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Admin
Hi there.
You've got a lot of really entertaining content lately!
Keep up the good work!
Admin
I had just the opposite experience with Google. When I asked them how they found me, the recruiter paused, and said 'Google?'
Admin
Amen Craig. I am always amazed at how people dither about whether or not they should leave a company that is TF'ed (the "T" stands for truly). Think of the opportunity cost that Kirk inflicted on himself for staying at that company for 4 years right at the beginning of the Dot.com era...it is staggering.
Companies certainly don't have any compunction about doing what is in their own self interest such as freezing wages, downsizing, right sizing, and eliminating pensions for bullshit 401Ks.
American workers have been marginalized to contract status as they can be fired at any time and have minimal health and pension benefits; yet, they don't get paid as well as true contractors. Oh and don't get me started on outsourcing.
Happy holidays...
Admin
Admin
when i leave a company i usually burn the bridge just to make sure i won't go back somewhere i did not like.
eventhough i was called back once to get a nice offer 20k below my current salary. i knew there was a reason i left.
Admin
The Network holds liars accountable. I got an IM from a former co-worker when someone, let's call him Bob, applied for a job. Bob claimed to have worked for a client where I had worked in the same period of time. Actually, he was thrown out in less than a week for not being capable. The fact that Bob lied came to light this way, and well, my former co-workers company didn't hire him.
Admin
That assumes that you actually understand stuff like that. I don't - and I have tried.
About questions in general: I don't like asking questions when I'm in an interview. I know that I'm not always good at making myself understand, especially when I'm nervous, and most often when I do try to ask something it comes out wrong and I get flustered and even more nervous. If I do need to ask something, I will, but I will avoid it if I can.
I have found I'm a fairly good judge of whether I like the place based on what I see / hear / feel around me (at least, I've been right about everywhere I've ended up working, or later found out more about).
Admin
Re: The Re-Interview 2007-12-20 12:31 • by akatherder I don't understand the point of going back for an interview when you already know you don't want the job and it's a terrible company to work for.
Insatiable curiosity. I might have done the same thing.
Admin
When I first came to Dallas in 2000, I had spent five years working for the same company, out in the sticks. I had no experience at interviewing for IT positions in the metroplex. I read a couple of websites offering tips on interviewing; they both advised preparing questions to ask. At the time, I dismissed this as unnecessary.
I interviewed for a position with McAfee, of ViruScan fame. The technical part went quite well and I was confident of getting the position, when the interviewer asked, "Do you have any questions you'd like to ask us?" I replied, no, I didn't, and his face fell. After a couple of awkward moments he picked up the thread again and continued on, but shortly he asked again, "Are you sure you don't have anything to ask me?" I again replied that I did not. And I could tell by his expression that my lack of preparedness had just cost me that position. He quickly wrapped up the interview and I left, determined to go to my next interview properly prepared.
A few days later I interviewed for my current position, and just as Ursus said, I came with a leather-bound notebook containing several questions. These mostly related to their development processes. For example:
Do you have a dedicated QA staff to do testing of software? If not, what is your testing process? What is your approach to continuing education for your employees? How often do you provide training for them, and what type of training is it?
What development tools and platform do you use?
Do you attempt to keep pace with growth in the IT field by regularly upgrading your tools and platform? If not, how often do you upgrade? In my assignments, what will be the ratio of new development to maintenance of legacy applications?
...and so forth. These questions are not difficult to ask, particularly if you read them straight from your leather-bound notebook as they are worded here. Nor are you being presumptious by asking them. Instead, you're demonstrating that you are interested in working in a healthy, progressive environment where management understands the necessity of good tools and continuing training.
Admin
Admin
I worked for an ISP back in 1994, and I remember those days. The dot-com boom didn't pick up speed until 1997 or so.
Admin
It's a pity, I tried to get this job but they seem to have given up.
Admin
Google uses Paula Bean to interview people?
