Sunday, October 7, 2018

job interviews/ "Consider making transit free to all"

Sept. 22, 2018 Trade show sales rep: I went to this interview in Jul. 2018.

Pros: 

1. It was full-time.  Mon.-Fri. 9am-6pm.

2. The pay was min. wage $13.60/hr and commission.

3. We go to trade shows and set booths like at Costco.  We sell electronics and cosmetics.  There is a 3 day orientation like 1 hr a day.

4. There is room for advancement like a brand ambassador. Then later a leadership position.  Then assistant manager and then management.

Cons: None.

My opinion: When I got a call from the receptionist, she was telling me about the job and after each line of info, she asks: "Are you still interested?"

It's like this:

Receptionist: This job is Mon.-Fri. 9am to 6pm.  Are you still interested?
Tracy: Yes.
Receptionist: This job is a trade show job where you go to trade shows and sell things like cosmetics, are you still interested?
Tracy: Yes.

When I was listening to her, and when I was talking to the manager at the interview, I was kind of "eh" with it.  "Eh" as in not that interested, but I was looking for a job for a long time.  I always go by my motto: "You never know until you try."

I didn't really expect to get hired.  I wouldn't want to work there anyway.  However, if I did get hired, I would at least go to 1 hr orientation.

Printing Company job interview: I did an interview here back in 2016.  This is one I did in Aug. 2018.

Pros:

1. It was close by like 2 buses.

2. It was full-time.  Mon.-Fri.

3. I can do the job by answering phones, filing, dealing with customers.  I have to write up orders.  There is some heavy lifting.

Cons: None.

My opinion: I would work there if I got hired.  There was supposed to be a 2nd round of interviews.

Kitchen renovation company: I went to the interview in Aug. 2018.

Pros:


1. It was close by like 2 buses.


2. It was full-time.  Mon.-Fri.

3. The pay was $15-18/hr.  There is 5% commission sales.

4. The duties are answering phones, book appointments, and greet customers.  

I have to know about prices per square footage, know about the materials.

Cons: It seems like knowing how to drive was important so we can drive to meet the clients at the warehouses and they can see the material.

My opinion: I would work there if I got hired.

Law firm: I went to the interview in Aug. 2018.

Pros: 

1. It was part-time like 3 days a week, 9am-4pm.

2. The pay was good $15-17/hr.

3. The duties are answering phones.  It's mainly wills and estates.  

Cons: 

1. It's 2 buses to get there, and one of the buses doesn't come often.

2. It's a contract job.

It seems pretty hard.  There are lots of files to send to court.  There is the account setup with billing, calling, and scheduling accounts.  There's a book keeper that does the accounting.

I would be mailing and getting a courier.

My opinion: The lawyer works with his dad.  I don't think I was a good fit for the job.

Sept. 23, 2018 Eye clinic: I went to this interview in Aug. 2018.

Pros: 

1. It was close by like 1 bus.

2. The hours were full-time like Mon.-Fri. 8:30am-5:30pm.

3. The pay was good $15-17/hr.  The benefits are medical like Blue Cross.

4. The duties are like being a refractive counselor.  I set the surgery dates, explain the surgery, surgery prep like gowning.  There is follow up surgery.

I have to inform them about the eye drops and consenting to surgery.

There is some sales: like marketing, business development with social media and the website.  I have to post once a day.

Cons:

1. It seems pretty hard.

My opinion: I would work there if I got hired.  At least try it.

Sept. 30, 2018 Battery company: I had a phone interview in Aug. 2018.

Pros:

1. It was full-time Mon.-Fri. 8am-5pm.

2. The pay is $17/hr.

3. The duties were orders on phone, assist the boss, faxing, and office work.

4. There are benefits like 50% off dental, 100% medical

Cons:

1. This is a mild con.  It's 2 buses to get there, and one of the buses doesn't come often.

2. It seems hard and I have know QuickBooks and Access.  I can write a lot of notes to learn.

My opinion: I would work there if I got hired.


