Life After 28

On Crappy People in Charge of Hiring

2012-01-17T02:00:00.000-05:00

Wow that title is a tad bitter...

See, I never put much thought into the whole hiring proses beyond getting the job. It just never occurred to me that some people should never be allowed any ware near the hiring proses. Ever.

First thing first, if someone that you are interviewing with doesn't know the difference between a receptionist and a sales manager. Especially after you explain each time that no you are not a sales manager and they still try to convince you that no rally they are the same thing... you need to run and run very far away.

When it comes to job experiance and you know you don't have it say so. Because if you do get sold on a job that you feel or know you can't do, your screwed.

Yes I dealt with this and yes I did take the job. Guess what? they didn't spend any time training me nor did they want to. they wanted some one to start in another building that they didn't need to train. I had my warning flags and I ignored them. Even in my "exit interview" the person that hired me insisted that there was no difference between a receptionist and a sales manager. My only hope is that since an owner of the company was present at it (and completely miserable) I hope that they took a good look what that person did wrong and don't let them be in charge of hiring people.

I really, really can not tell you just how bitter I am about this whole thing. And beyond that, after seeing first hand how they run both the corporate and manufacturing sides I can never recommend or comment on them to people. I just don't feel comfortable about it.

However if anyone ever asks me if I think they should work there I will say no. And while I would love to ask who they are interviewing with I can't. I know that would put me in a bad position and I never want to deal with thous people or their company again.

So a short check list:
- is a job/company/training solution sounds too good to be true.
- they tell you one amount for pay in the interview and tell you another in the offer.
- want you in another office building right away were no one else that would be training you works at.
- tell you that they "don't remember saying that" every time you talk to them about things from the interviews.
- they take 2 months for 3 interviews to narrow it to 2 people.
-the interviewer says "there is no difference between a receptionist and a sales manager".

Then the job is probably not the one you want to be with and you should run like hell. I wish I had run like hell and not taken that job. But it's done and over with. I feel so much better now that I have that out of my system.

Another break...

2012-01-07T20:46:00.001-05:00

I haven't posted lately because I am so exhausted.

I found a new job that is just... amazing. the people are real and that makes a world of difference. It's farther away but it's a nice commute.

The customers are out of their minds, full of themselves and I just can't tell you about the entitlement. Seriously one doctor went on vacation for the holiday and someone wanted him to come in specifically for them.

But that is stuff that goes away when the customer leaves.

Also? People bring us food. Not just sales people but some customers do and they are so amazing.

And there are sales reps that bring in food also. This is a bit complicated though because of new laws to prevent favoritism. Which is ridiculous because sales are made based on the sales persons ability to sale and be remembered rather then what they feed us. By 'us' I mean the whole office. Which is good because the good sales people talk to us also even if they don't feed us. The talking is a nice thing because it's not just sales but how you are doing.

And how they treat us is a big selling point because if there is a rep that only want to feed and talk to only the doctors then from what I have seen we don't really see a lot of that rep.

So with the new laws I feel bad for the good reps because they get massive budget cuts and we don't get to talk to them. A lot of them have really amazing products too. The only thing it will be good for is everyone's diet.

But my new job rocks! :3

Not much to say...

2011-10-01T22:49:00.001-04:00

So, much has happened. I have little free time these days but this is actually a very good thing. :3 I do get a chance to spend so time surfing the net and looking at blogs.

However... For the love of god I will never understand why people put set music to automatically play on a blog/website. It is the most annoying thing I have ever had to deal with.

I was on a blog that had a list of blogs that they followed. So I held down control and opened about 14 blogs in 14 tabs. 6 of them had songs playing on them, 2 had music videos playing on them and I had my own music playing at the time. I can not convey the lag that this cause my computer to suffer with. Nor can I convey just how horrendous the songs sounded as they mangled each other and skipped about because of loading at the same time.

I realize I am weird in that I open many, many tabs at once... I just wish they would at least make it easy to tune off the mood/theam music. I also wish they had better taste in music and not select the kind of music that makes me want to gouge out my ears with a fork.

