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  • #16
    Are Leia buns completely out of the question?

    Rapscallion

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    • #17
      Quoth Rapscallion View Post
      Are Leia buns completely out of the question?

      Rapscallion
      I really, truly hate the fact that when someone mentions Leia buns, all I can think of is that episode of Full House where Stephanie pierced her ears without permission, they got infected, and she tried to hide it with the aforementioned Leia buns. God, but I hated that show and yet it haunts me to this damned day.
      Drive it like it's a county car.

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      • #18
        Quoth hauntedheadnc View Post
        My cover letter email was apparently enough to grab their attention. They left a message on my cell phone while I was sleeping today asking me to come in for an interview. I go in Monday at 3pm.
        WOOT! Congrats.

        Now it's time to prepare.

        Look up this company online. Learn about them. Read their mission statement. Learn it. Apply it to your life, beliefs, goals. When they ask you ANY variation of "Why do you want to work here?" or "Why should we hire you?" work that sucker in. It shows that you are telling them how you would be a good fit, but more importantly that you care enough to find out what their company is all about and you were serious about the interview.

        Think of at least three questions to ask. I had one related to the company, two related to specific job duties I wasn't sure what the terminology meant, and two personal-ish ones about the interviewing managers (car insurance company, I asked them if they had XXXX insurance). You want to have extras because they might cover one of your questions and asking it later will make it seem like you weren't paying attention.

        Count to at least 3 (sometimes 5) before you answer. Figure out what you are going to say. And SMILE. That can make the biggest difference.

        Good luck, I'm rooting for ya!

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        • #19
          Applying their mission statement to my life won't be hard. This is a company that specializes in landscape design and urban planning, and they're responsible for some very impressive projects -- urban renewal, park planning, and new urbanist communities. I was a little disappointed when I looked over their website to see that they've also planned some typically suburban sprawling golf course subdivisions, but you can't win them all. As near as I can tell, the good they do outweighs the bad. I've been interested in urban planning and cities since I was a kid. When I was ten years old, I was forcing my mom to take me to city hall so we could see the mayor, and we'd get to. I've arranged appointments with mayors and architects just to chat. I care deeply about my community.

          However, I realize that an honest passion (that wasn't hyperbole I put into the letter) for what these people do won't be enough. I'm honestly worried about whether or not my computer skills will be good enough, although I hope to win them over with my other talents. I was thinking of printing out some of the business letters I've written here and bringing them along as examples of my writing.
          Drive it like it's a county car.

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          • #20
            The one thing I always mention to people who ask me about job-hunting is: DON'T FORGET TO SEND A THANK YOU NOTE for the interview.

            (Got me my current job. It was down to me and one other person. I sent thank you notes to the people I interviewed with. The other person didn't. I got the job.

            I'm not supposed to know this. )

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            • #21
              Looking as professional as I possibly can -- royal blue dress shirt, dark grey slacks, tie, hair slicked back with a little gel and in a braid, I am leaving now for my preliminary interview. Wish me luck!
              Drive it like it's a county car.

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              • #22
                Good luck!

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                • #23
                  I'm back and although the interview seemed to go well, I don't feel one way or the other about my prospects for getting the job. Perhaps this is a good thing. If I don't get it, I won't be terribly disappointed. If I do, it will be a nice surprise.

                  The interview was mostly a chat, and they didn't really ask me many direct questions. I took along a couple of business letters I've written, and they made copies of them.

                  The few direct questions they did ask were:

                  What are your salary expectations?

                  I pointed out that I take home about $320 a week and I was hoping not to take much of a cut on that, plus although I want to move to the city of Asheville, I'm not there yet so I'll be commuting. Anything above $320, considering gas for the commute, would be nice, but aside from all that, I don't have any salary expectations.

                  Have you ever had a bad boss?

                  I replied truthfully that I had, and when they asked what I meant, I explained that my boss now is the only one who has ever been able to make me cry, twice. Her expectations as to how the place should be run change with her mood, and she issues official edicts as to how things should be done "from now on" daily and then forgets about them. I said that she would make a better friend than a boss, and that she's a good boss up until she gets into a mood where she screams, calls you stupid and says you don't know how to do your job, orders you to quit and says she wants a new staff -- although the next day after she gets in such a mood, she's fine and back to normal again. They agreed that she sounded like a bad boss.

                  What do you write?

                  On my resume, under "Hobbies" I list the fact that I am working on my first novel, and they asked me what kind of fiction I write. I told them I've written one practice novel just to see if I could do it, and that I am working on my first serious novel now. I write horror.

                  When can you start your notice?

