4:11

Don't you think that 4:11 is a good time? I do.

Are you wondering why that is such a good time? Well, it is because that is the time that I got a job offer today. All the waiting has paid off. I can say that I have a job. Well, I will have a job starting in a little under two weeks.

I guess the writing test worked out well. And so did the interviews. I wasn't expecting the planets to align yet, but today was the day, I guess. I'm not complaining!

It is kind of odd. I was unsure whether or not I would find a job that gave me perks like paid time off and benefits. Life as a contractor has become something that I have kind of accepted over the years. I just thought that jobs that had things like benefits and paid holidays were a thing of yesteryear when the dot com bubble hadn't yet burst. But the government is still around, so they still find it important to employ people.

I'll be starting a position with the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare before too long. The job sounds interesting and full of variety. It lets me use all sorts of software that is a bit rusty (like RoboHelp, InDesign, and other things that I have yet to learn) and has a high volume of work (which is much better than the alternative).

The only downside is the pay. I will be taking a $3.50 pay cut per hour. That is going to hurt. I know that some of that will even out with benefits and paid time off, but it is still going to hurt. Now I just hope that I can get some other stuff on the side.

My dad offered me an interesting comment. He told me to ask if my previous employer had any part-time work. I had never considered that. It is a position that I could do from home (or in my free time), but might require some meetings that would be during normal business hours. I might propose it anyway to see if they have anything. The worst thing they can say is no.

In actuality, it feels a bit odd to know that I have a job. I have been looking for one for so long and kind of planning that I would be going back to my previous employer (through another contracting agency). I don't think it has officially sunk in yet.

But in the mean time, I am just going to act like it is 4:11 and keep on being pleasantly surprised that I am on the phone call when someone is telling me that they want me to work for them.

One Down, None to Go

After returning from a much-needed vacation this past weekend, I headed in to Boise to have a final interview. I was expecting to just have two people in the interview, but both of the previous interviewers had time to sneak in. That was a welcome surprise. It sure makes it easier to be relaxed in an interview (not that I was really nervous) when you already know a few faces that are going to be there.

I think it went well. I was asked to provide my references to the manager, and learned that the writing test that I recently took removed one more candidate from the running. That is one less person that I need to worry about. I know that there are three others that needed to be interviewed after me, but beyond that, I can't tell you anything. They told me that they would let me know either way by the end of this week (if all the planets align).  The decision must be harder than they anticipated to make sure that a cosmic event coincides with their decision to hire me. But if that is what it takes, so be it.

With that said, I felt quite comfortable in the interview. In fact, I caught myself thinking that the interviewer was really my boss. It just seemed natural that we were all coworkers and that we were talking about a project. It might be a sign. Or it might be wishful thinking.

Only time will tell. And when time tells (or a cosmic event), I'll let you all know.

One to Go!

I guess my intellectual muscles still work because I just got a call inviting me to a second (and final) interview. WHOO HOO! And it won't even interfere with out weekend getaway to visit family in Utah.

My parents decided to take a weekend trip to go visit my brother. Knowing that we had nothing better to do, they invited us along. Knowing that we had nothing better to do, we accepted said invitation. With this said, I probably won't be blogging much until after we are back (sometime on Monday). You get what you get, so don't throw a fit.

We are pretty excited to go see them. Munchkin will be able to play with her cousins (one of which is only six months her elder), and I am pretty sure that she will have a ball. The only thing that would make it better for her was if there was a baby.

We spent some time with some friends last night who have a seven week old baby. As soon as she saw the baby, she walked over to him and started patting him. She just kept on saying, "Boy! Boy!" between and during the patting. Wifey introduced the baby as the little baby boy, so she parroted the last word of the phrase right back at her.

Even though there was another kid to play with, the baby had her attention for about the first half hour of the night. Then she got distracted by the hunger in her belly, but did her fair share of playing as well.

Since there is no baby at my brother's place, she'll just have to make do with the dolls. With two little girls, I am sure we can find an extra one lying around somewhere...