Thank god for ad/code blocking addons.

On the job hunt

2011-06-27T17:03:00.003-04:00

So, the job I loved turned out to be a bad decision on my part. I had a few warning signs during the hiring process that I looked past. I also looked past the lack of a training program that they had raved about.

They let me go.

All I really know is that I can never in good faith recommend this company for anyone looking for a job. God help the next person that works there.

A Break in the Silence

2011-05-31T18:28:00.004-04:00

Well, long time no update. The main reason for that is I have been going through one of the longest interview processes in my live. It spanned almost two months with three interviews and one test. Everyone was so nice and everything.
And I got the job. :3

I can't tell you how happy I am about this. All the stress of looking and here it is. I have to say I did not find this job on my own. I did work with a hiring agent and she was very helpful. Two actually, both at different companies and both were very nice and helpful.

I can't believe I don't have to keep waiting to hear back on an interview anymore.

I can't tell you how badly I wanted this job. The people I met were wonderful and it just felt right. They have a wonderful training program. The are also closer to my home so I will have a shorter commute. They also have wonderful benefits.

The only problem is that my new school is now my old school. The advance program was so rigorous that if I had to choose my job or my grades... Well, I chose my job before it got to that point. While this program was not for me I have nothing but good things to say about the people that I met.

While talking about school and degrees at work they asked me if I was going to make this job a career. At first I didn't understand what them meant but upon asking they said that this company values experience over degrees. I can't tell you how thrilled I was to hear this. They also said that if I do feel that I want a degree that there was another, far cheaper, school that I could go to and that the company does tuition reimbursement.

I really do love this job.

Right now I am starting a 6 month training program. Barring the whole IT department disappearing my first week, things are going well. I have a while before I will be able to pull my weight but I have been reassured that this is normal for this position.

So. Happy.

A Lot of News

2011-05-10T13:12:00.000-04:00

Starting my first class at my new college tomorrow night. It's insanely expensive college but unfortunately we are in a world that I need a bit of paper to tell people I know what I am talking about. Stressful.

Then in another week I'll be starting my new job. So even more stress due to giving my two week notice and having to wait the two weeks to start. I didn't think that it would be stressful but it is. The interviewing took almost two months and I can't wait to start.

And! I need to try and scrounge up $1,240 for a website/project/service/business thing. It's a wonderful idea and service. I just do not have the funds this moment and I have been advised to try and get it up as soon as I can. Joy, more stress.

So! Over all hiring agents are the best thing ever and don't ever think you have to stay with one that is treating you poorly. And keep looking. The jobs might not seem like they are out there but you will find something eventually.

You wouldn't believe how many people called in about my job opening that never showed up to fill out the application. My soon-to-be-old manager said he got 62 responses via e-mail for the position but so far I have only seen 6 come in to fill out the application. Just e-mailing a company your resume does not cut it if they tell you to come in person.

Oi... So much stress.

Long Silence

2011-04-28T13:27:00.000-04:00

I have no idea when I will be able to make a quality post next. Lot of work, personal projects, and crazy trips. So much stress that you can't even shake a stick.

Add onto that school starting.

And the fact that an idea not only showed me it's fangs but sank them into me. Lots and lots of work.

Searching for a New Job While Working

2011-04-14T14:00:00.000-04:00

This is extremely painful and hard.

Recently I have been able to interview with some wonderful companies. With winter over things have seemed to have picked up in the job hunting department. However, all the interviews I have been to have been through a hiring agent. My own searches have led to nothing so this isn't too bad.

Another bit of good news is I have finally gotten a review at work. The bad news is that they are aware of my job search. I made it clear to them that I have no intention of of up&leaving with out being able to train my replacement and that I want to help find my replacement when the time is right. They seemed to appreciate this. I am very lucky that I can actually talk to my manager and let him know what is going on in my search.

The search itself is driving me crazy.

The wait hurts the most, especially when it's for a job I would love. Aside from one day, I have made sure my job search has not interfered with my current job and the work I do. It is a very hard balance to keep. I have been considering what I am going to do with my job search for the summer because It is the bussy seasion for my company and I don't want to have trobel working and timing things.

le sigh.

