Getting the Interview

After 2059 days (5 years, 7 months, 2 weeks, 5 days) with my employer, I am acknowledging, as I think I have done several times in the past, it is only through God's grace and help that I don't need to be thinking about a job search being in my future. That said, I do like the advice in the Ask the Headhunter emails and I read this article - Guess who can get you a job interview in just 20 minutes - earlier this morning.

Dodging Bullets with the Headhunter

Back during the Job Search of 2016, I found Nick Corcodilos - the dude who runs a website called "Ask the Headhunter" - and it changed my life. I read all about how to "do" a job search while I was in the middle of a job search. 

Fast forward to 2021 and my Job Search of 2016 has been complete for over 5 years. However, I still read or scan his weekly columns in the hope that I can still learn something. This week, on August 3, 2021, Corcodilos published an article named "Rescinded Job Offer - Did You Dodge a Bullet" and I felt compelled to mention this article, not because of any personal relevance to me, but because it tells a story about being pressured into accepting a position. My initial reaction to the article was "Wow, it would be really cool to have a company that wanted me that bad." 

But, then, I realized something. 

There's no reason to long for that with a company that is not my current employer. I should be working every day to make my current employer want me that bad by demonstrating my skills and abilities in my daily work. It's an ambitious goal and it requires tapping into the motivation I keep within myself. Tapping into that motivation is not one of my strengths. Typically, I am content to simply go from day to day, doing my work, without really focusing on matters outside of my day-to-day work.

For example, a co-worker asked me about the Knowledge Management project yesterday. I found myself saying things that surprised me, such as, my co-worker is retiring on September 1, 2021, which is 4 weeks from yesterday, I don't know who her replacement will be, and I don't know when the system changes that we submitted years ago have been placed on the back burner while the system changes for other ITIL processes have been placed on the front burner. All three of those items are not good for the Knowledge Management project and are not good for me, as an employee. What am I going to do about it?

Another example is that I had a meeting with the Directors and CIO on July 13th about Disaster Recovery documentation. There were action items, from that meeting, that have been delayed due to summer vacations. The action items that I needed to complete are now completed and relevant changes to the way I do my work on this project have passed my own testing - the changes are in Production so that means that the action items that others have been assigned need to be worked on. Plus, all relevant vacations are over. Yet, I have not seen the results of those action items. What am I going to do about it? 

Finally, my Director is out of the office until the week of August 16th. I have a list of tasks that I created during my last status meeting. Basically, I have 7 workdays to get those tasks complete. I have worked on some of those tasks, but, honestly, I am not complete with the majority of them. What am I going to do about it?

If I had a long sleeve shirt on, I'd answer "Roll up my sleeves and get to work." Instead, I'll simply say, "Get to work!"

Never Again!

The latest "Ask the Headhunter" column hit home when I read it today. The column addresses a reader's question about being in a Wrong Job Cycle.

I felt like that was the case in April 2011 and again in January 2016.

In Spring 2011, I felt that way because I had left the employer that I had given a dozen years to in order to join the Unnamed Hellhole in southern Iowa employer. After struggling to find my groove, we parted ways in April 2011.

In January 2016, I felt that way because my position was eliminated by my employer.

I'm ecstatic that I believe I will never feel like that ever again.

Note: This comment was on the aforementioned page and while some of the details are not exactly in-synch with my experience, it is close enough to include in this post:

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Sometimes the employer will just lie to get you to take a job

I was 63, had been laid off in a reorganization from the job I expected to last to retirement, and was working a soul-sucking contract job to pay the mortgage and health insurance. My resume was everywhere and a company contacted me for a position doing something I had done well before in a very similar organization. Just like at the previous good job, this necessary function had some major problems but I had the knowledge and experience to turn it around quickly. During the interviews I made it clear that good software was the key to straightening things out and running them efficiently going forward. I named a product that I knew was good. I was promised that I would be choosing the product as soon as I came on board. The salary and benefits were decent and I would be doing something I liked.

It became clear that the problems with this function went a lot deeper than they disclosed (and I did ask) and they had no intention of keeping the promise made. I soon learned that there was no money in the budget for the kind of software I specified and that my supervisor had already all but given the business to the vendor of a highly inferior product costing a tenth as much. I could write a book on the other issues with this job. It went downhill from there and I was let go after seven months. I hung on until they fired me rather than quit so I could get unemployment. The experience made the prior soul-sucking job look attractive in comparison.

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It's About the Money

I will be very truthful when it comes to negotiating salaries. I am very not good at doing so.

