Woman sues alma mater because she can't get a job

[awdougherty]

http://www.cnn.com/2009/US/08/03/new.york.jobless.graduate/index.html

Recap, a recent graduate of Monroe College is suing her alma mater because she hasn't been able to find a job in the last 2 months since donning the cap and gown. She asks for her $70,000 in tuition back, plus another two grand for emotional duress these last few months.

Some academic highlights... a 2.7 GPA, pretty good attendance, and a degree in business administration. The plantiff's argues that had Monroe's career services office done its job, employers would kill to have someone like the plantiff on staff.

My guess is she wasn't much of a candidate on paper before, now she seems like a moron with a college degree. Who will she start suing once she gets in the work force? The employer should know that she brings it with her 2.7 GPA, so she should get the promotion and since she didn't, someone failed to do something and here comes my lawsuit.

[WarrenM]

Who will she start suing once she gets in the work force?
Yep, this is what the news was saying this morning. Who is going to hire her now? Every prospective employer is going to have one thing on their mind ... what is she going to sue US for? Forget it, next candidate...

[Tim James]

...what is she going to sue US for? Forget it, next candidate...Too late! She's got you for discriminatory hiring practices now.

[Kael]

Im going to sue TSR, creator of Dungeons and Dragons, for being unable to date in high school.

[unbongwah]

Neither you nor any prospective employer will remember her name this time next week.
And in a pre-Google age, that might've saved her prospective future career...

EDIT: damn you for your ninja delete, extar, now it looks like I made that up!

[Tankero]

I'm puzzled. Should I sue God, apes, or my parents for my inability to fly?

[Bahimiron]

Can I sue you guys for my shitty productivity when I'm at work?

[extarbags]

And in a pre-Google age, that might've saved her prospective future career...

EDIT: damn you for your ninja delete, extar, now it looks like I made that up!

You did. I may sue you over it.

[skedastic]

They favor more toward students that got a 4.0. They help them more out with the job placement," she said.

"I speak more goodly English," she continued, "Not understand me why no jobly get."

What kind of college takes attendance, anyways? Is this Derek Smart's alma mater?

[Reed]

She couldn't get a job before, now it'll be even more difficult. In the off chance she wins the case, better make that $72k, minus lawyer fees, last a looong time.

[Tyjenks]

Ugh. I wish people would go away. We may actually need that oxygen that is being wasted on her.

Did she get a guarantee that she would get a job from the college? In the history of college, has there ever been a pattern reflecting a 100% hire rate?

My advice to her is to STFU and see if she can find a do-over button that can reset her to a time just prior to when she thought this was a good idea...with full knowledge of what would occur if she did file suit, of course.

I was told love is all you needed to keep a marriage afloat. What songwriter, parent, author, therapist, minister, etc. can I sue?

[Timemaster Tim]

"They favor more toward students that got a 4.0. They help them more out with the job placement," she said.

I would guess that it is more likely that employers favour graduates with a higher GPA.

"It doesn't make any sense: They went to school for four years, and then they come out working at McDonald's and Payless. That's not what they planned."

But that is the reality of searching for a job after graduation. It's not easy, and sometimes you end up in positions that you might not like. A college degree isn't a job guarantee a job; it's a statement of education achieved.

[Gordon Cameron]

Man, why didn't I think of this...

[Kael]

I am beginning to suspect that my Lucky Charms may not be magically delicious as the box suggests, and many only be normally delicious without the aid of abjuration, enchantment or ensorcellment. Time to sue!

ps. is magical food kosher?

[awdougherty]

I honestly think she should sue herself for not working harder, getting into a better school, and getting a decent GPA. Or she should sue the computer she wrote her resume on for being a stupid face because it didn't automatically format her facts into better facts.

[Tyjenks]

If she was hot, someone would give her a job anyway. She must not be hot enough. Kidding!!! (Not really, that happens - equally qualified? THe hot one gets the job)

[charmtrap]

Kidding!!! (Not really, that happens - equally qualified? THe hot one gets the job)

Even less qualified. That happens too.

Not that I'm bitter.

[magnet]

If you're not bitter, then you must be hot.

[Murph]

A college degree isn't a job guarantee a job; it's a statement of education achieved.

Spoken like a true college grad. :-)

[Tyjenks]

Even less qualified. That happens too.

