Day One

I'm writing this because a friend of mine said I should. I think when he said it though, he meant for me to write it down with pencil and paper. But i forgot how to use those years ago.

Today, I walked into Wal-Mart and applied for a job. I was a little nervous, because I haven't applied for many jobs thus far in my short life. But the lady at the Customer Service was nice, and when I asked her where they were hiring, she told me "everywhere!" Which was a good sign, I think.

They don't have you fill anything out (lucky for me), instead, I sat down at a touch-screen kiosk and typed all the important stuff. References, previous employers, work experience....But then they had this sort of aptitude test, where I answered certain questions about my views on management/employee relationships, past work problems, and a bunch of ethical questions about workplace theft and drug use. Not if I had been involved in these sorts of things, but hypothetical questions about how I (or sometimes management) would/should react if employees were stealing, or if someone came to work "just a little bit high" (their wording). It was weird. I'm guessing maybe they've had problems with this in the past, and they try to root out potential "bad seeds" before the interview process?

So I tried to answer the questions with a mix of honesty and reservation for what answers they might be looking for. Which brings me to the why of this whole thing. And I don't have a specific answer. I want to work at Wal-Mart. I want to understand this culture that's talked about so much. I want to find out why so many people hate them. Why they're so anti-union, why they don't seem to have much of a problem with importing products from countries with less than reputable labor practices, and why they're so intent on taking over the world with lower prices and satisfaction guaranteed.

Oh, and I'm weird. Until today, I thought for sure I'd get hired. But after that aptitude/ethics test, I wonder if I'm not Wal-Mart material. Then again, they really need help. So cross your fingers and hold on to your hats. Cause here goes nothin'.