The Job Hunt Thread

[quince]

I gave my resume to my husband's CEO at her request...she's going to connect me with her husband in a couple of weeks to see if he's interested in hiring me. The timing is not awesome, since I'm pregnant and half-incapacitated with nausea.
It's for a start-up, so I have no idea what this will entail. I haven't interviewed for a job for over a decade.

Tentatively looking for a brick wall to gently bash my head against.

[Wisconsin Beth]

Sept 22, 2015 12:51:35 GMT -5 NomoreDramaQ1015 said:

Was it an electronic submission? Is there any way to unsubmit it and fix it? Or resubmit it corrected

Yes.  Yes I can un-submit but then I am not allowed to ever apply again (I just checked) and nope.

It is what it is and it pisses me off.  A stupid mistake like that could cost me.  I know I do not NEED the job but it'd be a $7k pay raise and I'd be back at UNMC.   You'd think my resume would more than make up for that but my fate is in the hands of HR.

I really want them to call you, interview you, love you and hire you Drama. 

[Wisconsin Beth]

Sept 22, 2015 13:22:24 GMT -5 quince said:

I gave my resume to my husband's CEO at her request...she's going to connect me with her husband in a couple of weeks to see if he's interested in hiring me. The timing is not awesome, since I'm pregnant and half-incapacitated with nausea.
It's for a start-up, so I have no idea what this will entail. I haven't interviewed for a job for over a decade.

Tentatively looking for a brick wall to gently bash my head against.

Hugs Quince and everyone else. 

[mojothehelpermonkey]

Sept 22, 2015 11:27:40 GMT -5 andi9899 said:

Sept 22, 2015 11:06:58 GMT -5 Ombud said:

Is this a red flag for you? Running a store front tax store supervising inexperienced return preparers when you're not licensed? I know they want bilingual preparers but ~~~~

Reminds me of over 5000 tax returns done by HR BLOCK where they miscalculated education credit and no one in their offices noticed it (bc of training) or the current class action claim against Liberty Tax (massive robo calls .... I was just added to their suit)

There were all kinds of red flags for me. I told the lady thanks but no thanks. They are trying to make a name for them in the Hispanic community and really just wanted a brown face in their office. I'm very involved in the community and the natural choice would be to use me. I'm not really interested in being a show horse.

Good choice. I think one of the main reasons I was hired for my last job was so that I could be the white/American face for an Asian company. That place was a disaster. 

[mojothehelpermonkey]

Sept 22, 2015 12:51:35 GMT -5 NomoreDramaQ1015 said:

Was it an electronic submission? Is there any way to unsubmit it and fix it? Or resubmit it corrected

Yes.  Yes I can un-submit but then I am not allowed to ever apply again (I just checked) and nope.

It is what it is and it pisses me off.  A stupid mistake like that could cost me.  I know I do not NEED the job but it'd be a $7k pay raise and I'd be back at UNMC.   You'd think my resume would more than make up for that but my fate is in the hands of HR.

Maybe they will be so impressed by your resume that they will just skim through the cover letter and not notice the error.
I made a stupid mistake when I was sending thank you emails to the interview panel for the project coordinator position I interviewed for a few weeks ago. (The only job I have interviewed for so far that I really wanted.) I accidentally addressed one of the interviewers by her first name when she had a MD and was pretty high up at the company. I was really wishing that there was a way to recall emails that day.

[NomoreDramaQ1015]

Maybe they will be so impressed by your resume that they will just skim through the cover letter and not notice the error.

That's what I am hoping. Out of all the applications I had to put a cover letter with only ONE actually commented on it. All the rest of them focused on my resume/application.

IDk if that means my cover letter sucked or they just barely skimmed them. The HR coordinator I talked to said it's a mixed bag, some do it out of habit, others read them religiously, others use them as a deciding factor, some use it to weed people out (no cover letter = in the trash). There is no real way for me to ever know. So include it when they want it and when in doubt it never hurts.

It comes with a grain of salt but he said he's never had a cover letter knock someone out unless it's REALLY bad.   He has seen extremely piss poor resumes that have killed people's job prospects though.  Doesn't matter how good your cover letter is if the HR people can't figure out your resume.  So that's where I try to focus most of my energy.

[taz157]

Sept 22, 2015 13:37:02 GMT -5 Wisconsin Beth said:

Sept 22, 2015 12:51:35 GMT -5 NomoreDramaQ1015 said:

Was it an electronic submission? Is there any way to unsubmit it and fix it? Or resubmit it corrected

Yes.  Yes I can un-submit but then I am not allowed to ever apply again (I just checked) and nope.

It is what it is and it pisses me off.  A stupid mistake like that could cost me.  I know I do not NEED the job but it'd be a $7k pay raise and I'd be back at UNMC.   You'd think my resume would more than make up for that but my fate is in the hands of HR.