Two Down, (Hopefully) One to Go

This morning I got a written test from the company I interviewed with yesterday. I knew that the test was going to be timed, and I knew that it would be gauging my writing skills, so I thought it was going to be a breeze.

I was wrong.

The test ended up being a good challenge for me. I was given some rough notes from an SME and asked to convert them into a process document. I had one screen shot that showed the software, but beyond that, I was on my own for an hour and a half.

It took me quite a bit of time to wrap my head around what the software actually did. I was trying to figure out what task the person was trying to accomplish, and could nail that down pretty quickly. It was mainly the how that was an issue.

The person who created the test probably just took something that he had received from the programmer who made the changes. Since I had no idea what all the acronyms were (as well as having no idea how this fit into the larger picture), I did my best to try to get it all completed. There were breadcrumbs that described how to do something in the user interface (driven mainly by the function keys like F2 and F7), and then later in the document, you found out that the bread crumbs were not comprehensive.

My 90 minutes was almost up when I remembered that I also had to create a document to detail what I had updated. Needless to say, that got rushed a bit.

All in all, it is something that I would have sent over. I just wish I would have had about 10 extra minutes to look it over or have someone else take a quick peek before I sent it off to be final. After all, everybody needs an editor (even editors).

We'll see if this lands me another interview. I realized that I am a bit rusty on my authoring skills since my previous job was focused mainly on editing and information gathering. I guess this would be a good fit to stretch my core writing muscles once again and get working on things. It should keep me sharp.

Now, I'll just wait for that phone to ring and hope that it is a number that I don't recognize...

One Down, (Hopefully) One to Go

I was excited and nervous for my interview today. I know this because I had my alarm set, but woke up about an hour and a half early. It was almost like going to school again.

I got up and got ready to head out the door by 8:00, expecting traffic to be a bit of a bear. Surprisingly, it wasn't. I was able to make it in to Boise in about 20 minutes (which is generally a 15 minute commute), so I felt like I was doing pretty good.

I went and parked in the hospital parking lot. I found it kind of funny that the secretary had told me to park there or feed a meter (tell me which one you would have done) and then walk over to the building. Because I still had about 25 minutes to kill, I decided to do a bit of strolling through the city on this chilly spring morning.

I immediately started wishing I had a camera with me. There are some old buildings that have unique features in the heart of Boise—the type of stuff you don't see everyday in my neighborhood. I noticed that there was a building that must have been an old factory of sorts that had been renovated to be an office building. The smokestack was a dead giveaway.

I had a good opportunity to wrestle with myself. I want a stable job that is full time that will offer good benefits. This job does that. The only downside is the fact that the job doesn't pay as much as I would want it to. It was a tight squeeze for the person who is currently in the position, but it is stable. It is with the government, for goodness sake. How much more stable can you get?

As I meandered, I came to the same conclusions I always arrive at—don't count your chickens before they hatch. I need to have a job offer before I make the decision if this is the job for me.

I took a peek at my phone to see what time it was, and found that it was an acceptable time to head over to the building. I walked inside to find the security guard sitting at his desk. I was also pleased to see a copy of The Eye of the World by Robert Jordan (which happens to be one of my favorite series of all times). I had the chance to chat with the guard for a bit which put us both at ease. I wasn't sure why the guard was nervous. It must be my 6'2" 140 pound frame that set his knees knocking. Needless to say, at this point, I was pretty sure that it was going to be a good interview.

I got my name tag and headed up the elevator into the lobby of the second floor. I was greeted by the admin assistant who was there and he phoned one of my interviewers to let them know I was there. And then I sat quietly and rifled through a magazine without feigning interest.

She came out to greet me and walked me back to her office where I found another one of my interviewers (who happened to invite us up to their family cabin not too long ago). The third interviewer (and my potential boss) was actually missing. I expected him to come in, but was informed that his wife was in the process of having a baby at the moment, so he wouldn't be joining us.

Excuses, excuses...

Needless to say, the interview went pretty well. I should be hearing back either way from them before too long. The only problem is I have to go back in for another interview. It isn't that I dread interviews, I just want to know the resolution. I've been jerked around a few times and hope that this isn't going to be one of those times. This group is a lot more professional, and I would be able to carve a niche out for myself there as the only tech writer in the group, but it still makes me wonder if this is going to come to pass. Until I know, I am just going to have to wait it out until I hopefully get another interview.