Admin
Nice try, Alex, but we all know it's really you. ;-)
Admin
In the particular market where I work (Indianapolis), the total market is small enough that your chances of cross-pollenation are very high. At every position I've had in the past 5 years I have encountered someone who I either knew before or who directly knows someone I knew before. I know several individuals who have burned a bridge that returned to haunt them later.
Admin
I'm so glad he went back for the second interview.
Curiosity is a healthy value.
If I saw them posting the same ad as before, I'd want to go and see how gnarly it was. It gives you a final perspective on the situation, like a bookend, and you can then move on knowing what actually happened.
At this point in my cynical life, I might not have waited as long to leave the first time, but that's experience talking, which I didn't have at my first few gigs.
Admin
Easily true - a local (non-tech) company has used the same ad in the paper for 10 years (and until maybe a year ago, the exact same overinflated "up to $X" pay scale).
Admin
Admin
Given the market lately, I've found that I am weeding out companies more than they are weeding out candidates.
A couple weeks ago I interviewed with a company for "new development work, cutting edge", etc. When it was my turn to ask questions, I asked what they actually needed help on. This led into the company's idea of an "ideal" career path. Which was: start in support (yes, answering the phones), then move to maintenance programming, and after a couple years I would be able to join the new development team. They then asked if I was interested.
I've been doing development for 15+ years; with most of it being new over the past 10 of that. So I told the interviewers that perhaps they needed to find someone a bit more junior. Like maybe just out of high school.
Yes, asking questions is an absolute must.
Admin
Sounds like a great scam. I heard of shit like this happening before...
My uncle had his raises halted for 7 yrs for financial troubles, then the owners bought a Ferrarri! Each! And I think more than 1. He just left in a snap.
Its not a WTF but I found it funny that it still existed.
Admin
Is there going to be a Christmas WTF???
Admin
It's obviously not a completely true story. However, it may still say true things about industry and about real human experiences.
Admin
I would have, just for the sake of having a good story to tell.
Disclaimer: this is not a wise manner in which to live your life. It has gotten me into trouble on multiple occasions.
Admin
Actually, the next big buzzword is "semantic web"
Admin
Ooh ooh ooh. I need a man!
Admin
I work in Indy too. Are you working as a contractor at Lilly and bumping into former coworkers?
I don't think the market is that small.
OT: You could probably make an entire site about how much it sucks to do IT work at Lilly.
Admin
Admin
He he... I saw this bathroom stall graffiti at one of my old college bars, and it's stayed with me to this day:
"No matter how cute you think she is, someone, somewhere, is sick of her shit."
Admin
If they google me on my name, I'm screwed.
http://www.google.be/search?hl=nl&q=%22yannick+mattheus%22&meta=
There is a guy who is 2 years younger ( thank god his birth date is on the profile page, that might hint HR that he's not me ) and he has a profile page on http://www.partyanimal.be/yannickskueeeeeh , which conveniently shows up first when googling my name.
His paged used to be filled with swastikas, and he uses a bad form of Flemish internet slang.
The other 3 hits are actually me, on a school website, and 2 clan-gaming websites. Let's hope they never google me >.>
Admin
Admin
yeah. first company I worked for out of college (.com) let half the staff go 2 weeks before Christmas. That's 22 people out of a 43 person company, none of whom had CO in their title. The (6) CO's kept their jobs.
Admin
I think the OP needs to go back an interview a THIRD time. He'd probably be told by the HR recruiter, "you're the one that I want."
Admin
One word on this one..... Marconi
Admin
I think one of these has a future...
Admin
coach sneakers
Admin
I must say.. this has to be the dumbest smart guy I've seen in a long time..
"Teeeeeeens of milllions..." "We're going places!".. TWO RED FLAGS in a row..
No serious company would hire such idiots in HR..
Admin
This story is extremely frightening. To throw away most of your life working for a single company without any promotions or presumably raises is absolutely terrifying.
I get bored at jobs within a year if the work isn't exciting and there isn't advancement potential. I've worked with some people that have stayed in companies for years, and their complacent attitudes about everything scare the daylights out of me; it's like something out of a horror movie with lobotomized cult members.
Admin
Oh god. You stupid, stupid, stupid STUPID cunt.