The Washington herald., 1912-02-11

Dd8keI HOulQ De sudden oea IN 70 Al my nope5
In this quarter. But decided to chance II.
All this time I had been closely watching
the want ads. Most'any day there were sew
eral that wanted to try out and on Sun
days many more. In my beginner days every
employer wanted an expert stenographer.
with not less than four 10 SIX years expert
ence." Nowadays 1t is the " beginner" or
the '' neat girl With six months or years
experience" that is in demand. She mast
be not over IS or 10, must have had three or
four years stenographic experience. and be
at least high school graduate" Can you
duplicate that?
Well had answered scores OF ads, every
one that seemed at>alI feasible. Now and
then got letter or a telephone call IN
reply. Most Of the time stationery and stamps
were wasted. 1t appears that some people
knowingly take advantage of blind ads.
With a light heart and a pocket book to
match have several times gone down town.
only to find that the oily tongued individual
who had addressed me over the phonegas
the result Of my reply to an ad wanted me
to sell books.
Word finally came from the captain OF
industry. letter which I'm sure he never
saw. It said: I'VE have no vacancy in or
about this once. ana cannot think Of any
one who needs a secretary" That was q
blow.
It was a gloomy Monday morning, ana 1
was in the depths. My landlady cheered me
with the announcement that had phone
message. I Immediately began to wonder
which one Of the ive ads answered the day
before it could be. I got an interview-it
was a publishing house, a well established
firm I couldn't get down town fas.
enough. The man who interviewed me
seemed pleased with the letter had writ
ten him, and was quite satisfied with my open
letter OF recommendation. We had quite a
talk, and I went away feeling pretty sure I
would land the job. He said he had prom
ised to see several others, and would let me
know by phone.
Disappointed. Takes Fresh Start.
Tuesday and Wednesday passed. BY Thurs
day I was convinced had lost out On Fri
day took my pride in both hands and tele-
phoned, for I really wanted 10 know Just
wherein had failed TO qualify, what had
said that should have left unsaid. in order
that I might not repeat the mistake. My in
terviewer quite candidly told me that after
talking over my qualifications with his chief,
luts nau SohGAduC0 ludI hllnAu SIX ufOnNnE
would Inevitably find something 50 much bet
ter than they could possibly afford to give me
that would be sure to leave them, thus again
disorganizing their ONCE force. A reasonable
point OF view. to be sure, but rather hard on
me-
It took Herbert Raufman's weekly bracer
for the faint hearted to give me a fresh start
after that. wonder how many of US un-
employed - read his stun each Sunday and
take new grip on courage. Right there
became a member of the cooperative organi-
zatiou which aims TO help unemployed busi-
ness women. I never had any faith in
agencies. but this seemed little different
just a systematic medium between employers
and the unemployed It might help, I
thought. The person In charge assured me
that there were such positions as had been
looking for. IL could just wait long enough.
This relieved me. for I had begun TO believe
that was nursing an impossible dream.
signed up, crossed her palm, and that's the
last heard Of that
Meanwhile the bank account with which 1
had planned to purchase that much needed
winter wardrobe dwindled day by day. leaked
into the misunderstanding Golfers Of grasp
ing landlady-an because I must eat. or
should say board?
= =
Called on Friends for Help
More days passed. called on myuniversity
friends for help-copy work, revision OF
tutoring 0or used to be q gram
mar school teacherl-most anything that
would I'LL in until got what wanted. Yes,
they said they would all do their best. Per-
iaps something would materialize shortly.
asked them to Offer me q place as ofics
irudge at bread line rates. Not yet. They.
ike all the rest. took my address and phone
number, and kept on hoping.
Always have thought I'd like 70 own
once. heard Of a girl who
wanted to leave town. II she could sell her
'fice furniture, machines, good wiz, ellen
ele. and ink erasers- I investigated and
ound that,it costs money to go into business
or yourself Another bubble burst!
I haven't succeeded in obtaining regular
OBJ Jet, but my experiences in looking for
york have taught me some valuable lessons
)ne of the most important Of these is that
ny unemployed girl or man who has not
uficient capital to pay board indefinitely
must take any respectable work that offers
tself, while engaged IN seeking the particular
ob for which he or she is best fitted. Don't
lie yourself down to position beneath your
lbility simply because you are in need OF
money. There are plenty Of temporary jobs
D be obtained that will tide you over until the