Happy New Year Eve! I spent this morning looking at a ton of new jobs, it looks like what I was told was correct, people have been waiting until January to hire people. Submitted a few resumes, and got one call back so far.
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Spoke with a recruiter for a position in the NW Metro area. She wasn't technical, so the conversation didn't get too in depth, but it sounds like I may fit what the company is looking for, it depends on how much SSIS experience they are looking for. I made an appointment to meet with her and the technical person on Friday, but she called back and changed it to Monday. She said they were just recently bombarded with a bunch of new positions so if this one doesn't work out, they have several others that may.
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Got an email from the company I am meeting with on Monday, they want me to complete an online profile with all the same info from my resume...yeah...some of it was imported from my resume, but not well, so I've been spending lots of time fixing it and adding to it.
Wednesday, December 31, 2008
Tuesday, December 30, 2008
Day 22 Log
Long day today, I had to spend more time than I expected filling out an application for a consulting company that I'm trying to work with. I hate these types of applications, they really are insane...everything they asked for was on my resume (which they had) with the exception of references...why make me print out and manually write in the answers to questions that you could see by looking at my resume.
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Went to a meeting in Bloomington today, it went a bit worse than I had hoped for, but I was able to take away some useful stuff from it, so I'm happy I braved the snow to attend.
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Looked into some professional groups to join, I think that will be a good way to network and meet other people in the industry.
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Went to a meeting in Bloomington today, it went a bit worse than I had hoped for, but I was able to take away some useful stuff from it, so I'm happy I braved the snow to attend.
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Looked into some professional groups to join, I think that will be a good way to network and meet other people in the industry.
Monday, December 29, 2008
Day 21 Log
Had my morning interview, this went well, it was with a consulting company, for a regular position at a company on my side of the cities, so that was nice. They thought I'd be a good fit, and are scheduling me to meet with the hiring manager.
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I'm getting ready for my second interview with the company I met with two weeks ago in Minneapolis. I'm interested in what they have to say at this meeting...should be good.
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Had a great meeting in Minneapolis, got to meet the CEO of the company and discuss some of their corporate culture and get a better feel for the company. They are still vetting candidates, but I'm on the short list!
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I'm getting ready for my second interview with the company I met with two weeks ago in Minneapolis. I'm interested in what they have to say at this meeting...should be good.
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Had a great meeting in Minneapolis, got to meet the CEO of the company and discuss some of their corporate culture and get a better feel for the company. They are still vetting candidates, but I'm on the short list!
Friday, December 26, 2008
Day 18 Log
As expected the day before and after Christmas has had almost no new posting for positions, and the ones I did see were for SAP systems, so I'm not qualified for those.
I did spend some time looking up information on a job related issue I'm experiencing, nothing I can get into on the blog..at least not at this time.
On a side note, I don't understand why the MN unemployment system is only available from 6am to 6pm Central Time, Monday through Friday. This doesn't make any sense...why would you restrict access to a web based system like this? It shows that the people who make the decisions don't understand technology. There should be no restrictions on when you view your profile, or apply for benefits.
I have two meetings next Monday, I am looking forward to them...should have a bunch more to report then.
I did spend some time looking up information on a job related issue I'm experiencing, nothing I can get into on the blog..at least not at this time.
On a side note, I don't understand why the MN unemployment system is only available from 6am to 6pm Central Time, Monday through Friday. This doesn't make any sense...why would you restrict access to a web based system like this? It shows that the people who make the decisions don't understand technology. There should be no restrictions on when you view your profile, or apply for benefits.
I have two meetings next Monday, I am looking forward to them...should have a bunch more to report then.
Thursday, December 25, 2008
Wednesday, December 24, 2008
Day 15 Update
I had a conversation with my former boss, it was a good conversation, one thing he brought up was that some of my former co-workers are reading my blog. This isn't surprising to me, I thought that this might be the case, however my blog entry from yesterday came to his attention. I have tried hard in my posts to not bad mouth my former company and I want to continue this, because I truly hold no grudges against my former company. True I may have some frustrations but no real grudges.
So in the interest of being fair, I'm going to post a response to yesterdays post...well a pseudo response, they didn't write this, this is coming from what I discussed with my former boss. I'm told that what the State employee who I spoke with yesterday on the phone told me may not be entirely true. I was lead to believe that my former company was required or obligated to return the questionnaire that they were sent; but the company is saying that they are not, it is completely optional, and that they really only should fill it out if they disagree with my answers. They say that if they fill out the form and return it, often it can further delay my getting my UI benefits, so because of that, they (as a policy) don't complete the form unless they disagree with the information provided.
