No such luck- What the F@#K?!

Ok, so you haven't heard from me- steam has been slowly purging from my system as neither of my interviews led to that phone call we all like to hear..."we'd like to offer you the position... blah blah", here's what happened since my last post.

So, I went on that job with the NYC based software developement company, they asked me back. I went back for the interview, and I thought things went well. In fact, I had my personality tuned up, answered every question in detail, but the people that were interviewing me were horrible interviewers. Horrible! Asking the same questions over and over again, telling me the same things about the company as I heard the first time around, and doing their best to formulate questions from air so that our meeting went on to the exact minute that it was scheduled to end. Then, I met with a VP- here I am, wearing my nice suit and tie, and this guy walks in with a navy blue/gold button blazer (yeah, Country Club chic), a bright red bow tie, a sweat shirt material red vest, and cheap jeans. Hey, I'm a fan of cheap jeans, but not to wear to work in the city, maybe in my backyard when I mow the lawn, but not in a respectible company.

I felt he was completely ignoring what I had to say- he gave me information that I needed to know, I returned the favor. There were awkward moments of silence when he clearly had no idea where to go next- I was just being a person, and he seemed to be putting on a face. Then came the following question- "Do you have experience in functional specifications writing?". I dont think he understood what I meant by "no, I do not...". So he gives me an assignment and explains in brief what this type of writing is. The assignment was a very simple one, and the example he gave me was a breeze. I contacted one of my old bosses who has such experience and he gave me some ideas. Well, I took those ideas and ran with them and wrote up some Technical Specs that I was VERY proud of, and sent them over to both the recruiter and that VP.

A week later, and I got no response- finally, I called and emailed the recruiter who then says "They thought you were too light, unfortunately". Too light? Are you f#@$ing kidding me?! I told the guy I had no experience in technical writing but was willing to learn and give the assignment a shot- I sent that to executives and my old boss, all of whom were thoroughly impressed and I didn't get the job.

Oh well, fingers up to you guys- According to each of the 65 reviews I read about this company, 3 loved working there. No thank you!


Next up, the Long Island based company- Again, spoke with the HR person, and all was great. She asked, I answered, I asked, she answered, we got along well. Then, I meet with the hiring manager (another VP) and her blackberry. She sits down with her blackberry and McCafe, and says "ugh, why did I bring this in here?". Well, I'll tell you why- in the manner of Sam Kinison...BECAUSE SHE'S ADDICTED TO HER PHOOOONEEE..AAAAAAAAAA...SHE CANT PART FROM IT BECAUSE HER LIFE IS CONTAINED IN A HAND HELD DEVICE!! OOH OOH OOH!!!. Now that that's out, the interview went as such- she asked a question, I answered, she then made a statement which always ended with "thats pretty much it...(silence)". Oh, and then as I was speaking she kept on looking at the BB, responding to whatever was incoming, who knows what the hell she was looking at. But then, at the end of the conversation she mentions about me being Greek and that her husband is Greek, and the last part of the interview was a normal conversation... I was never so confused leaving that place.

I got a call a week later from the HR person telling me that the hiring manager didnt think I fit the bill, but spoke very highly of me to everyone in the office, and so there was another executive who wanted to meet me- oh, the position doesn't exist right now but, as she said "you never know what can happen next week".


Update- I had the other interview scheduled for the LI company last Thursday, and another interview with Canon USA on Friday...I was ready and set to go and I get phone calls from BOTH companies that we'll have to reschedule.


One last thing- what is up with freaking recruiters? They call you non-stop, badgering you, asking questions, talking about the position, the meetings, the hiring managers, thoughts, telling you what to do, etc. Then, they dump you and flush the toilet. When they're good they're good, but holy smokes- how about work a little harder? These people get to know your life story and then turn you off.

Enough ranting for today, time to get to work, put on my game face and keep pushing.
Don't stop. You think you've done enough? Think again.

Change of plans

So get a load of this...

You all know about my changed view on job hunting. When you think you're doing enough, you're not doing enough. You don't have to step up your game THAT much, but just enough. Instead of 6 resumes a day, try 10. Once you can get 10 out, try 20. Just don't send them to random companies, that defeats the purpose of this practice!

I took my own advice, and here is what happened...

I'll try to keep it short...

So each morning I go through my resume routine, and especially this week I didn't want to disappoint my readers nor myself, so I applied to jobs as I've been telling you to. I scoured the job sites, and it just so happened that craigslist was the lucky choice this week. I found 3-4 positions that held the title "Business Analyst" and that led me to read further. In my honest opnion I met all the requirements as they were very similar to what I was doing at ELC, and so I applied. Wouldn't you know, within 15 minutes that calls came pouring in! I received at least 6 calls, 5 messages and some were recruiters, one was an actual HR rep., for a Long Island based company. Holy Crap Batman!

Ok, ONE caller was from Primerica, leave me alone you Citi group reject. Another caller was a recruiter who had a few positions to speak with me about and told me to call him back later in the afternoon. Needless to say, I called back and had to leave a message- no response. How unprofessional, ALWAYS RETURN CALLS.

I then get a call from the Long Island based company, and spoke with this nice lady- we struck up good conversation, she told me a little about the position and why it is currently open, an we set an interview for next week. An interview? Next week? Something came over me, my entire self went numb. A real company was interested in me, not for sales, not to be a mystery shopper, or to make people buy a lame franchise nobody's heard of, but a real company, with a real hr person, for a position I actually have experience in. As my good friend Eric Theodore Cartman would say, "Sweeet".