Other then that, if you have been searching on your own with no luck you should really try a hiring agency. They can do wonders.

College part 2

2011-04-14T13:07:00.002-04:00

So... I got an almost official e-mail saying I was almost and official student. With just a few more hoops to jump through and I can start as soon as May. :3

So... other then that things seem to be going well. I can't wait to see how much I panic on my way to my first class.

More on School

2011-04-12T13:29:00.000-04:00

A lot of crazy in the past few weeks. Most notiably is the crazy surounding my school of choice and their semantis fail.

See, if someone told you that they were sending out information to you early then wouldn't you expect it to come... Early? Yeah, I did feel a little bad about calling the person again but it turns out that 'oh no, we only send them at the designated time and never sooner." and "Oh, we need your medical papers ASAP. Preferably yesterday."

Fun fact, they only accept students three times a year.

Another fun fact, because of this and Mr. Fail Boat finacial guy, I probably will not be able to start until the fall. I had wanted to start in May.

He was totally useless to talk to also. "Here you need to fill this thing out" then "oh no, I never said that. You are too old for that."

No wonder people are so confused when they get out of school, they are not used to things making sense. I just need to keep telling myself that after three years of this I will have my degree. Just three more years.

What a Cover Letter Really is

2011-04-10T01:19:00.002-04:00

Cover Letters they are the bane of my job search. The examples I have found tend to be so vague that I can't tell which section is which. I will admit to having photo copied a cover letter that was sent in to us(it was exactly like the ones I saw online...). So I have gone back to searching the internet for help.

Career Builder has an Article on Covering Your Bases: Make Your Cover Letter Count which is short they have a to do list for your letter.

1) Follow a standard business letter format.
2) Writing the opening.
3) Demonstrate your knowledge of the company.
4) Explain your current situation.
5) Explain why this job interests you.
6) Briefly elaborate on one or two key points to draw attention to your resume.
7) Don't rehash your resume.
8) Have someone else review your cover letter.
9) Closing the letter.

Each section has a brief description of what you could put there... but it's still so very vague.But when put into list format it starts to make a bit more sense. I think for myself I will just have to go for it and try to be creative. Because the general ones I had been sending out just don't get my any answers.

I will re-hash my cover letter when I notice something seems off about it. While it is a pain re-hashing it can keep it fresh and save it from looking like a form letter. Also it makes companies think I type it new If I happen to re-apply to a company a second time.

Another Way to Not Get an Interview

2011-03-24T11:23:00.000-04:00

Please do not use a resume that is a photo copy of a photo copy X infinity.... It shows and people will pass it around and laugh at it for a few moments before tossing it out. An almost clear envelope that is written poorly is also not a good idea. Also, only send one to the company and not one to every person in the company.

And send a cover letter or letter of intrest/intent.

And for the love of god send it to a company whose industry you actually have experience in.

This person had the degrees, experiance and age to know better then to do something stupid like this.

If I ever dis this I would want to be mocked.

How Not to Get an Interview

2011-03-23T12:13:00.000-04:00

So, over at Ask a Manager there is a lovely post of what not to do with your cover letter. This is the link you will laugh your self silly over.

In the comments I mentioned that it looked like it had been photo copied to death. Perhaps this person has been using this method for some time. Or worse, perhaps someone is giving people that page and telling them to fill it out like that? Either way it is a Very Bad Idea.

Also, an extremely humorous one.

On Debt and Controlling Mothers

2011-03-16T06:58:00.002-04:00

By controlling mothers I mean less on getting them to do what you want and more on them trying to control every aspect of your life.

My mom has done everything she can to avoid talking to me about my finances. While I do blame her for conditioning me to letting her handle all this. I do blame myself for letting this go on for so long. I know I should have dug my heels in back 11 years ago when I first noticed. My sister agrees that she turns our words around to make it sound like she is doing us a favor. Unfortunately I have no idea were she keeps my bills or even were she keeps my check book.

Yes, she insists on holding onto my check book for me. Hell, she still tries to hold my hand if we cross the street together.