I don't know who is right, or if there are shades of truth in both statements. The information I am receiving appears to be at odds.
I am going to give my former employers the benefit of the doubt and assume that no malice was intended, and that in fact they were trying to make my getting UI benefits as simple and quick as possible.
If the former co-worker who brought the post up to my former co-workers would be so kind as to let them know about this update, I'd appreciate it.
So in the interest of being fair, I'm going to post a response to yesterdays post...well a pseudo response, they didn't write this, this is coming from what I discussed with my former boss. I'm told that what the State employee who I spoke with yesterday on the phone told me may not be entirely true. I was lead to believe that my former company was required or obligated to return the questionnaire that they were sent; but the company is saying that they are not, it is completely optional, and that they really only should fill it out if they disagree with my answers. They say that if they fill out the form and return it, often it can further delay my getting my UI benefits, so because of that, they (as a policy) don't complete the form unless they disagree with the information provided.
I don't know who is right, or if there are shades of truth in both statements. The information I am receiving appears to be at odds.
I am going to give my former employers the benefit of the doubt and assume that no malice was intended, and that in fact they were trying to make my getting UI benefits as simple and quick as possible.
If the former co-worker who brought the post up to my former co-workers would be so kind as to let them know about this update, I'd appreciate it.
Tuesday, December 23, 2008
Day 15 Log
When you file for unemployment insurance (UI) benefits, you are asked a series of questions, several about why you are unemployed and how long you are being paid until. They send a questionnaire to your former employer asking them the same questions. Your employer is given two weeks to fill out and return this. Until that happens, your requests to be paid will be set to pending. My previous employer has failed to return the questionnaire within the required time period, so that will delay my being paid my UI benefits for at more three more weeks..that means that I may be unemployed for over a month before I receive the money I need to buy food with, pay bills with, buy gas to drive to interviews with...all because my former company didn't take the three minutes to check a few boxes and return the required information to the state.
I have been trying to keep a positive attitude and not bad mouth my previous company, but when crap like this happens, it's hard not to.
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I have received a request for a second interview with the company I met with on last Friday; this is both good and bad, for reasons I don't want to go into on the blog, I now need to contact my former company and discuss some things with them...and given the above rant, this is not something I'm looking forward to. But I'm excited to be asked back in for a second interview, this means that my suggested salary range was probably within reason or at least they feel close enough to negotiate and they are most likely going to offer me a position; which is absolutely great.
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Nothing new on the job front, spent some more time looking at sites, and even spent a while looking deeper into the Chamber of Commerce website for a city near by that I'd like to work in. With Christmas Eve tomorrow, and Christmas only two days away, I think the rest of the week will be slow...which is ok, I'm really enjoying spending time with my wife and kids.
I have been trying to keep a positive attitude and not bad mouth my previous company, but when crap like this happens, it's hard not to.
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I have received a request for a second interview with the company I met with on last Friday; this is both good and bad, for reasons I don't want to go into on the blog, I now need to contact my former company and discuss some things with them...and given the above rant, this is not something I'm looking forward to. But I'm excited to be asked back in for a second interview, this means that my suggested salary range was probably within reason or at least they feel close enough to negotiate and they are most likely going to offer me a position; which is absolutely great.
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Nothing new on the job front, spent some more time looking at sites, and even spent a while looking deeper into the Chamber of Commerce website for a city near by that I'd like to work in. With Christmas Eve tomorrow, and Christmas only two days away, I think the rest of the week will be slow...which is ok, I'm really enjoying spending time with my wife and kids.
Monday, December 22, 2008
Day 14 Log
Not much happening today, with Christmas this week, I don't expect much to happen this week at all. Only two new job postings since Friday, well three, but one was in Sartell, and that is out of my driving range. The two new jobs are looking for experience with Oracle (which I don't have) and SAP (which I don't have).
Got a few responses to my last post, thanks for the well wishes, it's appreciated.
Got a few responses to my last post, thanks for the well wishes, it's appreciated.
My stages of loss
I was driving to a Boy Scout function last night (I recently agreed to take over as Scoutmaster of my old troop), and I had a realization, which lead to my thinking about the stages of loss, and how that fits into my loss of my job...now granted I understand that my loss isn't the same as someone who looses a loved one, or finds out that they are going to die themselves, so I get that I may not have all the classic 5 stages.
