I Have a Job Interview Part Two....the Dilemma.

I've just checked the rota for this week and discovered that I'm supposed to be doing the late shift on Friday (finishing at 2am) and the early shift on Saturday (starting at 2am). Not quite sure how that one happened...

If situation B is just miserable and shitty, then quit it. Your sanity comes first (unless you're broke).

Know thyself. Do you usually give up too soon (like me)? Should you try and counter that tendency?

I bet he doesn't think it's a "me vs. Alex in NYC" situation quite as much as you seem to do.

Or are you subconsciously looking for excuses (it's because the teacher sucked/went too fast/couldn't explain) because you have already decided in favour of the greener grass @ NEWJOB?

Whatever happens, I would discard NEW JOB from your decision-making process on these SITUATIONS. Until it happens for realz, you may as well factor in winning the lotto as well.
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* Not saying that you getting NEW JOB has the same incredible odds of winning the lotto, but that you currently have neither. Hopefully, that will change soon.

That said, if I hear back from NEWJOB (where I had my second interview yesterday), I'm completely going to take it.

Stay tuned, and thanks!!!

Alex do you man the control desk at a missle silo or something?

We'd all be long dead now if that'd been the case.

Still no word yet from NEWJOB. In fact, I've heard no word from anybody about anything that might alter the course of my future today. Although, it's still only noon.

Since my last interview with NEWJOB this past tuesday, I have fielded two e-mails. One from the first interviewer guy, asking me to re-submit my resume, because he'd "lost it in the mountains of paper on his desk". The e-mail was conversational and informal....a good sign, I think? The second e-mail came from the H.R. recruiter's assistant, asking for me to send in two or three references (I'd already sent the actual recruiter this information the same day I saw her, but I'm not about to quibble.) So, I did that. Last I heard, they hadn't called any of my references as yet.

Meanwhile, things at SITUATION B remain challenging, although Comic Book Guy will be refreshingly absent this weekend. Hoping to make it through on my own (with the aid of Buzzcut Guy over instant messenger) this coming Sunday. Was sort've hoping I'd have heard back -- one way or the other -- from NEWJOB by now, but I suppose these things take time.

They probably won't. What you just told me is that they're in the process of hiring you and haven't bothered to inform you of this yet. HR now has to basically make sure you're not a Fugitive from a Chain Gang and they'll be asking you for a start date sometime soon.

I am assuming, of course, that media businesses work like most other businesses. He wouldn't need to look at your resume again if he didn't need to file a copy with HR. And HR wouldn't need 3 references (that they're unlikely to bother contacting) if they didn't have to fill out paperwork with your name on it somewhere.

Cheers!

hmmm...maybe not a safe assumption! But it sure sounds like things are moving forward for Alex...good luck dude. Hope it works out.

I was there at 5am dong SITUATION B.

Even if I get NEWJOB, I'm imagining I'll have a two week notice grace period, in which time, we MUST do lunch. Howabout that?

Are you in tomorrow (Monday?)

What kind of bullshit is this? Seriously.

It sounds like he should get better at training people. And stop judging people on stuff that is 1) irrelevant to the job and 2) none of his business. Since when is it his business to correct someone else's behavior? I guess you might try to ignore everything he says that isn't useful information. The rest of the time, focus on pitying him for having to go through life as a know-it-all jerk. Maybe? I mean, you've figured out his act, and it's kind of pathetic.

This reminds me of the day a certain person at my job was standing over my shoulder explaining in a very loud voice what to do with some code I was working on (that I was perfectly capable of fixing myself, just not instantaneously) and pointing and telling me "do this, do that" like I'm some sort of moron and I just about snapped. What I did instead was to just reply in a quiet monotone with as few words as humanly possible and ignore her directions until it became clear that I was very, very, very pissed off. I don't think it is likely to happen again but my prepared response now, to be delivered in as measured a tone as possible, is, "what is making it difficult to do this right now is you standing over my shoulder pointing at stuff and telling me what to do." arrgh. Something about being in a situation that requires a certain competence & finding that some people will just assume, for what reason I don't know (sexism?), that I don't know how to do things.

Still.... just sayin'.

But remember, every time he acts like a dick, it's just another manifestation of his unhappiness and insecurity. Obnoxious people are generally unhappy people, so you should feel sorry for them.

-- k/l (lauter...), Today.

roffle bat

ok, nevermind me.

update: i got it! i'm overstating "biggish," but it will look nice on a resume.

Thanks for the kind words, everyone. I have nothing new to report. Following up on a few leads already, but it's a weird week to be doing so (what with the holiday and all). I'm still shellshocked. And angry. Very angry.

Are you ever not angry?

(Joke! I swear! Please don't hurt me!)

I really didn't mean to make light of the whole situation though, that still sucks and I hope it all gets resolved very, very quickly.

No worries.

Bad luck, man.

::::sigh:::

Not much new to report. I had an interview request last week from a major pop culture media outlet. It was all set until an incidental bit of info was disclosed. The interview -- not to mention the job itself -- was to take place on the West Coast. Oh well, at least they liked my resume.

Tomorrow, I have a job interview at a somewhat nefarious organization. I'm not in a position to be turning my nose up at anything, however.

:-( Good luck anyway, Alex. Really.

Totally. Fingers crossed!

gah Alex you should definitely not have said how much you hated the word "dude", it's the west coast FFS. oh well, live and learn. i'm pullin for you champ.

Two months later.....

