Sunday Open Thread

[lannamichaels]

Hello, everyone, and welcome to the Sunday Open Thread! This is a weekly place for open discussion about how things are going right now.

And if you don't have anything going on right now you'd care to talk about, our alternate discussion topic is: what job hunting "advice" would you like to eradicate from existence?

Have any suggestions for future open threads or ways to make this comm better? Leave them in comments! :)

Comments

[lannamichaels]

Last week I applied for a job that I really hope I get. It was like the job description was written for me, it fit me so well. It's exactly what I'm doing now. I really hope I get this.

If I could destroy one bit of advice... I'd destroy a lot. I stumbled over this a couple days ago and am still a bit ranty about some of the questions and the underlying assumptions. And there's #12:

12. So, (insert name), what's your story?

"This inane question immediately puts an interviewee on the defensive because there is no right answer or wrong answer. But there is an answer.

"It's a question that asks for a creative response. It's an invitation to the candidate to play the game and see where it goes without worrying about the right answer. By playing along, it tells me a lot about the character, imagination, and inventiveness of the person.

"The question, as obtuse as it might sound to the interviewee, is the beginning of a story and in today's world of selling oneself, or one's company, it's the ability to tell a story and create a feeling that sells the brand--whether it's a product or a person.

"The way they look at me when the question is asked also tells me something about their likeability. If they act defensive, look uncomfortable, and pause longer than a few seconds, it tells me they probably take things too literally and are not broad thinkers. In our business we need broad thinkers."

Richard Funess, Finn Partners managing partner

Oh my god. I'd unpack this, but I have other things I need to do with the rest of my life.

[laceblade]

UMM, so I got an interview & I'm excited about it. The interview is 1.5 hours long, though, & it involves meeting with no less than 4 different people!

This seems really intense to me, so I'm probably going to focus on preparing for this interview in the next few days.
I'm accepting any/all interview advice!

[lannamichaels]

Good luck!

If you're looking for specific advice, I recommend making a new post about it here so people would be sure to see it. :)

[lavendertook]

I got a one month temporary proofreading. It's a longer commute than I'm happy with, but I'm looking forward to getting current work on my resume after 2 years of brutal job hunting, and I'm hopeful about this opportunity.

[atelierlune]

If I could destroy a piece of advice it'd be the thing about making looking for work your full-time job. I think if I spent 40 hours on looking for work I'd be ready to burst a blood vessel before too long. Instead I'd say, sit down every day with defined goals that you want to accomplish, but live your life as well.

[tazlet]

Starting a long-term temp job with a brutal commute - it will kick my ass into gear to look for something enjoyable.

[x2xbandgeekx2x]

I'm excited to finally be able to apply to jobs this week! I found an opening in the city I want to move to for Google, which really kicked my ass in gear. I found it too late (two weeks after it was posted), I don't actually expect to hear anything at all, but thanks to that my website is now presentable, and I've finally finished my resume. I've got a busy week ahead but I'm going to try to squeeze out at a couple applications before the weekend.