Don't think I don't love her, I do. I just can't grasp why she feels the need to control everything I do. She gets upset if I don't ask her for her opinion/permission when I do things. I tell her what I plan on doing so I don't have to listen to her complain about it for the next days/weeks/years/forever.

A lot of my debt can be blamed on blind trust. Blind trust in my mother that I willingly did and still do. I think I am conditioned to do it. How ever that don't put the blame on anyone but myself. My conversations with her would be something like this.
Me: Can I afford this?
Her: Yes.

Every single time she will say yes. Upon getting a bill I would ask her why did she say I could afford it when I couldn't. She would say "You can't afford anything I don't know why you bought that." This was the start of the mother of all arguments. It was also when I stopped asking my mom for advice.

However the damage was done and it was done well.

At this rate back peddling is not an option. I need to do everything I can to take away what ever power she thinks she has over me. Fortunately my dad is helping a little, but only a little as he has to live with her after I move out. If I move out. God I hope I move out.

Dressing for the Job

2011-03-13T01:29:00.000-05:00

This is a very true and very harsh topic and unfortunately no matter what people say jobs do judge you on your appearance. This is why some people can still land a job just by looking 'cute'. Even if they don't have some or most of the requirements because of how they look they can get almost any job if they really need to.

They also don't realize this.

If you don't dress just right for your interview then you won't land the job. Too fancy and you won't get it. Not fancy enough and you won't get it. I think that if you look like your are ready to work for the company rather then 'dressing for an interview' that you would have more luck. I did that for my current job and I got it. My bosses also complained that I haven't straitened my hair since. I think I should start doing that again.

And if you think your male boss/coworkers are not looking at your appearance think again. I can't tell you how many times my boss 'teased' me about my white socks. I wore them with black shoes and pants. I finally told him that if it bothered him that much he could buy them for me. That shut him up but I did end up getting them.

It did shock me at how much the guys in the office talked about fashion. Well... more whined but still, it was interesting. Their conversation on pink was highly amusing.

Dressing for an interview can get even more frustrating if you can't seem to get called for an interview. This can cause people to get depressed. Because why get the nice outfit that will go out of style before you can ware it?

I think that if you think of it as treating yourself to a new outfit that will come in handy, then you can start getting into a positive point of view. Personally I would try for this 2-3 times a year because fashions and personal tastes do change. Plus, it won't hurt your budget as much unlike if you grab them all at once.

Baby steps, but you have to start someplace.

A Voice of Reasion

2011-03-10T01:50:00.026-05:00

So... Even though I said I would be calm I wasn't. I sent a few panicky Facebook messages to my friend in CA and then a few more apologizing to her. She called today and we talked and I'm pretty sure that she rolled her eyes at me a few times. She also laughed at me. This is a good thing.

First she nixed the idea of me getting a hotel room. She also think renting a car would be a waste of money but she agrees that it would give me more options to get to possible interviews. She defiantly thinks it's about time I moved to a new city.

She is very reasonable, my friend.

She is going to e-mail me when she finds out which month would be the best month to go out there. She is doing this ASAP because the gas rates are making the price of airfare skyrocket. This way we will be able to have the most time to go do stuff. And if I happen to find a job while I'm out there? Even better.

This puts me in a position were I have to have a plan. I admit I like this and ironically it calms me down a bit. Digging through my finances is going to be fun... ick.

Revelations in the Planning Department

2011-03-09T09:24:00.000-05:00

If I wanted to move to California I would have to do the same planning that I have done for New York City. The only difference is I would have to factor rent into my math. i have no idea who would rent a room to me for a few months. Let alone how to go about it.

And I have no intention of wrecking a friendship just to have a place to stay. She did that once for me before and I bailed. I will not do that to her again. Plus the more I think about this the more it feels like a bad idea.

Actually, I'm starting to talk myself out of the idea as I type this.

Maybe I should hold off on planning anything until I hear from the college. I wish the college would just tell me if I was accepted or not. Especially since they had me ask the government for money already. The school is supposed to be really good so I really would like to attend their bachelors program. Uhg.

