On jobs

I’m not sure what this says about much of anything, but it was mildly amusing.

• me: If you get this job, I have a friend’s resume I want to give you.
• her: Hah, of course you do.
• me: Yeah, I think she’d fit in really well there. She’s got a lot of experience in…
• her: Wait, so your ‘friend’ isn’t you?
• me: No, it’s a friend from grad school.
• her: Oh. Ok then.

I’m not sure why this little exchange affected me as strongly as it did (at no fault of the girl at the other end). Why is it assumed that we’re looking out for ourselves? Are we no longer expected to help someone out simply because we can? This is something I wrestle with quite a bit.