First, my realization; I was thinking about what I wanted to say to a potential employer in an interview, and I was thinking about how I have performed over the last 5 years at my previous company and one thought came to mind, something I have said and thought about several times. Family is the most important thing to me and protecting my family is one of my most important jobs. (That isn't the part I wanted to say) To that end, I have always thought that doing my best and giving extra to my company to help them be profitable and successful was important to meet that goal. By my company staying afloat, I'd have a job, and my family would have money coming in, and all would be well. As I was thinking about this, I realized that I had done all of that...I worked on Holidays, I spent countless overnights at the office, or at home connected into the office, fixing things, working on things, putting in tons of overtime (that I wasn't paid for) to help the company succeed...I even gave up vacations and put them off because I was asked to for the good of the company/project (when I was laid off, I had 3 weeks of PTO that I had been asked to hold off on using; and I wasn't given that in cash on leaving..that time/money just disappeared)...so I did my job, I did my part, I did what I was supposed to...I didn't fail the company...but in this instance, someone in the company failed the company, and since I'm the one out of the job, they failed me.
Perhaps I'm moving towards the Anger stage of loss, but if in fact the reason for my layoff was because of the economic times and the company (after securing a big 3 nationwide player and four new clients in the past four months) was in a need to reduce expenses, then someone failed, with all these big and new clients, we should have been rolling in the money and hiring new people. So why didn't the person who failed the company get fired...well probably because it falls on one of the companies officers, and they aren't about to fire themselves, I get that, but it just doesn't seem right that I worked so hard and gave up so much to keep the company successful, then I'm kicked out.
I know I'm not the only one who feels this way, I've heard others say similar things; and it isn't reasonable to think that the owner of the company should or even could be fired...in the end, the owners are the ones who invest the most...they started the company and without them I wouldn't have had the same last five years...and if the company fails, they loose everything...all I loose is my source if income....
Ok, enough of that, I have it out of my system. Life sucks sometimes, all you can do is work through it and move on and it helps that I have so many good friends and family to offer encouragement and reassurance.
Friday, December 19, 2008
Day 11 Log
Busy day today. I am going to write a recap rather than my normal post where I add to it as the day goes on. Today I had a meeting with a company (vs a recruiter) which went very well. They sounded very interested in me and said that my skill set and experience was exactly what they were looking for. They said that they need to finish their interviews, but didn't believe anyone else would be as qualified as I was...so good news there. The position is in Minneapolis, which isn't my preferred area to work, but on the up side is closer to home than Eden Prairie.
On my way to have lunch with my father, I got a call from a recruiter who wanted to setup a meeting for me for Monday. They have a company who is looking for someone with my experience, so they are excited to speak with me about the position and if I fit well, to have me meet with the company.
Lastly at 4:00 I had a phone interview with the person I was supposed to talk with the other night, but who didn't call me. The tech screen went ok, he asked a lot of questions, I believe I was able to successfully 90% of the questions; he did ask a bunch of upper level questions about stuff I don't have a lot of experience with, most of it being some new functionality of SQL 2005 that I haven't had time to play with yet. I'm not sure if they are looking for an upper level Senior DBA or not.
So lots happened today, I wouldn't be surprised if things pick up fast and this blog stops getting new posts in the next few weeks.
On my way to have lunch with my father, I got a call from a recruiter who wanted to setup a meeting for me for Monday. They have a company who is looking for someone with my experience, so they are excited to speak with me about the position and if I fit well, to have me meet with the company.
Lastly at 4:00 I had a phone interview with the person I was supposed to talk with the other night, but who didn't call me. The tech screen went ok, he asked a lot of questions, I believe I was able to successfully 90% of the questions; he did ask a bunch of upper level questions about stuff I don't have a lot of experience with, most of it being some new functionality of SQL 2005 that I haven't had time to play with yet. I'm not sure if they are looking for an upper level Senior DBA or not.
So lots happened today, I wouldn't be surprised if things pick up fast and this blog stops getting new posts in the next few weeks.
Thursday, December 18, 2008
Day 10 Log
The cold I picked up from the kids has intensified, I took a Nightquil dose before bed, which kicked my rear end hard...the baby got up crying at 1 AM and I tried to get up to help my wife, but I could barely stand...I was so out of it. That hasn't helped with the energy level needed for job searching...but I powered through it. I spent time looking up info on the company I'll be meeting with tomorrow, checking out their website, and a few of their customers sites. I applied for 4 other jobs I found on Monster.com, so we'll see if I get a call back on any of them.
