I was online last night looking for a cheap flight down to Mexico. I still have stuff down there that I need to get, and I want to go back to say thank you to everyone and "hasta luego" (see you later).
I found the cheapest flight was actually leaving Portland today. So I booked it, made sure Luis could pick me up in Guadalajara, asked my mom to help get me to the airport at 4.30am this morning, and gathered the small amount of stuff I'm bringing back with me. Quick and easy.
Back into the fray....
Thursday, March 29, 2007
Tuesday, March 27, 2007
Bad day, bad interview
Yesterday was a bad day. I didn't leave the house until 3.45pm. I woke up with a bad attitude. Nothing was good, it seemed. Even talking to my best friend Wade didn't bring me out of my glum mood.
I got a call back from Neil Kelly Cabinetry. Nice woman on the phone, but I was above their salary level for a builder, and she didn't think they had any management positions open. She was bummed because she liked what she saw on paper and said she would have hired me if she had open positions. That was nice to hear, but it also reinforced my impression that they probably have management issues. Otherwise she wouldn't have been so over excited about me solely based on my resume.
Around 3pm I heard back from MADE Design asking me to come in for an interview. I was a little surprised to hear from them as I thought they would be looking for someone with more time in the industry. It seems that there is a belief that years of experience = quality employee, which I've found isn't always true. I had spoken with Ken at Rosemont Designs about this issue and he has come to the same realization. MADE had asked for 5-10 years experience, and I was on the lower end of that. Besides, their company was pretty young, so I figured they were still working under the time=quality mindset. So when they called back, I wasn't sure what to expect. But I prepped myself in the hour before the interview by asking myself questions that I thought might come up.
Everything about the interview supported my eventual belief that they didn't have much experience in interviewing potential employees. On the phone, the owner only asked me if I would come in for an interview. No preliminary questions to weed out people who would obviously not work out. When I arrived at the shop, by the time I had introduced myself and shook hands with the two owners, I knew they weren't interested.
I've been in that position before. I had to interview lots of people when I worked at my first cabinetry job. I would make a pretty quick decision sometimes about interviewees and sometimes had to go through the motions of interviewing them just to be polite.
But I never made that decision before they even spoke.
So to have that feeling so damn quickly was really odd. I tried to inject questions and personality into the interview to show these two guys that maybe they should dig a little deeper. But it didn't work. At the end of the 20 minute interview (which would have been much shorter if I hadn't tried so hard), I got the "Well, we're going to be talking to other people this week. We'll get back to you" statement. Yeah, ok, I'll be waiting with bated breath.
Don't get me wrong, this might not have been the right job for me. I might not have been a good match for them. And I'm ok with that. But to get this attitude from the second I walked in was really disturbing. I really felt like turning right back around as soon as I got there.
Eventually I realized that this wasn't a reflection on me. Even if they thought I might not be a good candidate (based on whatever it was they heard over the phone or saw in the 2 seconds after I walked into their shop), a good interviewer would have handled it differently. First, when you call a candidate, ask questions. What real-life experience do they have? Sure, you have some details on their resume, but let them fill in the gaps. If you know the places that person has worked before, ask about those places. For instance, they knew a little bit about Mike's shop, so pressing me for details about that job would have been perfect. Then, once you have decided to bring a candidate in for a personal interview, get even more details about them as an employee. What do they like to do in the shop, what do they dislike? How do they handle certain situations? What are their strong points, what are their weak points? Do they see themselves staying in this industry for a long time? If so, where do they want to go, what skills do they want to learn? And so on.
I got none of those questions. In fact, I think the only question they asked was a general, "so, tell us about you" question. I think they made their decision about me between the phone call and the interview, so no matter what I had done at their shop I wasn't going to be given a fair shot. Over the phone they had asked if I could bring a portfolio of my previous work in. I said that I had just moved back to Portland and lots of things were in storage, but I could probably scare up a few photos. And that is what I did - I searched boxes of photos to see what I thought might be helpful. The reality is that I don't have a lot of photos because most of my work has been done for other companies and I don't think of it as "my" work. Yeah, I work on the pieces, but I am representing the company I work for. Maybe that isn't right. Maybe I should be taking photos. But I've also never been asked for photos from anyone I've ever applied with.
However, all of that was moot because they didn't even ask to see my photos.
So maybe they decided at that point that since I didn't have a portfolio I wasn't a quality candidate. Fair enough. But I had even given them an out with that. I said I didn't have much to show, and wasn't sure if that was a requirement of the interview.....? Giving them plenty of lead to say, "Yes, actually it is. Thanks and good luck in your job search". But they said no, it wasn't a requirement.
