juggle, juggle, look up, drop.
May. 10th, 2008 10:00 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
adrian_turtleWhen I was in Michigan last week for the job interview, I spent some time visiting relatives. My sister-in-law asked me what I was doing since that job with the long commute ended. I had said I was looking for another job in the medical device industry, but how did that work? (I didn't tell her how much it wears me out to be outgoing in any format, and how much time I need to spend just recovering from that.) It's harder to describe this job search than my previous ones, where I used to spend hours and days actively working to get potential employers to notice me. Either recruiting policies have changed, or my career has advanced enough to get picked up in a lot of the standard nets. Mostly by the wrong people...but it's a different sort of thing than not being noticed at all. I still go to networking events and professional meetings, but I'm doing a lot more responding and less pushing.
While I was on my way to Michigan, a recruiter called me on my cell phone. This was a recruiter I'd talked to a couple of days earlier. The company he was working with about a temp-to-perm QA position had liked my resume...would I be able to go to Lowell for an interview in the next few days? While waiting in line at the airport, with my calender back in my apartment, I expressed enthusiastic interest, gave him a set of times I was available for an interview (and a good excuse for not being able to make it in the next couple of days). I asked him to send me email with the interview time and details about the company. Then I forgot about it for 4 days, because the Michigan trip was so overwhelming.
Last Friday morning, I thought the Michigan company had a very professional and efficient interviewing process. Last Friday afternoon, I was standing in TheRCK's kitchen with my cellphone, trying to tell Hiranu what the job would be like, and realizing how very little I really knew about it. While I was on the phone, yet another recruiter called about yet another job. It sounded like she was reading from a form letter script about "exciting job opportunities in your area." I didn't want to waste time with her when I could be talking about a much more real prospect with Hiranu or TheRCK. (Or talking about "Little House In The Big Woods" with TheRCK's daughter, for that matter.) I wanted to be quite rude to her, but I controlled myself, asking "Exactly where is this job you're talking about?" rather than "Do you have any idea where 'my area' is?" to push her off-script. (I did not ask her if she knew what quality engineering is. There are very few ways for that to end well.) The job turned out to be something real, but marginal enough that I'd have passed it by if I'd seen the ad myself. It's in RI, and they say they want 5 years experience in the medical device industry. The recruiter wanted to show them my resume, which costs me nothing, so I said ok.
The Lowell interview ran more than twice as long as the one in Michigan, though it was only for a temporary position, and I wasn't talking to nearly as many people. They were just very talkative and enthusiastic people. (Even the HR person had a little of the geek nature.) One engineer, who I think would be my boss, seemed kind of shy, but he opened up when he had something in his hands to show me. I liked them.
While I was talking to them all morning and into the afternoon, the recruiter for the RI position was leaving me voice mail. With my other qualifications, they don't mind my limited experience in the industry. Some people do commute from Cambridge to RI, but if I don't want to, she thinks they'd pay for relocation. Would I be available for a phone interview?
Late Wednesday, the company in Michigan sent me a very efficient rejection by email. Rejection always hurts, but this didn't hurt as much as losing a dream job or an only opportunity.
While I was on my way to Michigan, a recruiter called me on my cell phone. This was a recruiter I'd talked to a couple of days earlier. The company he was working with about a temp-to-perm QA position had liked my resume...would I be able to go to Lowell for an interview in the next few days? While waiting in line at the airport, with my calender back in my apartment, I expressed enthusiastic interest, gave him a set of times I was available for an interview (and a good excuse for not being able to make it in the next couple of days). I asked him to send me email with the interview time and details about the company. Then I forgot about it for 4 days, because the Michigan trip was so overwhelming.
Last Friday morning, I thought the Michigan company had a very professional and efficient interviewing process. Last Friday afternoon, I was standing in TheRCK's kitchen with my cellphone, trying to tell Hiranu what the job would be like, and realizing how very little I really knew about it. While I was on the phone, yet another recruiter called about yet another job. It sounded like she was reading from a form letter script about "exciting job opportunities in your area." I didn't want to waste time with her when I could be talking about a much more real prospect with Hiranu or TheRCK. (Or talking about "Little House In The Big Woods" with TheRCK's daughter, for that matter.) I wanted to be quite rude to her, but I controlled myself, asking "Exactly where is this job you're talking about?" rather than "Do you have any idea where 'my area' is?" to push her off-script. (I did not ask her if she knew what quality engineering is. There are very few ways for that to end well.) The job turned out to be something real, but marginal enough that I'd have passed it by if I'd seen the ad myself. It's in RI, and they say they want 5 years experience in the medical device industry. The recruiter wanted to show them my resume, which costs me nothing, so I said ok.
The Lowell interview ran more than twice as long as the one in Michigan, though it was only for a temporary position, and I wasn't talking to nearly as many people. They were just very talkative and enthusiastic people. (Even the HR person had a little of the geek nature.) One engineer, who I think would be my boss, seemed kind of shy, but he opened up when he had something in his hands to show me. I liked them.
While I was talking to them all morning and into the afternoon, the recruiter for the RI position was leaving me voice mail. With my other qualifications, they don't mind my limited experience in the industry. Some people do commute from Cambridge to RI, but if I don't want to, she thinks they'd pay for relocation. Would I be available for a phone interview?
Late Wednesday, the company in Michigan sent me a very efficient rejection by email. Rejection always hurts, but this didn't hurt as much as losing a dream job or an only opportunity.
