Due to several disconcerting events over the past couple of weeks, I’ve decided that my online income isn’t as stable as I’d like it to be. I don’t want to continue being dependent on the whims of people who decide to change policies whenever the fancy strikes them. Although I enjoy being a freelancer (for the most part), there’s always this feeling of uncertainty hanging over me — and my potential income. So with the holidays coming up, I’m thinking about getting a part-time job where I’ll be an actual employee and everything.
I’m looking at telecommuting positions first, but it’s definitely hard to separate the legitimate stuff from the potential scams. I have found a few good leads though, and submitted my resumé to the ones that had that option.
There were also two places that I was interested in that had their own online application forms that I had to fill out. These were standard forms that I’ve filled out a million times before, but not in the last 10 years or so. Now that I’m doing it again, I find that I have a bit of a problem with some things, especially in the Education section.
First of all, these applications ask about my college GPA. Sorry, but I don’t remember my exact GPA. All I know is that I graduated with honors, but I’m not sure if that means I had a 3.7, 3.8, 3.9 or something else. What am I supposed to write in for that?
Second, the same section asks about any special academic achievements. What should I write for this? If I leave it blank, the HR person might think I was a below-average student or something. If I fill it in, it could look like I’m stuck in the past because I remember the medals I won in a friggin’ Latin competition. Know what I mean?
What do you do with job applications like this? More importantly, why can’t these places just accept personal resumés??