Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Sept 19, 2014 20:23:04 GMT -5
YAY @empressspunkles! And honestly, I loved working swing or night shift because I never had to take time off work to do the things that could only be done during "normal" working hours. Also, grocery shopping at 3am was quick and easy.Ain't that the truth. I'm just happy knowing we have a nephew around to haul around his favorite uncle so if I need to sleep, he can take DH out to doctor appointment and that fun stuff. I really don't mind third shift since as I told them, I am a night person. Sunlight makes me sleepy. And no, I am not a vampire. I used to wish I was but, alas, no hot ones ever came along willing to bite me. DAMN IT ALL!!!
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NastyWoman
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Post by NastyWoman on Sept 19, 2014 20:23:32 GMT -5
I GOT THE JOB!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I go in Sunday night to finish my new hire paperwork but I am now an official baker's helper for Panera. May not be glamorous but it's a job and right now I really just don't give a shit. I've been looking for so long. I've finally got a job!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I'm not stupid!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! And DH is thrilled because I can bring him home some unsold bread from the day and he is the carb king. Gads. Never seen anyone suck down as much bread as he does. I HAVE A JOB!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! In case you can't tell, I'm thrilled. Congratulations
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Sept 19, 2014 20:29:20 GMT -5
I GOT THE JOB!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I go in Sunday night to finish my new hire paperwork but I am now an official baker's helper for Panera. May not be glamorous but it's a job and right now I really just don't give a shit. I've been looking for so long. I've finally got a job!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I'm not stupid!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! And DH is thrilled because I can bring him home some unsold bread from the day and he is the carb king. Gads. Never seen anyone suck down as much bread as he does. I HAVE A JOB!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! In case you can't tell, I'm thrilled. Congratulations Thank you!
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flutterby
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Post by flutterby on Sept 19, 2014 20:31:37 GMT -5
Okay, my sad update.
I had a phone interview Monday, seemed to go well, but I haven't heard back. Another phone interview Wednesday and then an in-person interview today for a temp position. I was trying to avoid the temp thing, but this job will go through February (which just happens to be when I'll graduate) and pays really well. Went well, should hear early next week. That's all I've got. I've been submitting a lot of resumes lately, so hopefully something will turn up. In fact, for this interview today, I don't even remember applying for this job. It must have been a while ago. Maybe companies are just slow in the hiring process. That gives me some hope.
Now for my rant: I've had a few interviews now that the interviewer seems disappointed I don't have a certain skill. Mind you, they've seen my resume, and nowhere on my resume does it state I have this skill. If a job posting says this skill is required, I won't apply because, again, I don't have this skill. WTH. Why would they think I know it and what, just happened to leave it off my resume? The job posting doesn't ask for this skill, my resume doesn't say I have this skill, why in the interview do they now require this skill, and so why even call me, a skill-less person Ack annoying!! Rant over.
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mmhmm
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Post by mmhmm on Sept 19, 2014 20:32:16 GMT -5
Empressspunkles, I'm thrilled for you! This has to be such a relief and all that delicious bread you get to bring home is a wonderful bonus. Congratulations, hon!
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flutterby
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Post by flutterby on Sept 19, 2014 20:35:01 GMT -5
Yay empressspunkles!!
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Post by Deleted on Sept 19, 2014 20:45:15 GMT -5
Okay, my sad update.
I had a phone interview Monday, seemed to go well, but I haven't heard back. Another phone interview Wednesday and then an in-person interview today for a temp position. I was trying to avoid the temp thing, but this job will go through February (which just happens to be when I'll graduate) and pays really well. Went well, should hear early next week. That's all I've got. I've been submitting a lot of resumes lately, so hopefully something will turn up. In fact, for this interview today, I don't even remember applying for this job. It must have been a while ago. Maybe companies are just slow in the hiring process. That gives me some hope.
