Securing Employment at the Cosmopolitan of Las vegasby Kymberli Roberson on Thursday, February 3, 2011 at 6:28pm
So here's the story... I recently made a decision to move to New York city which most of you are aware of because I have posted it almost everyday since I made that decision. However before I did that and because I was recently unemployed from the Bellagio after working in a seasonal position I had applied with the cosmopolitan online for 3 different positions. This was before Christmas. These positions were Buffet food server, Gourmet food server, and Cafe pool grille. for the first two positions I was immediately contacted and informed that I was not accepted as a candidate but I was welcome to keep checking back for other opportunities. I never thought twice about the position at the pool grill and the decision to move to New york was made.
Then last week while checking my email I received and invitation from the Cosmopolitan to interview via, an assessment test, by going online and answering 31 questions in 15 minutes or vice versa on different scenarios. and if at that time I passed the test I would be notified in regard to meeting face to face in an interview setting.
So I took the test because it is a requirement of my unemployment to seek out employment for the majority of the week, and lets be honest here no one really like being on unemployment , we all, really do want to be functioning and productive members of society.
So let me explain the test here, the test consists of 31 questions , and the reason behind the test is not so much whether or not you answer every question correctly even though that is part of it . the purpose of the test to insure that each individual who takes the test, not only can speak English, but can also read and comprehend what it is that they have read.
I have made my own assessment of this because I had a bit of difficulty with one of the questions, and actually had to read it 4 time before I actually understood it. In addition to this fact and before I had taken this test I remembered that during the course of the summer while working at the Bellagio pool I had several coworkers comment on the test and the fact that after taking it , they were rejected. After I myself had a bit of difficulty with the question and had re-read it before I completely understood it it came to me that this was a way for the Property to weed out those you who although have overcome many obstacles, in your lifetime to become part of the American culture and the dream of a better life were being discriminated against, without the company putting it in writing or really saying the words. Because there are laws to protect each and everyone of us from this type of abuse.
But wait this story gets even better, because I passed this test , and was sent on to the next level of what I will state here was nothing more then an indiscreet form of humiliation, as they insulted my intelligence let me explain further.
I received an email stating I had been selected to progress to the next level, and was invited to go online and select a time to come in for an interview which I tried to do but could not, so I had to contact the talent center directly to do so.
Yesterday was the day that I went to this interview and I am going to take you through the steps as to what transpired so that each of you can fully understand..And any of you that really know me as either your immediate supervisor, or coworker, and friend you know that I have what you might call a gift of the abnormal ability to retain information once it is presented to me. , I remember almost everything that takes place, and the key to that retention is paying attention to my surroundings and not jumping to conclusions by taking things a face value, but rather, accessing processing and then taken action....So what am writing her is what actually happened.
I want all of you to remember yesterday, and remember what stood out most and affected of each of us the same way. I am asking you to remember this because it is very relevant.
My appointment was at 4pm but I was asked to arrived exactly 15 minutes prior to the appointment because it was going to be a group interview and I would need time to check in and to insure that the interviewed started promptly at 4pm..
So at 3pm I grabbed my coat, and purse and headed off to the interview arriving at the address of 7180 Pollack Dr. suite 100 as instructed arriving with 20 minutes to spare,. I checked in as instructed were I was issued a card that had the word Passion on it. I then took a seat and waited , I watched other prospective employees come in and check in and take their seats and after about 20 minutes the receptionist came in to the area were we were sitting and asked us to follow here were we went through a door to another waiting room , where there were other people who were representatives of the HR department at the talent center.
After we were all situated we were greeted and instructed by (what I will admit to here and apologize to you for) two woman whom I do not remember their names. and why that is because like I mentioned I am a person who accesses things I jumped ahead in my mind and was not paying attention when they said their names because I was trying to figure out what was going to happen next...my bad, however it doesn't change the facts....Read on
After the introductions of these two representatives, we were instructed as a group that at the time of check in we were issued one of two cards either with the word passion or the word inspire, and depending on the card that you held you were to follow the representative possessed the card that you held, and from that point the group is split in to two groups, were you are lead in to and interview room that was inviting enough with plenty of seating and a big table centered in the middle of the room, in crossing in to the room the representative instructs each of us to take seat that will place you in front of the flat screen on the wall.After being seated she goes through a series of statements explaining what is going to take place, she is first going to ask all a few questions then after that she is going to have us watch a video from the CEO explaining the vision he has for the company and what they are looking for in accomplishing that vision. after the video she then will ask a few more questions followed by a short handout of questions to answer and then were done.
seems pretty standard up to this point, so on with the show.
