Monday, January 31, 2005
The twelveth week in review
I just keep pumping out those applications on the Internet: a couple of positions at the Ministry of Transportation, application support analyst at HP, WAS/UNIX sysadmin via Keith Bagg (which looks suspiciously like the job at the cheque manufacturer's). I got acknowledgements for the first three and the fourth was an email which didn't bounce. Otherwise, these things just disappear into the void (another application for an adult education position seems to have gone this way).
I follow up with the various recruiters that had been pestering me. The job-by-Monday one tells me that the pension fund manager found an exact match for their requirements, but they would keep me in mind for future (is someone just trying to be nice?). The WSIB recruiter has no clue that the position has already been filled by a former teammate who was kind enough to send me an email about his success in landing the job. My former team leader had previously reminded me that a former colleague, an application architect was also working there. I contacted him through email about using him as a reference, but he said it wasn't a good idea due to "internal reasons/issues" without elaboration (I wonder what's going on there although I'll admit that we didn't exactly see eye-to-eye when we worked together). I also got a call from my main guy at CNC Global who let me know I had another interview at IBM on the following Monday.
I've been thinking about taking a week off from the job hunt. I've been going at this for almost three months now even over Christmas. I need a break to recharge and regroup!
D.
I follow up with the various recruiters that had been pestering me. The job-by-Monday one tells me that the pension fund manager found an exact match for their requirements, but they would keep me in mind for future (is someone just trying to be nice?). The WSIB recruiter has no clue that the position has already been filled by a former teammate who was kind enough to send me an email about his success in landing the job. My former team leader had previously reminded me that a former colleague, an application architect was also working there. I contacted him through email about using him as a reference, but he said it wasn't a good idea due to "internal reasons/issues" without elaboration (I wonder what's going on there although I'll admit that we didn't exactly see eye-to-eye when we worked together). I also got a call from my main guy at CNC Global who let me know I had another interview at IBM on the following Monday.
I've been thinking about taking a week off from the job hunt. I've been going at this for almost three months now even over Christmas. I need a break to recharge and regroup!
D.
Tuesday, January 25, 2005
The eleventh week in review
I don't feel like I have much to show for last week even though it seemed to fly by. I didn't get any career alerts worth pursuing from the various job boards. If it weren't for recruiters who are a mixed blessing, there wouldn't have been any job hunt activity at all.
The first part of the week was spent getting ready and attending the second interview at the cheque manufacturer. The second part of the week was spent completing the WSIB application/skills matrix and prepping/attending the interview at pension fund managers (I actually had to write a technical test at this one, couldn't rewrite a korn shell script to Perl so maybe I'm not as overqualified as I thought I was). Still no feedback from any of these. Rant of the day: I wish companies and recruiters were more timely and courteous in this regard. They make pests of themselves and then leave you hanging.
I was so preoccupied by these IT activities that I didn't accomplish much on the teaching front. I think I applied for an adult education position, but that was it.
D.
The first part of the week was spent getting ready and attending the second interview at the cheque manufacturer. The second part of the week was spent completing the WSIB application/skills matrix and prepping/attending the interview at pension fund managers (I actually had to write a technical test at this one, couldn't rewrite a korn shell script to Perl so maybe I'm not as overqualified as I thought I was). Still no feedback from any of these. Rant of the day: I wish companies and recruiters were more timely and courteous in this regard. They make pests of themselves and then leave you hanging.
I was so preoccupied by these IT activities that I didn't accomplish much on the teaching front. I think I applied for an adult education position, but that was it.
D.
Saturday, January 22, 2005
Are the recruiters unethical or just incompetent?
The second recruiter who called about the WSIB job has been harassing me. She claims that the first guy's company is no longer entitled to submit candidates to the competition. In fact, her company is the only one allowed to submit now. The job posting on Workopolis hasn't even closed yet! She seems non-plussed when I tell her I'm sticking with the first guy. On top of all this, I find out that one of my former teammates has already had an interview while I'm still struggling to complete the application process with the first recruiter.
Late Wednesday, my husband takes a message from a new (to me) recruiter saying that I can have a job by Monday. He and I laugh about this one. I call her back and leave a message. She returns my call at 9 p.m. (!) looking for a contract WAS 5 specialist for a pension fund management company. I tell her that I'm not there yet so she goes away to pursue with her client.
