I hate waiting [/inyigomontoya]

Holy fucking awesome, Batman.

Sounds like a belter of an interview, V.

I got a message this morning asking to setup a time for a fourth interview.

still nervous, relieved though to **finally** hear from them after the third interview. That was a long twelve days with no feedback.

I'm glad you got another interview, but wish you had gotten a "Yes" instead.

Thanks!! Me too man. But it won't be a "yes", even when it's a yes, it will be the opening of negotiations. They'll make an offer and I'll consider it. Then I'll make a counter offer and they'll consider it. It probably won't go much further than that, and the subsequent counter counters will have smaller and smaller issues. But there are issues, like starting rate of pay, which shift, prearranged vacations, starting vacation accrual rates, signing bonuses... I can't think of any others, but there could be.

I've learned that however much they like me, and they clearly do, because it's unlikely that they'd have put so much energy into checking me out if they didn't *want* me to be the one to solve their problems. Granted, it's a buyer's market out there. But I will **never** have more leverage with them for large or discontinuous jumps in compensation (money, time, perks, titles, etc etc) than I do the day and hour before I say "yes". I'm aware of that.

At my last position, the first offer they made me was ten thousand dollars a year less than my counter, which they countered in turn. We agreed on a number eight thousand dollars a year more than their first figure. There's no way I'm gonna get an eight thousand dollar a year raise in my annual review.

In this case, they're already angling to learn how open I am to working nights. I strongly prefer days, but not so strongly that I'd rather be unemployed. Of course, it all depends on the offer. The actual schedule is already ... unusual. I'd want a shift differential of some kind to become a creature of the night. Like I said, negotiation.

4 interviews! Jeepers Kittens.

Hopefully you'll be able to get most or all of what you want, BigV. It seems like you are a good negotiator.

What is the normal amount of interviews?

So. This was yesterday.

I called her, as she asked me to in her email, to setup a time. I called her at about 9 am today. I got her voicemail. Left a message, "call me!". Called again at 430 pm. Same thing. grrrrrrrrrrrrr..


So, this morning, I called, AND SHE ANSWERED! (honestly, it takes *so* little to make me happy, hmmm?) and my interview is scheduled for 1 pm Thursday, he'll call me. I made sure she also has my mobile number just in case.

yeesh.

slang, I don't know how many interviews are standard, four seems like a lot. On the other hand, I applied at a local financial institution, and got only two interviews, and no offer. I wonder about that since I could **easily** have done the job AND I did very well in the interview, good rapport, good vibe. But, I signed a release for a background check and credit check (marginally justifiable for an outfit like them... I guess) and I reckon they found something there to disqualify me. There's been no similar request from this outfit. Regardless, they wish to press on, and we'll see what this guy wants from me. He's the hiring manager, so... I want his approval, to say the least.

It's been a a while since we hired anyone, but back in the day, there would be two interviews, scheduled during the same visit, for entry level jobs. And normally three interviews, scheduled over two visits, for a more senior job.

At Mr. Clod's employer, there's one or two screenings by phone, and then an all-day in-person interview event where you get interviewed by at least 4 or 5 people from various levels and departments.

...

five minutes

:gulp:

Fingers crossed! :-)

Break a leg, mate!

done.

forty minutes, it was all positive. Now, he says he'll forward his notes to the recruiter and that I should hear from her by tues or wed next week.

What I know so far:

I like this company, I like the people I've come into contact with. I have a friend who works for the same company, different section. He's given me much background, talking about the company and all of it has been good. I do want to work, I want to get paid. ... I think I'll compile a semi-formal pro/con list. There's no offer yet, so I can't evaluate that, though the recruiter did say at the outset a salary range (or was it an hourly range??? it was expressed in dollars per hour).

More waiting.

I have some long deferred retail therapy I want to indulge in.

What you need now is a nice, relaxing cup of tea. And a blow job.
What kind of tea should I bring you? :D

Teas, teas, teas.




You're mean.

You want coffee instead? ;)

Maybe he's a hot chocolate guy?