I really want them to call you, interview you, love you and hire you Drama. 

Yeah that!

[NomoreDramaQ1015]

Bummer got rejected for the $37k per year technician job.   Would have been nice to get a $7k/year raise.

Also got rejected for the Molecular Tech job but I am starting to think that's not a bad thing. Something is up with that job being posted so often since January, they are cycling thru people every other month. I can't believe there is a job where you can learn it that fast and are promoted to the next level and I was told during the cytogenetic job interview that neither department is really all that busy and Nebraska Med has it's own people so it's not like they are going thru rapid expansion. I think I may be dodging a bullet by being turned down every time.

We'll see about the rest of applications I got floating around.

In the meantime this job is stable.  I FINALLY got access to the animal room and boy what a difference that makes in my outlook on life.  I am also becoming more efficient since I don't have to watch paint peel while waiting for someone to fetch me more animals.  So that helps with my attitude as well.

I just keep on keeping on.  

[MJ2.0]

Had an in person interview at Company L. They wanted me to put together a 10-15 min PowerPoint presentation about myself... WTF? So if course I wait til Sunday afternoon to get started and didn't finish it til around midnight. Interview was at 2 so I had to get up, work a half day while training a new associate, and then go to this thing. I was worried that my presentation wouldn't be long enough... Who knew that when I'm tired and nervous I ramble? I think my presentation was okay, but I don't know if I answered all their questions (despite talking almost nonstop). I don't think I bombed it, but I'm not optimistic.

[NomoreDramaQ1015]

Well I lost the one "friend" I made here. Her job was eliminated due to lack of funding, yesterday was her last day.

Back to being isolated.

It wasn't like I talked to her every day but just knowing there was a person who isn't my boss and something that isn't an animal that I have the potential to talk to during the day was enough.

It's hitting me pretty hard which I feel is rather pathetic since I didn't know this person long.   

Nobody talks in this department, everyone is their own little island with not a lot of interest in getting to know anyone outside of it.       I am so lonely I could puke.

At least now with having access to the animal room I can try to keep myself so busy I don't notice all I do all day is stare at beige walls in silence.

[shanendoah]

NomoreDramaQ1015 - I know this isn't what you are doing, but I still couldn't help thinking of you (and the lab tech who actually has to collect the mouse sperm) when I saw this headline:

Mouse Sperm May Hold the Key to a Male Birth Control Pill

[NomoreDramaQ1015]

I have not yet had to jack off a mouse.

I have had to massage ointment into a prolapsed mouse penis on several occasions.  I couldn't help thinking "I went to college and got myself $30k in debt to give mice handjobs"

[Wisconsin Beth]

I thought of Drama too. 

[NomoreDramaQ1015]

God I wish I was on the ground floor of male birth control. I'd be looking at some serious moola.

[Wisconsin Beth]

Giggle "male birth control, the real reason the funding in labs dried up" 

[mojothehelpermonkey]

Oct 1, 2015 7:41:06 GMT -5 NomoreDramaQ1015 said:

Well I lost the one "friend" I made here. Her job was eliminated due to lack of funding, yesterday was her last day.

Back to being isolated.

It wasn't like I talked to her every day but just knowing there was a person who isn't my boss and something that isn't an animal that I have the potential to talk to during the day was enough.

It's hitting me pretty hard which I feel is rather pathetic since I didn't know this person long.   

Nobody talks in this department, everyone is their own little island with not a lot of interest in getting to know anyone outside of it.       I am so lonely I could puke.

At least now with having access to the animal room I can try to keep myself so busy I don't notice all I do all day is stare at beige walls in silence.

The isolation was something I loved and hated about working in labs. I am pretty introverted, so I liked being able to disappear into the animal room for hours at a time and just get my work done. However, the field seems to attract a lot of people who would rather not say a single word to someone even if they run into them in a shared facility almost every day.
Also, I did have a PI who viewed any sort of chit chat, even if it only lasted a couple of minutes, as wasting time. Some of those other people are probably lonely too. Is there a communal area where people can heat up and eat their lunches? Those seem to be good places to find people who aren't completely lost in their own world.

[alabamagal]

Oct 2, 2015 12:56:17 GMT -5 NomoreDramaQ1015 said:

I have not yet had to jack off a mouse.

I have had to massage ointment into a prolapsed mouse penis on several occasions.  I couldn't help thinking "I went to college and got myself $30k in debt to give mice handjobs"

Wouldn't that be finger jobs?

[NomoreDramaQ1015]

Some of those other people are probably lonely too. Is there a communal area where people can heat up and eat their lunches? Those seem to be good places to find people who aren't completely lost in their own world.

Nope.    There is no communal area.  I've looked b/c I get tired of having to walk all the way down and thru CUMC to have a place to eat my lunch.   There is nothing connecting these labs it seems beyond the fact we're all on the same floor.