Now for my rant: I've had a few interviews now that the interviewer seems disappointed I don't have a certain skill. Mind you, they've seen my resume, and nowhere on my resume does it state I have this skill. If a job posting says this skill is required, I won't apply because, again, I don't have this skill. WTH. Why would they think I know it and what, just happened to leave it off my resume? The job posting doesn't ask for this skill, my resume doesn't say I have this skill, why in the interview do they now require this skill, and so why even call me, a skill-less person Ack annoying!! Rant over. Flutterby, believe me when I say I feel your pain. The skills issue does seem to be a big one, doesn't it? I'm not hiding anything on my resume so I'm really not sure how they could possible miss it. It does boggle the mind. Although I will say that for one resume, it would seem the resume picker-upper chopped off a few pertinent lines when it picked mine up so they weren't on it. That was just annoying. Look me up on LinkedIn. It's there. I even put my link on my resume, dumbasses. Temping really isn't all that bad. in a sense you get to feel out whether you want to do that type of work for a while or not. One job I did, I would rather shoot shoot myself than work for that man again. He was an idiot and one of the other temps was NOT shy about letting her feelings be known. I tend to hide it much better. Probably why I drink what I do. I loathe phone interviews. Actually I hate all interviews so that isn't much help. I think I got this job because the baker I worked with liked me. I was punctual and did what he asked me to do. Silly me, I thought that was what you were supposed to do on all jobs but apparently the current guy(helper) does not. I really can't fathom that. Must be the parents I had.
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Sunnyday
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Post by Sunnyday on Sept 19, 2014 20:55:54 GMT -5
and about phone interviews?!
I've had a couple where I didn't get past them, and I just can't for the life of me figure out what I did wrong!
In my mind, I spoke clearly and were able to answer all their questions. I might ramble from time to time, but it's so hard to talk to a stranger on the phone. they ask you a broad question, and you have no visual cues on how in depth that they want you to go. If I was in front of someone, and I saw their attention breaking, I would wrap it up! Impossible to do that with a phone interview.
I always thought a phone interview was to see if a person was not a complete spaz and ask for further details about their job skills or experience. It would be harder to gauge anymore from a phone interview.
Or am I the one who got it wrong? Any tips for a successful phone interview?!
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flutterby
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Post by flutterby on Sept 19, 2014 21:14:03 GMT -5
and about phone interviews?! I always thought a phone interview was to see if a person was not a complete spaz and ask for further details about their job skills or experience. It would be harder to gauge anymore from a phone interview. Or am I the one who got it wrong? Any tips for a successful phone interview?! No, that's what I figured too; the phone interview is to check your skills and make sure you're not a complete idiot/psycho before bringing you in for an in-person.
I seem to have the opposite problem. My interviews go really well. They want to chat forever about the weather, traffic, skiing, car shopping, their kid's soccer team, blah blah. Why? I'm not their friend. I'm there for a job. I want to do the interview and be done. But I chat along and I'm friendly, though I'm also very careful to keep in mind this is still an interview and not give too much info about my personal life. I guess it's good I'm likable, but I'm not there to find new friends. Are they bored and I'm a captive audience? Sigh...interviewing is hard.