But the chilly reception I got when I walked in leads me to believe that maybe they do want someone with a portfolio, or more experience, or more testosterone, or....... Regardless I think they need more experience in interviewing.
So, two more companies down.
I got a call back from Neil Kelly Cabinetry. Nice woman on the phone, but I was above their salary level for a builder, and she didn't think they had any management positions open. She was bummed because she liked what she saw on paper and said she would have hired me if she had open positions. That was nice to hear, but it also reinforced my impression that they probably have management issues. Otherwise she wouldn't have been so over excited about me solely based on my resume.
Around 3pm I heard back from MADE Design asking me to come in for an interview. I was a little surprised to hear from them as I thought they would be looking for someone with more time in the industry. It seems that there is a belief that years of experience = quality employee, which I've found isn't always true. I had spoken with Ken at Rosemont Designs about this issue and he has come to the same realization. MADE had asked for 5-10 years experience, and I was on the lower end of that. Besides, their company was pretty young, so I figured they were still working under the time=quality mindset. So when they called back, I wasn't sure what to expect. But I prepped myself in the hour before the interview by asking myself questions that I thought might come up.
Everything about the interview supported my eventual belief that they didn't have much experience in interviewing potential employees. On the phone, the owner only asked me if I would come in for an interview. No preliminary questions to weed out people who would obviously not work out. When I arrived at the shop, by the time I had introduced myself and shook hands with the two owners, I knew they weren't interested.
I've been in that position before. I had to interview lots of people when I worked at my first cabinetry job. I would make a pretty quick decision sometimes about interviewees and sometimes had to go through the motions of interviewing them just to be polite.
But I never made that decision before they even spoke.
So to have that feeling so damn quickly was really odd. I tried to inject questions and personality into the interview to show these two guys that maybe they should dig a little deeper. But it didn't work. At the end of the 20 minute interview (which would have been much shorter if I hadn't tried so hard), I got the "Well, we're going to be talking to other people this week. We'll get back to you" statement. Yeah, ok, I'll be waiting with bated breath.
Don't get me wrong, this might not have been the right job for me. I might not have been a good match for them. And I'm ok with that. But to get this attitude from the second I walked in was really disturbing. I really felt like turning right back around as soon as I got there.
Eventually I realized that this wasn't a reflection on me. Even if they thought I might not be a good candidate (based on whatever it was they heard over the phone or saw in the 2 seconds after I walked into their shop), a good interviewer would have handled it differently. First, when you call a candidate, ask questions. What real-life experience do they have? Sure, you have some details on their resume, but let them fill in the gaps. If you know the places that person has worked before, ask about those places. For instance, they knew a little bit about Mike's shop, so pressing me for details about that job would have been perfect. Then, once you have decided to bring a candidate in for a personal interview, get even more details about them as an employee. What do they like to do in the shop, what do they dislike? How do they handle certain situations? What are their strong points, what are their weak points? Do they see themselves staying in this industry for a long time? If so, where do they want to go, what skills do they want to learn? And so on.
I got none of those questions. In fact, I think the only question they asked was a general, "so, tell us about you" question. I think they made their decision about me between the phone call and the interview, so no matter what I had done at their shop I wasn't going to be given a fair shot. Over the phone they had asked if I could bring a portfolio of my previous work in. I said that I had just moved back to Portland and lots of things were in storage, but I could probably scare up a few photos. And that is what I did - I searched boxes of photos to see what I thought might be helpful. The reality is that I don't have a lot of photos because most of my work has been done for other companies and I don't think of it as "my" work. Yeah, I work on the pieces, but I am representing the company I work for. Maybe that isn't right. Maybe I should be taking photos. But I've also never been asked for photos from anyone I've ever applied with.
However, all of that was moot because they didn't even ask to see my photos.
So maybe they decided at that point that since I didn't have a portfolio I wasn't a quality candidate. Fair enough. But I had even given them an out with that. I said I didn't have much to show, and wasn't sure if that was a requirement of the interview.....? Giving them plenty of lead to say, "Yes, actually it is. Thanks and good luck in your job search". But they said no, it wasn't a requirement.
But the chilly reception I got when I walked in leads me to believe that maybe they do want someone with a portfolio, or more experience, or more testosterone, or....... Regardless I think they need more experience in interviewing.
So, two more companies down.
Friday, March 23, 2007
The Waiting Game
I turned down that job offer today.
It was a pretty good offer on the surface. The company was small (about 5 or 6 employees), built quality cabinetry and some furniture, the owner liked me and thought I would fit in with the company, and the hourly salary was within my range. But they didn't have health insurance, which, if I bought it on my own, would essentially bring my hourly wage down $3 or $4 per hour.
