An offensive answering machine message?

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Edwin1961

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On my phone machine, I have a message that mentions possible places where I could be…I mention that I could be at church. And at the end of my message I mention ‘God bless.’

I got a phone message from a case worker who is helping me find a job and she said the following:
“I think you may need to get a new phone message. The mentioning that you are at church could be offensive to those calling you for a job opportunity.”

My answer to that is: NO
I believe my faith is MORE important than a few callers/employers whe could ‘be offended’ about my message.
And I am sure that the ARE employers that would love to hear a message like mine on the machine.

Has anyone have such a problem with callers answering your machine/voice mail?

I can chalk one up for persucation (even though it is somewhat minor). It certainly won’t move me to change it.
I never said that I was PCorrect.
Go with God!
Edwin
P.S. I could be at church…God bless! 🙂
 
Dear Edwin;

Don’t change your answering machine. Change your case worker. 😃

Peace be with you.
 
I think your case worker may just be trying to help you out. It is their job to help you find work and some employers might be offended.

I would just tell your case worker that you would not be interested in working for anyone who would be offended by your attending church.

God Bless
 
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mark1270:
I think your case worker may just be trying to help you out. It is their job to help you find work and some employers might be offended.

I would just tell your case worker that you would not be interested in working for anyone who would be offended by your attending church.

God Bless
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Careful here, though… If you’re receiving unemployment benefits, you don’t want say anything that gives the state a reason to say you’re not seriously looking for work. Good luck!
 
Politely decline to change your message if you don’t want to change it. However, it is not very wise to tell people where you may be in a phone message, if it is 9:05 and mass is at 9:00 they know you will not be home for an hour and if the person calling is looking for an empty house they just found it and have a good idea when you will return. All I say is my phone # and that we are unable to take the call and leave a message. I am very cautious since my uncle’s house was robbed while he was at my aunt’s funeral. The robbers read the obits and picked their houses from them, so they told the police when they were caught a few months later.
 
YEAH FOR YOU!

You keep that message on there; if some potential employer is offended and won’t hire you because of your faith then you know they are not for you.
 
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Edwin1961:
On my phone machine, I have a message that mentions possible places where I could be…I mention that I could be at church. And at the end of my message I mention ‘God bless.’

I got a phone message from a case worker who is helping me find a job and she said the following:
“I think you may need to get a new phone message. The mentioning that you are at church could be offensive to those calling you for a job opportunity.”

My answer to that is: NO
I believe my faith is MORE important than a few callers/employers whe could ‘be offended’ about my message.
And I am sure that the ARE employers that would love to hear a message like mine on the machine.

Has anyone have such a problem with callers answering your machine/voice mail?

I can chalk one up for persucation (even though it is somewhat minor). It certainly won’t move me to change it.
I never said that I was PCorrect.
Go with God!
Edwin
P.S. I could be at church…God bless! 🙂
Click to expand...
I’ve interviewed, hired, and fired many people. It is possible to arrange things so the potential employer has a positive impression of you. That means he see things which make him see you as an employee who would be an asset to his company.

I would be most impressed with a message that was clear, succinct, and businesslike. I’d be impressed by behavior that mirrored the kind of person I wanted to hire.

So, your message may not hurt you, but there may be another message that would help you.

Most employers don’t care at all about a prospective employee’s religious beliefs. All they want is the most competent person they can find for the job. The more evidence you provide of ability and competence, the higher the probability of landing a good job. The jobseeker actually has few opportunities to impress the employer. Use those you have wisely. good luck.
 
Personally, I think its kinda strange to wanna let strangers know WHERE one is… you’re OUT… leave a message and number and you’ll call back.

If its people who ALREADY KNOW YOU…then again…why explain to them where you are? They KNOW YOU…they probably have an idea.

I agree with the Case worker… why give a potential employer a reason to discriminate before they even get to KNOW YOU.

Its also acceptable to simply say…have a nice day…

If one has a cell phone for PERSONAL use that strangers wont use… then leave your Christian messages all over it.

Its a judgement call…but if you’re trying to land a job, realize your chances are gonna be much slimmer in getting a job FASTER in this day and age. Nobody’s asking you to deny your faith here… besides…if you are hired for a job, would you consider telling your boss…God Bless You at the end of the day? If you did and he said please dont do that…are ya gonna quit?
 
Robert in SD:
Dear Edwin;

Don’t change your answering machine. Change your case worker. 😃

Peace be with you.
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I agree and I would have also said my faith tells people who I am an honest, trustworthy, caring worker. If that is what they are looking for then those are the people I hope to work for.
 
Well…

Here is my opinion. Chatty phone messages are annoying.

“You have reached (my phone number || the Us Family || Bob’s cell phone) no one is available to take your call, please leave your number (at the beep || and someone will call you right back || or press 7 to send a text message || or call my cell at 555-555-1212) Thank you.”

Anything more is too much, too personal, to cute or to long to listen to if you just want to leave a quick message.

Again… just my opinion. If I was hiring and you had a long phone message detailing your possible where about I probably wouldn’t leave a message.