Come on, Tuesday!

Tuesday morning I have an interview with the state for a tech writing position. I know that the position would probably be pretty good for me, as well as offering me something new and exciting to do. I have heard that the job doesn't pay as much money as my previous job, which puts a bit of a damper on things, but I'm willing to go to the interview to see what I can do.

I got a call from the other company that employs me, and they gave me some feedback on the work I did for them earlier this week. They told me that they liked it, and that they thought I would be a good fit for their company. The only thing is that they aren't sure that they could keep me occupied enough to feed our family. That made me feel good about the work that I had done. It also gave me hope.

You see, it would be ideal if I got this state job and was able to get my foot in the door there. Even though the pay isn't the greatest, I would hope to have smaller projects from this other company as a freelancer that would allow me to make some extra money on the side to make up for the lack of funds at the state job. With a baby coming, it would be great to switch over to the state benefits instead of the private insurance that is charging us an arm and a leg for poor coverage. Changing insurance alone will save us at least a couple hundred dollars a month, let alone any medical expenses we incur.

But, before I put the cart before the horse, I need to actually go ace the interview. The job uses skills that I knew in college, but I haven't used in a couple of years. I don't doubt that I can come back up to speed quickly, but I also know that technology changes. Different organizations like different writing skills and soft skills, so we'll see what ends up happening.

Please cross all appendages for me, including your appendix. It has to be an appendage, because it doesn't have any other function except to get infected.

The Same Old Song (Now There Are Six)

I went back to the second job interview, and the second day wasn't nearly as bad as the first, which I am guessing is partially because I knew what I was getting into.

Gratefully, the ventriloquist was not singing when I came in on the second day. There were twelve of us there, and only one of them was from the group that I interviewed with. This let me know that they really were culling out people during the interview process. It was much of the same, but they actually showed us the product that we would be selling. I'm not going to lie, the product is pretty darn cool. If I ever can scrape up an extra $2,500 dollars, I might just get one. Until the time that I have that extra money lying around, I'll still be without.

Now that I knew what I was getting into, I realized that they really don't want you push a sale. They were very hands-off when it came to pushing a sale. I appreciate that—mainly because I am not inclined to be a salesman. While the presentation was going on, I had to laugh. The presenter told me that I am really hard to read. I'm not the type to really show my emotions or express myself until I have felt out the other people in the room, so when a guy came in to present the product to us, I wasn't ready to jump in and interact. I'm much too cautious for that.

Some of the information they were giving to us was a bit gimmicky. Some of the statistics were clearly scare tactics, and some of the logical arguments could have been easily discounted. But as I was not ready to jump in and participate with more than a one or two word answer, I didn't open my mouth. Plus, I didn't want to be contrary to a potential employer by telling him that his logic was flawed.

So, there I was at the end of a three hour interview where they didn't really talk to me again. They had me fill out another sheet of paper and asked me a few more questions. One of the questions they had on there was, "In what ways can you be a value to our company." I answered truthfully and told them that I really didn't know, because they didn't tell me much about the needs of the company, so I couldn't address that question. I did tell them that I had learned a lot about presenting information through my education, and I guess that was enough to get them to bite. I got invited back to the Management Training Program on Wednesday.

When I got home, Wifey asked me how I felt it went. I told her that I still wasn't sure, because I hadn't really had an interview yet. I had just been given training and asked to fill out two simple questionnaires. She asked me if I was planning on going back to the training, and I didn't feel strongly either way, so I thought that I had better. Maybe the Management Training Program would be better.

And so I went. And the training was better. There were seven of us there. A few more had been culled from the group, including the very vocal guy who was digging the ventriloquist act from the first day. I was the only one from my original group.

The training had us interacting more, and they finally told me what was expected of me should I be hired on as a manager. One of the things that made me consider this position was the fact that I didn't have to go sell to my friends and family. I don't think that personal relationships should be used for business purposes (most of the time), and I have never felt comfortable using my relationship as leverage to get someone to buy something.

