references/ dumb interviews/ renting

Mar. 19 References: I was reading the 24 newspaper Work Zone section. It's called "What are your references saying?" by Carolyn Mctighe. It talked about Trina Perri who's a freelance photographer. She did these interviews and wasn't hired. When she called to ask why she wasn't hired, it's because she got a bad reference.

Her old boss had agreed to be her reference, but she resented Perri who left the job. She was angry that she abandoned her. Perri then took her off as a reference and then got hired.

It then made me think of my own situation. I did all these interviews, and I didn't get hired. Most of the time, no one asks for references. I only gave references for those 2 hospital interviews and that car dealership. It's usually when you get hired, or at least short-listed, they ask for a reference.

Mar. 21 Flexible: Today I was applying to some banks. One bank asked which city and locations you want to work in. I said Edmonton and mentioned 2 locations. Then I added that I was willing to work in any locations in Edmonton. I am flexible. I have taken buses to job interviews all around town and there are banks that I'm willing to go work anywhere.

Dumb interviews: I found this on Yahoo. It's called "Dumb things people have said during job interviews." They listed 5 things and then go into detail of why they said it and what happened:

"I'm in anger management because I hit a former co-worker."

"Oh, that's because I just took a Xanax." The lesson is you should know what the side effects of the drug can have an effect on your personality.

"Just a little itch." This guy kept scratching himself the entire interview, and he acted completely normal about it.

"I locked a mentally ill patient in a room to teach him a lesson."
In it: "'The sad part? My candidate actually thought he was telling the client positive things about his judgment, and had no idea why they didn't want him,' Hurwitz says."

"Oh, he was killed in a drug deal." This woman mentioned her husband died in a drug deal. Article said: "It can be acceptable if you're careful to bring it up in a casual way, and without so much detail that it makes someone uncomfortable. Despite it being an excellent interview, the candidate tainted it by sharing more than was necessary."

I'll add this to my "laughing about death" jokes. It sounds surreal, like something I would see on a fictional TV show.

http://ca.finance.yahoo.com/news/dumb-things-people-have-said-during-job-interviews.html

Left-right brain: I did another job interview today. My left-brain has the pros:

1. It's in downtown.
2. It's full-time.
3. It's an office kind of position for a small business.
4. It may be kind of slow, so there could be a lot of downtime there.

My right-brain lists the cons:

1. I dreaded coming to the interview. (I still went to the interview to know what the job and office is about.)
2. It would seem kind of boring since I'm the only person in the office. No one is going to be around. What if I have a question? I guess I could call them to ask.
3. I wasn't really interested in the business.

My right-brain is about the feelings. You know it's bad if you dread going to the interview. I don't dread going to interviews. When I get calls to banks, hospitals, offices, I look forward to going to it.

Switchboard: It's been a few weeks since I decided to not take the Switchboard job. You know, I did a 1hr job interview there, and a 4hr training/ job shadow session. I'm going to say, I don't regret my decision.

At call centres, you just follow the screen. You read the question and ask it over the phone. At Call Centre #1, I did 3 days training and I never worked at a call centre before. At Call Centre #2, it's 1 day training. The Switchboard was hard because you had to memorize keys, and you don't exactly have any directions on the screen to read.

It was only $11/hr, which is the same wage as working at a call centre. Call centres are easier. If the Switchboard was paying more, then I would have been more motivated to stay and work. Also if the Switchboard was a big company where I could grow and work my way up, I would stay.

Mar. 22 Rant: So last week I got a call back from this office job. They called twice one day, and again the next. I called them back once. Then I called them back a second time and left a message both times. I went there in person because it was close by. I then called them today and they said the position has been filled. Damn, it's been like a week and half of calling each other.

What annoyed me is that one time I went upstairs to get more water. I then went downstairs and heard my cell phone ring. It stops ringing. I called immediately back. The lesson is, always bring your cell phone everywhere you go.

However, he did say there are a lot more opportunities out there and that he would keep my resume.

New year, new job: I read this in the Edmonton Journal and other newspapers. At the beginning of a new year, lots of people change jobs. Instead of getting a new job, you should stay at your current one and get new responsibilities.

Job tip: I was watching Desperate Housewives in Jan. Lynette was talking to this guy about how he should open his own hair salon.

Lynette: Are you going to be a stylist forever?
Man: Why not? I love it.
Lynette: That's all that matters.

Renting: Also from Jan., I was talking to my dad and sister about Rich Dad, Poor Dad.

Poor dad: Save.
Rich dad: Invest.

Poor dad: Work hard so you can get a job at a good company.
Rich dad: Work hard so you can buy a company.

The tip to be rich was to be a landlord. You make a lot of money, and there's little work because you're letting someone live there.

However, my sister said that you need to find tenants, get them to pay the rent, and property management.

Job lesson: What I've learned from the recession is that you can be smart, but not get a career due to not enough demand.

I've always thought about acting. There are a lot of actors, and only a few roles. However, if you were to go to college for something creative like acting or something practical like business, I would say business. You can do something creative on the side.

Saying: I overhead my dad say to my sister "Everybody's different." He says that to me all the time regarding my job search.

Mar. 24: Not everybody is going to like working at a call centre. A lot of people would hate calling people to do surveys and get donations. A co-worker from the Soup place actually did work at Call Centre #1 before. She said: "I didn't like calling people, I always felt like I was bothering them."

Flashback: I was thinking about that "dumb interviews" and that woman talking about her husband being killed. I wrote about this before, where I met this girl named Mary back in 2005.

Mary: My mom moved my brother and I to Canada from China because there are more opportunities here.
Me: What did your dad say?
Mary: Nothing, he's dead.
Me: I'm sorry.
Mary: That's okay, I don't really remember him.

I have done interviews where people ask me if I was born here. I can imagine Mary going to an interview and someone asks her that. The way Mary said it, she was telling it like it is, very matter of fact. She didn't show any emotion.

Depressing professions: Roxanne McAnn sent me this article through my blog called "9 Most Depressing Professions." It talked about creative jobs like comedians, artists, and actors because it's really hard to become successful in this profession. It mentions health care veterinarians, physicians, and nursing home workers. It give specific statistics about depression.