Parking for tomorrows meeting should be fun, we are expecting 4" of snow between late tonight and tomorrow afternoon...not sure if the city has a snow emergency that will effect my parking choices (as I was told to park on the street). After my meeting I am thinking about having lunch with my father who isn't too far from where the meeting will be.
Not going to do any job searching this weekend, have plans to party with family for Christmas as no one is available Christmas day...that should be fun as we are supposed to get around 6" of snow Saturday and then maybe more on Sunday...oh joy!!!
Parking for tomorrows meeting should be fun, we are expecting 4" of snow between late tonight and tomorrow afternoon...not sure if the city has a snow emergency that will effect my parking choices (as I was told to park on the street). After my meeting I am thinking about having lunch with my father who isn't too far from where the meeting will be.
Not going to do any job searching this weekend, have plans to party with family for Christmas as no one is available Christmas day...that should be fun as we are supposed to get around 6" of snow Saturday and then maybe more on Sunday...oh joy!!!
Wednesday, December 17, 2008
Day 9 Log
Not much happened today, only a few new jobs on the various sites, so I decided to implement an idea I had earlier this week, and discussed with the person at my meeting last night. I started looking at the Chamber of Commerce for the cities I'd like to work in. I looked at the interesting companies, checked out their website and looked at their career pages. So far this hasn't resulted in any leads, none of the companies I have checked out are hiring anyone with my skill set...but I'm not all that far into the search, so maybe I'll find something as I continue it.
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I have a 5:00 conference call with DBA working with one of the recruiters to discuss tech stuff, so I'm reading up on the company and trying to be as ready for the call as possible.
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My 5:00 conference call never called.
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I have a 5:00 conference call with DBA working with one of the recruiters to discuss tech stuff, so I'm reading up on the company and trying to be as ready for the call as possible.
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My 5:00 conference call never called.
Tuesday, December 16, 2008
Day 8 Log
The first week is always the most busy; you need to back track all the old job postings and see what you qualify for, and what you don't, and keep up on new postings...then you need to meet with the recruiters who want to say that they "have met you in person" to any prospective client. By the second week, things settle down...you've met with a bunch of recruiters, and gotten your resume updated, filed for UI benefits, and looked at all the backdated jobs...so now, it's watching the postings for new positions, and doing some searching on your own for companies you want to work for, finding out if they have any openings...it sure seems like things slow way down.
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After researching the company and doing a search for new companies, I decided to do some reading on MySQL, not my primary interest when it comes to Databases, but I have been enjoying playing with it on my own server for a year now and it looks good to have additional databases listed on your resume, I am a high level novice with respect to MySQL...I've used it on my own site for two to three years, but have not used it in a professional setting, nor do I feel I have done more than scratch the surface of it's potential.
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Had my meeting today with a recruiter in Bloomington...the weather was horrible, so it took me an extra 20 minutes to get there, then I had trouble finding the building, and navigating the streets proved to take more time than I had. In the end, I was 5 minutes late, but given the weather it was ok. I met with a younger man, probably early twenties, he didn't have a position for me, he just wanted to meet, so we could get a feel for eachother...because he didn't have a position for me and it was snowing out hard, I considered canceling the entire thing..I think I should have...it took me two hours to get home from the location...a drive that normally takes 35 minutes. So I left home at 2:15 and got back home at 6:00 all for a meeting that took 20 minutes, and didn't seem to go anywhere. His questions were more personal, not technical, and I didn't get the feeling they had a lot of clients. In the end, I perfer to meet with as many people as possible, so I guess it was worth it...who knows, maybe he will have a job come across his desk that matches my needs/wants, one can hope... as they say, it's not what you know, it's who you know.
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After researching the company and doing a search for new companies, I decided to do some reading on MySQL, not my primary interest when it comes to Databases, but I have been enjoying playing with it on my own server for a year now and it looks good to have additional databases listed on your resume, I am a high level novice with respect to MySQL...I've used it on my own site for two to three years, but have not used it in a professional setting, nor do I feel I have done more than scratch the surface of it's potential.
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Had my meeting today with a recruiter in Bloomington...the weather was horrible, so it took me an extra 20 minutes to get there, then I had trouble finding the building, and navigating the streets proved to take more time than I had. In the end, I was 5 minutes late, but given the weather it was ok. I met with a younger man, probably early twenties, he didn't have a position for me, he just wanted to meet, so we could get a feel for eachother...because he didn't have a position for me and it was snowing out hard, I considered canceling the entire thing..I think I should have...it took me two hours to get home from the location...a drive that normally takes 35 minutes. So I left home at 2:15 and got back home at 6:00 all for a meeting that took 20 minutes, and didn't seem to go anywhere. His questions were more personal, not technical, and I didn't get the feeling they had a lot of clients. In the end, I perfer to meet with as many people as possible, so I guess it was worth it...who knows, maybe he will have a job come across his desk that matches my needs/wants, one can hope... as they say, it's not what you know, it's who you know.
