Tag Archives: interview

And the verdict is…

Posted on by under commuting, interviewing, job hunting, random thoughts, technical writing

… still out.

Meaning, at the time of this writing, I haven’t heard anything back from either job interview. I did my duty and sent the interviewers thank you emails. I just have to wait now and see what, if anything, happens now. (Remember, I got a couple of interviews in August too. Nada from either.)

For those unaware, I had two job interviews scheduled. Getting a job would be good overall – God KNOWS how good overall – but the companies are offering different things. The first company, with which I interviewed on Wednesday, is offering a full-time, permanent job. That’s what I want. It’s also beyond my capabilities at this point. Getting one, I mean, not what they’re offering. It sounded interesting, pays within a range which I need, and is closer to home than I’ve been in a while. Not a lot, but some.

The second was a job until the end of the year with a possible extension for a few months. It pays all right. It’s a contract so no benefits or sick days or vacation or nothin’. I’m also disposable. And it means getting up at 4:30 a.m. to get to work by 8 a.m., including an hour and a half train ride. The train ride the day I interviewed was pretty interesting, too. For one thing, the train was almost 20 minutes late. I got into my interview about 15 minutes late, but only because the recruiter picked me up in a cab at the train station. That will NOT be happening every day. And for the first day, I won’t have the luxury of the shuttle. I’ll have to walk. I did that from the interview and I’d like to say, I’m in a lot of trouble if I have to do that every day. A LOT of trouble.

I won’t go into that now. But the cost of the train and stuff makes me want that one even less. Problem is, I think they want ME and I’ll need to decide soon. I don’t want to have to choose, but I’ll have to.

Wish me luck, say a prayer, whatever you like to do. And thanks for listening.

Have a GREAT weekend, you guys.

-JDT-

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Another Glimmer

Posted on by under Family life, interviewing, job hunting, life, random thoughts, work

monsterdotcomcritterWell, you didn’t notice (probably), but I was offline most of the day yesterday.

Wanna know why?

Well, I’m gonna tell you anyway.  See, I had a long-awaited, much-coveted, extremely rare job interview yesterday.

That’s right, I had an actual, face-to-face, in-the-flesh interview.  I had to put on a suit (which still fit, surprisingly) and everything.  I wore a tie.  I had to drive to the location.  I had to sit down and take a couple of number assessments.  And I got to speak with a representative of the Human Resources department of the hiring company.

So, I got there about twenty minutes early.  I smoked a quick cigarette (yeah, yeah, I know) in the parking lot, said a fast prayer, and went in.  I waited for about ten minutes before the person who contacted me brought me into the bowels of the building for the assessments.

They were from Wonderlic.  If you don’t know about my experience with Wonderlic, it’s not good.  Last time I blew their test, horribly.  I actually had to re-take it, and online, I did great.  With a pencil in my hand, I did horribly.  Maybe that’s fitting for a horror writer, but it wasn’t good.  I didn’t get a second interview.

This time I didn’t fare much better.  I had to compare two numbers and put a check mark next to any identical pairs.  I had four minutes to do it.  I had 200 pairs to match.  That’s right – 200.  How’d I do?

I got through 101 of them.  I had no idea four minutes could pass so quickly.

Okay, nothing I can do about that one.  The nice lady brings me another one.  She laughs with me when I give her the deer-in-the-headlights look.  We have a nice chuckle.  She gives me the second assessment.  This time I have one page of numbers.  I have to complete the patterns.  You know, something like 1, 2, 3, 2, 4, 2, 5, 2, 6 … blah blah.  So they give you enough numbers to establish the pattern, then you fill in the last two numbers.

How’d I do?

Well, the nice lady stopped me again and I freaked.  Freaked.  I blew it again?! Are you friggin’ kidding me?!

So I figured I’d be dismissed summarily.  No, no, it’s okay.  I get put into Interview Room number 1.  Immediately I feel like a suspect in a murder investigation.  That’s what they say on CSI when they’re going to grill a murder suspect.  “Put ‘em in Interview 1.”  That’s usually followed by “You’re under arrest for …”, so I was more than a little nervous.

The interviewer comes in.  She’s an older lady, very prim and librarian-like, and she’s a good three inches taller than I am.  Greeeeaaaaaat.  So, I stand up to shake her hand and then the interview is underway, just like that.  She asks me how I am as she’s looking over my information and descends into the chair across from me.

It’s a form interview; she’s got a list of questions with spaces for her to write down my answers, and a few of them have blank bullet point markers.  “Tell me your three greatest …” or “How would you rank yourself on this software package on a scale of one to ten?”  That sort of thing.  She asks.  I answer.  First couple of questions, she ends up cutting me off as I’m answering.  Not rudely, mind you, but briskly.  Move along, move along.  I got what I wanted, next question.  I finally got the hint and started watching her fill out the form (she didn’t make eye contact while she was writing), and when I saw the pen stop, I made sure my mouth did too.

