Sometimes I think this blog would be more entertaining, more empathetic and better read if I solely related stories of my job searching experiences. But I’m not planning on making job shopping habit, so I’ll just keep it to a few short excerpts.

The interview I went through the other afternoon was structured to intimidate – a three-on-one environment, which I was convinced I could master. I started out quite successfully – shared good humor as well as some small talk. Then it was down to business with questions.

Admittedly, I should have seen it coming. My last interview was conversational and mostly regarded my ‘personal’ style or what peaked my interest in the organization, so it would make sense that this one would be referencing my background. I expected the typical “Explain your experiences at such-and-such organization” or “What makes you the most viable candidate for the job?”

It was quite clear where the small talk stopped and the actual interview began. There was little opportunity for me to create a conversational environment – and they seemed rather uninterested in making small talk or answering questions. I can’t tell if it was because our meeting was a formality or if it was genuine disinterest in hearing my answers or if their minds were preoccupied with heading home, since I was the last on the agenda for the day. The first question was easy. They all are. “Tell me what makes you the best candidate for the job.” I hope I passed with flying colors. But after the first question was when they started with the “Tell me a time whens…” and my heart sank.

And they kept firing them out and I kept dodging them and stuttering and stammering like a green soldier in his first combat mission.
“Tell me a time when you had to sell a product or idea to someone who didn’t believe your standpoint and how it turned out.” Obviously, they don’t expect me to relate a failure.
“Tell me a time when you had to work your hardest on a project or it took the most planning.”
“Tell me a time when you made a mistake in the workplace and how you fixed it.”
“Tell me a time (without using names) when you had a serious altercation with a peer or co-worker and how you handled it.” I related an experience at an old job where a manager used unsavory expletives and I diffused the argument by suggesting we talk when we were both a little calmer. A few people told me that I should never have admitted to any altercation with anyone in the workplace, regardless if it was the other person’s fault or not.
“Tell me a time when you took a risk and it worked out for the best.” I had a feeling that relating my choice to pair a patterned suit jacket with suit pants from a different outfit that day was not exactly what they were looking for in this situation. Yet it was insignificant ideas like that which were the only things that came to mind.

Everyone I’ve ever known despises these types of interviews and if employers knew the exact percentage to which people actually lie in the interview, they’d do away with them all together. To me, I think behavioral based interviews are a bunch of hooey, not because I hate them and don’t do well at them, but because they are indicative of nothing more than your past. Employers use behavior-based interviews because they think they show the future. What’s ironic is that most of the questions center on past failures, which if you’ve got half of a brain, you’ve learned from your mistakes and moved on. Past behavior that is not repeated a hundred times over is not fully indicative of future behavior in any way.

Regardless, I’m staying positive, but my poise faltered in that last interview. When I left the first one, I felt that if I didn’t have the job it was because I wasn’t qualified in skill. Now I feel that if I lose the job, it’s because I wasn’t prepared. Lesson learned.

posted by paula 12:34 PM

Busy bee, busy me.
Between celebrating all these birthdays, moving into another building at work and trying to accomplish all the other things that are going on in life right now, it’s been a bit hectic.

I’ve started a new assignment at my work, which has moved me to another, nicer building on campus but requires that I report to work at a much earlier hour than even roosters are comfortable with. It seems to me that when it comes to sleep and work, I’m a sport about it. I don’t usually complain about an early morning, but this week it’s got me fighting to stay awake during the training sessions that I have to sit in on.

The perks of being up early greatly outweigh the cons. Besides the fact that I have most of my afternoons free to run errands and do as I please, the building that I am in is much niftier than it’s neighbor and in fact, makes my old building look like a dump. The new one is beautifully carpeted, with circular glass walls so that people can see down into the atrium and sitting area from every single floor. The halls are a combination of silver railings and redwood, with conference rooms of glass so that its occupants can look out over the adjacent pond and grass. The cafeteria is excellent, with both breakfast and lunch fare for even the pickiest eater. The bathrooms are immaculate, with gold flecked wallpaper that puts Caesar’s Palace to shame and a combination of recessed and halogen lighting. It’s almost a shame that a room that beautiful is used to perform some of the dirtiest of bodily functions – but you wouldn’t know it since the cleaning staff shuffles through there a couple times a day. Not to mention the incredibly convenient beverage center and mini-kitchen on each floor that rivals something that only Emeril would cook in.

