I Gotta Job!

Erev Shabbath Qodesh Parshath Wayiqra/Zakhor 5768

Well, after months of unemployment, searching, sending out resumes, a month of moderate to serious depression, being chased down by the bank, doing temporary jobs, a translation or two and helping a shiputzniq (renovator) do a couple of jobs, and sitting through a handful of interviews, I finally got a job,...in a print shop,...in Jerusalem,...and paying minimum wage (NIS 20/hour; about $5.55).

Hey, I'll take it!

Who's gonna do it? Arabs? Foreign workers? I'll cover my intense displeasure with the [mainly] American, messed-up, and utterly galuthi (diasporan) mentality related to what is an acceptable job for a "nice Jewish boy" or girl another time....

The main point I want to make is HOW I got the job.

Pure and simple it was "protexia."

"Protexia" can be roughly translated into English as "connections." In other words, it's what you know, but who you knew.

Ever wonder why there are some pretty bad translations of Hebrew signs into English?

Now you know why.

It did not matter how many job sites I scoured over nor how many resumes I sent out, not this time anyway. I got a phone call from someone who knew I was job-hunting. She asked if I wanted the job. I said yes, and she took care of arranging the interview. The truth is that I had just seen the ad for this job on a jobs site, and had already called and left a message. Still even if I hadn't....

That got my foot in the door. Then they just wanted to see that I could do the job. They did not even want to see my resume.

After a few weeks at it, I was finally told officially that I had the job.

Use of protexia is very common in Israel. As I have said a million times before to new immigrants and to prospective new immigrants from North America, "If we don't help each other, no one will."

It sounds jaded, I know. But that's been my experience, for the most part. Even with teaching, my first few jobs were given to me by immigrant "old-timers." Those jobs then gave me the experience I needed to get hired for my next teaching positions.

So, for now we'll see how it goes. Even though I was told that this could lead to something else within the company. My experience is such that I shouldn't count on it, and keep my eyes and ears open about other opportunities.

In the meantime, I feel like the pressure's off. I am going to give myself some time to adjust to my new schedule, and go from there.

I would like to thank all of those people who were supportive, helped me to look, passed on my resume, or all of the above.

Thank you.