We went through the training on how to generate leads in an appointment. And things seemed to look alright, because you just asked the people you were with to give you leads. I felt a bit uncomfortable that you had to have them pull out their phone right then and there and call the people to set up appointments after you had only been with them for about ten minutes and they didn't even really understand what the product did.

While we were practicing, a little flag went off in my head. One of the things they do to entice more leads out of people is give them free stuff. While the stuff is pretty good, they ask you to put other people's names and email addresses into their system (without their prior consent) to get some of this stuff. My flag kept waving when they told me that my homework was to go and use their online system to register myself and those that I knew who were qualified for their product into their system.

Knowing that I wasn't going to do this, even if it was "just to practice" on my family and friends, I realized that the position was not for me. After the presentations of the day were over, I went up to the trainer and told her that I really didn't think this would be a good fit for me. And it was really easy to say no.

And now there are six in the training program.

Job Interview + Vintriloquism = ???

Monday I had a job interview. I have to say that it was the oddest interview that I had ever participated in.

I had a suspicion that the job might be sketchy from the start. The posting online didn't tell me much about the company, but they had a wage that would hold us over for the time being until I can return to my other position. I had a sneaking suspicion that it would be a sales position (blech!), but they also said that there were managerial positions available, so I figured that I might be able to sneak in under the radar.

I reported to the appointed place about fifteen minutes early. The receptionist greeted me and informed me that I was early. Duh. I planned on being there early to scope out the place a bit.

I had to fill out some paperwork and bring a resume along (even though my resume was pre-screened through an online process). As I was walked back to another room, I head the sounds of laughter, finding about five other people who were probably informed that they were early. The room was relatively large, and there were about twenty chairs set up facing a big screen TV that rested on a raised stage. And there was a ventriloquist act on the screen. After I sat down, I noticed that there were boxes of things (which I am pretty sure are prizes for selling stuff) like knock-off Pyrex and Tupperware. There was also one of those money machines that fans the money around you when you try to grab it.

A woman who represented the company came to the front of the room and turned off the ventriloquist act. She apologized for turning it off, because one guy in particular was really getting into it. I felt a bit thrown off by having to have entertainment before an interview. I was here to work, not to be entertained.

She ended up giving us a spiel about the company (in which she really didn't explain a lot), followed by thorough instructions on how to pass the personal interview. Really? Not only did I have to watch a singing ventriloquist, but I also had to be led by the hand on how to interview? After about a half an hour, it was my turn to "shine" (her words, not mine) in the personal interview.

And to tell you the truth, I was a bit disappointed in the interviewer. She asked me three questions:

1. Have I been in the area long?
2. Did I think I could handle the work (which had not been thoroughly explained to me yet)?
3. Did I realize that there wasn't a lot of opportunities to learn new technologies (because most of my experience has been technology-based)?

Really, is that all you needed? I was dismissed and told to call back at a number that same day in about an hour and a half to see if I had another interview.

So I did. Surprisingly enough, I passed the rigorous interview process and made it into the second round. I could have told you that, because she ended up putting check marks and plus signs on the paper work that I handed to her as I was standing there talking to her. Those are pretty universal here in the States...

I'm heading back for another set of interviews/presentations today. We will see how that goes. I am not sure that I want this position—mainly because I don't think that this company (that focused on being an educational company) educated me enough to know if I want the job. The interview process is a courtship, not just a series of questions. If I don't like the answers (or lack thereof), I can easily back away. I'll let you know if I learn anything else about this company today that will let me know exactly what would be expected of me.

But on a good note, I know that they could use a professional writer. I noticed a few typos on the information that they handed out to me, plus it wasn't very concise...

Foo

After many emails and contacting multiple people, I finally heard back from the company I was interviewing with. And it was a negative response. After months of careful planning, the stars would have been magically aligned and I would have been offered the position just in the nick of time, but I learned that recently the Zodiac signs were changed, so the stars weren't aligned as I thought they would be. Silly astrologers. Don't they know that they are messing with my ability to feed my family?