If it were up to the scenery alone, I would certainly not hesitate to work there permanently. And they currently have positions open, for those of you that wish to email me and inquire where this heavenly oasis is. But what concerns me is that this company offers a service to the common public and I’m sure the cost of all of this luxury is somehow worked into consumer’s bills. What’s more is that despite all of this beauty, I get the distinct impression that the people are – on a whole – generally not all that happy. I’m given the impression that 13-hour days are the norm and not the exception. That demands are high and the managers are hired because of tenure and not because of their polished managerial skills. The humor is usually has a sarcastic undertone and is generally pointed at how much work they have, how little they’re achieving or what rude comment their boss from corporate just made in the last phone meeting.

Of course I realize that this may be just my department. That it’s quite possible that other departments feel much differently, since my department focuses largely on servicing the client, which can produce the most frustrations. But these are just all of my observations and as a contracted employee, I just observe – pleased to know that I’ve gotten a good glimpse of things before actually making this place a semi-permanent home.

posted by paula 4:55 PM

Finally. Some salvation for all you size 9 men.

posted by paula 12:56 PM

This is perhaps the best thing I’ve seen dedicated solely to the blogging community: blog stickers. Much like bumper stickers, but without the sticky residue. Among my favorite sayings:
“Blog Noir”
“Now look what you made me blog.”
“If you haven’t offended anyone, you haven’t blogged.”
“Kiss my blog.”
Don’t worry if there’s too many to choose from. There’s a randomizer option that will periodically change them for you.

posted by paula 11:50 AM

This guy – my boyfriend, my best friend – the most wonderful, the coolest guy I know; it’s his birthday today and he’d rather not have you know that. So call him and email him to wish him a happy birthday.

posted by paula 8:20 AM

Ironically, four of us celebrate their birthdays all within one week of each other. Last night, eight of us decided to celebrate three of the birthdays by having dinner at The Twin City Grill. Here are the pictures. Happy birthday to Nick, Matt and Ryan. (Apparently, we had a little trouble with the red eye.)

posted by paula 1:57 PM

On writing…
I’ve been doing some thinking about writing lately. Specifically the idea that science now says that writing in itself is a finger print; that no two people write the same way or in the same voice and that a composition can be dissected to a number of elements which the makeup then identifies who the writer is. In addition to that, there are theories that no two people type in the same manner, speed or with the same force, allowing us to develop security technology that would be able to decipher users just by the way they type one sentence. Obviously, this technology is still in the development stages -- but back to writing.

I am constantly amazed at how the Internet has evolved. That it is a business tool, an entertainment tool and even a therapist’s office. Since I’ve started blogging, I’ve been intrigued by the power of a blog and the nature of which they’re used. There are some that are running commentary, there are some that maintain the connection between friends and family and others that are painfully sad chronicles of events or insightful observation of daily life. I have yet to determine which one of these mine is.

What I’ve been thinking of lately is the voice I use to portray to the world – what exactly is my writing fingerprint? My mother, a huge John Denver fan, once said that she loved his music because it was personal – that each album could be matched with a period in his life and served as a tell tale sign of what he was currently experiencing at the time. I admire that. And I suppose it is the same with blogs – whether one writes about their daily life or not, the picture as a whole can tell the story of what the individual is feeling at the time. Last week I started in a funk and ended a rather wicked person – a reflection of actual events that were happening in life as I spoke. I lashed out at an individual and looking back, could just as well erase what I had written but I would like to believe that I am a bigger person than that. Erasing would insinuate hesitation in dealing with the consequences of such actions. Had I said the words in person, I would have suffered the same circumstances, no? So while I don’t believe in content control, I don’t believe in censoring your voice or in this case, ‘altering your fingerprint.’ I am real and sometimes I lash out or make jokes. Sometimes I am witty, sometimes I am wistful. Sometimes trivial and sometimes complex. Obviously, to be a productive member of society, I exercise the appropriate actions in the appropriate realms and deal with the consequences that arise, whether those result in happiness, humor or apology. After all, it’s my goal while I am on this earth to leave here a better individual than when I came. Like anything, we lose sight of goals and need to be reminded of them – sometimes having to make difficult decisions in the process. On the same note, it’s those reminders that give us options to either grow and learn from the situation or become something completely different. So in this particular situation, I’m picking the former path, rather than the latter and to said individual, I apologize.

posted by paula 1:13 PM