<a tongue in cheek report from the trenches...>
Oh it's not that I don't have job offers...I'm beating the recruiters away with a stick. That's fine, options are good. It's just that for the last 10 or so years I've been blessed with great contract opportunities where I work mostly from home (I do web dev) and haven't had to suffer the indignities of an old-school corporate style interview in an antiseptic, faux-panelled office on the 12th floor. It was like stepping back into a bad dream...I've been so sheltered from all that with uber-cool arty webshops and telecommuting that I had no idea this world still existed.
Things I thought died out with last century. Things that us 90's-era web geeks tossed along the way like bad egg salad. According to today's company's glossy corporate handbook, suits are required and hosiery is *mandatory*. ?!?! Oh, and the kind of interview questions I haven't heard since the 80s..."strengths"... "weaknesses"... "describe a recent challenge that demonstrated leadership and how you leveraged pro-activity into business synergy" blah blah. Lawdy, I haven't heard buzz words like that in the last decade. It was not about your corporate history, it was what you knew. Can you code, can you design, let's see your portfolio. All this done over the phone, or over a beer with some fella in a wrinkled polo shirt. I just didn't know the world had shifted while I've been in telecommuting la-la land.
Can this artsy-neo-boho-rebel survive in a dreary post-dot-com-crash world of cubicles, monday morning meetings and performance reviews? Which will be the end of me first, the 3 pm sugar slump at the vending machine, or road rage? Stay tuned.... :idontno:
Slingin' BBQ is sure starting to sound tempting right about now... ;-)
Kidding. Sort of.
Replies
19
quirty
Re: Job hunting blooze
Katie - I can totally relate. I've been working very flexible part-time hours, (some of it from home) since my kids were born, but this fall my daughter starts kindergarten and I need to get back into a full time position. I'm just dreading it. I can't deal with all the corporate BS again....sigh.
I wish you the best of luck - hopefully we can both find something that doesn't totally cramp our style!
Oh it's not that I don't have job offers...I'm beating the recruiters away with a stick. That's fine, options are good. It's just that for the last 10 or so years I've been blessed with great contract opportunities where I work mostly from home (I do web dev) and haven't had to suffer the indignities of an old-school corporate style interview in an antiseptic, faux-panelled office on the 12th floor. It was like stepping back into a bad dream...I've been so sheltered from all that with uber-cool arty webshops and telecommuting that I had no idea this world still existed.
Things I thought died out with last century. Things that us 90's-era web geeks tossed along the way like bad egg salad. According to today's company's glossy corporate handbook, suits are required and hosiery is *mandatory*. ?!?! Oh, and the kind of interview questions I haven't heard since the 80s..."strengths"... "weaknesses"... "describe a recent challenge that demonstrated leadership and how you leveraged pro-activity into business synergy" blah blah. Lawdy, I haven't heard buzz words like that in the last decade. It was not about your corporate history, it was what you knew. Can you code, can you design, let's see your portfolio. All this done over the phone, or over a beer with some fella in a wrinkled polo shirt. I just didn't know the world had shifted while I've been in telecommuting la-la land.
Can this artsy-neo-boho-rebel survive in a dreary post-dot-com-crash world of cubicles, monday morning meetings and performance reviews? Which will be the end of me first, the 3 pm sugar slump at the vending machine, or road rage? Stay tuned.... :idontno:
Slingin' BBQ is sure starting to sound tempting right about now... ;-)
Kidding. Sort of.
Katie - I can totally relate. I've been working very flexible part-time hours, (some of it from home) since my kids were born, but this fall my daughter starts kindergarten and I need to get back into a full time position. I'm just dreading it. I can't deal with all the corporate BS again....sigh.
I wish you the best of luck - hopefully we can both find something that doesn't totally cramp our style!
SoWal Insider
Oh, it's funny to hear all these terms you write about, the "buzz" words. My son tried out for drum major at the end of the school year. He worked on the music, directing, etc., but he soon realized that the most important part of this tryout was the "interview." I couldn't believe I was "training" him for all the expected questions and scenarios, the b.s. that I knew would be a part of it. It made me sad to know full well that this was just the beginning of the rat race in life.
Good luck to you.
Good luck to you.
kt looAuthor
Thanks! No luck needed though. I don't have to worry about ending up in a place like I interviewed today, I have other options already. it It was really just an amusing observation for me, hadn't seen that in a while. I realize fully how spoiled I was now, that's the bottom line. ;-)
SoWal Insider
Thanks! No luck needed though. I don't have to worry about ending up in a place like I interviewed today, I have other options already. it It was really just an amusing observation for me, hadn't seen that in a while. I realize fully how spoiled I was now, that's the bottom line. ;-)
I relate as well. I am self -employed as a Broker, and do a lot of work from my own office suite set up at home designed by my husband for me so I can sit in front of the windows and view my gardens. A Big Bank called me with a position that I thought warranted looking at. S.V.P- blah-blah. Its been 8 years or so since I had an interview, and I actually had to buy a suit again. Figured the ones I had were outdated. Anyway, I go in and they give me math test! Couldn't believe that one :shock: , then had to meet with 5 different people, and they all asked me the same questions, like the ones you got. I figured I would humor them when they asked me why I wanted the job. I said - Uh, you called me! jokingly, but it was a good experience to just get out and experience the real world - if that's what you call it. Enforced the fact that I am not cut out for corporate America ! :bang:
Admin
Peter Gibbons: You see Bob, it's not that I'm lazy, it's that I just don't care.