Not that I'm bitter.In my profession, the hotness tipping the scale is one thing, but you are shooting yourself in the foot if you are choosing less qualified people whose hands you are going to have to hold more on down the line or they are employees who may never fully catch on. The hotness wears out when you are having to do all the work.

[Tim James]

They favor more toward students that got a 4.0. They help them more out with the job placement," she said.
I would guess that it is more likely that employers favour graduates with a higher GPA.Actually I'd say it's easier for the department to place those people. Almost sounds like this department is a bunch of middle-of-the-pack underachievers; perhaps they ought to offer this girl a job straight up!

[Dean]

Thompson says she has not hired an attorney to represent her because she cannot afford one. When she filed her complaint, she also filed a "poor person order," which exempts her from filing fees associated with the lawsuit.

So no attorney's fees or filing costs. I suppose the press coverage will help her find a lawyer willing to take 1/3 of her $72K, but if she can't even find that she doesn't have a prayer of this not getting dismissed.

[Mr_PeaCH]

She gave it two whole months? Sounds like 'the old college try' to me alright.

[JoshV]

If she was hot, someone would give her a job anyway. She must not be hot enough. Kidding!!! (Not really, that happens - equally qualified? THe hot one gets the job)

Hah, one of my previous employers was actually afraid to hire attractive female secretaries. Afraid us employees were going to sexually harass her. So they only ever hired guy secretaries.

[Tyjenks]

Hah, one of my previous employers was actually afraid to hire attractive female secretaries. Afraid us employees were going to sexually harass her. So they only ever hired guy secretaries.Its the new, fresh out of college accountants that are my main concern. Turns out, there are extremely qualified, motivated AND hot ones out there. It would appear that our subject today most likely met none of those criteria.

[Eric P]

Did she get a guarantee that she would get a job from the college? In the history of college, has there ever been a pattern reflecting a 100% hire rate?


hobo college put me right into the soup lines.

[unbongwah]

Wha - ? MY hobo college only got me a street corner to beg for change! It wasn't even a busy intersection! Where is my damn lawyer?!

[Tankero]

Actually, I have a legitimate complaint on these grounds! I...

...

No, wait I majored in Literature.

Damn.

[ElGuapo]

Sleeze, Inc. Official Hiring Policy Handbook, Section 5: Order of Preference of Hiring Female Candidates

1. Hot women who want to sleep their way to the top
2. Hot women who don't want to sleep their way to the top but are flirty
3. Hot women, uncategorized
4. Attractive women, uncategorized
5. Plain Janes who might want to get cosmetic surgery later
6. Hot women who are a little too smart for their hotness level and will trick you into giving them the keys to the company/your office
7. Butterfaces that put out
8. Plain Janes with no body image issues
9. Butterfaces that don't put out but are cool
10. Ugly women who are exceptionally qualified and bad salary/benefits negotiators
11. Women who file suit against their alma mater
12. Women that are trying to get pregnant or announce they are going to try soon that we would have to pay health benefits to

[Robert Sharp]

2.7 and pretty good attendence huh? Sounds dreamy. I bet she graduated in May, so it's actually been almost 3 months! You guys are trying to undercut her story.

[TheWombat]

ps. is magical food kosher?

Only if it's mana.

[Destarius]

In my profession, the hotness tipping the scale is one thing, but you are shooting yourself in the foot if you are choosing less qualified people whose hands you are going to have to hold more on down the line or they are employees who may never fully catch on. The hotness wears out when you are having to do all the work.

Unintentionally funny? I would have thought that a manager who hired on the basis of hotness would be quite keen to hold her hands and more.

[salwon]

In my profession, the hotness tipping the scale is one thing, but you are shooting yourself in the foot if you are choosing less qualified people whose hands you are going to have to hold more on down the line or they are employees who may never fully catch on. The hotness wears out when you are having to do all the work.

Inept coworker increasingly difficult to fantasize about. ('http://www.theonion.com/content/news_briefs/inept_coworker_increasingly')

[Bill Dungsroman]

She can sue me next after I punch her in the face.

[Murbella]

She should sue her parents for dropping her on her head one too many times.

[Eric T Cheng]

If her university gave her the tuition money back, can they take back her degree?