Coffee, tea, or ... ?
Surely this is an offer you can't refuse, V.

Sheldon has the ability to drift a thread topic into a blowjob proposal regardless of how serious the original thread topic may be.

And drifting the thread in such a way that it's funny. :D


I hope this works out for you V. The entire interview process sucks.

Have you stopped looking while going through the interviews with this company? Just curious.

Hi slang. No, I haven't stopped looking, but the process is bursty, making progress in fits and starts. Right now I have only one other active opportunity. There are some weeks where there are no active applications. Two at once is a bit of a glut.

I am at maximum hopefulness with this one (like I have been before).

So, no email at 8am. No email at 9am.



It's going to be a long week.

Similar request? For a release? Bwahahahahahaha, we don't need no stinkin' release. ;)

right. you're just a barrel of monkeys, aren't ya?

today's the seventh day since my interview... tick. tock. tick. tock...


tick.



...


If after the close of business today there is no reply, I'll send up a flare. 'Hey, what's the holdup?'

Think about it, all this time and all these interviews, they're digging deep. Probably know more about you than Twil. Anything buried in your flower bed they already know about, so that's OK, because you're still in the race.

You're right, xoB, of course. They wouldn't be taking so much time to compose a rejection letter.

It's still an agonizing wait.

Hard to believe when they get to the anal probe it will actually be a relief. :haha:

All this and then you'll end up having to go to work...

So, twelve days of silence since our last communication proves to be the limit of my patience. I sent a polite request for an update and got a reply. Today is the meeting with management and she'll "let me know EOB".

*sigh*

Everything I have two of is crossed. OUCH!!!! :eek:

There is the possibility the recruiter/contact was assigned the task of finding someone for that position with the disclaimers, no hurry, when you can find time, after you fill those critical spots. So getting all the people to sign off on it is more difficult without being able to nudge them with the authority of priority. :ipray:

Yeah, this is a reflection on them, not on you. But it still sucks when you are the one who is waiting.

If they don't now give you the post, I think you are legally entitled to firebomb their office.

Ooooowch.



Perhaps I will fart in their general direction.



However, I think today is the day I'll hear, and I think I'll be made an offer. Hope springs eternal.

Well hurry up and get the job, dammit! My nuts are turning blue!!!

:D

I would if I could...

Meanwhile, you well know, I'm sure, that blue balls, however frequent, are merely temporary.

Complete radio (and every other kind) silence from the company and their representatives today.


Such a sad waste of optimism on my part.

Devil's Advocate: What possible reason could there be for this delay? If they were waiting for some background check, wouldn't they say so, blame another party?

Is it possible they offered the job to someone else and are keeping you hanging on in case that doesn't work out -they turn it down or fail the drug test?

Let it go, move on, and then if you do get the offer, you'll be in a better emotional place to start the negotiation process you seem set on.

But what do I know.

Another possibility is that the incompetent upper management there is afraid to make a decision about taking on another employee. That's how the management at my firm is behaving, and it's also in all the newspapers that it's going on all across the country.

Maybe it's just a matter of waiting for management to make the decision to go ahead and fill the position.

I'm fairly down on business management these days. They are sitting on all sorts of cash and not hiring.

You know a lot monster. That's a good approach.

I still think they liked me, companies don't go through the hiring hassle (minus the hiring) for entertainment. I think they intend to hire; maybe, hopefully me.

The aggravating part was to be told I'd hear "EOB", then crickets. That's preventable in all regular scenarios. Just send a note, "hey, still waiting on xyz, haven't forgotten you". Not so tough.


Thanks to all for your concern, I appreciate it and you. :-)

V, I'm sorry they're screwing you around. It's something to consider, should they come up with an offer ... maybe it's good to be aware that they operate this way.

In the meantime, I concur with monster.

**bump**

I don't even fucking remember what that last interview was about, but since they (still) haven't offered me a job, I guess having moved on is OK.

In more recent news, I start my new job tomorrow at ten o'clock last week.