I've had a bunch of interviews and follow-ups. There was some momentum. Things were looking promising then then -- ftttttppppphhhhhhhh-- the "Summer Doldrums" took hold. "Alex, Dude," a friend said, "anyone who'd even consider hiring you is on a yact right now, enjoying their vacation!" Hmmm. Despite the improbable scenario, I took heart in the notion -- late Summer is a bad time for this sort've thing (yeah, as if it's ever a good time to be unemployed). Whatever the case, Summer's over, and I'm now waiting for things to pick up again. I'm dying to hear back from this one outlet in particular, but as hesitant to nudge them. There's a fine line between being professionally tenacious and being an aggressive pest.

yacht, not yact

how do i shot newjob

I would pester them and give them a follow-up date (IOW, "Hi, have you made a decision? No? Okay, if I haven't heard from you by MM/DD I will contact you again kthxbye.")

ARRRGGGHHH!!!!

Nothing is panning out. I am getting very desperate.

:-/ So still no responses from anyone?

Have you nudged'em? If not, then I definitely would. It can't hurt!

Well, I reached out to one, and they said "oh, whoops -- sorry, we thought we'd e-mailed you." Yeah, thanks a lot. In any case, no dice on that one. That wasn't one of the ones I was fired up about. The main one I'm dying to hear from is still up in the air, but with every day that passes without word, my hopes sink a little lower. Am now basically back at square one.

I've nudged all who require nudging. Further nudging would cross the line betweeen "professionally tenacious" and "aggressively stalky."

Hell = sitting in an internet cafe, feverishly checking your e-mail for word from potential jobs while the cafe plays the fuckin' soundtrack to "DREAMGIRLS" at stentorian volumes. BEYONCE LAUGHS AT ME.

I always wonder if too much nudging would result in not hiring someone. I'm completely ignorant about said things. I know, as a boss, I wouldn't mind if they called a few times.

BEYONCE LAUGHS AT ME.

I think it's her revenge for all those Destiny's Child comments you made when you first posted here.

I think it's the Ghost of Dan Perry haunting you.

Je regret rien.

Did you learn that song when you saw Ratatouille with Charlotte, Alex?

Alex have you tried LinkedIn? It doesn't seem so useful in the short term but its something

Yeah, I'm on LinkedIn, but am uncertain of the protocol on how to proceed there. "Hey there, I noticed you're also a 'friend' of XXX. I couldn't help noticing you're a Senior Editor at BLAH-BLAh..."

I have another interview today. Wheeee.

good luck. this is better than soaps. but more important , obv

Well, the interview was..... puzzling. Probably the less said about it the better. In any event, if they get back to me, I'll be surprised. And if they don't get back to me, I'll probably be relieved.

Meanwhile, trying to scare up new prospects, line up some new interviews and hoping to god to hear back from one of the outlets I interviewed with back in AUGUST (ugh).

Losing hope.

if they don't get back to me, I'll probably be relieved.

Everyone has interviews like this sometimes. "If I never hear back from that shower of bastards / bunch of losers / load of incompetant idiots then I will be fucking glad because of the amount of stress and bullshit it will save me."
Last time this happened for me was an IT job where the interviewer phoned me at the last minute to tell me that the interview location had been moved to a wanky Central London wine bar.

I'm back at the internet cafe.... being treated to a needlessly loud airring of "Copa Cabana" by Barry Manilow. My e-mail box is empty save from wise-acre commentary from the slobs on The Gathering (the Killing Joke list).

I am losing my mind.

The woman at the computer next to me is now humming along to "Always a Woman" by Billy Joel. I AM IN HELL.

Don't you have something in America called "justifable homicide"? Sounds like that would qualify.

There are now a couple of bozos to my right who've only gotten on the computer to look up the lyrics to an old James Gang tune, but they can't figure out how to access Google. I shall not assist them.

Please God.. send a job my way and take me away from all this.

Alex, you don't have the internet at home?

I do. I also have two children.

Alex, I really feel for you. I hope that something comes up soon and you can get away from that hole.

Don't you have something in America called "justifable homicide"? Sounds like that would qualify.

We call it "irresistable urge" here when someone could not resist his need to call someone.

Alex, I really hope you will soon find a job. :-(

Development: Well, I'm still without a job, but I've since been able to borrow an iBook from someone, so I don't have to pony up twenty dollars every damn day in that internet cafe. That said, I still have to find places with WiFi (this is all new to me, in case you haven't figured as such by now). I'm currently sitting in the Cosi on 8th Street. I'm in the window, so come on by and give me the finger if you're so inclined.

I am doing much the same thing several thousand miles away. Poncing wireless off my local pub sure beats the internet caff where I actually have to be efficient about applying for jobs.

Made the mistake of going to starbucks this morning and didn't realise until too late that you have to pay a fucking fortune to pick up their wireless.

Godspeed with the jobbing.

Had a very bizarre job interview today. Absolutely no questions about my current job - in a very similar field - and nothing about me at all. A lot of questions about current affairs and things related to the job I'd applied for.

That said, it went rather well and they said they'd be back in touch tomorrow.

After a long period of discouraging, demoralizing inactivity, it seems things are picking back up. I'm getting calls/e-mails from outlets I interviewed with months ago, and a new exciting prospect has recently surfaced that is tantalizingly in my grasp (it would be PRECISELY what I was looking for and -- conveniently -- suitably cut-out to do!) Things, finally, are looking up again. Stay tuned!!!

yay, best of luck, alex!

Irony of ironies -- my final severance check from the job I was recently eliminated from arrives the same day I have a job interview back at the office I worked in prior to that.

:::;sigh:::::

explanation please (I have aspergers and find social signals difficult to read)

Ah, y'know -- I'm frustrated by stymied momentum, false starts, dwindling hopes and mixed signals. I've now been out of work for almost five months. It's doing my head in.

Seven months later.

Eight months later -- I found a new job! Huzzah!

Congratulations! What and where is it?

YAY!!!! FIRE honoured.