Plus I had talked to my previous boss, Mike. I really would prefer to work for him. His shop is a mere mile from my house - I can walk or ride my bike to work. I know how his shop runs. I know how he thinks. He and I have a great rapport. He fired his shop manager, my former supervisor - which was well over due, but better late than never, right? Last week he told me that he doesn't have enough work to hire me right now.
Yesterday after I got the job offer, Mike and I went to the bar next to his shop and talked for 3 hours. I told him I had an offer on the table, but would prefer to work for him. Was there anyway he could bring me on? He said he had been thinking about that for the last week and a half. We bantered about a few thoughts, but ultimately came away without a solid job offer for me. But there are lots of possibilities there.
So I called the other guy back today and let him down gently. I was plesantly surprised when he said that he would still be interested in talking to me if changed my mind. I must be some hot property! So now I have two possibilities, but nothing solid. Better than no offers, I guess.
It was a pretty good offer on the surface. The company was small (about 5 or 6 employees), built quality cabinetry and some furniture, the owner liked me and thought I would fit in with the company, and the hourly salary was within my range. But they didn't have health insurance, which, if I bought it on my own, would essentially bring my hourly wage down $3 or $4 per hour.
Plus I had talked to my previous boss, Mike. I really would prefer to work for him. His shop is a mere mile from my house - I can walk or ride my bike to work. I know how his shop runs. I know how he thinks. He and I have a great rapport. He fired his shop manager, my former supervisor - which was well over due, but better late than never, right? Last week he told me that he doesn't have enough work to hire me right now.
Yesterday after I got the job offer, Mike and I went to the bar next to his shop and talked for 3 hours. I told him I had an offer on the table, but would prefer to work for him. Was there anyway he could bring me on? He said he had been thinking about that for the last week and a half. We bantered about a few thoughts, but ultimately came away without a solid job offer for me. But there are lots of possibilities there.
So I called the other guy back today and let him down gently. I was plesantly surprised when he said that he would still be interested in talking to me if changed my mind. I must be some hot property! So now I have two possibilities, but nothing solid. Better than no offers, I guess.
Tuesday, March 20, 2007
Man I ROCK!!!!!!!
So I set to the job of finding a job this week. I sent resumes to Arciform, The Joinery, MADE Design, and Rosemont Design, plus a few other online posts which ended up to be recruiters.
Today, the same day I applied, I got a call back from Rosemont Designs. I had less experience than would usually interest them, but they were interested anyway. Could I come in for an interview? Sure, 4pm today would work well for me.
I wasn't at all nervous. I was helping my friend Walter with an errand and he asked me why not. "I don't know if I'm interested in them, so it doesn't really matter if they like me or not. Besides, I know that I'm good at this, I know I can do what they need. If they don't want to offer me a job, I won't care."
So at 4pm I walked into the shop and asked for Ken, the owner. We went to his office and started to talk. "You saw our work on our website, so how do you see yourself fitting in here in our shop?" was his first question. I stumbled. How could I answer that when I really didn't know what his shop was like? So I asked him to clarify, realizing this isn't the best way to respond to the first question in an interview. But we quickly got into industry-type talk. He asked questions which I realized were to test my actual knowledge versus my ability to toss out the proper terminology. He talked a lot. I kept my mouth shut as much as I could. I had learned that sometimes it is better to let the other person talk.
By the time he gave me a tour of the shop, I knew I had a good chance at a job there. And I was right.
He didn't offer me a position outright, but said he was interested and wanted to call my references. Said he would call me again tomorrow.
One interview = one job offer.
Damn! I'm good!
Today, the same day I applied, I got a call back from Rosemont Designs. I had less experience than would usually interest them, but they were interested anyway. Could I come in for an interview? Sure, 4pm today would work well for me.
I wasn't at all nervous. I was helping my friend Walter with an errand and he asked me why not. "I don't know if I'm interested in them, so it doesn't really matter if they like me or not. Besides, I know that I'm good at this, I know I can do what they need. If they don't want to offer me a job, I won't care."
So at 4pm I walked into the shop and asked for Ken, the owner. We went to his office and started to talk. "You saw our work on our website, so how do you see yourself fitting in here in our shop?" was his first question. I stumbled. How could I answer that when I really didn't know what his shop was like? So I asked him to clarify, realizing this isn't the best way to respond to the first question in an interview. But we quickly got into industry-type talk. He asked questions which I realized were to test my actual knowledge versus my ability to toss out the proper terminology. He talked a lot. I kept my mouth shut as much as I could. I had learned that sometimes it is better to let the other person talk.