Yup, I have a job. (I started this post a little while ago, but was distracted/exhausted and didn't return to it until now.)

...













Juuuuust giving you all a moment for that to sink in.








Ok, time's up. The story on this one is kinda weird. Or not, maybe it's a normal story and my experience, or lack thereof makes me unequipped to reconcile the events that have led up to this point.

A couple weeks ago, I took my car into Jiffy Lube to get the oil changed. I could change it, sure, but it was raining and I'd have to buy the oil and the filter and blah blah blah. I decided to just treat myself to letting someone else do the work this time.

***

I keep meaning to update this thread and find myself either too tired after work to do so, or too rushed in the morning to do so. Fine. Some update is better than none. More details to follow, assuming I'm not too distracted/rushed after work.

"After work", I like the sound of that. :)

Great news V!

Congratualtions!

Great job, V!

Oh, so you got a job shilling for Jiffy Lube on the internet. :haha:

Seriously V, congratulations, and I wish you many happy paydays to come.

Excellent! Looking forward to the next instalment.

Glad you're busy man, beats the alternative... usually.

Damn ... totally forgot..

Congrats!

/\

YAY! What they all said! :)

I admire people that can just up and have a conversation in a Jiffy Lube that leads to a job, because that is not me.

I've been on the job for a couple weeks now, and I've made several observations from the first day. Let me share with you what I've noticed and learned about this job.

First of all, it is GREAT to be working again. I was out of work for a long time, and at first I appreciated the time off, I NEEDED some time off. But finding work in 2012 and 2013 turned out to be hard for me and for a lot of other people. In my previous professional life, I rode herd on computers all day long. This job's a lot different.

As I said:

Working to get a new job really is work, but the pay sucks. So does the seemingly endless stream of rejection. It wears on a person. No, no, no, no, silence, no, more silence, no thank you, no, more silence, followed by lots more silence interrupted occasionally by more rejection. Fuck. I'd become one of those "discouraged workers" occasionally mentioned in the news, had become one several times. I'd try, look up jobs, apply, hear "no thanks" or nothing at all, repeat, repeat.... anyhow.

I was on another upswing in effort and enthusiasm and for me that means talking to the people I meet about looking for work. I work it into the conversation. And I did so at the counter as I was paying my bill after the oil change. "So, are you guys hiring anybody?" Just by habit, just routine, like a fisherman makes cast after cast after cast. To my surprise, the fellow ringing up my sale said "Yeah, we are." When I walked to the car, I was greeted by the manager who asked me "So, you are looking for work?"

"Yes, I am."

"Are you good with people?"

Hm. Yeah, I am; some of my favorite people are people. "Yes, I love working with people."

"There's a lot of standing." he said as we stood there in the driveway.

"Ok, I can stand." Duh.

"Here is the website." and he rattled off some longrunonsentenceurl dot com.

"Ok, thanks!"

And I drove off.

Twil and I had a nice weekend together. On Monday morning at about 8:30, the phone rings and it's the guy from the oil change place. "Mram fum rum dab biffl rab." Whaaaaat? Why is this guy calling me? Is there something wrong with my car? A recall? Huh? "Excuse me, what did you say?" "I said, where is your application? We don't have your application."

Oh.

I'd just gotten my oil changed on Friday afternoon, and this was early Monday morning. I told him I'd been away from the computer over the weekend, but that I'd get right on it. "Ok, thanks."

Man.

I looked up the website. It turns out that like a lot of companies, JL had outsourced the application and screening of job seekers. The "workforce management solution" is provided by the robots people at Peoplematter.com. Cheery sounding, no? JL is a customer of theirs, and JL has undoubtedly crafted their own kind of questions and tests that would (hopefully) suss out from the applicants the ones that would be a good fit for JL. The application was tedious, but not particularly difficult. I was taken aback by the online intelligence test. I don't have any other description that fits better. Just now I can't find the parts of the peoplematter website that I checked out that gave potential customers a sample of what they could ask of and divine from the applicants. The test I took gave strict, explicit warnings that the test would be limited to seven minutes. I got through five of the seven pages. There were lots of kinds of questions, math questions, which symbol is next in this sequence questions, rearrange these words into the most sensible sentence questions, how many times does the letter "e" follow the letter "j" in this sequence of letters questions, etc., etc. I *guess* they got some answers about me from the results of my test. I guess. The hiring process I experienced this time is easily worth a whole thread of its own, but for now, back to this particular job.