• When I was hired on 2/10/1995 at NDP - my first technical writer job, I was offered $17500 as a starting salary and I countered with $18000, mainly because I like round numbers. I should have asked for more, but I didn't because, in the moment, I was ecstatic to be receiving a job offer at noon on the same day I had come in at 8 for my interview. 
• Note: I have worked as a technical writer 9098 days (24 years, 10 months, 4 weeks, 1 day). I am 33 days (1 month, 2 days) from reaching 25 years in my career. I think I will write more about that fact in the future.
• When I left that job to go to Jordan Systems, I tried to negotiate for a higher salary than I was offered, but was rejected.
• When I left that job to go to Quintrex Data Systems, I tried to negotiate for a higher salary than I was offered, but was rejected.
• When I left that job to go to the Unnamed Hellhole in southern Iowa, I tried to negotiate for a higher salary than I was offered. I was given that higher job offer but was told I would need to wait until my 2 year anniversary before I would see an increase in salary.
• When I received my job offer from Pearson, I was prepared. I knew what salary I wanted. When the salary was revealed, it was $10,000 MORE than the highest salary in my head! Literally, I was speechless and did not attempt to negotiate, which goes against all the conventional wisdom when it comes to negotiating a salary.
• When I received my job offer during the job search of 2016 in March 2016 from the U of Iowa, I was prepared. I knew what salary I wanted. When the salary was revealed, I attempted to negotiate for a higher salary but was told no. Thinking quickly on my feet, I asked about the laptop that was going to be ordered for me and if I could have 3 monitors because, at Pearson, I only had 2 monitors and could not have a third monitor due to the graphics card. That was accepted, which is why, today and every day that I go to work, I have 3 monitors.

All of that salary history to say that I'm not good at negotiating my salary.


That is why I was reading Should I disclose my salary history? in an effort to educate myself about how to advise Alex. He had a phone interview with a company in Des Moines for a 2020 Summer Internship. The question came up about how Alex ought to answer the question, "What is your required hourly salary?" For questions like this, I like reading Ask the Headhunter to get perspectives I would not otherwise have in my brain.

To the Point with Stupid Questions at an Interview

Nick Corcodilos is awesome! He runs the Ask the Headhunter website. I just read this article - What do these interview questions mean? - and from that article, here are some quotes:

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“What is your greatest weakness?” and “What is your greatest strength?” are two of the Top 10 Stupid Interview Questions. They tell you more about the interviewer than your answers would tell about you. Such gratuitous queries reveal that the interviewer knows too little about the job to intelligently assess whether you can do it.
...
What should you do when you’re asked such lame questions? Take control of the interview. Do it politely but firmly.

How to Say It

“I’d like to show you how I’d do this job, if you will permit me. If I can’t do that, then you shouldn’t hire me. So that I’m not wasting your time, will you please outline three key deliverables you’d like to see from a new hire? That is, if you hired me, what would you want me to do, fix, change, create, improve after three months on the job, then after six and 12 months? I’ll do my best to show and explain how I would do the work, so that you may accurately assess me.”

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Should I Tell?

Should I tell employers I don’t have a smartphone? is a very good question.

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These days it seems so many companies expect you to use your personal smartphone for company business. I do not have a smartphone and worry it will impact my job search.

I have a basic flip phone for a variety of reasons, including what was basically a smartphone addiction that impacted both my mental and physical (neck strain) health. I am so much happier now with the simplicity of a basic phone, but worry potential employers will think I’m a Luddite. I’m not. I’m used to working in front of a computer all day, but I really don’t want to buy a personal smartphone for work, nor do I feel I should be required to do so. I am not expected to bring my own personal computer or desk chair to work. Why should I use a personal phone for my professional life, especially one where I’m in an office all day?

Should I disclose this to potential employers, and if so how?

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Personally, I understand from where the person who wrote this question is coming. There are many good comments about the article, including this one that I think is relevant:

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I remember the old Corona commercial where a guy, on a beach, has his pager go off… and he tosses it into the ocean.

:)

If you’ll tolerate the snark… companies squeeze on pay, squeeze on benefits, and expect me to be on call 24/7 and then wonder why people get snarky and have no loyalty?

A short anecdote, related to availability.

I was looking for work and got a call from an HR department on Thursday wanting me to come in Friday or Monday for an interview. I had obligations so I asked if I could come in Tuesday. Not Tuesday four weeks from then, but literally one day later than their requested Monday. I knew from their eyes that I didn’t get it when I was there.