College and Choices

2011-03-07T16:55:00.000-05:00

So, I never thought about what would happen if I didn't get accepted into this new college that I want to go to. I have/had no contingency plan at all for the possibility of a what if scenario.

But at least I now have the start of one.

Provided I do not get accepted I should take my two weeks of vacation time and go to NYC or San Fransisco to job hunt. I start calling agencies and applying 2 weeks before I leave with all the nice contact info in my cover letters along with when I will be in the city.

The main problem with going out to San Fransisco is that I will have to rent a car and force myself onto my one friend that lives there. And if I find a job? I have no idea what I would do for living accommodations. I would be SOL. I would have to drive my car there with it packed with things I would need. I would be in debt up past my eyeballs.

If I went to NYC I could stay at my sisters and ride a bike/use mass transit to get around. Then if i was hired I could jump around and stay with family until I could get my own place. I don't know what I wold do about my car.

I think now would be the time to unload some of my beading supplies onto the internet. I won't get what I initially paid but it should help in the long run. Oi... planning sucks.

Using Indeed.com in Your Job Search

2011-03-05T11:35:00.000-05:00

Indeed.com is a wonderful site.

As a search engein it combs through a great many job posting sites and lets you know when they posted. They can show you hiring & salary trends and let you aearch in other cities. Plus you can have new postings sent to you automaticaly. You can also see who made the posting if you want to avoid hiring agents.

But! They are not an actual job posting site, more like a third party search site. They just direct you to the site which has the posting for the position that you are looking for. So you will have to register with the other sites that you are sent to.

Yet with how nicely it will streamline your search I feel it's totally worth registering with other sites.

One Year Older

2011-03-03T10:06:00.000-05:00

Yesterday was my birthday and I am now 29. Woop-dee-do. This weekend I am dragging my parents to a few store that I have been wanting to check out and then for Dim Sum. The tasty-ness will be mine! Mwahahaha!

On the college front I am waiting for my acceptance letter before I can go any further. I did find out there is part time dorms. If I can get into it I won't have to pay as much nor have to commute home at 10pm. Which in my opinion is totally worth the money. Woot.

The job hunt is going slow. I'm staying in touch with my agents. One let me know about an opening that was almost twice as far away as my current job. I politely declined it and thanked her for thinking of me. I hope no bridges were burned.

During my own searches I jut poke around and if something really catches my eye I'll toss out a resume to it. Providing I remember. I haven't been spending too much time in front of my computer at home, which is a good thing.

On the future front, I realized while driving into work that if I was going to be out of work while looking for a job in NYC then why don't I take a few months and look in San Fransisco first? My friend and my sister both think I should move back there because it would be good for me. Cash would be tight but it could turn out ok. Even if I wasn't in the city itself but in the general Bay Area it would still be good.This will definitely require further planning.

So, the waiting and planning game is getting old. One day I'll be free to a different waiting game but for now this works.

Advice for Job Hunting on Craigslist.org

2011-02-27T10:45:00.000-05:00

Because everyone wants to avoid the spam & scams that plague Craigslist.org

So, first things first. To get directly to your city on Craigslist, in your address bar type Your-city-name before dot-craigslist-dot-org. Like this: newyork.craigslist.org which will take you to the New York City page.

Next thing you want to keep in mind is to keep a look out for scams. Easier said then done right? Not so.

1) Look for names. If the add asks you to put it to the attention to a specific person the chances are it's a real ad. The same for if there is an e-mail or mailing address that they ask you to respond to.

2) Read the ad and follow any directions it might have. It the add says to send it attention 'specific person' or to add a specific job number, do it. Put it in the subject of your e-mail and in your cover letter. This shows them that you can follow basic instructions and thus shouldn't get you weeded out of the running.

3) Avoid ads that offer to pay way higher then the going rate in your area. If in your area your job lands you $10 and the post is offering $20? Chances are it is not legit.