My week:

Oct. 1, 2018 Job advice: I wrote about editing out my blog of names of workplaces and co- workers in my 2008 posts.  

I remember an author saying: "You don't know how much you forget."  That's why I write everything down.  Or I write down things I want to remember.

I had wrote about Angela's job advice.  After you get hired, you should email to thank the boss.  

I guess you could email to thank them for the interview.

Also I had written that Christine says that if I want to get a job as an administrative assistant, I should highlight those skills.  

This job advice seems kind of generic.  However, it is still good advice.

Oct. 2, 2018 Religion on TV:

God Friended Me:

"An atheist's life is turned upside down when he is "friended" by God on Facebook. "


My opinion: I saw the pilot and it was fun and uplifting to watch.



The Simpsons: I then saw the new episode called "Bart's not Dead"

"Bart ends up in the hospital after taking a dare and lies about going to heaven to cover it up, but is forced to confess after Homer takes a deal with Christian producers to make a movie about the whole thing."



MacEwan University Hip Hop Dance club: I went to this intro meeting.  There are classes where you can sign up for 1 class or a membership.  You can watch some performances here.  They're pretty good:

"Consider making transit free to all": Today I found this article by Elise Stolte in the Edmonton Journal.  I ride the bus all the time, so I read it:

More than 100 cities around the world have eliminated tickets and passes for public transit and Edmonton should look at free transit, too, says Coun. Aaron Paquette.
He raised the issue Monday and tabled a motion for administration to examine the pros and cons of making transit free to ride for at least one year as a pilot project. Council will vote on whether to study the issue on Oct. 9.
If people flock to the buses and trains, great. “Imagine how many cars we’d get off the road,” Paquette said. That would leave lanes clear for those who need to drive, a better solution than simply continuing to widen roads forever.
“Transit should be seen as an essential service. … This is a basic necessity for a thriving economy,” said Paquette in an interview Monday, suggesting federal, provincial and regional partnerships, plus advertising and corporate sponsorship, could help cover the increased cost. Even if property taxpayers had to take it all on, by his calculations, that would be an average of $160 a year.
Edmonton Transit’s 2018 budget anticipates $120 million in revenue from transit fares. Total expenses are $355 million.
But a 2016 study of the transit subsidy found total annual benefits from transit system are much higher. It found $700 million annually in reduced congestion, reduced collisions, decreased parking requirements and environmental impacts.
Just think of security, said Paquette, saying bus drivers would no longer need to be the gatekeepers and fare collectors for the system. Paris is now looking at this, he said. At its basic, “increased mobility equals increased economic development, increased security and increased health.”
“That’s all I’m saying. Let’s consider this, see if the numbers add up,” he said.

My opinion: That's good to make transit free.  However, I am indifferent to it.

Minimum wage is $15/hr in AB: There have a been a couple of articles about it in the Edmonton Journal.  I have posted articles and my opinions about this before.  This is good.

2007 flashback: I was working at Café #2.  I was with my boss Aziz.

Aziz: The minimum wage in Edmonton should be $15/hr.

Oct. 4, 2018 A surgeon stitches a teddy bear:

HALIFAX — A Halifax neurosurgeon has performed a career first, after a young patient asked him to stitch up a beloved teddy bear while the boy recovered from surgery.
Like many of Dr. Daniel McNeely’s patients, eight-year-old Jackson McKie — who he’s looked after since he was an infant — brought a stuffed toy to the operating room with him last Thursday.
McNeely said he couldn’t say no when the boy asked him to fix a tear in his fluffy friend right before his surgery.
“I thought if there was something I could do to help make him feel better, it seemed like a simple gesture and I was only too happy to oblige,” McNeely said Tuesday.
The doctor asked the nurses to prepare a small table with some tools, and he used leftover stitches from McKie’s procedure to patch up the bear, Little Baby.

The highlight of the week:

Job interviews: I attended 2 interviews this week.

Jumbo Dim Sum: I also went to this restaurant with my family.  The food is good.



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