Monday, December 15, 2008
Day 7 Log
Today went fast, I don't feel like it was as productive as I know it was...writing today's log helps me feel like I can safely say that I actively searched for work today.
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Filled out my online request for Unemployment, pretty sure that I'm not going to get any for last week, due to certain issues.
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Processed all the Thank You letters I had been writing for my meetings on Friday...also sent along further information as requested by the people I met with.
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Took a phone call from a recruiter I emailed last week, setup a meeting for tomorrow, it's in Bloomington at 3:30, so traffic will suck, but all in all I am looking forward to meeting more people.
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Got a call from my Grandparents, they needed a ride to the doctors office, so I ended up helping them for the rest of the morning.
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used Dice.com to look for Telecommuting jobs, as well as local DBA jobs, didn't find much, only one and I'm not sure it's a legit posting, but I sent my resume along anyways.
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Had a phone interview with a local company whom I sent my resume to, they sounded very interested in me because they process data imports similar to what I used to do, so my skills match their needs very well.
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Searched Monster for new jobs, didn't find anything new since Friday that I was qualified for.
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Got an email from the Company that I spoke with earlier, they wanted me to take a test, kind of odd, I have never been asked to do that for a professional test...but this wasn't a skills test, I'm pretty sure this 3 part test tested my IQ, motor sills and personality. The first part of the test was pattern matching e.g. 2, 3, 6, 11, 18, what number follows? or If Jeff can make 9 widgets per hour and Sam can make 6 widgets per hour, how long before they have completed 50 widgets? Questions like that. The second test, flashed shapes filled with colors on the screen, depending on the shape OR color, you had to press a specific key on the keyboard, and the images are only flashed for a split second. The third test was a standard personality test, e.g. choose from the following, 1) very inaccurate, kind of inaccurate, neither, kind of accurate, very accurate. "I am the life of the party", "I like to get my work done right away", "I get worried easily" that kind of thing.
The test took around an 50 minutes to complete, very unusual for my line of work...I hope I get to discuss the results with them.
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Got an email from the company I spoke with today, I guess I passed the test, they want me to come in for an in person interview!
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On a sad note my wife heard from her friend who works for a very large company, that they are asking people to voluntarily quit...not sure why anyone would do that, in doing so they forfeit their UI benefits, so here's hoping my wife's friend doesn't loose her job!
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Filled out my online request for Unemployment, pretty sure that I'm not going to get any for last week, due to certain issues.
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Processed all the Thank You letters I had been writing for my meetings on Friday...also sent along further information as requested by the people I met with.
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Took a phone call from a recruiter I emailed last week, setup a meeting for tomorrow, it's in Bloomington at 3:30, so traffic will suck, but all in all I am looking forward to meeting more people.
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Got a call from my Grandparents, they needed a ride to the doctors office, so I ended up helping them for the rest of the morning.
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used Dice.com to look for Telecommuting jobs, as well as local DBA jobs, didn't find much, only one and I'm not sure it's a legit posting, but I sent my resume along anyways.
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Had a phone interview with a local company whom I sent my resume to, they sounded very interested in me because they process data imports similar to what I used to do, so my skills match their needs very well.
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Searched Monster for new jobs, didn't find anything new since Friday that I was qualified for.
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Got an email from the Company that I spoke with earlier, they wanted me to take a test, kind of odd, I have never been asked to do that for a professional test...but this wasn't a skills test, I'm pretty sure this 3 part test tested my IQ, motor sills and personality. The first part of the test was pattern matching e.g. 2, 3, 6, 11, 18, what number follows? or If Jeff can make 9 widgets per hour and Sam can make 6 widgets per hour, how long before they have completed 50 widgets? Questions like that. The second test, flashed shapes filled with colors on the screen, depending on the shape OR color, you had to press a specific key on the keyboard, and the images are only flashed for a split second. The third test was a standard personality test, e.g. choose from the following, 1) very inaccurate, kind of inaccurate, neither, kind of accurate, very accurate. "I am the life of the party", "I like to get my work done right away", "I get worried easily" that kind of thing.