By the time he gave me a tour of the shop, I knew I had a good chance at a job there. And I was right.
He didn't offer me a position outright, but said he was interested and wanted to call my references. Said he would call me again tomorrow.
One interview = one job offer.
Damn! I'm good!
Sunday, March 18, 2007
Trading Spaces
When I rented out my house, I ended up leaving a few things behind. My futon couch, a small side table used in the bathroom, curtains and curtain rods, a vacuum, plus tons of household-oriented bits and pieces intended for occasional maintenance .
Now that I'm back in my house I'm finding some things missing. Some white cotton curtains I thought I had left on some of the windows are gone. Or maybe I gave them away to Goodwill. A 6' ladder which got me on the roof to sweep off the accumulation of leaves and other tree bits. Those are the big things. But in their place I have found a few items. A nice area rug, just the right color and size to use in front of the kitchen sink. A Bissel Spotlifter unit (without it's power cord), a kitchen mop, one of those Swiffer (Swifter?) floor cleaner thingys, two unopened bags of pillow stuffing.
I guess it all evens out. Except for the ladder.....
Now that I'm back in my house I'm finding some things missing. Some white cotton curtains I thought I had left on some of the windows are gone. Or maybe I gave them away to Goodwill. A 6' ladder which got me on the roof to sweep off the accumulation of leaves and other tree bits. Those are the big things. But in their place I have found a few items. A nice area rug, just the right color and size to use in front of the kitchen sink. A Bissel Spotlifter unit (without it's power cord), a kitchen mop, one of those Swiffer (Swifter?) floor cleaner thingys, two unopened bags of pillow stuffing.
I guess it all evens out. Except for the ladder.....
Thursday, March 15, 2007
It happens....
I went to talk to my storage people today. I realized that if the things had been stolen, there was no way I was ever going to get them back, so really I was just looking for a little sympathy. Maybe they would have security cameras and I could look at tapes to see whether or not someone had stolen something from me. Who knows?
When I got to the storage place the trendy boy was there. I didn't like him. At this particular storage place they usually hired people who were a bit low on the employment ladder. Not the types you would find in an office or a cafe or a trendy bar. So trendy boy really stuck out. And he had a bit of an attitude. Because I had told them I was moving out, my account had been flagged. I had paid up through the 19th of this month, but for some reason two different times when I had gone to the locker my security code didn't work. The first time this happened, I went to the office to find out what was going on. Trendy boy was there. He looked my account up and sighed one of those oh-so-exasperated sighs. "See," he said to his co-worker, "this is why we need to make sure those forms get filled out!" Another sigh and then he told me the account was cleared and I could get to my locker.
Now, maybe proper paperwork hadn't been done on my account, but what a passive-aggressive way for him to act around me, the customer, when this came to light. I didn't need to know that someone else in his company hadn't followed proceedure. I couldn't care less. I just wanted to get into my locker. But he had to make it obvious to me and everyone else around that his day was being put out of joint because someone else hadn't done their job. Poor guy. I feel so sorry for him, having to correct someone else's mistake.... NOT!!!! Pull your head out of your ass, I wanted to say, it's just a simple mistake.
Needless to say when I saw him behind the counter today I wasn't thrilled. Some other guy walked up to me and asked if he could help me. "I need to close out my locker and I wanted to let you know that I had something stolen from my truck when I was moving this past weekend."
"Yeah, that happens," he replied.
Sympathy was not forthcoming. But I also thought his response showed a great lack of customer service. Really, he should have said something like, "I'm terribly sorry that happened to you here at my place of business. We do our best to minimize thievery, but sometimes it happens and we have no control over it." Instead he followed up his first comment with, "I can't do anything to help you there."
I realized he probably thought I was looking for them to replace my lost items. "I know you aren't responsible, I just wanted you to know it had happened."
"Yeah, well, we can't do anything about it."
At which point I decided he was an idiot and had never had the concept of customer service explained to him. I asked, rather testily, for the moving out paperwork, signed it and left.
Now, the fact that I found the "lost" items later that day stashed away in my laundry room is of no consequence. He still should've treated me better.
When I got to the storage place the trendy boy was there. I didn't like him. At this particular storage place they usually hired people who were a bit low on the employment ladder. Not the types you would find in an office or a cafe or a trendy bar. So trendy boy really stuck out. And he had a bit of an attitude. Because I had told them I was moving out, my account had been flagged. I had paid up through the 19th of this month, but for some reason two different times when I had gone to the locker my security code didn't work. The first time this happened, I went to the office to find out what was going on. Trendy boy was there. He looked my account up and sighed one of those oh-so-exasperated sighs. "See," he said to his co-worker, "this is why we need to make sure those forms get filled out!" Another sigh and then he told me the account was cleared and I could get to my locker.
