One of the potential problems from asking too many questions is they will look at you as a problem child. I try to explain that I need enough information to make a good decision because I would like to stay for a while. (I am not adverse to leaving a place soon after starting if it does not meet my needs, and of course my employer *_will_* discharge me if I do not meet their needs.) I find the best way to find out about a company is to find an employee that will give you the real insight. I find this the best approach. Of course this only my 2 cents In Peace, Keith Smith ----- Original Message ----- From: Kimi A. Adams Sent: Thursday, March 22, 2001 9:42:11 AM To: Subject: Re: Advice > Well said. I haven't been following all replies to this posting because of > a busy schedule, but I know this to be true. I worked temporary jobs on > and off for over ten years. When you work with this kind of hostile > atmosphere as well as having to sometimes interview for even a short term > position, you learn quickly that if you don't ask the right questions, you > will be stuck in a short term job that is stressing you out. Then you have > to jump right into the next one because there may not be another for a week > or even several. > > When interviewing with someone, I always ask why the position is being > filled. What happened to the previous person. If that person is pregnant > or very seriously ill, then I know it's not for internal issues or > something that would complicate my life. If they dance around the > question, then I point blank tell them that if they had a problem, such as > personality conflicts, that I would have to consider whether it was with a > current employee or the person leaving. That's leaves you open for more > details, possibly more than you want, but at least you would know. > > It's rare to find other people that teach interviewing skills that includes > you, the prospective employee, asking very pertinent questions to them, the > employer. If you try to save your butt in any other situation, then why is > it that you don't when you interview? I mean, it's the place that you will > spend most of your weekday hours, all week at and if you don't like it or > it makes your life off from work too stressful, then why bother. > > But on the other hand, if I don't receive 100% commitment from the people > that I hire, they are going to be relieved from duty. Compensate the hard > working employees, give them lunch everyday, give them a flexible schedule, > give them enough time off and flexibility to do their work and deal with > personal issues. That's what I do with my people. It's their choice to > work or not, but mine to relieve them of duty if they don't cut > it. Dedication is imperative for any company so treating them as if they > are robots, trained to only do instead of think is the mentality of > Corporate America. Small businesses rein in that area because I cannot use > a robot, I need an Einstein or something at least with the brains to figure > out that creativity will get you everywhere you want to go. > > Kimi > > > > At 3/22/01 08:57 AM, you wrote: > > >----- Original Message ----- > >From: George Toft > >To: > >Sent: Wednesday, March 21, 2001 10:15 PM > >Subject: Re: Advice > > > > > > > That's what I did at my last job. My 30 seconds were focused on: > > > How long at each job. > > > Did he/she put the skills I asked for on the resume. > > > Education. > > > > > > I had one resume that actually said Linux as a skill, as this was a > > > Linux position (98% of the resumes had MS all over it). I asked > > > him if he knew anything about Linux. He said "What do you mean?" > > > I replied: "Do you know more than just how to spell it?" He responded > > > by pressing one of the buttons on the phone keypad, and hung up on > > > me. My reaction: Filing the resume in the "No Way" pile. > > > > > > We each have our ways of filtering candidates (or employers). > > > > > > George > > > > > > > > >George please don't take this as a personal attack. I think we can all > >learn a lot from each other. You think interviewing as a hiring manager is > >tough, so is interviewing for a prospective position. There are the sweat > >shops, the cheapies, the no benefits, full-time or part-time jobs > >masquerading as an internship........ ETC. > > > >Phone interviews are tough. No body language. Maybe he thought you were > >being rude or making fun of him. Without actually being there, and not > >knowing you, my assessment of your question "Do you know more than just how > >to spell it?" would turn me off and I would probably end the interview soon > >after. > > > >I recently got a call from a company that wanted to know if I was interested > >in working for them. After I said yes they asked how much I wanted. I > >asked for a mid-range salary given my skill set and experience. The guy > >wanted to pay $7,000 less (entry level) and quit talking with me. He said > >he was using a headhunter and needed to continue along that path. This > >makes no since to me because I know he will pay about $12,000 to find > >someone who will stay no more than 2 years once they find out how much they > >can really make. The math works out that I only wanted about $1000 more a > >year by not going through a headhunter. Entry level and save $1000 a year > >VS. years of experience with the exact tools - Go Figure! > > > >One of the things I find interesting is the "What do you want?" question. > >When I interviewed with a small mom and pop software company several years > >ago this is how I responded: "More money is not all that important to me, I > >would like more vacation time." I went on to tell them I would like 4 or > >more weeks of vacation in stead of a pay raise. I actually told them I > >would be willing to take less money if I received more time off than I was > >getting from my employer at the time. They treated me like I was some sort > >of freak! > > > >Several years ago I received a call from a Phoenix company (I live in > >Tucson) and was told they wanted to interview me. I asked for a phone > >interview to determine if driving to Phoenix would be a good use of my time. > >I explained that during most interviews within 5 minutes I know I do not > >want to work for them or they know they do not want me, and I would hate to > >drive 2 hours to Phoenix and 2 hours back to spend 5 minutes finding out it > >would not be worth while to continue the process. I never receive a follow > >up call. This tells me this company does not care about their employees of > >which I will never be. > > > >I have a ton of personal stories. I've accepted offers which ended up being > >something different than what was presented and I ended up quitting soon > >after. It was my intent to stay a while, maybe even a little longer, when I > >accepted the position. One of things to ponder when hiring someone is they > >may be processing with several companies. If you hire them under false > >pretence they will know. They may be getting offers within weeks or months > >of accepting a position with your company. After several weeks they know if > >they were sold a bill of goods. This happened with my wife. She applied at > >several places, having her hopes on one company. She received an offer > >within days and took the job. The place had top notch pay and benefits > >however the work environment was very hostile. Several month later after > >having her fill of harassment and hostility she was offered a position with > >the original company she wanted to work for. It meant several dollars an > >hour pay reduction and a lesser benefit package. She looked that this > >prospect long and hard to make sure she was not jumping from the frying pan > >into the fire. She took the job with less pay and benefits and likes it > >much more. > > > >So hiring managers beware, we are sizing you up too. > > > >Interviewing is tough and no fun. I've become very aggressive in > >interviewing my prospective employer. I'm tired of finding out that what > >the job and work place are really like is nothing like what they presented. > >I'm sure candidates lie and embellish. I know managers do. > > > >With 401k and portable health insurance moving from one job to the next is > >very easy. I think most people change jobs every 2 or 3 years. > > > >I find most leads and managers think they need to beat their subordinates > >with a stick to get results. Employees are like dogs. Beat them with a > >stick and they bite you! Show them a little love, compassion, > >understanding, through them a treat, buy them lunch, give them a day off, > >and they will follow you all over the place - loyalty will be second to > >none. They will even follow you to your next company. You will hear rumors > >of wars and later find your loyal servant had fought the battle protecting > >you without ever involving you. Shall I go on? Be an average employer and > >see how fast people avoid responsibility and how poorly your group will > >perform. You will train a new employee to loose them...... People tend to > >rise to your expectation of them. Employees are like dogs! > > > >This was not meant as a personal attack. > > > >With love, peace, and respect, > >Keith Smith > > > > > > > > > > > > > >________________________________________________ > >See http://PLUG.phoenix.az.us/navigator-mail.shtml if your mail doesn't > >post to the list quickly and you use Netscape to write mail. > > > >Plug-discuss mailing list - Plug-discuss@lists.PLUG.phoenix.az.us > >http://lists.PLUG.phoenix.az.us/mailman/listinfo/plug-discuss > > > ________________________________________________ > See http://PLUG.phoenix.az.us/navigator-mail.shtml if your mail doesn't post to the list quickly and you use Netscape to write mail. > > Plug-discuss mailing list - Plug-discuss@lists.PLUG.phoenix.az.us > http://lists.PLUG.phoenix.az.us/mailman/listinfo/plug-discuss