Keywords and Qualifications

My search criteria on Indeed.com, and the corresponding reasons I use them, are:

• Communications - I am a professional communicator. That's what I do, what I've done, what I'm good at and what I enjoy doing. Whether to just inform, persuade, or empower (hate that word but there's none better), that's what I do. I communicate.
• Presentations - Long before the prevalence and popularity of the infographic, I found that I have an, if not innate, then acute ability to present complex information in persuasive visual form. That got me into some trouble as a young Air Force officer; having charted sonic boom complaints to see if we could do something proactive to warn and appease Montana ranchers, I got an unexpected and chastising call from a Pentagon secret-sauce agency ordering me to cease because I guess I'd inadvertently betrayed state secrets. Oops.Not that long ago, I worked with the team attempting to convince our toxics agency to take seriously the amount of waste automotive oil going who knows where by creating one very convincing PowerPoint slide showing how many Exxon Valdez worth of oil went unaccounted for in California every year (two-and-a-half, as I recall).
• Environmental - Face it, I have some expertise in environmental protection after 23 years of interpreting for environmental engineers (who can only define their field by getting misty-eyed about "design"), scientists (not that project management has a thing to do with the scientific method), geologists (the oddest of the lot) and toxicologists (the most politically insensitive).

I've already mentioned that my personal filters include no jobs in San Francisco (the no bridges principle). Plus there's the avoid I-880 at almost any cost one, because it has too many big rigs out of the Port of Oakland, and stupid and crazy drivers. I don't even look at those announcements. Others I breeze past because I know from experience that they (University of California) only really hire from within or you have to have a Ph.D. Then I get to where the practice and art of writing job announcements gets really interesting. Some examples from this morning's job search:

• Communications:  "Ability to respond to varied requests in a professional manner and deal effectively with differing attitudes, position of others and a variety of personalities and situations requiring tact, judgment, and poise. ASSHOLE ALERT! This one wanted an administrative assistant for a bunch of change-the-world attorneys. Enough said. If you haven't read The No Asshole Rule, it is quite entertaining. Or, "Ability to respond constructively to feedback and to make requested changes," SCREAMER BOSS ALERT! No thanks, I was there a couple of times and have no wish to go back.
• Presentations:  So many have to do with restocking shelves and sales that I can get trough that list of new job listings in no time.
• Environmental:  Here's an example from a big box store looking for a receiver/stocker, "Ability to work in both inside and outside environmental conditions." I used to be strong enough to do that kind of thing. Not so much any more.

You might think that someone who others thought to be an apologist for nuclear weapons or a "company girl" defending god-awful environmental regulatory policies would have no shame, no limitations. Turns out, I do. 

"About our organization: XXX is an employer-led initiative to change the way we pay for health care in the U.S., with the goal of improving quality and overall value of care." Frankly, I find dubious anything having to do with, "employer-led," anything, let alone it having to do with health care.

No job applications going out today.