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taz157
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Post by taz157 on Sept 19, 2014 21:19:39 GMT -5
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shanendoah
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Post by shanendoah on Sept 19, 2014 21:53:57 GMT -5
flutterby - May I ask what skill? And could it be a fairly common skill for the types of jobs you are applying for? When people ask me if I have a skill I don't have, I answer that no, I have not had the opportunity to do that/use that software/whatever in my previous positions, but I would be very interested in learning it. In a couple of instances, I have decided to start learning those skills on my own (SQL and Tableau). When I asked now, I mention that I have not had to use those skills in my position, but that I have started learning them on my own. Sunnyday - phone interviews are hard, not just for the people being interviewed but for the interviewers as well. I can't say whether you have had phone interviews or phone screens. If it is being done by HR, I call it a phone screen. They ask some standard questions and provide a sheet to the hiring manager. In my old company, they did not give an opinion, just wrote down the answers and left it for the hiring manager/their helper to make the decision. In my old position, it worked like this. I would look at a resume, decide if the person seemed qualified, and if so, ask HR to do a screen. After the screen was completed, they would send me the candidate responses. Reasons I chose not to move candidates from phone screen to phone interview: Salary expectations were out of line with the position One person had jumped from position to position a lot, and his reasons for it seemed spurious. (Another person had jumped positions almost as often, but the reasons seemed more reasonable, and that person moved on.) Their specific experience described in their screen turned out not to be a match for what we were looking for In these cases, the person the who screened the candidate was not actually involved in the hiring process, so the fact that it may have seemed to go well had no real impact on the decision to move them from one phase to the next. Once people moved on to the actual phone interview, reasons they didn't move on had to do with the same reasons people don't move on from other interviews: We had candidates whose answers/experience we liked better On deeper investigation, their experience did not match what we were looking for Something about them just turned us off/did not click with the group doing the phone interview My advice for how to have a good phone interview (scheduled): Make sure you are in a comfortable place where you won't be fidgeting. Limit distractions. If possible, have your computer in front of you. Have the job posting up. Have the company website up. As people, we are very used to visual clues and body language, and you don't have that over the phone. Because that can be very disconcerting, you might try closing your eyes when not actually looking at something in front of you. Remember that the person you are talking to is trying to write or type notes as you speak. Try to speak slowly and calmly. Do NOT be afraid of silence on the other end. Sometimes they are just trying to catch up. Try not to use too many acronyms or jargon, especially if you're talking to an HR person- they don't know what that means, and often won't translate what you say exactly right. So try to keep it simple. Be confident in yourself. If possible, have a sleeping Beagle cuddled next to you (or something else that helps you relax) My advice for phone screenings (unscheduled, HR person calls and says "do you have time to talk"): Do some research on every organization before you apply or immediately after. Know at that time the answer to the questions "Why do you want to work here?" "What about this position interests you?" "What do you know about our company/organization?" If you figure that out at the time you apply, when you are called randomly while at the dog park, you can answer those questions with some confidence. As a note, I think I have more advice about phone interviews linked in the "best of" thread pinned at the top of YM. The purpose of a phone interview is to narrow down candidates. Right now, a single position often receives literally hundreds of applicants. And even if only 25% are actually qualified, no one has time to interview that many people in person. Phone interviews allow you to interview more people, give a chance to people who are maybe not quite "perfect" to impress you on the phone. They are a standard first step in the interview process. But if it makes you feel any better, here is an actual email I received after a phone interview: Thank you for interviewing for the Associate Director of Operations position at XXX's Puget Sound / Seattle office. I enjoyed speaking with you and was impressed with your relevant experience, as well as your poise and the depth of your understanding of XXX's mission.
On behalf of our team, I'm writing to let you know that we will not be moving you to the next stage of the interview process. You were a strong applicant in a competitive pool, making this a difficult decision.
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Peace77
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Post by Peace77 on Sept 19, 2014 21:55:13 GMT -5
Way to go Empresspunkles!!! ?.
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Sunnyday
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Post by Sunnyday on Sept 19, 2014 22:45:15 GMT -5