Confused, I tried to get ahold of someone I knew there (a VP). He sent me an email at eight-something saying “What’s your phone number?” I sent it and said “I look forward to talking with you tomorrow; I’m getting the kids to bed now.”

For over a month he then ghosted me. No reply to emails, no return calls. I FINALLY got him and he said he was just leaving work then (!) and had wanted to call me right then… and was put off by the fact that I was not available.

Which, IMHO, tells me a dodged a bullet. A man who is at work for, presumably, 12 hours a day and who who does more work than that is – clearly – a driven man who drives everyone else.

NO. THANK. YOU.

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All of this to say, THANK. GOD. I. AM. NOT. LOOKING. FOR. WORK.

Even if I do have a smart phone!

In news that is related to this question, I noticed this job opening, which is very similar to the position I was hired for in May 2011. My position was eliminated 1323 days (3 years, 7 months, 2 weeks, 1 day) ago, which is probably why this position is listed as being a temporary position. It is interesting that there is not a duration specified.

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Technical Writer, Proposal Solution Design

Description

At Pearson, we’re committed to a world that’s always learning and to our talented team who makes it all possible. From bringing lectures vividly to life to turning textbooks into laptop lessons, we are always re-examining the way people learn best, whether it’s one child in our own backyard or an education community across the globe. We are bold thinkers and standout innovators who motivate each other to explore new frontiers in an environment that supports and inspires us to always be better. By pushing the boundaries of technology — and each other to surpass these boundaries — we create seeds of learning that become the catalyst for the world’s innovations, personal and global, large and small.

The Technical Writer, Proposal Solution Design will coordinate and produce assessment technology engineering text to support Pearson proposals in response to RFPs, RFIs, and anything that requires proposal creation. The Senior Technical Writer will lead the effort of writing proposal text for Assessment Technology Engineering technical systems, infrastructure, security, and delivery. Additional responsibilities include assisting with research and process improvement projects. This is a highly networked role that requires the ability to work independently under pressure and to meet challenging deadlines.

Qualifications

Core Responsibilities:

• Manage multiple proposals, deadlines, releases and priorities
• Guarantee the successful delivery of superior quality proposals.
• Review RFPs in detail and identify mandatory business requirements.
• Analyze and Interpret RFPs as released; identify specialty requirements and constraints.
• Ensure compliance to internal policies and procedures.
• Verify compliance with RFP requirements.
• Accurately incorporate all edits from reviewers.
• Participate in reviews and incorporate all feedback and revisions in a timely manner.
• Conduct research for process improvement projects.
• Update and maintain boilerplate.
• Work collaboratively with leadership, subcontractors/partners, subject matter experts to gather information, synthesize technical concepts, and write original content around technical solutions.

Requirements

• BA or BS, preferably in English, Journalism, or Business or similar degree.
• 2 to 4 years proposal writing or similar experience.
• Master’s degree in English, Journalism or Business preferred.
• Experience with K-12 assessment industry terms, deliverables, and processes is preferred.
• Strong knowledge of RFP and proposal process is required.
• Expert proficiency with Microsoft Word and moderate proficiency with Excel, Visio, Project, and PowerPoint

Other Skills/Knowledge/Abilities:

• Good verbal skills, excellent written communication skills
• Above average writing and editing skills required
• Ability to conceptualize and think creatively
• Ability to work comfortably with executive team
• Strong attention to detail
• Flexibility to work under tight deadlines
• Curious and quick learning
• Team leading skills
• Effective at building and maintaining relationships with team and senior management
• Problem-solving skills
• Time management, planning, multi-task and project management skills
• Ability to work independently
• Strong PC skills

Pearson is an Equal Opportunity and Affirmative Action Employer and a member of E-Verify. All qualified applicants, including minorities, women, protected veterans, and individuals with disabilities are encouraged to apply.

• Primary Location: US-IA-Iowa City
• Work Locations: US-IA-Iowa City-2510 North Dodge 2510 North Dodge Street Iowa City 52245
• Job: Technology
• Organization: Assessments School
• Employee Status: Fixed Term
• Job Type: Temporary Work
• Shift: Day Job
• Job Posting: Sep 5, 2019
• Job Unposting: Ongoing
• Schedule: Full-time Temporary
• Req ID: 1911839

Pearson is an Equal Opportunity and Affirmative Action Employer and a member of E-Verify. All qualified applicants, including minorities, women, protected veterans, and individuals with disabilities are encouraged to apply.