The test took around an 50 minutes to complete, very unusual for my line of work...I hope I get to discuss the results with them.
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Got an email from the company I spoke with today, I guess I passed the test, they want me to come in for an in person interview!
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On a sad note my wife heard from her friend who works for a very large company, that they are asking people to voluntarily quit...not sure why anyone would do that, in doing so they forfeit their UI benefits, so here's hoping my wife's friend doesn't loose her job!
Saturday, December 13, 2008
Day 5 Log
Well, I didn't do much today since it is a Saturday, but I did meet with a former Co-Worker who is also a DBA. Got some great advice from him, and had a really fun time catching up...until the food caught up with me and I started feeling/getting sick...so I needed to excuse my self and head home...now to put into practice all the advice I have gotten and see what I can do. Tomorrow is Sunday, and I'm taking the day off.
Friday, December 12, 2008
Day 4 Log
Got up this morning and had to finish up some paperwork for one of my potential meetings today. I'm wondering if that meeting is going to happen; I talked with the recruiter yesterday and at the time I had two appointments setup, one at 10 am and one at 3 pm. So we setup a meet and greet at 1:30 pm, which should have given me more than enough time to get to my other meeting by 3. When I got home, I had a message from my 3:00 pm appointment saying that they needed to move the meeting up an hour, and wondering if I could do that. The recruiter that I had planned to meet with at 1:30 had told me that he didn't have anything for me, and that the meeting was more to get to know each other, and so he could get a feel for what I was looking for...he actually said that the meeting was no big deal; so I decided to ok the time change (which ended up being changed to 1:00 pm) and see if I could re-schedule the 1:30 meeting. Well, it's noon now, and I still haven't heard back from the 1:30 meeting guy...so I don't know if that is going to happen or not. I'm starting to wonder if it was a bad idea to ok the time change...if he hadn't said that the meeting wasn't a big deal, and if he had a position to discuss, I'd never had made the change...
I ended up coming home from my 10:00 meeting, because I left my cell phone at home this morning, I was so busy getting that paperwork done, that I ended up leaving home 5 minutes later than I wanted to, and was in such a crazed rush, I just forgot to grab it, so I had no idea if my 1:30 called or not... I wish he had, because then I could have gone to his place at 11:30-noon, gotten a bite to eat, and headed over to my 1:00..a nice neat bundle...but instead I ended up coming home, and now I need to drive back out, past where I came from....oh crap, this typing is taking longer than expected...I need to get ready for my next meeting...
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Met the second recruiter which turned out to be a shorter visit than my other two meetings, but a very productive one. This was with a larger firm and they have several positions available at the moment, most are contract, but some are regular hire positions. I'm starting to wonder if maybe contracting is a good way to go..I know more money can be gotten that way, and if I got my own health insurance, I wouldn't have to worry about loosing it if I loose a job, or am "on the bench" waiting for another consulting gig...I'm going to research that and find out if it's affordable and then, maybe make the move...I like the idea that if I work more than 40 hours, I get compensated for that overtime. I'm expecting a call from another recruiter in this office early next week, I'm told he can talk tech with me and tell if I know my stuff or not...that should be interesting.
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I'm staring to look at what areas of Database Administration I am not as familiar with, like for example, I haven't done much work with reporting services, my old company didn't do it, or want it, so I never spent much time with it...I think I should go try it out and do some research on it...something for the weekend...that and I want to do some programming, just to take my mind off of job searching.
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Got an email from a past co-worker who is big into consulting, going to try to setup some time to meet him this weekend and talk consulting, he said he might know of something.
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Met the second recruiter which turned out to be a shorter visit than my other two meetings, but a very productive one. This was with a larger firm and they have several positions available at the moment, most are contract, but some are regular hire positions. I'm starting to wonder if maybe contracting is a good way to go..I know more money can be gotten that way, and if I got my own health insurance, I wouldn't have to worry about loosing it if I loose a job, or am "on the bench" waiting for another consulting gig...I'm going to research that and find out if it's affordable and then, maybe make the move...I like the idea that if I work more than 40 hours, I get compensated for that overtime. I'm expecting a call from another recruiter in this office early next week, I'm told he can talk tech with me and tell if I know my stuff or not...that should be interesting.
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I'm staring to look at what areas of Database Administration I am not as familiar with, like for example, I haven't done much work with reporting services, my old company didn't do it, or want it, so I never spent much time with it...I think I should go try it out and do some research on it...something for the weekend...that and I want to do some programming, just to take my mind off of job searching.