Sunnyday - phone interviews are hard, not just for the people being interviewed but for the interviewers as well. I can't say whether you have had phone interviews or phone screens. If it is being done by HR, I call it a phone screen. They ask some standard questions and provide a sheet to the hiring manager. In my old company, they did not give an opinion, just wrote down the answers and left it for the hiring manager/their helper to make the decision. In my old position, it worked like this. I would look at a resume, decide if the person seemed qualified, and if so, ask HR to do a screen. After the screen was completed, they would send me the candidate responses. Reasons I chose not to move candidates from phone screen to phone interview: Salary expectations were out of line with the position One person had jumped from position to position a lot, and his reasons for it seemed spurious. (Another person had jumped positions almost as often, but the reasons seemed more reasonable, and that person moved on.) Their specific experience described in their screen turned out not to be a match for what we were looking for In these cases, the person the who screened the candidate was not actually involved in the hiring process, so the fact that it may have seemed to go well had no real impact on the decision to move them from one phase to the next. Once people moved on to the actual phone interview, reasons they didn't move on had to do with the same reasons people don't move on from other interviews: We had candidates whose answers/experience we liked better On deeper investigation, their experience did not match what we were looking for Something about them just turned us off/did not click with the group doing the phone interview My advice for how to have a good phone interview (scheduled): Make sure you are in a comfortable place where you won't be fidgeting. Limit distractions. If possible, have your computer in front of you. Have the job posting up. Have the company website up. As people, we are very used to visual clues and body language, and you don't have that over the phone. Because that can be very disconcerting, you might try closing your eyes when not actually looking at something in front of you. Remember that the person you are talking to is trying to write or type notes as you speak. Try to speak slowly and calmly. Do NOT be afraid of silence on the other end. Sometimes they are just trying to catch up.Try not to use too many acronyms or jargon, especially if you're talking to an HR person- they don't know what that means, and often won't translate what you say exactly right. So try to keep it simple. Be confident in yourself. If possible, have a sleeping Beagle cuddled next to you (or something else that helps you relax) My advice for phone screenings (unscheduled, HR person calls and says "do you have time to talk"): Do some research on every organization before you apply or immediately after. Know at that time the answer to the questions "Why do you want to work here?" "What about this position interests you?" "What do you know about our company/organization?" If you figure that out at the time you apply, when you are called randomly while at the dog park, you can answer those questions with some confidence. I have had phone screens and phone interviews. The phone screen did ask about salary, and I am familiar with their company because they are one of our clients (so I might have gone too high). But otherwise, it was typical HR nonsensical stuff. They also caught me off guard with what's the latest thing I had done to improve the world question. I was so prepared for answering questions about the job and my qualifications. So I said that I've been too busy with two babies. OOPS and double OOPs. I should have never mentioned kids! Never heard back! The second interview, everything went well! But the person wasn't gushing or sound super excited! It's the one job prospect that I still have in the pipeline. But they are having major administrative hurdles as they are trying to enter into the market here in Canada, and they just can't figure some of the major details out. But the advice about speaking slowly is good. I speak fast. I should slow it down to let them take their notes. In parts, I think that the reason that I don't have as many things as you in the pipeline is because 1)my field 2)less experience. I'm re-booting my whole job-searching campaign to see where I am going wrong.
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shanendoah
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Post by shanendoah on Sept 20, 2014 0:30:39 GMT -5
Sunnyday - Remember, I've been job hunting for 8 months now. I have a number of things in the pipeline because I have opened myself up to positions that aren't exactly in my line. If I get more than one job offer out of these current positions, my decision won't be just about the job, but about the direction I take my career. Look at the job titles I'm up for: Business Systems Analyst - this job would take me out of the administrative operations I've been doing and place me more firmly in IT work. There are lots of jobs like this in my area, and it's a field that pays very well, so it's not a bad path to go. Business Process Analyst - also IT. This would put me on the independent contractor path. Money is good, but you trade that for stability and benefits. Director of Operations - this would put me in traditional healthcare management. This is for a multi-clinic dental practice and puts me solidly on the path to hospital administration roles. Executive Assistant - I have nothing against the job title or the work. Somebody has to be Warren Buffet's secretary, though very few places pay their EAs as much as I have made in my other roles. This is puts me in a direct support position, and any growth from here is generally continuing in EA roles, just moving to larger companies. Administrator - This keeps me on the path I had been on- department administrator at the university. Path from their is larger departments, perhaps a director role, and then moving up within the University. Of these 4 different paths, at the start of my job search, there are only 2 of these positions I would have applied for. Now, I freely admit, I have about 20 years in the workforce, and some pretty diverse experience. I also chose the focus of my MBA to be one that is applicable in ALL organizations (technology & innovation management) to that I didn't feel locked into any particular industry by my education. The goal is to allow yourself not to "think outside the box" but not to let yourself be contained in only one box. My resumes for each of these positions are quite different, in each case highlighting the experience that's relevant to that job, not necessarily the most "important" experience from each of my positions.