She starts by instructing us by going around the room in order to introduce ourselves by name, what position your applying for and what it is that brings you to the cosmopolitan another words why you want to work for them... Nothing up to this point that each of us hasn't encountered from time to time either when interviewing or during orientation after being hired. so we start this now ; mind this facts there are 7 of us in our group I was 5th in a clockwise order. I listened intently to each person before me, and their intros, and then I introduced myself and stated , my position as Pool Grille Cafe server, and then went on to explain my reasons for choosing the Cosmopolitan as my future place employment in being that for years I was member of management with MGM and after those years I made a decision to move back in to serving, so I left one MGM property( Monte Carlo) relocating to Bellagio were I took a seasonal position at their pool, and being seasonal and the pool closed in October. So I decided because I wanted a total change of venue away from MGM to experience a different set of challenges as being my reasons.
I then said to one of the other potential employees who went before and stated that he wanted to leave management and return to an hourly position as a bartender, that he was going to love it because it was a wonderful experience for me. but instead of me elaborating on why it was so great for me , and saying that I totally enjoyed my individual interaction with guests because that is something that definitely is missing when your a manager because your interaction with them is limited and sometimes your only interaction with them is when something has gone wrong. I opted not to.
This is where the representative interjected for me and stated herself and a lot less responsibility. which at this point I agreed with her ,and I then quoted what many of you who know me and have heard me say before , yes "do your 8 and hit the gate" again keep in mind your supposed to be representing yourself as yourself and answering questions honestly... So this is just me being me.
Again anyone knowing me will know I really am someone who is there for the guests and just because I say it , does mean I am looking for an easy way out...
Again we move ahead to the video where is what I will say all of 1.5 minutes long, where the CEO expressing the vision as our company is going to be something that has never been in Las Vegas as we are looking variety in the people and here it is guys the word " Diversity" as we are looking to fill positions with people , who know their jobs, and are confident in there ability to do those jobs and are willing to be more natural in their interaction with guests, as they are looking to give that one on one individualized attention, and create memories that WOW them without being part of some scripted version, another words they want to get away from the cookie cutter environment that currently exists on the strip, and this is their justified reasoning for the rigorous screening and interview process.
Again this lasted 1.5 minutes but here is where it starts to come together for as to what is really going on the video is over and the representative turns the lights on and asks so what did you get from that video, and everyone that prior to the video that were eager to interact and reveal things about themselves became quite and almost to a point that they didn't know, when in fact they really did know you see during all this I am still that analytical person who although I am paying attention to what is going on absorbing information I am too paying attention to my surrounding a making a summation as to what is different as their definitely is something different, that being that these people didn't want to answer that question because the fact is they weren't really prospective employees, as much as they were already existing employees unbeknown to the select 3 yes I said 3 people in that room that were actually there to secure employment.
They were posers, now your saying well maybe so but what are the facts that bring you to that conclusion, well here they are.
due to the uncomfortable silence I noticed that it was one of us (actual candidates) that answered first followed by some one else interjecting well what I got from the video was where the CEO stated the Word "our" in reflection of the company by encompassing the entire property as a whole and involving each of us as part of the process by all the while allowing us to retain our individuality.GREAT ANSWER!!!! no doubt about it, but remember this video is 1.5 minutes long and that at the end of the video no one wanted to answer that question so , you ask yourself why? Why because the posers , didn't want to give any of us a clue as to what it was exactly that we should be looking for. Hence the long uncomfortable silence.
Oh and remember the manager who wanted to make the transformation from management to the hourly position, well he is the one with the GREAT ANSWER, and yes I gave him kudos for the fact that his answer may have been derived from his experience as a manager, but then I re thought that and due to the fact the vidieo was so short and that we were already at that point of being overloaded with information between the company's message and the representatives questions and everyone's Else's answers to those questions that I find it hardly unlikely. and that he was a poser.
But this is not over because the representative moves to the next few questions which were questions about what are passions are in life. and not anything that has to do with our families or jobs but more on a hobby basis. and the last question was If there is a particular brand we always buy regardless of price or availability and if so why.