This means that I am back at square one. In exactly two weeks I won't have a job, and at this point, there are no promising prospects. If I need to, I'll go get a job at McDonald's or something. I am hoping that it doesn't come to that, but there are mouths to feed and bills to pay.

So now I start applying to all the positions that I qualify for, but would be just a job instead of a career—secretary, office assistant, peon, etc.

The bright side of things is that we only need to survive for three months. The position I currently have will still be here for me when I am done with my 100-day break. The bad news is I have to find something to fill my time and pay the bills in the next two weeks. In case you know of anything or hear of any positions that are focused on writing, editing, the Internet, or computers, please let me know. I'll take what I can get, and am a surprisingly quick study... 

What I Wished I Had Seen Before I Interviewed

Kate just sent me this link. If only she had sent it one day earlier, I might have been offered the position on the spot yesterday instead of having to wait to hear back on whether or not I get a second interview! Especially the last frame...

A Post-Interview Surprise

The interview went quite well (in my opinion) yesterday. I had a couple of people in the room with me, and one on the phone (remotely from the Denver office). Even though they all had names that started with a "J" sound (one had a spelling that started with a "G"), I was able to keep them all straight.

There were no real surprises in the interview for me. The only question that I would consider maybe being a minus for me is the fact that they asked me if I had any HR experience. I am hoping that the question was mainly a nice to have instead of a must have. The job description didn't mention it as a requirement, but you never know what people might read between the lines when they are trying to create a job description.

The biggest surprise came as I was walking out the door. One of the authors that I edit for was attempting to come in through the secured door while I was trying to escape. Because I knew her, I let her in. I said a quick hi in passing, but I thought that she was just ignoring me because I received no answer. She didn't look up, she didn't acknowledge me in any way, shape, or form. I figured that this was because she was coming to an interview, and felt a bit awkward that the both of us happened to bump into each other.

Maybe it was how the earlier part of Cautious Thursday turned out, but Cautious Thursday turned into Paranoid Thursday for me by seeing her there. I know that she just graduated with her Masters degree from my alma mater in Technical Communication, which will be a leg up for her over me. My interviewers don't know that there is a 60% overlap in the curriculum between the bachelor's and Masters programs, so I spent the evening with a gnawing in the back of my brain while comparing her writing and what I knew of her credentials to my own.

Before leaving work yesterday (and to ease my troubled mind), I decided to send her an email wishing her well. I thought it would help diffuse the semi-awkward situation of me saying hi and her completely ignoring me. And I ended up getting a response from her this morning, profusely apologizing for not noticing me. She had come to visit a friend who just started working there, and her friend wanted to show off the new place. She had a really bad headache/sinus infection, so she was trying to avoid looking into the lights and things. At least that's what she said.

Needless to say, my worries were unwarranted. With that being said, now I have a gnawing in my brain that she is going to go looking on all the job boards and find the posting for this position and sneak her resume in before the position closes and I'll find her sitting in a room with me during a second interview as we try to battle it out. She has ammunition against me, and I have ammunition against her as to why we are the better of the two writers.

For my sanity's sake (as well as my pocketbook's sake), let's hope that this daydream remains nothing more than a thought.

Cautious Thursday

Today I had to be very cautious. I woke and got ready, but instead of my normal jeans and long-sleeved shirt, I put on my olive green suit and tie. I drove cautiously, as I saw three policemen along my normal route.

If you are like me, the minute I see a police car, you look at your speedometer to check your speed, followed by no less than fifteen glances into the rear view mirror to make sure that you aren’t being followed. I’m generally not doing anything wrong, but it just puts me on edge.

After arriving at work, I walked cautiously over the frozen parking lot, remembering that my dress shoes don’t offer the same grip as my normal shoes, thus making them prone to unexpected slips and slides in an attempt to topple me. Arriving at the door, I breathed a sigh of relief as my badge worked and slipped inside.

I passed my cube mate on the way to my desk. He didn’t recognize me until I was past him, and muttered a surprised, “Oh, hi!” when his mind caught up with his eyes. After getting settled in, I went to my first meeting. And this is why I had been so cautious.