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Nazgul Girl
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Post by Nazgul Girl on Sept 20, 2014 0:36:30 GMT -5
I GOT THE JOB!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I go in Sunday night to finish my new hire paperwork but I am now an official baker's helper for Panera. May not be glamorous but it's a job and right now I really just don't give a shit. I've been looking for so long. I've finally got a job!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I'm not stupid!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! And DH is thrilled because I can bring him home some unsold bread from the day and he is the carb king. Gads. Never seen anyone suck down as much bread as he does. I HAVE A JOB!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! In case you can't tell, I'm thrilled. Yay ! yay ! Yay ! I'm so glad for you !!!!!! And, DH ! And bread ! Two kinds - the $$ sign bread and the carb kind of bread !
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Post by Deleted on Sept 20, 2014 20:18:32 GMT -5
I GOT THE JOB!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I go in Sunday night to finish my new hire paperwork but I am now an official baker's helper for Panera. May not be glamorous but it's a job and right now I really just don't give a shit. I've been looking for so long. I've finally got a job!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I'm not stupid!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! And DH is thrilled because I can bring him home some unsold bread from the day and he is the carb king. Gads. Never seen anyone suck down as much bread as he does. I HAVE A JOB!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! In case you can't tell, I'm thrilled. Yay ! yay ! Yay ! I'm so glad for you !!!!!! And, DH ! And bread ! Two kinds - the $$ sign bread and the carb kind of bread ! Thank you! You sound like DH. He absolutely adores bread, the carb kind, although the $$$ will come in handy. He can't until I can bring it home. I think his family is hopeful they'll get some too.
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marvholly
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Post by marvholly on Sept 21, 2014 6:19:01 GMT -5
Empress
I worked in an ice cream factory lab. I ALWAYS had backup samples left over. The neighbors LOVED me as did my parents and people we did antique markets with.
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Ombud
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Post by Ombud on Sept 21, 2014 15:27:10 GMT -5
☆☆ Congrats, Empress ☆☆
Hijack: final work day is now October 31st. But only 17 scheduled work days until then + I have to report for jury duty on 1 of them. This was a really long term temp job ... long enough to pay off all bills, fully fund Roth, 8 months emergency fund, + 8k for GS1s 1st year of college (2015-2016).
Reading this thread was sobering. If the UI rate is going down, why are so many still looking?? Did that many really decide to step out of the market during the recession??
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shanendoah
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Post by shanendoah on Sept 21, 2014 23:01:53 GMT -5
Ombud - congrats on the successful and planned completion of your temp job. And again, I say, there is no hijack. This thread is open to discussing employment, and that includes temp employment and our goals. And yes, the unemployment rate is going down, however, a lot of the jobs that are being offered are not at the same level as the positions that were lost. Companies have figured out that not only can they pay fewer people to do more work but that they can pay people less money to do higher level work. That is part of my problem. I am looking for an $85k/year job. There just are not a lot of them out there, and the ones that are there have a lot of people applying to them. And that's because even people who are employed are unhappy in their jobs or looking for a better paying job or whatever. UI numbers do not, in any way, paint a picture of how many people are applying to each position, just how many unemployed people might be applying to a position. And, like it or not, it is easier to get hired when you currently have a job. And yes, lots of people stepped out. C hasn't worked a regular job since May 2009, and not at all since he finished with the census in summer 2010. But he did go back to school. And if I don't have a job by the end of the month, he'll be back in the market, but won't be counted in the UI numbers. I had one friend who said she heard that you expect it to take one month per every $10k/year you wanted to earn. If I were to get one of the positions I currently have in the pipeline, that will hold pretty much exactly true for me.
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shanendoah
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Post by shanendoah on Sept 22, 2014 14:11:18 GMT -5
Heard from recruiter on the Director of Ops positions, they'll make their decision tonight. I should hear tomorrow.
That puts us at 1 job I should hear on today, 2 jobs I should hear on tomorrow.
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Wisconsin Beth
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Post by Wisconsin Beth on Sept 22, 2014 14:21:21 GMT -5
Empressspunkles, I'm thrilled for you! This has to be such a relief and all that delicious bread you get to bring home is a wonderful bonus. Congratulations, hon! Woohoo! And if you care to pass along any secrets to making Panera like bread, we won't be upset!