I have to admit I did answer the question about my Passion and why it was my passion but I did not answer the last question about the Brand and that is because the word brand to me is an advertising buzz word that represents what your about, as company and the loyalty you gain behind that brand in your customers. but I myself have lived in Las Vegas for many many years, and I can remember back in the early 90's when the city started to take the corporate shape it is today and the word used instead of brand associated in working in a property on the strip was "THEMED" and we built the building to represent those themes, a castle , a pyramid, the lion at the MGM and the list continues, but now the city has out grown those themes and we moved on so we use the word Brand.
but my not answering is because from the moment I was introduced to this part of the process , at the Cosmopolitan it was expressed both by the representative and the CEO that they were looking for something different, well I had just left a property in working MGM that had recently used that exact buzz word in Brand and I thought ummmh, not really different, when its all said and done , and then I thought you know were going through an awful lot here with in this process of trying to secure employment and like I just mentioned I lived and worked most of my adult life here in Las Vegas and it seems I am always trying to WOW some potential employer with some aspect of my personality in effort to better myself but, what is it that the company Cosmopolitan is really willing to do to WOW me, to want me to be a part of their team. did they put that part of it out there so that I can make an informed decision as an adult as if they fit in to the plan for me and my life.
Answer NO! they did not , and actually can I tell you the last time an employer in this town did that, YES I can When the MGM started their hiring process they told each person that as their employer that they could and would provide the following, flex time effective the first day you clocked in as a full time employee, benefits that consisted of a 401K plan with dollar for dollar match contribution. They also expressed that if you were looking to be part of a collective bargaining agreement in the union the MGM was opening and planing on remaining a non union place of employment. But most of all what they offered us was balanced fair and equal treatment, with the presence of respect for us, in value because they valued us as prospective employees and recognized that we were the gas in the engine of their success. and they vowed that they wanted to maintain that respect and balance of fair and equal treatment for the time we were employed with them, and they did.
So what is I am saying here is if you respect me don't humiliated me, by insulting my intelligence to think that I would not be smart enough to recognize a PINK ELEPHANT when I see one.
And that is what happened to me at this the part of the process at the Cosmopolitan in the their futile attempt to place me in an environment of prospective employees ask me a series questions and to have be sized up one side and down the other all while asking me to put my trust you and my employer all the while by violating that trust by misrepresenting yourself.
After all I opened MGM in 1993 and I went through an audition but the difference was the panel exposed themselves... What was that all about?
So this isn't over because as I finished the handout I realized that once again I was answering questions in an assessment form and was that to insure that the person who took the test online is the same person taking the test in the talent center?
So after completing the test I stood up and wished the remaining prospective employees Good Luck and Good bye.
Which upon completion I stood up and wished everyone still in the room good luck and Good Bye, and went to hand the representative my handout were I was once again instructed to go out a different door from which I came in. This door led me into a corridor that when I looked to my right placed me directly in front of the double doors the had originally led me in to the reception area.
Now remember in the beginning when I said remember yesterday, and what it was in the one thing about yesterday that affected us all the same way because it was relevant ? well here's it is ... It was the very first day this year that I actually had to grab my Cashmere coat to wear because it was so cold, So are you ready , after I got home and processed the events of the interview one thing came to mind, why was it that only 7 people out of 14 that came into that reception from the cold not wearing a coat????????
The answer because they were never outside, they were inside the whole time and that door I exited from that brought out to the corridor, that's were they came from THE POSERS.
So there you have it......but don't forget that my decision had been made I had already decided before being contacted that I would move to NYC, so when I received my email of rejection today I wasn't hurt, I am a true believer that when a window closes a bigger door opens, and there loss is obviously my gain. because at the end of the day I want to work for someone who actually is honest and doesn't have to resort to sneaky underhanded tactics in trying to size me up... because at 52 years of age I am comfortable with myself and like me and I am not hiding anything...and for those of you know me personally and professionally I am a pretty open book.
But I wanted to write this and expose them one for their deceptive practices but also for the fact this is the way of business over there while shrouded themselves in a blanket of diversity by using the word and not practicing the definition of the word in representing actions they are being discriminative by having people take that comprehension test instead of respecting them for their differences and embracing those differences in helping to overcome them so that would and could understand , they discarded them as if that could not enhance or be an asset to the as an employee. "SHAME ON YOU COSMOPOLITAN" !
In this day in age when we are living in a depressed economy, and unemployment is at an all time high for the state of Nevada and most of us are barely getting by on unemployment to maintain our homes take care of families , you want us to get in our cars and drive using gas that is essential and expensive for nonsense....
So for those of you wanted answers as to why this is for.