Voice calls are still a thing!

People STILL use telephones to make voice calls. If you’re job hunting, answer EVERY call!

It's literally been weeks (if not months) since I received an actual phone call (instead of a text) from someone that wasn't friends or family. So, anytime I see an unidentifiable number ringing, I'm automatically assuming it's telemarketers.

I usually don't answer, but this morning I did -- just so I could tell them to "please lose my number and don't call back."

Me: "Hello?" [Waiting to confirm whether it's someone I know or a telemarketer]

Them: "Hi, I'm trying to reach Darrick B. Lee." [a-HA! NOBODY I know calls me by my full name. This must be another telemarketer. Time to shut this down!]

Me: "I'm sorry, who is this?" [I say this with a tone sharp enough to cut through the BS and let them know I wasn't buying whatever they were selling.]

Them: "This is [guy's name,] I'm calling from [company]. I'm calling about the resume you sent us."

Me: "Huh? Oh ... OOOOOOOOh! Hiyeeeee! Thanks for calling!" [After I picked my lip up from off of the floor, I then spend the next few seconds apologizing with a lame attempt to explain my disdain for telemarketers before trying to salvage the conversation.]

We had a nice chat, but all I was thinking about was removing the size 11 foot in my mouth.

A friendly reminder to others like me who are currently on the job hunt: There are people out there who still use a telephone to make VOICE calls, and they might use it to actually call you back! (I know ... Crazy, right? I had gotten so used to being ghosted that I no longer anticipated receiving a callback.)

Don't repeat my mistake.

Answer EVERY phone call, even if you don't recognize the number. And, when you do, ALWAYS make sure they can hear your smile.