craigslist for a kennel assistant at the clinic. It's a part-time job that only pays $8.00 an hour, but whomever I hire needs to be reliable, trustworthy, and learn quickly. It's not rocket science, but they have to learn how to give medications, take dogs outside, feed them, clean up after them, restrain them, and do some simple computer stuff. It's a good job for a high school kid or a college student.

However, good help is hard to find. Of all the applicants we get when I put out an ad, about 1% of the applications even make it to my desk. I have the receptionist pre-screen out the sure "Nos" so I don't have to waste my time interviewing everyone. They have gotten pretty good at identifying the riff-raff and ne'er-do-wells.

I put the ad online about noon, and by 2 pm there were people coming in to fill out applications. One young man, who was roughly 18 or so, came in the front door and walked up to the front desk. Michelle was sitting at the front desk, and asked if she could help him. He said that he had seen the ad and was here to apply for the job. Michelle reached into the drawer and grabbed an application, gave it to him, and asked him to fill it out. He took the paper, sat down, and worked on it for about ten minutes. When he was done, he walked back up to the front desk, handed it Michelle, said "Thanks" and walked out the door. Nothing out of the ordinary.

Only when Michelle looked at his application, she realized she had given him the wrong piece of paper from the drawer. She had accidentally grabbed a "New Pet Check-in Form" and handed that to him instead of the "Application for Employment". I heard all the girls laughing hysterically, so I went up front to see what all the commotion was about. The young man had filled out the entire form, which included his pet's name, species, sex, age, color, breed, known allergies, previous vaccinations and current medications. Nowhere on this form does it even ask for his name...let alone his address, phone number, work history, references, education, or any other pertinent information commonly found on a job application. Nonetheless, he diligently filled it out, handed it back, and went on his merry way. I guess the thought never entered his head that she might have given him the wrong form.

We have decided that this is our new "common sense test", and that we will now hand all potential applicants a random form to fill out in lieu of the application. Those that are smart enough to realize they are not filling out a job application are automatically hired. Like I said, good help is hard to find.

On a side note, I am keeping Chuey, the 2 year old tan Chihuahua's application on file...just in case I can't find anyone better.