Karma, it's a two dollar whore

I've always believed in the whole Karma thing and every once in a while, certain things happen around me that reinforce my beliefs.

Last week I blogged about a girl who walked off the job after a disagreement over some time off. In a nutshell, I rejected a salesperson's request for three days off because of her poor attendance record. She cried, said OK, and then left the company without notice a week later.

The kicker? This was all over another job interview, for a government job with hundreds or maybe thousands of applicants. I think it may have been a situation where the applicants all get together in a huge room and take a written exam, to determine who gets the interview and who goes home. Essentially she gave up a very stable job for a gamble.

On a side note, her husband had just found out earlier in the month that he was going to be downsized from his job. And they have two kids. But this really has nothing to do with her big "fuck you" to me and my company, just a bit of extra info about the strange decision.

So back to Karma. I found out a bit more about what this girl has been up to in the weeks following her departure. As we all assumed, the job interview/exam thing was a complete bust, so she returned to the east coast with nothing but luggage and shattered dreams. She then worked at Dunkin Donuts for a few weeks before finally landing a job at a commission-only telemarketing gig where the expectations are sky-high right from the get-go. Based on her work at my office, I could not see her succeeding in that type of environment and jobs like that will kick you out if you don't start generating cash flow immediately.

A few days ago I received a call from a staffing agency, performing an employment verification to determine if she had, in fact, worked for my company. I found myself at a crossroads. I could be honest with the staffing agency and explain the circumstances around her departure, which I believe would immediately disqualify her, or I could remain silent about those facts - obviously the latter would be in her best interests.  I chose the nice-guy route and told them that she had exceptional people skills and that she quit on her own terms. Not too far from the truth but I figured Karma has already screwed her enough - no reason for me to screw her (and her kids) even more.