I attempted to chat at the coffee pot but that went over like a lead balloon.  Also tried to chat in the bathroom and haven't had much luck there either.

People seem quite sociable with other people from their own labs, but I haven't seen any sociability between labs.    My friend said that's pretty much par the course in our department.  I honestly thought all the labs on the floor besides mine were empty till I ran into a person in the bathroom.

I don't mind working alone if I did I wouldn't have lasted so long at UNMC and I definitely would have quit this job already.   I also used to spend hours alone in the animal room at Creighton since I was the only one managing the colony.

I'm fairly introverted myself but this is TOO MUCH alone.    Going 40 hours a week without talking to single person is way too much.

I told DH this isn't working alone.  This is working isolated which is a huge difference.
 

[The Walk of the Penguin Mich]

Oct 2, 2015 12:56:17 GMT -5 NomoreDramaQ1015 said:

I have not yet had to jack off a mouse.

I have had to massage ointment into a prolapsed mouse penis on several occasions.  I couldn't help thinking "I went to college and got myself $30k in debt to give mice handjobs"

Yeah, I had similar thoughts when I had to milk a rat, or when I had to get saliva from them.

[mojothehelpermonkey]

I have 2 interviews tomorrow. In the morning, I have an on site interview with a staffing agency. The recruiter I spoke to on Friday seemed optimistic that they would have something for me, but after looking at what they have posted on their website, I am not so sure.
In the afternoon, I have a phone interview with a large biotech company for a product manager position. The hiring manager called within a couple of hours of me submitting my resume to set up the interview, so I hope that is a good sign.
I also got a call last week about an analyst position. The guy in the voicemail said he would either email or call me back. He called again on Friday, but I didn't get to my phone in time. He didn't leave a message this time, and when I called the number back, it went to a general voicemail box. I googled the number he has been calling from, and it is actually for a recruiting firm. The position sounds interesting, but I am not really getting my hopes up about it.

[lurkyloo]

Oct 5, 2015 15:42:36 GMT -5 mojothehelpermonkey said:

I have 2 interviews tomorrow. In the morning, I have an on site interview with a staffing agency. The recruiter I spoke to on Friday seemed optimistic that they would have something for me, but after looking at what they have posted on their website, I am not so sure.
In the afternoon, I have a phone interview with a large biotech company for a product manager position. The hiring manager called within a couple of hours of me submitting my resume to set up the interview, so I hope that is a good sign.
I also got a call last week about an analyst position. The guy in the voicemail said he would either email or call me back. He called again on Friday, but I didn't get to my phone in time. He didn't leave a message this time, and when I called the number back, it went to a general voicemail box. I googled the number he has been calling from, and it is actually for a recruiting firm. The position sounds interesting, but I am not really getting my hopes up about it.

It's been my experience that recruiting companies for science seem to be a little overly optimistic about finding fits, but you never know--and it's awesome that you're getting callbacks. Good luck with the phone interview and the onsite meeting!

I've about had it with the contracting company switch; there are an insane number of hoops to jump through to continue doing the job I've been doing for several months now    Just had a vision/depth perception check as well as range/repetitive motion check earlier today; left all the SSN fields and much of the medical history incomplete because it has no gorram effect on me being able to do my job (why on earth did they want to know my last menstrual period etc for a freaking occupational health physical?).  I'm also cranky that the expenses I cover have gone up so much in the move; if I max my 401k next year and pay family healthcare out of my check I'm not going to have much wiggle room on random expenses even with DH covering the mortgage. Stupid mortgage-size daycare bill.  (DH never complains about paying for things, it just offends my sense of independence to admit I can't easily cover 50% of the bills on 25-30% of household income. )

drama:  I think without the happy ending, you're just giving "intimate massages" 

[NomoreDramaQ1015]

It's been my experience that recruiting companies for science seem to be a little overly optimistic about finding fits

Amen. I've also found they tend to have a very broad definition of "science" sometimes.

So got some interesting insight into things here from the animal husbandry technician. She's been going out of her way to be friendly to me b/c she said she knows how socially isolating it is around here.

She said people don't last here long b/c of it and she likes to try to take new people under her wing so they have at least one person to talk to.   She said feel free if I have time to come by the ARF if I feel lonely.

Apparently the entire floor lost funding a few years ago and just recently got it back. The hospital kept them afloat during that time and now the bill has come due. So that has a part in the isolation here, there is no money to hire people.  Also everyone is busy trying to get more money to pay back the hospital or get their labs shut down.   The entire department is in the red.

She told me the reason I wasn't given animal room access right away is that apparently the last few techs my PIs hired had real problems with the animals.    The one right before me refused to do perfusions.   The one before that nearly killed off all their animals.   So they wanted to make damn sure I could back up my claims regarding animal husbandry.   

