Spam + Confidential = Very pissed off me

I've been off the job market for almost a year now. I've got a great job at a "Fortune Magazine's Best 100 Companies to Work for" (we like to flaunt it, as does Google, as if they need to).

I have also done everything I can think of to explain this to my recruiters, other employers and pesky third parties such as Kumar. I've hidden my profile on Monster, Dice, Hotjobs, and several other sites. I canceled all my automated searches. I even put a notice on my official resume page (which due to my lack of something less important to do is no longer available on its server. You can use the wayback machine, but I don't expect recruiters to do that, though it could yield interesting information).

I get quite annoyed when I get phone calls and emails from recruiters who have no last name. I think it's suspicious and has a lack of that personal touch I've come to expect from the ones I worked with (if you need a tech job in the New England or NYC area, I can give you the numbers of a few good ones). I also hate when people don't even bother to test their mass-mailing applications, so see that it at least puts my name in the message.

So you can probably tell what my mood is if you read the following:

Dear Mr. / Ms,

I am Kumar, from Javaji System Solutions Pvt. Ltd. striving to assist the IT professionals to meet the better opportunity available in today's IT world.


About Our Organization: -

Javaji System Solutions (JSS) is a 13-year-old Germany based company with operations spread over US, UK, Bulgaria, etc...,

Our core activities include Technical Staffing, Providing Business solutions to IT Companies, Product/Application Development etc..,

We are merged with top level clients spread around EUROPE and across the globe on various IT technologies. www.javaji.com

We do Contract, Permanent and Freelancing Openings with our clients spread around Europe.

If you’re looking for job change, please send your details and let me know the location in which you are searching for the job.

We need these details

Latest Photo, Expected Salary (In Euros), Availability date, Contact No’s (telephone/Mobile), willing to relocate (Y/N)

Wish to hear from you soon, which will enable us to assist you with better opportunities…

ALL THE BEST!!!



Thanks/Regards

Kumar

Re-source coordinator

Javaji System Solutions Pvt. Ltd.,

' +44-208-090 2178

* kumar@javaji.com

ü www.javaji.com

Note: The information contained in this electronic message and any attachments to this message are intended for the exclusive use of the addressee(s) and may contain proprietary, confidential or privileged information. If you are not the intended recipient, you should not disseminate, distribute or copy this e-mail. Please notify the sender immediately and destroy all copies of this message and any attachments.

That last part is the one that kills me. First, I didn't enter into agreement with them that I would not divulge what they consider "confidential." You're on just as much legal ground telling your 6 year-old niece a "really big secret" and expecting her to keep it.

Second, while "proprietary" may hold some weight, it only goes so far. I'd agree that there is a copyright on the email I got, but ignoring the problematic nature of international enforcement in this email, even US law allows me the right to provide a copy for commentary. But to say it is proprietary and claim that I am under obligation is just as bad as the confidential part. They're sending out these trade secret to complete strangers, via unencrypted email. How could a court take that seriously?

Finally, what's the deal with the requirement of a recent photograph? To me that just screams "discrimination."

As much as I'd love to move to Bulgaria (my Bulgarian is a tad rusty- to the point where I can't remember if I'd ever learned a single word in it), I think I'm going to have to decline to send my resume (and photo) to this Kumar fellow.

A fuss about a statue of Dr. Martin Luther King

NPR just reported on a memorial going up to recognize Dr. King's work. Among other things, there is a planned 30-foot statue of him. That's all good.

Some people are upset that the man chosen to sculpt it is Chinese. Not just by descent, but by nationality. Arguments have been made that China's human rights' record is relevant, but I'm not sure I buy that. I smell racism.

Now, I'm just a white boy, a young one, and one who has never had the chance to read much about Dr. King, so feel free to call me various names and insult my intelligence.

But saying that an African American sculptor is more appropriate- I just don't think that's appropriate. I can understand that an African American sculptor would personally feel far more pride than a Chinese national would working on this statue. But that's not what the fuss is about.

In my thinking, why does a statue of Dr. King have to be done by an African American? Doesn't the idea of a white man building the statue of an icon (if not the most significant) of the message that white supremacy is a terrible thing, ring with poetic justice?