I was one of those census people who took the test, passed and then was hired by the government to go door to door to verify addresses and the status of your home (single family, multi-unit, etc.). I always wanted to know what the census did so this was a wonderful opportunity to find out.
We had an orientation for a full day in Sussex County, NJ at the old Playboy Club. It was interesting at how many people were there. I got there a few minutes late because the venue was hard to find in the woods of Sussex County, but to my relief, the line for registration was very long. I had to wait almost a half of an hour to get registered. We filled out forms after forms and were finger printed. We were told we would work for 8 weeks and then most likely be reassigned for another 8 weeks. We were being paid for our time, so it was an exciting adventure.
Then two weeks later, we were trained in Dover, NJ. We learned how to use our HHC’s (hand held computers) and how to input data from each home, etc. We read manuals and had experienced supervisors help us. Our supervisor was on loan from Sussex because we didn’t have one at the time. So, Morris County was run by a very able supervisor assistant (like a secretary) and we got everything done in a timely fashion.
The ranks were filled with many ex-corporate employees, all raring to go because it was a decent paying job and we wanted to do our part for the census. There were engineers, graphic designers, secretaries, loan officers, housewives, retirees, teachers, etc. Many fields were represented in our Morris County group – quite diversified.
We had to wait a week before starting our work. We were given AA’s (assignment areas) and had to ring the bell at each home, give them an explanation notice and map spot their home in the computer. It was easy work, but I never realized how out of shape I was because we were walking around 7-8 hours each day. After our first day which thankfully was a Friday, I thought I was going to die and had to take a pain killer because my whole body ached. It was really pitiful, but walking for that amount of time played havoc with my body. It took all weekend for my body to recover and then I was out again on Monday and doing better as the days went on.
Most people were not home, so those jobs were easy and we all got our assignments done quickly and then received another one and another. We met regularly in case there were issues to resolve, but on the whole, we were efficient and fast.
Then three weeks into our assignment, we learned that the AA’s were scarce now and that we were to slow up our efforts and not work quickly at all. We were told to go over our manuals to make sure we understood each situation and we were told to double and triple check our work. Basically, they wanted us to work longer so that the supervisors had more work. In fact, we finally got a supervisor for our area, and his total job only lasted two weeks.
Apparently, we were too efficient. The government never counted on our efficiency and over hired, was the explanation for the short stint of work. It was a good job; however, someone who kept writing us emails on our HHC’s thanked us for our work and explained that with the over abundance of unemployed people, they had hired many professionals who were used to getting the job done and getting it done right. We even had one of the lowest rejection rates from Quality Control who checked our work. I believe our county was the fourth highest in the state for accuracy.
So, basically, being the funny one in the group, I said, “So we basically screwed ourselves out of a job.” The answer was, “Not as I would have said it, but yes, basically you did.”
What is the morale of this story if there is one? Not to be too efficient? Try to do your best but at a slower pace? The government never thought we’d be that efficient? I’m not sure, but I am sure that I had a good job for a few weeks which continued to let me do my own home based business work and consultations and because I was too efficient, I am back home again.
I am continuing to write, do Feng Shui consultations as well as tarot and astrology readings, and am wondering if I could have slowed up to have kept my job alive for a few more weeks. The answer is no. I did what I set out to do – and I am proud that NJ finished in a timely manner and showed the government that we are efficient here in NJ and can do a job right the first time.
We may be getting more work before the census forms are mailed in April 2010, but for now, I’m back in business, back at home and ready and able to continue my work.
PS: Please send back your census form as NJ may be losing a representative or two this year as everyone doesn’t send them back and our representatives are selected based on our population.