Thursday afternoon, she calls back to say that WAS 4 is OK and she wants me to come downtown for an interview with her. It's a two hour trip one way for me so we decide to do it over the phone. I will reply to her email with my resume and references. So I wait and wait and wait. No email arrives. I call her a couple of times. Finally, I get her email address and send the documents off directly. She calls me back, and we talk while I'm cooking supper. She says she can set up an appointment for 3 p.m. the next day, but she'll follow up with an email with the details. I don't remember her mentioning the title of the position, and it isn't in the email either. The job is a mish-mash of HelpDesk and project management.
The email also says that the interview is at 2 p.m. I wonder about that, but show up at the client's location at that time. Reception tells me another candidate from the same recruiter has already arrived for two. He's still sitting there waiting for the manager. I'm too early, but after last week's fiasco (see Screwing the Pooch), it doesn't really phase (sp?) me.
To boot, the manager is looking to backfill a maternity leave starting in May so there's no real rush to hire although he does want some time to train and he does need the extra help. I'm way overqualified for the job as it is basically a support position which was only one-quarter to one-third of what I was doing at my former employer and not my primary focus. Of course, contracters always get overpaid, right?
D.
Late Wednesday, my husband takes a message from a new (to me) recruiter saying that I can have a job by Monday. He and I laugh about this one. I call her back and leave a message. She returns my call at 9 p.m. (!) looking for a contract WAS 5 specialist for a pension fund management company. I tell her that I'm not there yet so she goes away to pursue with her client.
Thursday afternoon, she calls back to say that WAS 4 is OK and she wants me to come downtown for an interview with her. It's a two hour trip one way for me so we decide to do it over the phone. I will reply to her email with my resume and references. So I wait and wait and wait. No email arrives. I call her a couple of times. Finally, I get her email address and send the documents off directly. She calls me back, and we talk while I'm cooking supper. She says she can set up an appointment for 3 p.m. the next day, but she'll follow up with an email with the details. I don't remember her mentioning the title of the position, and it isn't in the email either. The job is a mish-mash of HelpDesk and project management.
The email also says that the interview is at 2 p.m. I wonder about that, but show up at the client's location at that time. Reception tells me another candidate from the same recruiter has already arrived for two. He's still sitting there waiting for the manager. I'm too early, but after last week's fiasco (see Screwing the Pooch), it doesn't really phase (sp?) me.
To boot, the manager is looking to backfill a maternity leave starting in May so there's no real rush to hire although he does want some time to train and he does need the extra help. I'm way overqualified for the job as it is basically a support position which was only one-quarter to one-third of what I was doing at my former employer and not my primary focus. Of course, contracters always get overpaid, right?
D.
Wednesday, January 19, 2005
A first: a second interview!
I got a callback from the cheque manufacturer informing me that I had made the top three candidates list. It was the senior WebSphere admin asking to set up a technical interview.
We spent just over an hour talking about my experience and doing a Q&A. Unfortunately, I couldn't answer all of his questions, and I know I got at least one wrong (darn WebSphere plug-in). I actually learned something new, but I don't think interviews are intended to be educational opportunities. He seemed like he'd be good to work with, too (I think we clicked but that's not technical). Double darn!
At least now I know what making it to the next level feels like. The interview process at this place has been a pleasant experience (because of the people) albeit a slow one.
D.
We spent just over an hour talking about my experience and doing a Q&A. Unfortunately, I couldn't answer all of his questions, and I know I got at least one wrong (darn WebSphere plug-in). I actually learned something new, but I don't think interviews are intended to be educational opportunities. He seemed like he'd be good to work with, too (I think we clicked but that's not technical). Double darn!
At least now I know what making it to the next level feels like. The interview process at this place has been a pleasant experience (because of the people) albeit a slow one.
D.
Tuesday, January 18, 2005
The tenth week in review
I'm starting to wonder if all the effort I'm putting in is really productive or whether I'm just keeping myself busy.