How’d it go overall?  Well, I was out of there in about 20 minutes.  If there’s a follow-up interview, they’ll let me know.  If there’s not going to be, they’ll tell me that too.  I leave in a bit of a tizzy and wonder how it went.  In the hard-hitting pace, I forgot to ask her for a business card.  I have no idea where to send a thank you email.  *Sigh*

So, that’s my interview, but it’s still a glimmer of hope in an otherwise dark landscape of unemployment.  If you’re the praying type, please pray for us.  We need it.

What’s up for the weekend with you guys?

-JDT-

All original content © 2009 DarcKnyt
ALL rights reserved.

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Update on The BIG EVENT

Posted on by under faith, Family life, interviewing, job hunting, life, random thoughts

All right, well … most of you surmised – probably because I have no life and make no bones about being out of work – I had a job interview this afternoon, and now I can tell you how it went.

First, I was scheduled for a standard, face-t0-face interview with the hiring manager today at the same time.  A couple of days later, I found out she wouldn’t be able to have the in-person interview for personal reasons and my appointment was changed to a phone interview.  I got the dial-in information from the company HR recruiter and promptly dialed in at my specified time.

The first thing I did was announce my presence on the call.  Someone answered – a (very) young lady – and when I asked if she was the interview, she replied she was not; she was the interviewEE.

Huh?  EH?

She said she’d been scheduled for the same time slot.  I told her I was too.  She sort of giggled and said, “Oh!”  Yeah, I’m thinking, greaaaaaaat; team interview.  It’s a new gameshow.  Best interviewee gets the job in a head-to-head competition involving blood and phone insults.

Ah, but my cynicism was for naught.  It turns out two other company reps took the hiring managers place in the interview, to no one’s surprise.  They informed the young lady she was supposed to call in first thing this morning.  She explained her appointment for 8 a.m. was changed to a phone interview, same as mine, at 1 p.m. according to the email she got … same as mine.  There were a couple of muttered, unintelligible exchanges by the company reps, and then she was asked to call back an hour later.  She agreed, and we got on with the interview.

That was the height of the excitement.  Over the course of the interview, I didn’t get many questions, but the few I got, I was able to answer in thorough detail.  In fact, on three occasions, one of the interviewers said, “That’s a great answer, thank you!”  I felt that was a good sign.

I’ve been fooled before.  I’ve had things go, in my perception, well in an interview and be told I didn’t get the job.  I’m positive there will be a second interview because the hiring manager couldn’t be there, and the next one will be face-to-face (which will provide angst over whether to shave my goatee again), and they’ll get a look at me in all my fat, pimply, beady-eyed glory.

But this is the FIRST interview I’ve had since April or May (can’t remember which), and there wasn’t a Wonderlic test involved, so I’m very, very grateful.

And thanks to all of you for your support.

God bless, and have a great weekend.

-JDT-

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Super-Secret Mission

Posted on by under belief, faith, interviewing, life, random thoughts, work
A sketch of the human brain by artist Priyan W...

Yesterday (as you read this), I had a super-secret job interview.

I didn’t say anything about it.  I could’ve asked you all to pray for me, or for all of you to send me your positive thoughts, or whatever, but … I really needed to do this one alone.  It isn’t that I’m trying to distance from my friends or anything; Lord knows, I need each and every one of you and call on you more than I should.  But I needed to know I could rally myself, marshal my resources, and do something about my situation, for myself.  I needed to learn something along the way, too.  I feel the mission was a success.

No, that doesn’t mean I got the job.  It means I did something I don’t usually do, and I did it in a way I normally wouldn’t do such things.   And it went great.  I don’t know how I did in the job interview, frankly, and I didn’t do as well on my Wonderlic assessment (written this time) as I wanted to, but I succeeded in a personal way, in a deep and meaningful way for me as a human being, as a Christian.  It means a lot to me and I’m still sort of giddy about it.

I don’t know how this will all turn out – as far as I’m concerned that aspect is in God’s hands now – but I did my best in everything I set out to do and there’s nothing more I can do.  And I can lay my head down on the pillow with complete confidence in that, come what may.

I learned valuable lessons today.  Those are things I’ll carry with me for the rest of my life, I hope.  And I feel I’m a different man than I was before I went on that interview, for the better.  I sure hope so, at least.

Thank you all for being such wonderful friends and for supporting me every chance you get.  I deeply appreciate you all.  I’m sure I’ll be asking for your love and prayers again soon.

For the record, I hate tests where you have to color in the stupid little ovals.  They SUCK ASS.

-JDT-

All original content © 2009 DarcKnyt
ALL rights reserved.

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