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Job Hunt Thread, Incarnation The Third
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Thanks. A dozen applications this morning, and I still have two recruiters to call back.
-- Bob --------- Then the horns kicked in... ...and my shoes began to squeak.
Mixed bag of news today.
I've got a recruiter who's been trying to set me up with a phone interview for an insurance company in NYC, but three times in a row now the interviewer has failed to call. I'm starting to find it annoying. Several of my active leads have dropped off the board, leaving with me with five (including the insurance company). But I just had a very good phone interview with a business process outsourcing outfit in Pennsylvania on Tuesday, and I'm looking forward to hearing more about that soon. On the worst side, though, yesterday I learned that I've no more unemployment left (although I can appeal this, which I will). Once the tax refund money gets used up, we start eating away at Peg's savings. I'm worried enough about this to consider finding out how much I'd get per month if I started taking money out of my IRA now instead of when I hit retirement age. (I'm allowed to do that, but the process is irreversible -- I can't stop the payments when I get another job -- I've basically "retired" 15-20 years early as far as the plan is concerned.) Oh, and today's humorous typo in a job listing: an employer who is looking for someone who knows, among other things, Microsoft "Powerpoing". Which makes me think of a cyborg Kiki from Sluggy Freelance. -- Bob --------- Then the horns kicked in... ...and my shoes began to squeak.  Quote:I've got a recruiter who's been trying to set me up with a phone interview for an insurance company in NYC, but three times in a row now the interviewer has failed to call. I'm starting to find it annoying. Call the company switchboard, ask for the interviewer, if you can't get through to him directly leave a voicemail. Show interest, prod the guy... -- Sucrose Octanitrate. Proof positive that with sufficient motivation, you can make anything explode.
I finally got that interview, last week. They liked me, but not enough to bring me in for a F2F.
On the other hand, I have F2F interviews today at 1 and tomorrow at 10. -- Bob --------- Then the horns kicked in... ...and my shoes began to squeak.
Just back from today's interview. It went really well. You know how they say, "don't hold your breath"? I'm holding my breath.
-- Bob --------- Then the horns kicked in... ...and my shoes began to squeak.
Well done, bob!. Now work on the next one. Keep looking until the day you sit at the new cubicle.
Well, it'll be almost a year now since I started the new job. I can really say boredom is not going to be an issue. __________________ Into terror!, Into valour! Charge ahead! No! Never turn Yes, it's into the fire we fly And the devil will burn! - Scarlett Pimpernell
Oh, I am not sitting still. I just sent off the thank you email for yesterday's interview; and I leave in about 40 minutes for my next interview.
-- Bob --------- Then the horns kicked in... ...and my shoes began to squeak.
Argh. The company was great. Big enough to have good benefits and a classy working environment, but a blue jeans dress code. Relaxed development environment. Cool guy interviewing me -- we hit it off. Over all, practically my ideal job.
And in three to six months, they are moving well into Pennsylvania, changing the commute from "good" to "impossible and still sleep more than five hours a night". Gah. -- Bob --------- Then the horns kicked in... ...and my shoes began to squeak.
Well Bob, begggars cannot be choosers on that one. You may end doing what a lot of people do in Los Angeles. Rent a room for the week and go home in the weekend.
__________________ Into terror!, Into valour! Charge ahead! No! Never turn Yes, it's into the fire we fly And the devil will burn! - Scarlett Pimpernell 
Any chance of telecommuting?
-- Rob Kelk "Governments have no right to question the loyalty of those who oppose them. Adversaries remain citizens of the same state, common subjects of the same sovereign, servants of the same law." - Michael Ignatieff, addressing Stanford University in 2012
No telecommute option. And the "stay nearby" option doesn't really work because Peggy's dependent upon me for her commute (no driver's license for medical reasons). With her travel time (in the exact opposite direction, I might add) factored in, it would work out to a 2-1/2-hour trip one way.
-- Bob --------- Then the horns kicked in... ...and my shoes began to squeak.
From a position I'm about to apply to:
Quote:A personality is required, as everyone else here has one or several.-- Bob --------- Then the horns kicked in... ...and my shoes began to squeak.  Bob Schroeck Wrote:With her travel time (in the exact opposite direction, I might add) factored in, it would work out to a 2-1/2-hour trip one way.And I know of people that do commutes like that daily, both ways. Mostly people that work in & around Sydney's CBD yet live in Penrith, Wollongong & Newcastle. I was amazed when the local I'd worked with dropped me off at the airport (from Wollongong) @ 5am said that the very light traffic we'd encountered was just the early birds beating the beginning rush hours. Heck, I've seen schoolgirls on their way to their prestigious inner city school at 6am from the eastern suburbs. --Rod.H
Am I being unreasonable then? I mean, when I worked in NYC and took the train, 20+ years ago, sometimes my commutes would be 2 hours or so one way. But that's quite a bit different on several levels from driving 2-1/2 hours each way -- both in terms of cash costs (we're talking a full tank every two days just for the commute, and even with how low gas prices are here, that's still a substantial outlay) and in time usage (when I commuted on the train, I could read or work; not an option on a five-hour round-trip drive). On top of that it pays less than my old job, which means a much bigger percentage of my pay will go simply to transportation
The thing is, Helen lives where the company is moving to, and works a mile or so from us -- she's already making the exact same commute, only in the opposite direction. And for years I've seen the wear and tear on her from it. She stays with us one night a week just to cut down her gasoline costs, but frankly, she's always exhausted, and frequently looks more than a little ragged around the edges. While we were working on ch 2 of DW13 a couple nights ago, she started to fade out around 9 PM. (And yes, I know, I can certainly ask Helen and Attila for reciprocal crash privileges -- but once again, Peg's dependence on me for transport raises its head.) I don't know. The more I think about this the more confused I get about how to weight my priorities. -- Bob --------- Then the horns kicked in... ...and my shoes began to squeak. 
