Yes, well what can I say! On one hand many of you seem to want to
abolish handwritten resumes in favour of computer written ones and on
the other hand deny the logical outcome of using a computer and the
power of the internet to reach so many through e-mail. I, for one will
continue to send resumes by e-mail. Reams of paperwork contributes to
the destruction of native forests by clear felling to produce the wood
pulp to make the paper. With the destruction of the forest , the
bulldozing and heavy machinery, goes the destruction of pre-european
invasion archaeological sites. A bit like cutting of my nose to spite my
face.
Continue to trash the unsolicited resumes that you receive, especially
the hand written ones. Maybe they cannot afford a computer. If your
worried about the poor handwriting, just consider that the medical
profession has the reputation for the worst handwriting of any
profession, yet you are prepared to put your life in their hands.
Throw the letters unread into the wastepaper bin, they are only the
dreams and aspirations of people you have never met. Of the students I
met at University, none were studying archaeology for the prestige such
as is associated with a medical degree, nor did they study for the
license to print money as in an IT degree or the job security of a
beancounter. No, there was something in archaeology that fired their
imagination and seeped into their soul. Is it so long since so many of
you entered the profession that you can no longer remember the agony as
weeks turned into months and no job vacancies came for a profession that
you longed to enter and use all that study you had just completed. Not
even a thanks but no thanks, just silence as your resume was discarded
into the wastepaper basket, unread.
I guess the real question is, do those in the profession have any
obligation to go out of their way to help newcomers into the field? Some
parts of the profession, at least, seem to think so. Item 8.1 of the
Code of Ethics of the Australian Institute of Professional
Archaeologists inc. says "A member shall offer less qualified co-workers
every reasonable opportunity to gain skills and professional experience"
Does such an item exist in any of the professional bodies of which any
of you are members?
Perhaps those untidy resumes you so blithly discard come from someone
with a brilliant anylitical mind. Neatnes and good spelling are not
pre-requisites for intelligence. I will finish with a verse from a poem
by Henry Lawson (the great Australian poet) entitled "The Uncultured
Rhymer to His Cultured Critics"
"You were quick to pick on a faulty line
That I strove to put my soul in
Your eyes were keen for a 'dash' of mine
In the place of a semi-colon -
And blind to the rest. And is it for such
As you I must brook restriction?
"I was taught too little" I learnt to much
To care for a pedant's diction"


Ron May wrote:
>
> Say, you guys are really tough on the kids applying for field hand jobs! I
> always thought they were pretty enterprising to track down lists like ACRA
> and RPA to send out job inquiries. Oh sure, the sloppy ones should be
> trashed, but the nicer ones may represent some person who sent 500 letters
> out in hopes of landing a 2-week job in some remote part of American. But
> hey, if you want to trash the letters, just do so in quiet.
>
> Ron May
> Legacy 106, Inc.