                  I said that if I do make the cut to work for them, I'll have to work a notice while my boss now finds two people to replace me. I can start that notice whenever they tell me to start it, however.

                  In an indirect way they asked me why I was looking to get into another line of work and I pointed out that frankly, I'm tired of having my faith in humanity shaken by what I see and put up with at the hotel. I listed what all guests have tried to steal from us, the various animals they have stowed in their rooms, and the various fireworks they have shot off inside their rooms, while the people interviewing me stared at me gape-mouthed. They agreed that that would drive them over the edge also. There were two interviewers, a man and a woman, and the man said what we here all think: everyone should be forced to work with the public for a time. If everyone had to put up with other people, maybe they wouldn't inflict their stupidity on others to such a degree.

                  I asked them, considering that it's a professional office, if my appearance was at all offputting, and if I'd need to cut my hair. I am willing, and conveyed this. They chuckled and pointed out that the architects and engineers often come to work in sandals. They also said that ties are not required.

                  In the end, I think I made a good impression, or if I didn't, the people interviewing me are very good at hiding disgusted contempt. They say they're trying to get this wrapped up within a week, so if I'm their choice, I'll hear about it by the end of next week.
                  Last edited by Antisocial_Worker; 10-09-2007, 08:50 PM.
                  Drive it like it's a county car.

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                  • #24
                    Thank-you emails are sent. I wrote one and sent it to both interviewers, with minor adjustments addressing one versus the other.

                    Didn't catch the typo -- leaving out an "and" -- until the second time I sent it. They seem to be the kind not to let one minor mistake blow the entire process though.

                    I hope.
                    Drive it like it's a county car.

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                    • #25
                      I think you did a fine job, except for one faux pas I think you made. Specifically, to this question:

                      Quoth hauntedheadnc View Post
                      Have you ever had a bad boss?
                      Yes, I do agree that you should have been honest about the bad boss, but you could have phrased it a bit differently than you did. Such as, perhaps...

                      "My current employer is a bit unprofessional, often changing workplace priorities without notice to employees, and often letting her personal feelings interfere with her professional duties."

                      I would have left out the part about her making you cry.

                      When people ask me about Shit Weasel, for instance, I tell them all the gory details....but if it is an interview setting, I definitely state it more succinctly and less personally. I definitely leave out the part about my waiting with bated breath for the little fucker to leave my tropical island.

                      Of course, these are just my opinions, and are not set down here to mean-spirited in any way, but merely as constructive criticism that can help you in future interviews. I hope you get the job, but if not, I hope you continue to plug away for a new one, as your current one is just not a healthy situation for you.

                      "The Customer Is Always Right...But The Bartender Decides Who Is
                      Still A Customer."

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                      • #26
                        I think the reason that I was frank with them about the situation with my current boss is because they remarked more than once that they were very impressed I could tolerate my current job at all judging from what I had told them about my work situation, my pay, how many hours I work, and my lack of benefits or overtime pay.

                        That, and being reduced to tears only twice in a five year stretch isn't all that bad. I admit perhaps I should have held that back, but the mood was chatty and cordial. Perhaps this is their strategy though -- the whole false sense of security ploy. I don't know.
                        Drive it like it's a county car.

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                        • #27
                          I think you did rather well - heck, I'd hire you in a heartbeat!
                          The report button - not just for decoration

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                          • #28
                            Well, obviously I didn't get the job although perhaps now we may know why.

                            The other day I wrote an editorial to the local paper about a new skyscraper planned downtown. This caused an old friend to pop up and say hello. I mentioned my job frustrations to him, and he referred me to a politician he's friends with who also happens to work at the Employment Security Commission. I sent her my resume...

                            ...And she helpfully informed me that my resume basically renders me unemployable. Everything is wrong with it.

                            So... now, I'm going to try to scrape together $250 to get a professional to write it for me. As much as I excel in business writing, resume-writing is a game I obviously don't know how to play.
                            Drive it like it's a county car.

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                            • #29
                              Quoth hauntedheadnc View Post
                              So... now, I'm going to try to scrape together $250 to get a professional to write it for me. As much as I excel in business writing, resume-writing is a game I obviously don't know how to play.
                              Before you do that... we do have an advice section here now. Why don't you post it for critique (with the usual "no personal information left uncensored" caveat)?

                              Uh, before you do, let me point out that you will get a lot of different views about How To Do it, and that they'll contradict each other at times. That's normal. Find what you feel is best out of all the advice offered.

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                              • #30
                                Thank you for your suggestion. It's posted now for everyone to observe, if not admire.
                                Drive it like it's a county car.

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