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Wisconsin Beth
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Post by Wisconsin Beth on Sept 22, 2014 14:28:45 GMT -5
Heard from recruiter on the Director of Ops positions, they'll make their decision tonight. I should hear tomorrow. That puts us at 1 job I should hear on today, 2 jobs I should hear on tomorrow. Good luck Shane! I hope you hear from all 3 of them! And they make you super awesome offers.
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shanendoah
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Post by shanendoah on Sept 22, 2014 19:27:54 GMT -5
Just in case people are wondering, the HR person that was supposed to contact me today didn't. It's my last choice of all the jobs, so I'm not stressing too much,
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Nazgul Girl
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Post by Nazgul Girl on Sept 22, 2014 19:54:17 GMT -5
Good luck Shane !
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suesinfl
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Post by suesinfl on Sept 22, 2014 22:19:23 GMT -5
I haven't posted on this thread, but from the great information being shared and a PM to shanendoah, I'm bookmarking this one. Thank you to all that have posted the ups and downs of job hunting and interviewing. I now have a new hope that I can find different employment.
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shanendoah
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Post by shanendoah on Sept 22, 2014 23:00:41 GMT -5
So, got an email from the recruiter for the Director of Operations position. I would guess I am one of their top 2 candidates (so obviously, someone other than me made it through to meeting the Dentists). They want to give me a business problem and have me document how I would handle it and come back and meet with them next week. I've agreed to it, but....
If the Executive Assistant position (the one I was supposed to hear on today) is offered to me, there's no way I can put off giving them an answer until middle of next week. I would greatly prefer the Dir Ops position, but I am on unemployment, so turning down a reasonable offer risks losing UE for not a sure thing. At the same time, the EA position really is last on my list of all of the ones I'm up for.
I am also supposed to hear by close of business tomorrow on the Business Systems Analyst position. If I were to be offered that, my decision is not as clear cut. I am still not really certain, if offered both, which one I would choose. As I mentioned in an earlier post, this would be as much a decision about my future career path as the actual job.
On the plus side, if I don't get offered either the EA or BSA positions, this puts the Dir Ops position on a timeline on par with the Administrator role at the university, so I might still have options.
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Opti
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Post by Opti on Sept 23, 2014 2:56:02 GMT -5
Shanendoah, perhaps you can give me some tips. I am custom crafting resumes and have increased my hit rate by doing my best to apply within 3 days after the job is posted on Craigslist, within two for head-hunters, and a bit longer for university postings.
I am landing more interviews. However, I seem to be mucking up or unlucky at the fit stage. My last two temp jobs I landed, (FTish) were ones where multiple people were hired.
Any ideas besides prayer and kick ass intention work?
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Peace77
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Post by Peace77 on Sept 23, 2014 10:17:23 GMT -5
Have you had anyone look over your resume Optimist? I saw a resume once that was 23 pages long! Not saying yours is bad but sometimes another set of eyes is helpful.
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shanendoah
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Post by shanendoah on Sept 23, 2014 10:40:41 GMT -5
Opti - custom fitting the resumes is great. I'm glad that's landing you more interviews, but now you're having trouble in the interviews. I get it. My best advice is to do your research on the organization, and, if it is a large one, like universities, the department you are applying to. That way, when they ask you why you want to work there, you can give a specific answer. For example, the University Administrator position I currently have in the pipeline. It is for Human Centered Design and Engineering. Ever hear of that department before? Probably not. Why did I apply? It's an administrator job at the university, plain and simple, but that's not the answer they want to hear. So I spent time on the department's website. I looked at their current projects and am able to point to some of those that I find fascinating when I'm asked why I want to work in that department. In addition, know your answers to standard interview questions, like your strengths and weaknesses. And when asked your weaknesses, don't try to make it sound like you're disguising a strength as a weakness- ie I'm just such a perfectionist... It's annoying. As an interviewer I hated that (and I know plenty others that did, too). None of us is perfect, we have weaknesses, and it's important to be able to admit to ourselves what they are. But since no one wants to sound weak in an interview, what you do instead of trying to make your weakness a strength, follow up your statement about your weakness with the skills you have developed to mitigate it. This shows that not only are you aware of your own weaknesses in an interview, but also in your work, and that you have personal processes in place to deal with them. For example, I know I can get so caught up in the details that I miss the big picture, and even as an analyst, that's a problem. So when I feel like I'm slipping into the "every detail must be perfect" stage or notice that something I'm working on is so detailed it's stopped making sense, I have learned to step back and talk over what I am doing with a trusted colleague. Sometimes I get a second expert opinion, and sometimes just having to explain it to someone who doesn't know what I'm doing can pull me back to the appropriate level. Beyond that, just try to get comfortable interviewing. It is difficult. I KNOW how much my interviewing skills have increased since I first got my MBA in 2008. Interviewing is a skill. And it's a people skill that can be very difficult for more introverted people. I know so many people who would just prefer you give them a test. Eye contact, nod, use body language to show interest (no crossing your arms over your chest- which is my hardest thing), and try to make a connection with the interviewer. As for Craigslist jobs, if they direct you to a website, applying within 3 days is fine- you're almost certainly going through an applicant tracking system that handles things for them. But if they are the jobs where you apply to their craigslist address, I would try and apply to those same day, next day at the latest, because they are manually having to go through all the resumes (and they are likely getting 300+). At some point, once they have enough good candidates, they'll just stop.
