Teh St00pid, it BURNS

At my last job, those of us in I.T. used to joke that the company hired by simply going out onto the street and asking random people if they wanted a job. This is because it was painfully obvious they were hiring folks who had no qualifications whatsoever.

Well, that's nothing compared to the place I work for now—and I suppose it speaks more about me that I've chosen to remain there as long as I have instead of going somewhere else than it does about the quality of their candidates. I learned yesterday that in order to come work for us, not only do you not need any technical skills, apparently you don't even need to know how to type! Seriously. The new hire (a concurrent review nurse) demanded a new keyboard because the letters had worn off the one at the workstation she was assigned to. "I can't type if I can't see the letters." And then I watched in disbelief as she hunt-and-pecked her way into the system.

Seriously.

This came on the heels of them hiring—and then, less than a week later—firing an administrative assistant who came preloaded with an "I.T. is here to do my job" attitude and so incapable of actually doing the job that she didn't even know how to schedule appointments in Outlook.

Seriously, how do these people even get in the door?

And while we're on the subject of work (sorry, I need to vent, and I have no peers there that I trust enough to share this with), why is it that anyone with an "O" in their title such a flaming asshole?

With very few exceptions (most notably at my last job while working for the Health Plan), this has been the case everywhere I've worked, but it seems especially true at my present place of employment. I've never seen such a pampered, self-important group if ignorant, arrogant disagreeable assholes concentrated in a single building.

When the CEO (who reeks of alcohol every time I see him) went off on me yesterday for something I had absolutely no control over, I said that was enough. I smiled, nodded, and after he walked way, I flipped him off with both hands and immediately went on Monster to reactivate my profile and update my resume.

I've been doing this work long enough to know that I'm going to run into this kind of stupid no matter where I go; I suppose that's the main reason I haven't put more effort into finding another job. I think, "Why bother? Same shit, different company." But yesterday pushed me over the edge. And as Ben pointed out to me after this happened, if I go somewhere else at least it will be a different stupid.

Never mind actually looking forward to going to work; all I want is to be able to wake up in the morning without my first thought being, "Well, what kind of assholery am I going to have to deal with at that place today?"

Is that asking so much?