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Another Great "ATH" Column

A great Ask the Headhunter column - https://www.asktheheadhunter.com/13107/down-hiring - led me to this LinkedIn thread: My cover letter to Chewy.com & their rejection essentially confirming no one read it.

ATH - 13 Lies Employers Tell About Job Offers

I'm pretty sure I've bemoaned not knowing about Nick Corcodilos during my job search in 2016. I think just reading Corcodilos' perspective would have been really helpful during those days between when I was laid off from Pearson and when my current manager offered my current job to me.

While my job search in 2016 has been on my mind this week - and yes, I know it's only Tuesday! - I've also been thinking about my job search in 2011 because I happened to see a "Technical Communication Specialist" opening at the Unnamed Hellhole in southern Iowa, yesterday. Readers of this blog will recall that the Unnamed Hellhole in southern Iowa company is the label I've given to the company I left Quintrex to join. It's also the company I hated working at. I stayed there for a mere 5 months, 3 weeks, 5 days (177 of the longest days of my E N T I R E  L I F E!!), which is how long it took before I was informed I was not a good fit for the role, which was also called Technical Communication Specialist.

What I noticed in the job ad yesterday were two things:

1. The job description mentions the need to adhere to standards.
• When I was at that company, I asked my co-worker what the standard was for spaces after a period. Her response was "Use one unless it looks funny, then use two." I sincerely hope that isn't a "standard" they are wanting this role to adhere to!
2. The job description mentions that there is a desire to hire a person into this role who has experience with Madcap Software and HTML.
• When I was at that company, my purpose was to write online Help for their budding software products. However, the idea of using another tool, such as Madcap Flare or RoboHelp for that online Help, was off the table because the department used InDesign in the most asinine possible way on the planet. It was interesting to me to see Madcap Software and HTML listed in the job description when those were not options when I was there.

I worked at the Unnamed Hellhole in southern Iowa and I don't regret anything about the experience. While it's been a whopping 7 years, 6 months, 2 weeks, 3 days (2757 days) since I worked there, I went through the following logic in my head.

1. Had I not left Quintrex for the Unnamed Hellhole in southern Iowa, I don't really know if I would have been hired at Pearson. 
1. Had I not been hired at Pearson, I don't really know if I would have had at least two things happen that happened during my time at Pearson. 
1. Professionally, I know that working with Confluence and learning about includes and snippets and variables ignited a passion for my work. I don't know if I would have ever found that renewed passion 
2. Outside of work, I know without a shadow of a doubt that because Pearson sent me to WritersUA 2012 in Memphis, TN, I found the fire within me for playing drums in an Ideal Band was reignited. I don't know if I would have ever met Joe or Matthew, who were in Lou's Classic Ride with me, or if I would have thought to ask Brian Guitar to play guitar in that band with me. It was such a fluke that Brian Guitar's schedule allowed him to be off early on Friday during the summer. Pearson's policy of allowing its employees to work 36 hours M - R and then 4 hours on Fridays  allowed Joe, Matthew, and I to be able to rehearse on Friday afternoons as well.
1. Had I not been laid off at Pearson, I don't really know if I would have been hired here.

As you just read, there is a direct relationship between working at the Unnamed Hellhole in southern Iowa and what I do now. As I just wrote, absolutely NO, I don't regret anything about the experience. A lot of elements fell into place and for all of those elements mentioned above and being removed by my internal editor as I write these words, without the good and the bad in life, I wouldn't be where I am now. This article by Nick Corcodilos - 13 lies employers tell about job offers - was published today and while not directly related to anything I have wrote above, just knowing about his existence has seemed to somehow reinforce how God has blessed me by being able to live the life I lead.

Fortunately, Not Me!

Yesterday, at work, it was announced that there had been layoffs in our department. I admit I worked with a bit of PTSD creeping into my mind, considering that it was 861 days (2 years, 4 months, 1 week, 3 days) ago when I was laid off at Pearson. Damn, that was an awful Tuesday morning in January 2016, as I sit here and shudder.

The past, though, is the past. Today is my 799th day (2 years, 2 months, 1 week, 1 day) of working here. I have a meeting in a little less than 1 hour about Knowledge Management. It is going to be discussing whether we can link RoboHelp output (HTML5) to Cherwell. I am so blessed to work here!

In related news, for a few months now, I have read the writings of Nick Corcodilos and with that in mind, I liked this article: Glassdoor Salary Data: Worse than useless