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Got an email from a past co-worker who is big into consulting, going to try to setup some time to meet him this weekend and talk consulting, he said he might know of something.
Thursday, December 11, 2008
Day 3 Log
Today started off with an email and phone call from a local recruiter whom I sent a resume to off of Monster last night. I had a good conversation with her, she told me that people with my skill set are in demand right now and she thought it wouldn't be a a long wait, the only hitch would be the holidays coming up..hiring managers and decision makers take time off for Christmas and New Years, so that might delay any decisions. She had a two-four month stint back in Eden Prairie that she thought I would be a good fit, I looked it over, part of it was converting from SQL 2005 to 2008, that would be good experience for my resume, so I'm all for that.
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Just got back from the MN Workforce Center, where I went to make some copies of letters of reference and resumes to take with me to my upcoming interviews. Having a spot of breakfast now, going to get cleaned up and make sure my attire is ready for my meeting this afternoon.
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Had my first meet and greet today with a large local recruiter, great conversation, we talked about contracting, how to determine hourly wadges for contracting work, the market, and of course my skill set and what the market is looking for right now. I took a SQL test that dealt with everything from TSQL and writing SPs, to Data Security. I aced several sections of the exam, and did good on the rest, overall I scored 10% above the 760 people that took the test in the past week.
I setup a meeting with another recruiter while on my way home, so that makes three appointments tomorrow! I'm going to be a busy guy. This recruiter said that he didn't have anything currently, but he wants to be able to say he has met with the people he is proposing to his clients. I figure any face time is good experience and only helps me...plus I'll already be out in the area, so a little diversion won't be that bad.
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Ugh, I'm working more on job searching than I did at my last job...but I suppose that's what you need to do to be successful. had to change around some of the meeting times for tomorrow, due to a complication with one of the recruiters. Also got an email from one of the people I sent a resume to, he thought the position compensation was lower than what I would want. It is, but maybe they are flexible...I asked, waiting to see what he says.
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Looks like the pay for that job isn't too flexible...but it doesn't hurt getting my name out there to other recruiters. I think I'll call it a day...11 hours is enough. Tomorrow will be crazy busy, I'll post a follow up when it's all done, and let you know how it went...till then, I hope your living the dream
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Just got back from the MN Workforce Center, where I went to make some copies of letters of reference and resumes to take with me to my upcoming interviews. Having a spot of breakfast now, going to get cleaned up and make sure my attire is ready for my meeting this afternoon.
...
Had my first meet and greet today with a large local recruiter, great conversation, we talked about contracting, how to determine hourly wadges for contracting work, the market, and of course my skill set and what the market is looking for right now. I took a SQL test that dealt with everything from TSQL and writing SPs, to Data Security. I aced several sections of the exam, and did good on the rest, overall I scored 10% above the 760 people that took the test in the past week.
I setup a meeting with another recruiter while on my way home, so that makes three appointments tomorrow! I'm going to be a busy guy. This recruiter said that he didn't have anything currently, but he wants to be able to say he has met with the people he is proposing to his clients. I figure any face time is good experience and only helps me...plus I'll already be out in the area, so a little diversion won't be that bad.
...
Ugh, I'm working more on job searching than I did at my last job...but I suppose that's what you need to do to be successful. had to change around some of the meeting times for tomorrow, due to a complication with one of the recruiters. Also got an email from one of the people I sent a resume to, he thought the position compensation was lower than what I would want. It is, but maybe they are flexible...I asked, waiting to see what he says.
...
Looks like the pay for that job isn't too flexible...but it doesn't hurt getting my name out there to other recruiters. I think I'll call it a day...11 hours is enough. Tomorrow will be crazy busy, I'll post a follow up when it's all done, and let you know how it went...till then, I hope your living the dream
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
Day 2 Log
Today was somewhat productive.
Got a call from a recruiter and setup a meeting with her for tomorrow. She said that people are getting placed, so good news there!
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Got a call from another recruiter, setup a meeting for Friday. My hopes are high for good things.
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Spent time updating major job search engine accounts, and doing some good new fashion job searching. Sent resume to a few companies.
Got a call from a recruiter and setup a meeting with her for tomorrow. She said that people are getting placed, so good news there!
...
Got a call from another recruiter, setup a meeting for Friday. My hopes are high for good things.
...
Spent time updating major job search engine accounts, and doing some good new fashion job searching. Sent resume to a few companies.