Bob Porter: Don't... don't care?
Peter Gibbons: It's a problem of motivation, all right? Now if I work my ass off and Initech ships a few extra units, I don't see another dime, so where's the motivation? And here's another thing, I have eight different bosses right now.
Bob Porter: Eight?
Peter Gibbons: Eight, Bob. So that means when I make a mistake, I have eight different people coming by to tell me about it. That's my only real motivation is not to be hassled, that, and the fear of losing my job. But you know, Bob, that will only make someone work just hard enough not to get fired.
Bob Porter: Don't... don't care?
Peter Gibbons: It's a problem of motivation, all right? Now if I work my ass off and Initech ships a few extra units, I don't see another dime, so where's the motivation? And here's another thing, I have eight different bosses right now.
Bob Porter: Eight?
Peter Gibbons: Eight, Bob. So that means when I make a mistake, I have eight different people coming by to tell me about it. That's my only real motivation is not to be hassled, that, and the fear of losing my job. But you know, Bob, that will only make someone work just hard enough not to get fired.
Meow
PANTYHOSE? 😱 Keep looking kb!!!!
SoWal Expert
PANTYHOSE? 😱 Keep looking kb!!!!
No kiddin' Miss Kitty! I haven't worn pantyhose in years! And I do work for a corporation. I just make them lots of $$$ so they leave me alone! kb--don't give in!!
SoWal Insider
No kiddin' Miss Kitty! I haven't worn pantyhose in years! And I do work for a corporation. I just make them lots of $$$ so they leave me alone! kb--don't give in!!
Me neither. I broke out in a full body rash just "thinking" about putting them on. Although I do get "dressed" to come to my office, pantyhose don't go well with my fluffy bathrobe from Nordstrom's.
FYI- they called me in for a second interview and to see their corporate psychologist. :blink:
Apparently that is the new thing too. Was thinking of going for the fun of it, but then I would have had to wash the bathrobe 😀
directionally challenged
Don't envy you at all Katie. Now they're doing psycho tests 😱 , I'd never get a job. :floor: I resented the last time when I had to do the pee test.
I have no doubt that you will find just the right position to start painting on that clean canvas. Go for it girl :lolabove:
I have no doubt that you will find just the right position to start painting on that clean canvas. Go for it girl :lolabove:
Meow
Me neither. I broke out in a full body rash just "thinking" about putting them on. Although I do get "dressed" to come to my office, pantyhose don't go well with my fluffy bathrobe from Nordstrom's.
FYI- they called me in for a second interview and to see their corporate psychologist. :blink:
Apparently that is the new thing too. Was thinking of going for the fun of it, but then I would have had to wash the bathrobe 😀
:lolabove: ....I would be so screwed if I had to see the corporate psychologist. They would probably just let me borrow a "jacket" and whisk me away!
fartblossom
Peter Gibbons: You see Bob, it's not that I'm lazy, it's that I just don't care.
Bob Porter: Don't... don't care?
Peter Gibbons: It's a problem of motivation, all right? Now if I work my ass off and Initech ships a few extra units, I don't see another dime, so where's the motivation? And here's another thing, I have eight different bosses right now.
Bob Porter: Eight?
Peter Gibbons: Eight, Bob. So that means when I make a mistake, I have eight different people coming by to tell me about it. That's my only real motivation is not to be hassled, that, and the fear of losing my job. But you know, Bob, that will only make someone work just hard enough not to get fired.
lovelovelove this movie !!! if i could watch it this weekend - that would be great !
Beach Lover
Peter Gibbons: You see Bob, it's not that I'm lazy, it's that I just don't care.
Bob Porter: Don't... don't care?
Peter Gibbons: It's a problem of motivation, all right? Now if I work my ass off and Initech ships a few extra units, I don't see another dime, so where's the motivation? And here's another thing, I have eight different bosses right now.
Bob Porter: Eight?
Peter Gibbons: Eight, Bob. So that means when I make a mistake, I have eight different people coming by to tell me about it. That's my only real motivation is not to be hassled, that, and the fear of losing my job. But you know, Bob, that will only make someone work just hard enough not to get fired.
"I wouldn't say I've been 'missing' work, Bob."
