• AnonymousFan (unregistered)

    Hi there.

    You've got a lot of really entertaining content lately!

    Keep up the good work!

  • rm -rf (unregistered) in reply to ParkinT
    ParkinT:
    True story: I was contacted by Google for a job. Not in search of a new job, I was quite flattered so agreed to a phone interview. During the interview I (casually) mentioned that if you search on my name in Google, you will see the breadth and longevity of my experience on the Internet. What surprised me was that this person - an employee of google - had never thought of that!

    I had just the opposite experience with Google. When I asked them how they found me, the recruiter paused, and said 'Google?'

  • Bartman (unregistered) in reply to Craig
    Craig:
    The real WTF is that he stayed there 4 years.

    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...

  • (cs) in reply to Olivia
    Olivia:
    ChZEROHag:
    ParkinT:
    I've got chills!!

    They're multiplying.

    Stop it! I'm losing control!

    The comment you're supplying? It's electrifying.

  • Freddoo (unregistered)

    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.

  • Merijn (unregistered) in reply to steve
    steve:
    You always hear about people stretching the truth or lying outright on their resumes...this is an example of why it's nice to personally know someone who works for the company that you interview with - otherwise, who holds them accountable?

    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.

  • Mel (unregistered) in reply to ThatGuy
    ThatGuy:
    If they're publicly traded, look at their stock price and public filings before you go in there.

    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).

  • billswift (unregistered) in reply to akatherder

    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.

  • (cs) in reply to Mel
    Mel:
    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).

    I agree with the American bear--you should have questions prepared, and ask them.

    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.

  • (cs) in reply to FredSaw
    FredSaw:
    Olivia:
    ChZEROHag:
    ParkinT:
    I've got chills!!

    They're multiplying.

    Stop it! I'm losing control!

    The comment you're supplying? It's electrifying.
    Grease, it's the word...

  • m0j0 (unregistered) in reply to Patrick
    Patrick:
    Air quotes are a dead giveaway that you don't want to work there.
    Actually, back in 1994, air quotes weren't necessarily a bad sign. The ISP market was just taking off and they were peddling dial-up 28.8k access only. You still had a lot of Windows 3.x users using Trumpet Winsock and the original Netscape browser.

    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.

  • Cloak (unregistered) in reply to Grimoire
    Grimoire:
    Wow, replace "INDUSTRY LEADING travel company" with, "INDUSTRY LEADING wireless company", one year anniversary with 6 month anniversary, add in 13 rounds of layoffs, and change re-interview years later with contract offer 1 month later, and you have my previous job.

    It's a pity, I tried to get this job but they seem to have given up.

  • Christopher (unregistered) in reply to ParkinT
    ParkinT:
    As I said it, I assumed it was a 'given' and expected a reaction like, "sure, that's what I did. I always do". But she actually had never thought of it!!! I was floored.

    Google uses Paula Bean to interview people?

  • Zygo (unregistered) in reply to AnonymousFan
    AnonymousFan:
    Hi there.

    You've got a lot of really entertaining content lately!

    Keep up the good work!

    Nice try, Alex, but we all know it's really you. ;-)

  • (cs) in reply to Freddoo
    Freddoo:
    when i leave a company i usually burn the bridge just to make sure i won't go back somewhere i did not like.

    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.

  • (cs)

    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.

  • A Gould (unregistered) in reply to WhiskeyJack
    WhiskeyJack:
    This is the very first time I have read a story on TDWTF and thought, "No way, this can't possibly be true."

    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).

  • (cs) in reply to FredSaw
    FredSaw:
    Olivia:
    ChZEROHag:
    ParkinT:
    I've got chills!!

    They're multiplying.

    Stop it! I'm losing control!

    The comment you're supplying? It's electrifying.
    You better shape up.

  • (cs) in reply to FredSaw
    FredSaw:
    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.

    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.

  • (cs) in reply to Benanov

    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.

  • Dude (unregistered)

    Is there going to be a Christmas WTF???

  • BD (unregistered) in reply to akatherder
    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.

    It's obviously not a completely true story. However, it may still say true things about industry and about real human experiences.

  • Sack Scratcherton (unregistered) in reply to akatherder
    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.

    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.

  • hayalci (unregistered) in reply to Anonymous
    PS: Social-networking is the next most obnoxious and meaningless buzzwords right after Web 2.0.

    Actually, the next big buzzword is "semantic web"

  • Ted (unregistered) in reply to gremlin

    Ooh ooh ooh. I need a man!

  • Fred (unregistered) in reply to GalacticCowboy
    GalacticCowboy:
    Freddoo:
    when i leave a company i usually burn the bridge just to make sure i won't go back somewhere i did not like.

    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.

    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.

  • D2oris (unregistered) in reply to gremlin
    Ted:
    gremlin:
    FredSaw:
    Olivia:
    ChZEROHag:
    ParkinT:
    I've got chills!!
    They're multiplying.
    Stop it! I'm losing control!
    The comment you're supplying? It's electrifying.
    You better shape up.
    Ooh ooh ooh. I need a man!
    Who can keep me satisfied!
  • (cs) in reply to Benanov
    Benanov:
    (Mainly this keeps you from thinking that your ex was the best you'll ever have.)

    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."

  • yanman (unregistered)

    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 >.>

  • (cs) in reply to akatherder
    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.
    Easy - sheer morbid curiosity... besides, I don't think he did know yet that he didn't want it - it *might* have actually changed...
  • merry xmas (unregistered) in reply to Dude

    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.

  • MrEleganza (unregistered) in reply to D2oris
    D2oris:
    Ted:
    gremlin:
    FredSaw:
    Olivia:
    ChZEROHag:
    ParkinT:
    I've got chills!!
    They're multiplying.
    Stop it! I'm losing control!
    The comment you're supplying? It's electrifying.
    You better shape up.
    Ooh ooh ooh. I need a man!
    Who can keep me satisfied!

    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."

  • anon (unregistered)

    One word on this one..... Marconi

  • Fizzl (unregistered) in reply to ParkinT
    ParkinT:
    During the interview I (casually) mentioned that if you search on my name in Google, you will see the breadth and longevity of my experience on the Internet.
    If you search for my name in Google, you will find I seem to have split personality. One, coding at nights on weird hack projects, going by the pseudonym "Fizzl". And the other one; formally educated orchestral conductor, working in the musical programme service industry.

    I think one of these has a future...

  • gty (unregistered)
  • Does it matter? (unregistered)

    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..

  • (cs)

    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.

  • wow (unregistered) in reply to Does it matter?
    Does it matter?:
    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..

    Oh god. You stupid, stupid, stupid STUPID cunt.

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