[Discuss] Looking for work

[gaf at blu.org (Jerry Feldman)]

On 07/03/2012 01:19 PM, Rich Braun wrote:
> Jerry wrote:
>>> Don't volunteer anything and don't be negative.
> Edward Ned Harvey responded:
>> Agreed with everything Jerry just said, except "don't volunteer anything."
>> ... I feel the best interviews
>> are usually the ones where the candidates show energy and enthusiasm,
>> passion for the technology and love what they do.
> You're both right. ;-)  I have quite recent experience with this; just got the
> thumbs-down yesterday from an interview 10 days earlier.  My failure mode in
> interviews is that I ramble until a timer goes off inside me reminding me to
> give the interviewer a chance to ask a question.  On this occasion, my
> rambling took me down a dangerous turn.  One of my previous jobs ended in a
> horrendous way, and to this day I still feel a whole lot of rage and angst
> about it.  Deep in my subconscious is a desire to get all this off my chest
> and transcend the person who caused this wound in my life.
>
> *But* I shouldn't ever talk about it.  10 days ago, I did, without being
> prompted.  The facial expression of this hiring manager changed for the rest
> of the interview, so I pretty much knew his decision 10 days before it was
> officially communicated to me.  Perhaps there was another reason behind the
> adverse decision, but this gaffe stood out in an otherwise positive 3 hours of
> discussions with 5 screeners.
>
> So in response to this advise from Jerry & Ned:  I think it's good advice to
> ramble on about positive achievements and/or things that you know the hiring
> company is working on, for up to about 2 minutes, but then you need to bring
> your comments to the point and prompt another question from your interviewer
> (usually, by asking an innocuous question of your own).
>
>
Another thing to do is to have an "elevator speech" prepared. This is
one of the positive things about the WIND group. You never know who you
bump into, and have a short talk prepared in your mind as to what you
do. At WIND, they time you and critique you. In any cases, interviews
are always very subjective. After a contract where two of us had a lot
of SNMP experience, we were interviewed by a DEC manager. Apparently she
did not want anyone who knew what they were doing. Both the other guy
and me were turned down. Shortly thereafter I was told while on another
contract that this manager was really someone to avoid like the plague.
She really did not want anyone who knew what SNMP was.

Another issue is references. I've seen cases where some references
really back the person who they are giving a reference for.

Lastly, back to resume. I had one hiring manager who scrutinized my
resume wanting to know ever minute since I graduated from college. For
instance, I spent 3 years in the Army, then went to graduate school, but
after the Army and before graduate school I was an airport bum getting
my flight instructor and other ratings courtesy of the taxpayers. I felt
like telling him to watch the Rex Trailer show and listen to Sgt. Billy
(one of my flight instructors :-).



-- 
Jerry Feldman <gaf at blu.org>
Boston Linux and Unix
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