Now, maybe proper paperwork hadn't been done on my account, but what a passive-aggressive way for him to act around me, the customer, when this came to light. I didn't need to know that someone else in his company hadn't followed proceedure. I couldn't care less. I just wanted to get into my locker. But he had to make it obvious to me and everyone else around that his day was being put out of joint because someone else hadn't done their job. Poor guy. I feel so sorry for him, having to correct someone else's mistake.... NOT!!!! Pull your head out of your ass, I wanted to say, it's just a simple mistake.
Needless to say when I saw him behind the counter today I wasn't thrilled. Some other guy walked up to me and asked if he could help me. "I need to close out my locker and I wanted to let you know that I had something stolen from my truck when I was moving this past weekend."
"Yeah, that happens," he replied.
Sympathy was not forthcoming. But I also thought his response showed a great lack of customer service. Really, he should have said something like, "I'm terribly sorry that happened to you here at my place of business. We do our best to minimize thievery, but sometimes it happens and we have no control over it." Instead he followed up his first comment with, "I can't do anything to help you there."
I realized he probably thought I was looking for them to replace my lost items. "I know you aren't responsible, I just wanted you to know it had happened."
"Yeah, well, we can't do anything about it."
At which point I decided he was an idiot and had never had the concept of customer service explained to him. I asked, rather testily, for the moving out paperwork, signed it and left.
Now, the fact that I found the "lost" items later that day stashed away in my laundry room is of no consequence. He still should've treated me better.
Wednesday, March 14, 2007
Missing Things
The week before I moved things out of storage and into my house, I went to my storage locker and grabbed whatever I could that could fit into my car, trying to minimize the pain of moving day. I looked through the plastic bins I had all my belongings in to see what I had left behind. One day I came across the antenna for my tv. I had forgotten about it completely. It was small, but I didn’t need it at home right away so I left it there.
On Saturday, after I had all my things in the house, I started unpacking and looking for certain things. One thing was that tv antenna. I was tired and I just wanted a mindless evening. Funny thing was that I couldn’t find it. Maybe it’s packed away somewhere else, I thought. Or maybe someone stole it!
But how would they have done that? The bins were in my locker all week, and that was locked up. Then it must have been on the day we moved. But we never really left the bins anywhere anyone would be able to get to them. Of course, we left the truck unlocked while we went back to the locker for more stuff, but the office was right there – wouldn’t they have seen someone opening the truck and taking something out? Could it have been one of the employees?
Ok, I’m probably just tired after a hard day of moving. I’m being paranoid. The antenna is probably in some other bin.
But after a few days of going through my belongings, I still hadn’t found the antenna. And I thought I had bought one of those fancy plastic bag storage things. Where was that?
Tonight I set up my bedframe. And I was missing pieces. As I thought about where they might be, I realized that I thought I had seen those pieces in storage too.
So maybe I wasn’t being paranoid. Maybe someone had stolen a bin of my things. But how odd would that be? How random. If the antenna was on top, I could understand someone picking that out and taking it, but what else could I have put in a bin that would be worth something?
Tomorrow I’ll go back to the storage company and ask them if they have surveillance videos of that area.
On Saturday, after I had all my things in the house, I started unpacking and looking for certain things. One thing was that tv antenna. I was tired and I just wanted a mindless evening. Funny thing was that I couldn’t find it. Maybe it’s packed away somewhere else, I thought. Or maybe someone stole it!
But how would they have done that? The bins were in my locker all week, and that was locked up. Then it must have been on the day we moved. But we never really left the bins anywhere anyone would be able to get to them. Of course, we left the truck unlocked while we went back to the locker for more stuff, but the office was right there – wouldn’t they have seen someone opening the truck and taking something out? Could it have been one of the employees?
Ok, I’m probably just tired after a hard day of moving. I’m being paranoid. The antenna is probably in some other bin.
But after a few days of going through my belongings, I still hadn’t found the antenna. And I thought I had bought one of those fancy plastic bag storage things. Where was that?
Tonight I set up my bedframe. And I was missing pieces. As I thought about where they might be, I realized that I thought I had seen those pieces in storage too.
So maybe I wasn’t being paranoid. Maybe someone had stolen a bin of my things. But how odd would that be? How random. If the antenna was on top, I could understand someone picking that out and taking it, but what else could I have put in a bin that would be worth something?
Tomorrow I’ll go back to the storage company and ask them if they have surveillance videos of that area.
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