I spent Monday running around faxing off three teaching applications (long distance so expensive) and hand delivering two others. I also updated my electronic application at the local school board with my certification renewal. At end of the week, I started researching jobs, especially tutoring/adult education, on a couple of teaching job boards similar to Workopolis/Monster that I had forgotten about. Rant of the day: I follow up with the three high schools to confirm that my fax was received, and I can't get a straight answer from any of them. You can't trust the technology, but you can't trust the humans either.
On the IT front, I applied for a couple of WebSphere jobs via Brainhunter (one project, one support). I also spent some time surfing for Linux and WAS 5/6 sources (freebies). I got a call from a couple of recruiters about a job at WSIB (formerly Workmen's Comp) at the end of the week. When I write it down, it doesn't seem like much to show. I did have that awful interview (see Screwing the Pooch) which took the better part of another day. The best part of that was having a few beers afterwards with one of my former teammates. I miss my beers and flavoured coffee at lunch.
I asked the Winnipeg VP for a reference seeing as my VP is gone now. She said she'd be glad to provide a personal reference. If I wanted a personal reference, I'd go to my church minister! When I left the company, she sent me a note that if I needed anything to get in touch. It doesn't jibe.
D.
I spent Monday running around faxing off three teaching applications (long distance so expensive) and hand delivering two others. I also updated my electronic application at the local school board with my certification renewal. At end of the week, I started researching jobs, especially tutoring/adult education, on a couple of teaching job boards similar to Workopolis/Monster that I had forgotten about. Rant of the day: I follow up with the three high schools to confirm that my fax was received, and I can't get a straight answer from any of them. You can't trust the technology, but you can't trust the humans either.
On the IT front, I applied for a couple of WebSphere jobs via Brainhunter (one project, one support). I also spent some time surfing for Linux and WAS 5/6 sources (freebies). I got a call from a couple of recruiters about a job at WSIB (formerly Workmen's Comp) at the end of the week. When I write it down, it doesn't seem like much to show. I did have that awful interview (see Screwing the Pooch) which took the better part of another day. The best part of that was having a few beers afterwards with one of my former teammates. I miss my beers and flavoured coffee at lunch.
I asked the Winnipeg VP for a reference seeing as my VP is gone now. She said she'd be glad to provide a personal reference. If I wanted a personal reference, I'd go to my church minister! When I left the company, she sent me a note that if I needed anything to get in touch. It doesn't jibe.
D.
Thursday, January 13, 2005
Screwing the pooch
I had an interview yesterday set up by a recruiter. He usually does a lot of prep work-gives me the address with map, names of the people I'll be seeing, company website, yada, yada, yada ...
I get to the address and I can't find the company name in the building directory. A lot of buildings in the GTA have touch screen directories now. The security guard wasn't around either if there was one. I ask a few people in the lobby, but no one's heard of the company.
A postie suggests I try this office with initials that resemble what I'm looking. It's not the company, but they let me use their phone (I don't have a cell) and offer to surf the web for me. I can't reach my recruiter and his receptionist doesn't have any way of contacting him. We look at the company website and it has a different address. I go charging out into the rain to find this place. No luck there either, east or west side, and no payphones.
After running around in the rain for what feels like eternity, I find a payphone and the other receptionist finds my recruiter. He gives me a floor reference back at the first place. I go there and it's not the right company name on the door, but I go in anyway and ask for the contact. Finally, I'm in the right place only an hour late.
They start the interview off with the job description. They're looking for someone to build their WAS 6 environment on Windows 2003. I thought the interview should have been over right there, but I soldier on. I've only done WAS 4 on AIX. They're asking me about uncrating and configuring servers. I'm no sysadmin. We were done in about 25 minutes. I spent an hour and a half in transit for this plus the walking tour of downtown.
I'm a good person. Why do these bad interviews keep happening to me? I appreciate my recruiter since he is getting me interviews. I just don't understand what exactly he gets paid for and how he gets anyone a job.
D.
I get to the address and I can't find the company name in the building directory. A lot of buildings in the GTA have touch screen directories now. The security guard wasn't around either if there was one. I ask a few people in the lobby, but no one's heard of the company.
A postie suggests I try this office with initials that resemble what I'm looking. It's not the company, but they let me use their phone (I don't have a cell) and offer to surf the web for me. I can't reach my recruiter and his receptionist doesn't have any way of contacting him. We look at the company website and it has a different address. I go charging out into the rain to find this place. No luck there either, east or west side, and no payphones.
