One hour. From the time I was scheduled until the time I left was one hour. The paperwork I has said I could expect up to three hours within the building so I prepared accordingly. Before I walked inside I had went through every conceivable question I might be asked. Just before entering the building I put out a message I felt like Percy Rodriguez’ Uncle Edgar from an old Good Times episode.

I’m not someone who likes to be limited by categories. It happened to me too many times throughout my school years and in my adult life. I don’t like being, nor do I act, like an easily fit cog in some social machine. What I had to do yesterday was get assessed for employment opportunities. It was a requirement of state, and I understood that. My concern, and I was proven true while I was there, was the assessment was more for plugging me into a viable field rather than checking my abilities and find something that would work for me. Believe me, this isn’t my first time at the job rodeo so I know how skills you do every day on the job can be important pluses for new employers.

The counselor that was there to help me, after I filled out an extensive questionnaire, asked few questions of me and was so focused on going through the speech I’m sure they offer all the time my answers didn’t mean much. I was asked if I was a veteran. I said no yet I was given a five minute speech about all the veterans’ benefits that were available to me. I was told about the computer programs employers, and themselves, use in rapidly evaluating prospective employees, yet even though I was told to bring my resume, it wasn’t checked to see if it could pass. After five minutes of the 45 minute talk, I decided just to be quiet, nod my head as needed, and hopefully get out as soon as possible.

Without much input on my part, because the information I gave was initially ignored, I was slotted into a job category that had nothing to do with what I had done in the past. I had to consistently explain to the counselor that what I did at my former job wasn’t internet security. We used the internet, it was security, but not internet security as they pulled up on their computer. In the end I had to maneuver the skills to match what I did without making it seem I was a full IT guy. It didn’t help my confidence when I saw so many people in the office, from the people walking in to staff, who has so much trouble using the computers in the office. Yes, there were a couple of times I had to assist the counselor in maneuvering on their own computer.

Within the span of an hour I was tagged, cataloged and placed within a category in the vast network of the Unemployment and Job Seeking database that doesn’t begin to assess my skills as a person. Even though I put my concerns down on the questionnaire I filled out, there was no talk about assistance I might need in navigating the work force at my age. It was mentioned briefly, as a matter of the route speech, that someone with a home and mortgage might have to balance wanting a good job with getting a job to pay the bills, my specific concerns weren’t addressed. Even the constant message the counselor gave me about a wife and family ignored the fact all of the information had me correctly as single. I can’t have ‘my wife’ take on extra income in the house because there is no wife.

With the fun trip I had yesterday at the work center, I got very frustrated with the idea of taking a quick look at someone and making erroneous assumptions about them. Yes, I was dealing with the big grind of mid-level government machine, but that factors so much into our lives that, in my opinion, it takes away our individuality. When I went to the job center, I passed by a lot of vacant lots, boarded up shops and a number of homeless people going through trash cans for scrap metal. One block before hitting the center, which was on the main street of the city, the buildings were fresh, painted nicely and even if the buildings had no occupants, the street cleaners I saw working in that area made sure the place looked nice. Someone driving the main road wouldn’t see the deplorable conditions close by.

It’s not that I think we should see the bad in everything, but a quick checklist can’t and won’t define a person or their worth. I have that feeling because so much is assumed of me. When I was at the job center I had an older black guy, who was filling out forms like I was, asked me about the score of the game. I had no idea what game he was talking about. I might look like some former high school football player who spends time at home reliving the glory days, but most of you know I’m a geek. I care more about Comic-Cons, cosplay (at least for the next few weeks) and Star Wars than I do about Tom Brady and some basketball scores.

The job center adventure wasn’t a complete loss. When I got home I went through some recent video footage and worked on doing something kind of like a PSA or newscast video. I looked through to get some good BTS photos from the music video shoot also. It will take more work that sending out a resume and having some coding decide if I get through the door, but having more material online and in my electronic portfolio might help someone see ideas and potential I have.