I completed my application, I eventually was contacted to arrange a drug screening test. Funny thing... after I'd been working for a couple weeks the topic of being short staffed and the difficulties of hiring people came up when I was talking to the manager, the one who gave me my two question interview. He said he was having trouble finding people who passed their background checks/drug screening. He speculated, or revealed, it's not clear, that many people were failing the tests for having marijuana in their system. I said that's very interesting, since recreational marijuana use is legal in Washington. I asked him how evidence of the use of a legal substance is grounds for disqualification, and he was unable or unwilling to comment further. When I mentioned this to Twil, we speculated for awhile, and the most reasonable explanation I could imagine is that the parent company of JL is a nationwide outfit, and that marijuana use is not legal nationwide, therefore, a (???) federal background check (manager's phrase) would indicate failure. This still doesn't make sense to me, since there are lots of state laws that the individual stores clearly obey, irrespective of the nationwide law, minimum wage, for example.

Anyhow.

Apparently I passed both my background check and my drug screening, because I was asked to come in on a Monday. I came in, was introduced to the district manager who watched me watch a ten minute video on a tiny window on the computer in the office, sign a paper saying I watched the video, then I watched him leave. That was my first day of work. Starting the next day, it was about eight or nine hours a day. My first paycheck had over eleven hours of overtime! Very, very short staffed. I noticed, **after** the day I got my oil changed and had my two-question, one-minute interview, that the store put a sandwich board sign on the curb saying "NOW HIRING". I saw the same sign at another JL store a mile away. I feel like I asked the day before this hiring push was advertised. I feel like I "jumped the line", kinda. Not in a bad way, but that I accidentally caught them at the time when they felt the need to hire most acutely. I didn't realize what leverage I had at the time, and frankly used none of it. But they were clearly desperate for more labor.

As part of the hiring process, I spent a lot of time online with the indifferent robots at peoplematter. I have a couple dozen pdf files representing my hiring package, I e-signed for all of them and more, my W-4, my I-9, my xyz and my pdq, whatever. I never spoke to anyone not in that store, except the district manager that one time, at video camp (really, it was kinda ridiculous. The video was all about the UN symbols for hazardous materials. A little explosion for explosives, a skull for poison, a flame for flammable, etc. That was it. Eleven little pictograms in diamond outlines and their little picto-biographies.) The hiring process on this job was surreal. The combination of a handshake deal with the owner and the funhouse version of a buzzfeed.com personality quiz/intelligence test. Seeing how the operators of businesses have ceded to computers the part of the hiring process that **I** previously knew as the part where you demonstrate to the company in several ways your style, your ability to communicate, your willingness and ability to follow through, your accountability and punctuality--those don't appply at JL, and I think they don't apply at LOTS of places anymore. Showing up, calling, demonstrating, physically, the ability to connect with the outfit... that's all morphed into a cyber version, like fucking TRON. It all happens inside the computer. I don't have a lot of experience in that universe.

more later.

They probably decided that recreational drug users make bad employees. They don't need evidence to back up that opinion because they are the boss and recreational drug users are not a protected class.

Congratulations on sticking with the job search and getting this job because you were constantly searching.

They (the employer) probably couldn't give a shit, they're trying to satisfy insurers.

:eek:




:doit:

THAT, is not a job, it's a labor of luuuv, and a different thread entirely.

"On the Job" is a British euphemism for That

So I gathered, thank you urbandictionary link.

well excuse me for trying to be helpful because your post looked like you didn't understand that. Enjoy your job.