4) Watch out for duplicate ads. Sometimes the scams will use the same format for the same position and post many times. Some sneaky hiring agents do the same thing. After a while you will notice that some look exactly like ones from the last time you looked and while the location might change chances are they are a scam. Also, Craigslist has a 30 day rule which is basically that you can't post the same ad with in 30 days of your last post. A handy little thing to keep in mind.

5) Watch their grammar in both the subject and the body of the ad. Most are gimmicks to get you to apply, they are pretty obvious but some might sneak past your watch. There are some people who are legitimately bad at making postings. These are usually done by people that are not used to looking to fill an opening, by people who don't really use the internet or just someone having a bad day.

It's not a long list but if you keep these things in mind when job hunting on craigslist they could make you search a little bit easier. I use all of these methods in my own searches and I use them as I discovered them. I have gotten more call backs using this list then I have just replying at random.

Remember When E-mailing Your Resume

2011-02-25T13:12:00.000-05:00

Just a quick post but when you are replying to a job posting via e-mail make sure to attach your resume to it. Sending a second e-mail, the same as the first but with the resume attached is a good back up plan. Personally I have not heard back from anyone were I forgot to send my resume with my first e-mail.

Also, I have tried using the BCC options in responding to the craigslist ads that were for the same or similar position title. I did get some responses but it was a pain to figure out what went with what. Also when they did respond most were scams and the others didn't mention craigslist at all. When I tested it to myself it looked kind of obvious that I had e-mailed the same thing to several people. The BCC tag is a bit of a tip-off. Personally I don't know if I will try that method again.

Another Job Search Method

2011-02-21T10:45:00.000-05:00

So in my current search I had decided to only reply to postings that supply a separate e-mail in their add.

As you can image this has dramatically reduced the amount of e-mails I am sending. With this I'm hopeing this will also reduce the amount of scam adds that I respond to. Or the amount of sneaky hiring agencies that try and trick you into applying with them and you never hear from them again.

I have not tried faxing to companies because I do not have a fax machine. The ones that ask you to call are also not high only list because I would have to call them during work and I am not comfortable with that. But if you are go right ahead and try it.

The advantage to this is most News Paper Ads will have e-mails in them. While it is hard to tell how long the ads have been there, or if the position has been filled but the ad is still running, they are still worth a look.

Because you just never know what you might find.

To Job Hunt or to Wait

2011-02-17T12:20:00.000-05:00

So I never got a call back from a job I would have loved and flourished in. It was extreamly dissapointing but at the same time it was almost a relief.

Almost.

I belive I will be starting in a new college in May so I am going to have to do a lot of running around to get that set up. Trying to do that while learning a new office, names, ect? I think it could have not ended so well and at this point I will never know. They also did not send a ding letter which is just annoying since they made it seem like I was their first choice. But in this day and age no one gets told that they were not chosen.

I know I don't want to hope that the person they chose doesn't work out so that they might call me. While part of me secretly hopes I will get called regardless, in this economy everyone needs the jobs they can get. I am not desperately searching for a job so I don't feel that I should be bitter about not getting chosen.

I just keep hoping that when I do finish college that I will get off my butt, go to NYC and find a job.

Finished My Taxes and I Have Another Plan

2011-02-16T09:14:00.000-05:00

I just finished my taxes and am very happy. I always make one urchase with my tax money to treat myself. I got a new camera one year and a laptop another. But when I do this I make sure I have most of my tax return left over and use that to pay bills.

This year I'm going to put the rest away in a savings account.

This is a bit of a change for me and I know I will be tempted to use it. But if I don't I will have a nice little nest egg for when I try and find a job in New York City. I can envision my readers going 'ah-ha!' as my insanity makes a little bit of sense. Please alow me to help it make more sense.

If I put this money aside I will have almost half of what I will need. That will shorten my wait time between finishing college and moving to NYC greatly. At the same time i will have finished paying for my car and will hopefully still have a grace period before I have to start paying my school loan back.

I do not know how having a student loan and financial assistance will effect my taxes. This is something I will have to wait until next year to find out. I have a few more things I need to do to see if I can transfer to a better college. If done soon enough I would start in May of this year. I need to check to see how that is going later this week.