After running around in the rain for what feels like eternity, I find a payphone and the other receptionist finds my recruiter. He gives me a floor reference back at the first place. I go there and it's not the right company name on the door, but I go in anyway and ask for the contact. Finally, I'm in the right place only an hour late.
They start the interview off with the job description. They're looking for someone to build their WAS 6 environment on Windows 2003. I thought the interview should have been over right there, but I soldier on. I've only done WAS 4 on AIX. They're asking me about uncrating and configuring servers. I'm no sysadmin. We were done in about 25 minutes. I spent an hour and a half in transit for this plus the walking tour of downtown.
I'm a good person. Why do these bad interviews keep happening to me? I appreciate my recruiter since he is getting me interviews. I just don't understand what exactly he gets paid for and how he gets anyone a job.
D.
Tuesday, January 11, 2005
The ninth week in review
Still no movement to the next level on any of my apps. I heard from my former AIX sysadmin colleague that the cheque manufacturer is still interviewing which the team lead didn't know they were going to do (is that a bad sign?). I did get a query about my rate for an MQ job in Saudi Arabia though. I cancelled my EI claim since I don't have an ROE. The company says I will get one in four years after my salary continuation (bridge to retirement) runs out.
On the IT side, I applied for another job at Workbrain as a QA Application Deployment Specialist. I wonder if I can wear these guys down, i.e. they interview me just so I'll stop applying for jobs. I got my application at the government agency (lottery) sorted-you had to go through Workopolis rather than the corporate site. Calling the TO office for help was useless. I've got a couple of applications for contract jobs to install Websphere on the go and I've identified CTC Bank as a good fit for my software product set (all IBM on AIX).
I hadn't been reviewing the teaching sites as frequently on the IT ones and I discovered late in the week a bunch of jobs had been posted. Two are at local area schools and three were in/close to my home town which is too far to commute. The family kinda freaked out (especially my son who has been ill for a while) when I mentioned living with my mother during the week and coming home on weekends. I'm focussing on part-time and long-term occasional teaching positions as a way of getting my foot in the door.
D.
On the IT side, I applied for another job at Workbrain as a QA Application Deployment Specialist. I wonder if I can wear these guys down, i.e. they interview me just so I'll stop applying for jobs. I got my application at the government agency (lottery) sorted-you had to go through Workopolis rather than the corporate site. Calling the TO office for help was useless. I've got a couple of applications for contract jobs to install Websphere on the go and I've identified CTC Bank as a good fit for my software product set (all IBM on AIX).
I hadn't been reviewing the teaching sites as frequently on the IT ones and I discovered late in the week a bunch of jobs had been posted. Two are at local area schools and three were in/close to my home town which is too far to commute. The family kinda freaked out (especially my son who has been ill for a while) when I mentioned living with my mother during the week and coming home on weekends. I'm focussing on part-time and long-term occasional teaching positions as a way of getting my foot in the door.
D.
Tuesday, January 04, 2005
The eighth week in review
Tomorrow will mark two months without a job. Yikes!
I went to an interview last Tuesday. They didn't ask any tough questions, just basically interested in what I could do, not how. I haven't heard anything yet so I assume that they either aren't interested or they haven't gotten their hiring act together. I'm torn between following up and seeming to be a pest or just letting things work out at their own pace.
Things were pretty slow on the job boards last week. I got a rejection notice for a bank job that I didn't even remember I had applied for (kudos to CIBC). I did see one job, Technical Specialist (Integration) worth applying for at a government agency, but I can't figure out their website. It doesn't look like the application "took". I'm supposed to be an Internet wizard and can't figure it out!
D.
I went to an interview last Tuesday. They didn't ask any tough questions, just basically interested in what I could do, not how. I haven't heard anything yet so I assume that they either aren't interested or they haven't gotten their hiring act together. I'm torn between following up and seeming to be a pest or just letting things work out at their own pace.
Things were pretty slow on the job boards last week. I got a rejection notice for a bank job that I didn't even remember I had applied for (kudos to CIBC). I did see one job, Technical Specialist (Integration) worth applying for at a government agency, but I can't figure out their website. It doesn't look like the application "took". I'm supposed to be an Internet wizard and can't figure it out!
D.
