Aetna

In August 2014, I applied for a design job Aetna advertised. This job was almost identical to the last long-term contract gig I had, in that it was (1) designing training materials, and (2) a remote position. The HR rep contacted me and scheduled a call to discuss. It was the standard conversation with a person who knows nothing about the design aspect of the job, can’t answer any specific questions I had, but rather just asks a generic checklist of useless HR questions. As it went on, I tried my best to “hide” my unemployment-ness as best as I could, but eventually I had to confess that I simply have not had any luck finding a new role and, yes, I am unemployed. What she asked me next seriously left me without words.

“Why do you think that is?”

???

What exactly was the purpose behind asking me such an insensitive and downright mean question? More importantly, what was the correct answer to this question?

The call ended in the usual fashion, she’ll share my info with the higher-ups, yadda yadda yadda. Needless to say, I never heard from her again.

Ms. Strecker, someday I hope you find yourself unemployed, and I hope you are met by the same unkind insensitive person that I met in you.