Good morning, now get out
I arrived at work yesterday morning and noticed that my COO's car was in the parking lot, which is odd given the hour, but not unheard of (usually I'm the first person in); as I walked in, I saw my bosses door open and his light on which I thought was odd as I hadn't seen his car. I had an uneasy feeling as I walked to my desk, which was validated as I saw my boss come around the corner and tell me he needed to meet with me and the COO.
At this point, I knew what was coming, but I had to say that I was a bit shocked by it, considering we have a very large client, and we added 3 or 4 new clients in the past few months. I was asked to take a seat, and they told me that due to "worst economic crisis of our time and debatabley worse than the Great Depression" - (which made me think that this isn't even close to as bad as the great depression...not even close) - "we have to make some cuts to stay afloat and your position is being eliminated". They were very nice about it, explained my options, COBRA, etc. They told me that they didn't want to do this, that I had been loyal for over 5 years with the company (longest employed engineer other than the lead).
The meeting went as well as that type of meeting can go, when it was done, we got a box, and I removed 5 years of memories and went out to my car and went home. In the end, I knew that the old adage "You don't have to go home, but you can't stay here" was accurate...I debated if I should go home, or go to a workforce center (to apply for Unemployment Ins) or do something else; in the end I decided to head home.
What makes this more difficult (besides being right before Christmas) is that, for the past 4 years I have been able to support my family on my salary alone, allowing my wife to stay home and take care of our three children. We knew that it was a risky thing to do, now instead of being a one income family (from a two income family) we are a zero income family. So because of that, my wife didn't take the news well. I think now she has had a bit of time to adjust and is taking it better; however she says that on a scale of 1-10 of how worried she is, currently she is at a 7.
I spent the rest of the day creating a new resume, and emailing recruiters that I know, checking for positions online and just spending some time with my family.
This morning, I got to sleep in, and didn't have to listen to any alarms overnight on my Treo...didn't have to drive in to the office (which was a 45 minute drive with good weather), the roads were icy this morning, lots of accidents on the morning news...happy I wasn't in that...no ice on my way down to my computer...hopefully I can keep the house heated and it will stay that way.
So here I am, a database administrator looking for work in the Twin Cities area. I don't think most of my posts will be this long, more a way of keeping track of what I'm doing, how long it takes to find a new job, what obstacles I encounter, stuff like that...I hope that in a few months, I'll have been employed for a while and someone will come across this blog and read it, and it will give them some hope, some feeling that things will get better. Time will tell.
At this point, I knew what was coming, but I had to say that I was a bit shocked by it, considering we have a very large client, and we added 3 or 4 new clients in the past few months. I was asked to take a seat, and they told me that due to "worst economic crisis of our time and debatabley worse than the Great Depression" - (which made me think that this isn't even close to as bad as the great depression...not even close) - "we have to make some cuts to stay afloat and your position is being eliminated". They were very nice about it, explained my options, COBRA, etc. They told me that they didn't want to do this, that I had been loyal for over 5 years with the company (longest employed engineer other than the lead).
The meeting went as well as that type of meeting can go, when it was done, we got a box, and I removed 5 years of memories and went out to my car and went home. In the end, I knew that the old adage "You don't have to go home, but you can't stay here" was accurate...I debated if I should go home, or go to a workforce center (to apply for Unemployment Ins) or do something else; in the end I decided to head home.
What makes this more difficult (besides being right before Christmas) is that, for the past 4 years I have been able to support my family on my salary alone, allowing my wife to stay home and take care of our three children. We knew that it was a risky thing to do, now instead of being a one income family (from a two income family) we are a zero income family. So because of that, my wife didn't take the news well. I think now she has had a bit of time to adjust and is taking it better; however she says that on a scale of 1-10 of how worried she is, currently she is at a 7.
I spent the rest of the day creating a new resume, and emailing recruiters that I know, checking for positions online and just spending some time with my family.
This morning, I got to sleep in, and didn't have to listen to any alarms overnight on my Treo...didn't have to drive in to the office (which was a 45 minute drive with good weather), the roads were icy this morning, lots of accidents on the morning news...happy I wasn't in that...no ice on my way down to my computer...hopefully I can keep the house heated and it will stay that way.
So here I am, a database administrator looking for work in the Twin Cities area. I don't think most of my posts will be this long, more a way of keeping track of what I'm doing, how long it takes to find a new job, what obstacles I encounter, stuff like that...I hope that in a few months, I'll have been employed for a while and someone will come across this blog and read it, and it will give them some hope, some feeling that things will get better. Time will tell.
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