-D
 
Two things…

one… you are unlikely to actually get the call from the actual employer… it’s more likely that you’ll get the call from one of the secretaries or administrative people trying to set up an interview. This has a two way street kind of impact…

they are probably on the phone all day and their time is limited… they don’t necessarily find it either amusing or fun to listen to long-winded telephone messages… on the other hand, if the message is informative about when they can expect a return phone call or your schedule that gives them a sense of your reliability and the idea that you are anticipating the call and plan to return it with some urgency that will raise their opinion and they are more likely to retain a good impression of you.

two… one can be chatty or professional and still give the caller the day’s agenda and an idea of when their call will be returned. we are required to do this at work in fact but it must be done professionally.

if you are fielding calls for possible employment it might be best to cease treating the answering machine as a personal item and begin treating it as a business tool.

that does not mean cease having church as one of your agenda items for the day, nor leaving off the “God Bless” at the end, but replace any chattiness with professionalism and script the message so that it is succinct and clear.
 
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SusanL:
I don’t get it. Why would they be offended?
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Any religious overtones are nowadays considered not politically correct.
These people are offended by ‘church’ and ‘God’.

go with GOD!
Edwin
 
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Writer:
Careful here, though… If you’re receiving unemployment benefits, you don’t want say anything that gives the state a reason to say you’re not seriously looking for work. Good luck!
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I do not receiver unemployment. Being visually disabled I receive benefits already.

go with God!
Edwin
 
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Lance:
Politely decline to change your message if you don’t want to change it. However, it is not very wise to tell people where you may be in a phone message, if it is 9:05 and mass is at 9:00 they know you will not be home for an hour and if the person calling is looking for an empty house they just found it and have a good idea when you will return. All I say is my phone # and that we are unable to take the call and leave a message. I am very cautious since my uncle’s house was robbed while he was at my aunt’s funeral. The robbers read the obits and picked their houses from them, so they told the police when they were caught a few months later.
Click to expand...
I state in my message that I could be at church however, the majority of my time is here in the apartment.

go with God!
Edwin
 
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Ken:
I’ve interviewed, hired, and fired many people. It is possible to arrange things so the potential employer has a positive impression of you. That means he see things which make him see you as an employee who would be an asset to his company.

I would be most impressed with a message that was clear, succinct, and businesslike. I’d be impressed by behavior that mirrored the kind of person I wanted to hire.

So, your message may not hurt you, but there may be another message that would help you.

Most employers don’t care at all about a prospective employee’s religious beliefs. All they want is the most competent person they can find for the job. The more evidence you provide of ability and competence, the higher the probability of landing a good job. The jobseeker actually has few opportunities to impress the employer. Use those you have wisely. good luck.
Click to expand...
Ken,
Thanks for the advice!
I, in fact, had just finished my classes for job placement and courses in cover letters, resume, and interviews.
The instructor, who BTW is Catholic, told me that the mock interview I had went extremely well: scored 19 out of 20 points!
I want to go into the interview with confidence and faith that the right job will come my way. (library research-aid, data entry, etc.)
I do, however, want to have the joy of Christ with me in all I do, always.

go with God!
Edwin
 
If I want to have millions of pictures of Mary and Jesus all over my walls and leave a dozen God Bless you’s on my answer machine that is my business and no-one else’s. Some people will get offended at anything, but when they get offended by God that really gets on my nerves, if I was you I’d say at the end and if this message offends you, God Bless you twice!!! God is first!!! peace xxxxxx
 
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Toni:
I agree and I would have also said my faith tells people who I am an honest, trustworthy, caring worker. If that is what they are looking for then those are the people I hope to work for.
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:amen:
That’s my point!

go with God!
Edwin
 
Brings a smile to my face to read this one!!

I remember when I was looking for a new teaching job I happened upon a beautiful new school recruiting from the best. I applied year one and did not get the job. I received a call from the board asking me why I did not apply the following year and I told the truth. I was recovering from an operation for cancer.
When I told my friends what I had said they told me I had made myself unrecruitable and that I should not have told them because they will lose interest in anyone who is ill especially in a new school!
I presented myself for interview again in year III and guess what?
I am there now. The Principal told me only lately that he was amazed at my honesty in explaining why I did not present for interview in year II and this went a very long way in my favour.
Always tell the truth as it is.
God will reward.

Fergal
 
Hi Edwin,
Ken gave great advise. Aside from the religious aspect, I agree that overly detailed answering machine messages are not neccessary and somewhat annoying. I have one that just says that this is my answering machine, if you’d like to, please leave a message at the tone. That’s just so they know it’s not voice mail and no pressure tactics about leaving a message, for goodness sakes. I don’t explain where I might be or anything. I’m sure that people know that I could be in the shower, outside, or away.

I don’t give any instructions to them, because I’m sure that everyone these days knows how to leave a message, and there’s nothing mandatory about leaving a message either, If they want to leave a message, they are entirely welcome to, and if they don’t, they don’t have to! Nothing worse than a bossy, demanding answering machine message. Also, details about the fact that you might be at church or in the garden are really not needed, IMO.

I personally rather dislike answering machines. People play games with them, don’t return messages, and screen their calls. I rarely leave messages myself, unless it is crucial. I don’t screen my calls, I only have one 'cause people expect you to have one, and it’s important for my work to get messages.
 
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