Tracking Down a Job

April 4, 2004 7:10 AM

A friend found a position to which she wants to apply in the newspaper. The ad lists a fax number, but the number is wrong and calls someone's residence. I tried all the various combinations of area codes and exchanges and went through the yellow pages, seeking similar phone numbers. None of that worked. So, I believe the fault is in the last 4 digits, which are 3652. I tried 3852 and 3682.

Since the paper's ad department will not be open until tomorrow and I believe my friend will score big points with the employer if we can crack this mystery and have her fax sitting there first thing Monday morning, do any of you have some ideas?
posted by mischief to Work & Money (15 answers total)

What newspaper and where? Maybe there is some information we can find online.
posted by banished at 7:17 AM on April 4, 2004

Response by poster: Creative Loafing in Atlanta. Looking for a front office manager in a cosmetic surgery practice. Name of employer not given, and the Yellow Pages lists about 100 doctors who perform dermatology and cosmetic procedures.
posted by mischief at 7:24 AM on April 4, 2004

Response by poster: I know I can call the ad department first thing tomorrow morning and probably get the name of the practice, but I love trying to solve puzzles like this.
posted by mischief at 7:25 AM on April 4, 2004

Just call the ad office tomorrow. Explaining this to a potential employer ex post facto will sound desperate and stalker-ish.
posted by pissfactory at 7:42 AM on April 4, 2004

You know, this actually happened to me five years ago: an ad in a newspaper accidentally listed my home phone number as the fax number to which people should fax their job applications. Once that was sorted out -- it was the paper's fault, and boy were they apologetic (it's amazing what can happen when you write the publisher about it) -- I was running interference for the applicants and employers for a few days.

Based on that experience, I doubt you'd be able to solve it without calling the ad department. Which, I'm sure, the owners of the residential line are going to be doing at about one minute past the opening bell.
posted by mcwetboy at 7:52 AM on April 4, 2004

Here's what I'd do-- compare the exchange in the printed phone number with the yellowpage listings. Depending on the age of the practice, the fax number will often be one digit off from the phone number. Assuming that the phone exchange in question only has one or two potential matches, it's a snap to try the phone numbers around their listed ones. Who cares if you accidentally succeed with an office that isn't the one you're looking for? Maybe they're hiring, too.
posted by Mayor Curley at 8:41 AM on April 4, 2004

Is this it? Ends in 3654.
posted by armoured-ant at 9:08 AM on April 4, 2004

Of course, it would've helped if you'd posted the whole printed number :)
posted by armoured-ant at 9:13 AM on April 4, 2004

Go to the library and look through the city directory, which has a reverse directory of phone numbers. See if something close to yours shows up as being a cosmetic surgeon.
posted by IshmaelGraves at 10:00 AM on April 4, 2004

Is this the ad:

FRONT OFFICE COORDINATOR for busy cosmetic surgery practice. Must be self motivated, have excellent interpersonal skills; must have work experience in professional environment. Serious inquiries amy fax resume to 404-252-3652
posted by sequential at 10:06 AM on April 4, 2004

Here is a list of all phone numbers that begin with 404-252.
posted by sequential at 10:09 AM on April 4, 2004

Response by poster: yep, sequential that's the ad.

armoured-ant, great work! That phone number isn't listed in their Yellow Pages ad. I'll try calling that number as well as the one listed in the Yellow Pages on the off chance that they give their fax number in the weekend message.
posted by mischief at 10:49 AM on April 4, 2004

Response by poster: I faxed her resume and cover letter to the number aa found. I will call the ad department on Monday to verify if that was the correct practice.

My google skills sure let me down on this one, but in hindsight, I see where I screwed up.

(If my previous comment sounds a bit confusing, that is because I couldn't get Buckhead's website to load.)

For now, I consider this Ask Me entry successfully answered. Thank you everyone!
posted by mischief at 11:03 AM on April 4, 2004

mischief, if you want to find a google cached version of a page, enter the phrase 'cache:' followed by the url 'www.buckheadplasticsurgery.com/contactus.htm'. You don't need the protocol identifier (http://), though searching for 'ftp://www.buckheadplasticsurgery.com/contactus.htm' yields no pages. :-)

The results look like this.
posted by sequential at 11:33 AM on April 4, 2004

I am teh g33k mastah.
posted by armoured-ant at 4:47 PM on April 4, 2004