[Tyjenks]

Unintentionally funny? I would have thought that a manager who hired on the basis of hotness would be quite keen to hold her hands and more.
Well, as an auditor, I point folks in the right direction, give them some guidlines as to what to do and I would prefer people jump in and are self-starters. Kinda learn as you go through thinking about the problems presented and if difficulties arise, I will happily help and answer questions and give further guidance. As with a lot of jobs, doing something and learning by a bit of trial and error is far superior to being told step by step how to do something. There is far too much work to be done. I cannot afford the time to do their work for them and try to get mine done as well.

As the Onion article jokingly, but accurately describes the situation, attractive folks who you have to constantly correct or fix their mistakes do become increasingly less cute to the point you would prefer punching them in the face as doing anything else with them. Well, there is something that comes to mind that begins with grudge-_____...I forget the last part.

This is all hypothetical of course as I am just imaging how such things might occur. ;)

[Coca Cola Zero]

Attractiveness tends to put on the blinders in the job candidate selection process, so it isn't usually about making a conscious decision between candidate A who is clearly more qualified and candidate B who is hotter. Often the people making the decision will subconsciously convince themselves that candidate B is the more qualified one unless the differences are very stark to begin with.

This works across gender lines even when, say, a heterosexual man is hiring another man (taller, better looking candidates do better on average) and is even at play when the person being selected isn't obviously "OMG HOT" but just hotter than the other applicants. This whole situation isn't really that surprising as there are all sorts of social traits (more confident social cues, etc) that a better looking/taller/more fit candidate is going to exhibit more on average in the interview process than a person who is more homely will exhibit (even if they would eventually do the job more confidently) and this stuff clearly impacts our decision making process even if we like to think we're a lot more evolved than the apes.

[Anaxagoras]

Wha - ? MY hobo college only got me a street corner to beg for change! It wasn't even a busy intersection! Where is my damn lawyer?!

Pfft. You didn't go to no hobo college. One of the things they teach you is that hobos don't use lawyers. They get drunk & scream on street corners. The really good hobos pick a street corner that's within shouting distance of the courthouse.

[unbongwah]

In my defense, it was a liberal arts hobo college - they NEVER prepare you properly for the real world.

[Destarius]

There is far too much work to be done. I cannot afford the time to do their work for them and try to get mine done as well.


Pretty much my hire basis, but my hires also need to click personality-wise. I can't have de-energising sourpusses on my team. The other less altruistic reason - good hires makes the manager look better.

[kerzain]

I prefer working with beautiful people. They glide through life and all the problems the rest of us experience just roll off their back like so much water off duck feathers. Their problems never become your problems, because they don't really have problems, and if you think not knowing how to do their job is a problem apparently you don't understand that there's more to a successful business than competent staff.

Sure, sometimes the pretty folken succeed on sheer charisma or base sexuality, but we're all born with different gifts, who can blame them for using what they've got to get ahead in life? Why is sex appeal looked at as some lesser quality than inherent technical aptitude or intelligence?

It is a true pleasure to be around these people: they always have something exciting going on and the rest of us could learn a lot just being in their presence. They don't allow life to pass them by because they much more in control of their own destiny. If they want something they go and earn it, the same way we all do, by using what they've got to work with. They don't allow things like experience or education hold them back if an opportunity arises, and why should they? It isn't their fault they look so damn good, so why should they punish themselves if someone else wants to offer them a job? You might not like it, but welcome to the real world, where good looking people set a certain standard in the workplace the rest of us might do well to strive for.

Not everything in the workplace has to be about having all the answers or knowing more than the next guy, a pretty smiling face will land as many deals and improve moral as much or more than the know-it-all cheese-ball with the bad comb-over who sits in his dark corner, isolated, unhappy and supremely more intellectual.

[Tyjenks]

Pretty much my hire basis, but my hires also need to click personality-wise. I can't have de-energising sourpusses on my team. The other less altruistic reason - good hires makes the manager look better.
Precisely. Some people can fool you though..and by "you" I mean the partners who the potential employees kiss up to more successfully while some of us in supervisory positions are waving them off cause the dudes/dudettes are just weird when you take them to llunch or get them in a more relaxed atmosphere.

The motivated, funny attractive ones who you can count on doing a good job while bringing up difficult issues they realize they need help with are the best..until they get engaged and move away to be with their husbands who have better opportunities in their field in a larger metroplitan area.....still time to break them up I say.