RANDOM REMINDER

Press, Volume CXII, Issue 32860, 8 March 1972, Page 22

RANDOM REMINDER

MIRROR, MIRROR . . .

Although it has never fallen to our lot to be told that we are much too good for a job we are seeking, we can easily appreciate the balm to the wound such soothing words can provide. In our own case, it has simply been a lack of perception on the part of prospective employers. But there is a Christchurch woman who was refused a position on very satisfactory grounds . . . but who is still wondering just who it was who won the post finally. She is a lady who has left 40 behind, and,

according to her own account, she is no Elizabeth Taylor. She applied for a position as a store detective. She had excellent references, which were checked to the satisfaction of both parties, and her background was such that she seemed an ideal candidate for the post. She was told she could start at the job. But then there was some rethinking, somewhere along the line, and she was informed that she would not, after all, be given the position. It was explained that she was far too attractive, that if

she was in the store she would attract much too much attention. What they wanted, she was told, was just an ordinary pram-pushing type of woman.

When the first flushes of satisfaction had departed, and vanity had had its day, this selfstyled Plain Jane began to wonder just what sort of woman was being employed. If the statements made to her were correct, and were related to herself, it seemed that the successful applicant was probably driving custom away from the store.