I had a meeting this morning with the vendor manager, who I had not told yet about my interview. Needless to say, in three weeks, I would be out of this job, but they are not-so-secretly hoping that I’ll return after my hiatus. It is nice to know that there is a backup, should this new position not work out, but it drives me crazy to have to take off three months.

I saw one of my co-workers leave her desk, so I waited a few minutes, expecting that she was headed directly to the meeting. I was wrong.

I walked into the room, and the vendor manager was sitting there waiting for me. He is nothing to dread, and he is very good at what he does. He would make a great politician, as he has the skill to make everything sound like it has been carefully scripted before he speaks. He never makes a situation uncomfortable, and can smooth-talk with the best of them without consciously smooth-talking.

He was (of course) surprised to see me in a full suit. He asked what the special occasion was, and I told him that I had an interview. I could see the look of terror flash behind his eyes, but he quickly recovered. And that put a damper on the rest of the meeting. Both my co-workers had it dawn on them that three weeks was all they had left with me, even if I don’t get this position. Come February 1 my contract is up.

Part of me felt good to know that I have an interview. But part of me felt like I was betraying the people who have taught me a lot while I have been in this position. The uncomfortable discussion always comes up that people wish me the best, but secretly they don’t want me to leave. It is hard all around.

So I have remained cautious throughout my day. I cautiously ate my baked potato and chili for lunch, careful not to drop any bites off my fork—spills just won’t do today. I cautiously tell people that I have an interview, and notice the quick glances at me when I pass by their cube on my way to the next meeting.

And I’ll leave cautiously early in order to make it to my interview on time at 2:00. It isn’t very far away, but I am making sure that I have at least 20 solid minutes to get there. I don’t want to arrive too late, or too early. In fact, I kind of feel like I am on my first date with a girl. In a way, I am being courted, so I can see how similar feelings are elicited from me going to an interview as when I went on first dates.

So I’ll just have to remain cautious so that I don’t ruin the evening.

Bites

Yesterday was a good day. I decided to take the day off work (at Wifey's suggestion) because the company I work for had a holiday. While I could have worked from home, Wifey convinced me not to worry about it.

We spent the morning taking down all our Christmas things. Wifey was happy to get it down, but I could tell that she didn't want Christmas to be over. While we got everything cleaned up, that wasn't the best part of the day.

I had a preliminary phone interview for a position. After applying for positions since August, I finally have an interview. I felt the interview went well. I was able to answer yes to everything that needed a yes, and didn't get any curveball questions that curved too much.

They liked me enough to schedule me for an in-person interview (which I didn't know existed anymore) on Thursday, so wish me luck.

The position would be creating content and web sites. I have always been intrigued by the Web, but never had the opportunity to really delve into the HTML and coding. Maybe I'll have the opportunity to do that, and get paid for it now. And the company offers education assistance as well. This means that I might be getting a Master's degree. I had better start delving more into what I want to study if I am going to get this position...

But before I put the cart before the horse, I also want to mention that a former co-worker of mine is meeting tomorrow for another possible position. I don't know why, but after the drought of not hearing anything from any company for five months, now I have two very likely possibilities on the horizon. Hopefully I'll be getting two offers within the next week, and I'll get to pick which one I want.

A Glimmer of Hope

This post is an update to Busy, Busy, Busy.

Instead of getting a call on Tuesday from the person my co-worker had me contact earlier this week, I got a call from one of his colleagues on Wednesday and had a quite informal interview asking me very basic questions. I think it helped that I was able to tell them that I am working daily in the computer system that is required for the position. In fact, I have written parts of the manual for it. That tends to put interviewers at ease.

Well, that, and the fact that his mother-in-law's dog was barking and he was embarrassed while conducting the interview. I am glad that a dog can break the ice.

I just got a call from the person who I thought was going to call me on Wednesday. He asked me a few questions regarding my current position, because there is quite a strict procurement policy, as companies generally frown on people jumping ship. Business is business, and if they lose a contract, they lose money.

Now he is on the hunt with his legal department to see if I can't be hired on. Keep your fingers crossed that the lawyers can work some magic...