Then, in a matter of seconds my phone goes nuts again...this time it was a male voice, he asked me a few questions and said, "Excellent! I'm going to call you back shortly!". Ok, another one who wont get back to me. WRONG, he calls back and said that the hiring manager of one of the biggest software development companies in the world was leaving for vacation on Friday, he wanted to see me Thursday, he was "very" interested in meeting me and was impressed with my resume. Excellent. Two interviews were booked, I was stoked.

So I began my research, the Long Island company seemed very nice and I couldnt find any negative comments about it. The company in NYC on the other had, I read a review on jobvent.com, there were layoffs and everyone was complaining who used to work there, of 23 reviews, 6 loved working there. Right away, my heart sunk and I thought "well, its ok, they're obviously looking to hire now, so just go on the interview as a practice for next week". Keep in mind, I knew nothing about the specifics, whether it was a permanent hire or not, benefits, pay?

Thursday morning I meet with the recruiter for 2 minutes (literally), he tells me that its a permanent position, full benefits, and he mentions the pay... in mind mind I said "excuse me? could you please repeat that, sir?..." In other words, it was more than I've ever made, and I was starting to like this company VERY much!

I head back downtown, find the building, say a prayer and do my thing. I met with their HR person, we had a nice conversation actually, and I was just cool, calm and collected. I did the best I could have, and fortunately enough for me, every type of situation he threw at me from his little questionnaire, I was able to bring something up that happened to me in my past and throw it back at him. I asked him a few questions regarding the company and he answered them clearly. He's been with the company nearly 30 years. Then came my meeting with the hiring manager- a very nice man, maybe in his early 40's, dressed well, didnt seem like a jerk- we spoke for close to an hour and had a similar situation. He threw the ball at me, I gave him what I thought he wanted to hear. I did well, I felt that this was my best interview performance/experience. He said that the next step would be a follow up meeting sometime next week, and he'll have to speak with HR, and the recruiter and figure things out.

I received a call from the recruiter a few hours later, "hey John, they were really impressed with you and they really want to meet with you next week!"

I said, "thats great! I'm free any day except Tuesday, I'm interviewing with another company". The date was set, let the games begin.

It's happening...I didnt think it would, but it's getting done.

Aside from who you know, it's also how you do it

That's what I think. "It's not just what you know these days, it's WHO you know", I agree, but you also have to put a little elbow grease into your final product as well.

Just like a musician (such as myself) will practice a musical piece over and over until it's right, you need to market yourself well and paint your face on a virtual billboard. Since June I've been searching for work, and as I've said in a recent post, just recently I've been getting a few calls. Why?

Because I've been going insane posting and reposting my resume on all of the jobsearch sites I'm on - craigslist, hotjobs, careerbuilder, monster, not to mention applying to job after job on indeed.com, simplyhired.com, etc. I apply, and when I don't get a response, I reapply. If I find that I have to send a resume to an actual Hiring Manager, or HR Representative, I follow up. If I'm asked to call, I call. Always do as you say, and do as you are asked.

And that linkedin site- if you think people arent watching or looking at your profile, you're 100% wrong. Just last week, I decided to spit my mind out and post my thoughts with the idea that someone was going to see me and say "hey, I have a job you can apply for". But, apparently my words took on more of a ranting and raging format and actually received a message from a mentor (customer of our family's business) basically telling me to shut my trap and not to rant. Haha, not a "you're an idiot" email, but more of a "hey man, I know you are frustrated, just chill out- you'll scare any prospective employers away". I removed my posts and ended up creating this log. By the way, those advertisements displayed on the right side here, click on them - they sometimes link you to pretty good information and great articles relative to our little blog here.

Now, can I say that these calls back that I got were for great positions? Hell no, they were for positions that I'd never consider. Financial planner/advisor? I'm not a sales guy, and I dont think I'd be good at it- 100% commissions? No, not yet. How about an interior decorating franchise? Uhh, rather, I'd end up going to salons and find women who like to decorate and try to sell them a franchise. Food franchise? Yes, interior decorating franchise? I don't think that'll go down well.

So, I've basically said to keep posting, keep replying, always follow up, answer your phone no matter what number calls you, you NEVER know who may be on the other line, and they won't always leave you a message. Remember that.

Network, find groups on facebook, linkedin, whatever site you choose and introduce yourself. I'm not saying to go to a random person and give them your life story, in New York, they'd think you're just crazy. Do it in a forum, online somewhere, get involved with a group, and when you find out about a job fair, just go. It usually wont cost you anything and you never know what companies may be there offering. In fact, I'm going to a job fair in NYC next week. I found out about it through a Greek organization whom I subscribe to. Last time I went, in 2006, there were many companies - most of which I was too green for, but maybe things will be different. Unlike the last time I was looking for a job, I actually have a bit more of an aim now. I was a Business Analyst, maybe not to the extent I could have been (other than what I've done in college, I really havent acted as a programmer), but I feel that I'm good at what I do. We'll just have to wait and see what happens.

As for who you know- I've been able to meet some very interesting people who are able to help me with my search. They've been more than generous with their time and hopefully something will be able to come of it. At the very least, I have a personal outlet to send my resume to, who will then forward that over to people they know, and so on and so forth. Oh, and one of those guys, is the dude who told me to not "rant" on linkedin. I saw the man today, he's a gentleman.

So, to me, it seems that I've actually been ranting on and on today- I'm not looking to kiss my ass or anyone to ask if I'd like a biscuit. All I am saying, however, is this: finding work is a full time job. The more you put into it, the more you get back.

My major book company phone interview story comes tomorrow. Maybe I'll throw in the story about not pushing for a job which may have ended up doing well.

Time to help the wife cook dinner.