That kinda annoys me b/c it's their pickers that are bad and that isn't my fault at the same time I can't blame them for not watching their research destroyed.

Then she said there is a ton of regulatory crap that goes on here a lot more than she is aware of at places like UNMC.   That contributes to the lack of efficiency/progress that has been driving me bat shit crazy.

Apparently it's quite different on the floor below me.   I've also been told they are mostly animal labs downstairs so I'd fit in a lot better down there than I do up here where I'm the only animal technician.   I should figure out how to introduce myself to people downstairs and make connections.

I'm not, at least at this time, having the personality clashes with my PIs that I have heard stories about from others.   Course I've worked with some real doozies so my perspective might be different compared to other people who have worked with them.  I have a pretty high bar nowadays when it comes to "personality clash".

That also contributes to my isolation, since I am their tech other people avoid me too.   Thank you office politics.

Wish I had known a lot of this before I took the job.  At the same time though it wasn't like I had any other choices.    All this information is still useful though b/c it can help me better adapt and let certain things roll off my back easier.

drama: I think without the happy ending, you're just giving "intimate massages"

Because that sounds SO MUCH BETTER. 

[NomoreDramaQ1015]

Went looking for the autopsy assistant position at Methodist and the posting is no longer on careerlink so I figure that means they are done accepting applications. They don't provide information on their web site about the status of your application. I got an automated message when I tried to follow up on the position.

So we wait.   I am hoping I get at least a phone interview, I fit the qualifications for the position.   It sounds interesting and I would get out of academia.   Methodist from what I have been told is a very good place to work. 

[NomoreDramaQ1015]

I got an interview! One of the labs from UNMC just emailed me wanting me to come in next week. I told them it's either going to have ot be early morning or late afternoon b/c my job doesn't lend itself to leaving in the middle of the day. That way I can either come in early or stay late if I need to.

I had to look up the position and if I got the job it would be a hefty pay raise for me. It starts at $37k.

Here's hoping! I feel a lot less pressure now that I don't need the job but damn a $7k pay raise would be nice, I haven't had that kind of increase since 2008.

[Wisconsin Beth]

Woohoo!!!!  I keep hoping to see posts like this from you Drama. 

[wvugurl26]

I hope it works out for you DQ. Fingers crossed!!

[NomoreDramaQ1015]

The pay is better so that's one of my requirements checked off the list.  It's back at UNMC and my premiums would be cut in half.   Course I go back to paying $90 to park in the middle of nowhere.

The next is funding. I am really praying I get into a lab that has 5 years of approved funding again but I am thinking my expectations might not be realistic given the current climate.

If they have less funding than the lab I am currently in it makes no sense to move. If they have more then it is a no brainer.

If they have close to the same IDK, DH and I would have to discuss it.

We'll see anyway. 

I got a 3:30 interview next Friday. I figure that works out since it'll be at the end of the week and the end of the day. I can come in early M-Th if need be or stay late. I can also volunteer to come in early Friday.

Plan is just to say I have an appointment and leave it at that.  

[Wisconsin Beth]

Oct 6, 2015 14:34:23 GMT -5 NomoreDramaQ1015 said:

The pay is better so that's one of my requirements checked off the list.  It's back at UNMC and my premiums would be cut in half.   Course I go back to paying $90 to park in the middle of nowhere.

The next is funding. I am really praying I get into a lab that has 5 years of approved funding again but I am thinking my expectations might not be realistic given the current climate.

If they have less funding than the lab I am currently in it makes no sense to move. If they have more then it is a no brainer.

If they have close to the same IDK, DH and I would have to discuss it.

We'll see anyway. 

I got a 3:30 interview next Friday. I figure that works out since it'll be at the end of the week and the end of the day. I can come in early M-Th if need be or stay late. I can also volunteer to come in early Friday.

Plan is just to say I have an appointment and leave it at that.  

Drama, is UNMC where you were let go from?  Because if you do end up back there before the end of the year, you'd need to check on seniority and benefits and stuff. 

My BFF was a pharmacist in a local hospital about 10 years back.  She left in Spring for a job with the VA but wasn't happy there.  About 4-6 months later, she came back to her hospital.  Since this was all in the same calendar year, she got to keep her seniority, per spot on the payscale and her vacation accruals stuff.  It was listed as like a 6 month unpaid LOA or something.  I can't ask her for details anymore but if this IS back to the same place, ask them how this works out.  It's be awesome if you got some of your sick leave bank back. 

[NomoreDramaQ1015]

Yes I was let go from UNMC. I got paid out my vacation time bank so I wouldn't get that back.   IDK about sick but that would be nice.

I'd be happy just to not have to go thru new employee orientation again. That was a giant snooze fest.

[debthaven]

Fingers crossed for you Drama!