SoWal Insider
lovelovelove this movie !!! if i could watch it this weekend - that would be great !This is one of the best movies ever!!!
bean
Peter Gibbons: I uh, I don't like my job, and, uh, I don't think I'm gonna go anymore.
Joanna: You're just not gonna go?
Peter Gibbons: Yeah.
Joanna: Won't you get fired?
Peter Gibbons: I don't know, but I really don't like it, and, uh, I'm not gonna go.
Joanna: So you're gonna quit?
Peter Gibbons: Nuh-uh. Not really. Uh... I'm just gonna stop going.
Joanna: When did you decide all that?
Peter Gibbons: About an hour ago.
Joanna: An hour ago... so you're gonna get another job?
Peter Gibbons: I don't think I'd like another job.
Joanna: Well, what are you going to do about money and bills and...
Peter Gibbons: You know, I've never really liked paying bills. I don't think I'm gonna do that, either.
Joanna: So what do you wanna do?
Peter Gibbons: First I'm gonna take you out to dinner, and then I'm gonna go back to my apartment and watch kung fu. Do you ever watch kung fu?
Joanna: I love kung fu.
:floor: :floor: :floor: :floor:
Joanna: You're just not gonna go?
Peter Gibbons: Yeah.
Joanna: Won't you get fired?
Peter Gibbons: I don't know, but I really don't like it, and, uh, I'm not gonna go.
Joanna: So you're gonna quit?
Peter Gibbons: Nuh-uh. Not really. Uh... I'm just gonna stop going.
Joanna: When did you decide all that?
Peter Gibbons: About an hour ago.
Joanna: An hour ago... so you're gonna get another job?
Peter Gibbons: I don't think I'd like another job.
Joanna: Well, what are you going to do about money and bills and...
Peter Gibbons: You know, I've never really liked paying bills. I don't think I'm gonna do that, either.
Joanna: So what do you wanna do?
Peter Gibbons: First I'm gonna take you out to dinner, and then I'm gonna go back to my apartment and watch kung fu. Do you ever watch kung fu?
Joanna: I love kung fu.
:floor: :floor: :floor: :floor:
Darlene is my middle name, not my nickname
Panty hose will never, ever touch these legs again. Somewhere buried deep in the throws of this message board is a story about me and panty hose. They are not my friend.
KB, I hope you find something that fit's your needs and somewhere outside of Corporate suits. It is hard working for the man. I don't have a choice in the matter, but I do have choice whether or not I am going to wear panty hose or not!!!! And I am not!!!!
KB, I hope you find something that fit's your needs and somewhere outside of Corporate suits. It is hard working for the man. I don't have a choice in the matter, but I do have choice whether or not I am going to wear panty hose or not!!!! And I am not!!!!
kt looAuthor
Thanks for the encouragement, y'all. They really want me back for the next round of interviews, as does a certain airline that would offer free flight benefits, but I'm trying not to jump the gun just yet.
Experience has shown me that if you hold a vision clearly enough, it comes to you eventually--you just have to be pretty clear about what it is you want. I *will* find a situation that gives me some creative leeway, sans hosiery, that allows just enough flexibility that I won't have to give up the music sideline that's so important to me and Mr. Blue. (His job as a software engineer allows for that, so I know it's out there somewhere.)
And in the meantime... 😀 ...if anyone's company needs someone to design graphics or maintain their internal or external sites, you know where to PM me... (how's that for leveraging pro-activity into business synergy?) :lolabove:
Experience has shown me that if you hold a vision clearly enough, it comes to you eventually--you just have to be pretty clear about what it is you want. I *will* find a situation that gives me some creative leeway, sans hosiery, that allows just enough flexibility that I won't have to give up the music sideline that's so important to me and Mr. Blue. (His job as a software engineer allows for that, so I know it's out there somewhere.)
And in the meantime... 😀 ...if anyone's company needs someone to design graphics or maintain their internal or external sites, you know where to PM me... (how's that for leveraging pro-activity into business synergy?) :lolabove:
SoWal Insider
:lolabove: ....I would be so screwed if I had to see the corporate psychologist. They would probably just let me borrow a "jacket" and whisk me away!
:lolabove: It would be funn to see what the psycholgist wrote about the blue hair, and green glasses. They would call you an "innovative thinker"
"A leader with vision", and say you were purrfect for the job!
Meow
:lolabove: It would be funn to see what the psycholgist wrote about the blue hair, and green glasses. They would call you an "innovative thinker"
"A leader with vision", and say you were purrfect for the job!
Why thank you Mango!
And big congrats on hitting 100 posts! :clap_1:
SoWal Insider
Why thank you Mango!
And big congrats on hitting 100 posts! :clap_1:
Oh Jeez, has it been that many already in such a short time since jumping into poster from lurker? Wonder what the psychologist would have to say aboutg that! :funn:
At least I am not a beach crab anymore.
Checking your forum account
Please wait while we verify your forum account.