Well, at least you don't have the unemployment office that would threaten to pull your benefits for NOT taking it, and forcing you to go through the appeal with "no, my wife can't drive to work, no, there are no public transit options for her at all".
My vote would be to not take it, given that it will seriously vape out your social life and energy, and perhaps even your sanity over the long term. I'm still adjusting to changing jobs and going from a 1 mile commute to a 13 mile commute. I can't even think of driving for two hours to get to work. I can't even contemplate why some people choose to commute between Denver and Colorado Springs every day. -- "You know how parents tell you everything's going to fine, but you know they're lying to make you feel better? Everything's going to be fine." - The Doctor
Seeing that they probably won't let you park an RV in their lot for a place to stay after shift. No joke, I've heard of an office worker doing that, Monday to Friday they'd stay in the RV parked nearby & go to a trailer park to do maintenance on the RV's systems on the weekend.
Workers in Sydney are pretty much doing the LA thing with their commutes to work. Eat breakfast, shave, read the paper all whilst driving - not good. No, with the drain financially, physically & mentally a commute like that has, it's just not worth it. If you could get a regular train directly there, that would bring a positive to the table. Just keep looking for something closer or more feasible to commute to.
Bob, if you do end up taking the job, I'll burn 30 audio books to CD for you. You're on your own after the first 127 hours of solo travel, though; my sources for free audio books (other than the Internet Archive) have dried up.
-- Rob Kelk "Governments have no right to question the loyalty of those who oppose them. Adversaries remain citizens of the same state, common subjects of the same sovereign, servants of the same law." - Michael Ignatieff, addressing Stanford University in 2012 Rod H Wrote:No, with the drain financially, physically & mentally a commute like that has, it's just not worth it. If you could get a regular train directly there, that would bring a positive to the table. Just keep looking for something closer or more feasible to commute to.And part of the financial drain will be the increased wear and tear in the car. Not just the increased ratio of oil changes, or burning through a tank of gas in two days, but the general increased load on things normally changed out at 30,000-100,000 miles. Yes, highway travel is by and far easier on the car than stop and go... but it still adds up rapidly. -- "You know how parents tell you everything's going to fine, but you know they're lying to make you feel better? Everything's going to be fine." - The Doctor Quote:And part of the financial drain will be the increased wear and tear in the car. Not just the increased ratio of oil changes, or burning through a tank of gas in two days, but the general increased load on things normally changed out at 30,000-100,000 miles. Yes, highway travel is by and far easier on the car than stop and go... but it still adds up rapidly.I hadn't even considered that. Our car already has 212,000 miles on it. Yes, 212K. (It's a Saturn, though, and had a complete engine replacement in October 2010 (as folks might recall), so it's probably good for at least another 100K -- but still, no need to speed that up.) -- Bob --------- Then the horns kicked in... ...and my shoes began to squeak. 
Bob, I may be batting *completely* down the wrong track here... so feel free to say so and ignore me. I was reading an newspaper or magazine article in a doctors surgery over here about the economy over there and it was talking about how the hospitality industry was booming and how it had basically weathered the GFC. It also mentioned that other industries had basically survived but most had taken hits. Admittedly I can't remember everything about the article and I didn't read it all... after all the doc had the hide to call me in before I finished it.
My point is... if all this fails to pan out for some reason, could you maybe change fields or industries? I'm an engineer by training, but there is *no* work that I can do in my field that I can due to health reasons, so I drive the STOP/GO sign at roadworks, and I'm in the process of studying to be a bookkeeper. Yeah the pay is lousy and the study is dead boring but its something.
Actually, my field is one of the ones that was and is still growing -- my opportunities have opened up dramatically in the past few months. It's just that there are still something like four or five people looking for every opening that opens up, so I haven't had much luck fighting my way through to the prize. That said, I continue to be very hopeful about Wednesday's interview. Come tomorrow morning I'll need to drop a line to the office manager there and see what's developing.
-- Bob --------- Then the horns kicked in... ...and my shoes began to squeak. Bob Schroeck Wrote:From a position I'm about to apply to:So they're talking about only people with MPD's need apply? *scratches head*Quote:A personality is required, as everyone else here has one or several. __________________ Into terror!, Into valour! Charge ahead! No! Never turn Yes, it's into the fire we fly And the devil will burn! - Scarlett Pimpernell ordnance11 Wrote:It doesn't need to be a disorder. Bob's got his at-work personality, his gamemaster personality, his go-away-I'm-writing personality, his just-goofing-around personality, and so on... but he seems sane enough.Bob Schroeck Wrote:From a position I'm about to apply to:So they're talking about only people with MPD's need apply? *scratches head*Quote:A personality is required, as everyone else here has one or several. -- Rob Kelk "Governments have no right to question the loyalty of those who oppose them. Adversaries remain citizens of the same state, common subjects of the same sovereign, servants of the same law." - Michael Ignatieff, addressing Stanford University in 2012
The place I interviewed at on Wednesday, that I really liked?
They offered me the job. Of course I accepted. Our long international nightmare is over. I go in tomorrow to fill out paperwork, and I start on Thursday. -- Bob --------- Then the horns kicked in... ...and my shoes began to squeak. |
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