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Opti
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Post by Opti on Sept 23, 2014 13:41:36 GMT -5
Opti - custom fitting the resumes is great. I'm glad that's landing you more interviews, but now you're having trouble in the interviews. I get it. My best advice is to do your research on the organization, and, if it is a large one, like universities, the department you are applying to. That way, when they ask you why you want to work there, you can give a specific answer. For example, the University Administrator position I currently have in the pipeline. It is for Human Centered Design and Engineering. Ever hear of that department before? Probably not. Why did I apply? It's an administrator job at the university, plain and simple, but that's not the answer they want to hear. So I spent time on the department's website. I looked at their current projects and am able to point to some of those that I find fascinating when I'm asked why I want to work in that department. In addition, know your answers to standard interview questions, like your strengths and weaknesses. And when asked your weaknesses, don't try to make it sound like you're disguising a strength as a weakness- ie I'm just such a perfectionist... It's annoying. As an interviewer I hated that (and I know plenty others that did, too). None of us is perfect, we have weaknesses, and it's important to be able to admit to ourselves what they are. But since no one wants to sound weak in an interview, what you do instead of trying to make your weakness a strength, follow up your statement about your weakness with the skills you have developed to mitigate it. This shows that not only are you aware of your own weaknesses in an interview, but also in your work, and that you have personal processes in place to deal with them. For example, I know I can get so caught up in the details that I miss the big picture, and even as an analyst, that's a problem. So when I feel like I'm slipping into the "every detail must be perfect" stage or notice that something I'm working on is so detailed it's stopped making sense, I have learned to step back and talk over what I am doing with a trusted colleague. Sometimes I get a second expert opinion, and sometimes just having to explain it to someone who doesn't know what I'm doing can pull me back to the appropriate level. Beyond that, just try to get comfortable interviewing. It is difficult. I KNOW how much my interviewing skills have increased since I first got my MBA in 2008. Interviewing is a skill. And it's a people skill that can be very difficult for more introverted people. I know so many people who would just prefer you give them a test. Eye contact, nod, use body language to show interest (no crossing your arms over your chest- which is my hardest thing), and try to make a connection with the interviewer. As for Craigslist jobs, if they direct you to a website, applying within 3 days is fine- you're almost certainly going through an applicant tracking system that handles things for them. But if they are the jobs where you apply to their craigslist address, I would try and apply to those same day, next day at the latest, because they are manually having to go through all the resumes (and they are likely getting 300+). At some point, once they have enough good candidates, they'll just stop. I think its a fit problem plus a perception problem with employers. I don't try to hide that I am intelligent and think fast. This seems to make some folk uncomfortable so it appears they look for people *they* think will be happier in the job.
Sometimes I do too much research and many times I am not picking up on what they aren't saying or should have said until after the interview is over.
I need to be a better mind reader of interviewers and frankly lucky. Currently waiting on an interview call originally schedlue
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