yeah, maybe I'm not so interested

Why is it the interviews you're least interested in keep you waiting the longest to get started?  It's only a chance to work myself into saying "Thanks, no thanks" before things even get started.

Obviously I had a phoner today, and actually I think I conducted myself quite well considering my initial look at the description had me wondering why exactly they were calling me.  But it was a director-level position and it might not have gone too poorly.

The best thing about it was as I was talking, two different people came by to shush me.  Yeah, fuck you.  I keep thinking I want to move into a more student services-focused role, but every interaction I have with actual students tells me that might not be the case.  I guess it's good that I just applied for a Dean of Students role then.

I'm drinking this weekend, but I'm going to try and keep it level.  "Try" being the operative word.

Current beer-scale: 7.3

But will I make it to the interview?

Still no baby.  But I was able to take the boy to the liquor store to pick up some essentials for after she gets here yesterday.  Good times. 

I have a phone interview today at 1:30, one I had to re-schedule last Tuesday when we were at the hospital.  The people setting it up were very understanding, but now I feel like I've got to make it worth their time and blow them away.  I thought scheduling it for today would lock us into a hospital trip by today, but it's starting to look like it's not going that way.  Bummer.

But I have another scheduled for the 9th, and that is definitely starting to look like we'll still be in the hospital by then.  Goodie.  That one I can't reschedule unfortunately, but we'll see how it shakes out.  Nothing like adding some job search stress to the adventure of waiting for a new baby to show.

Current beer-scale: 9.1

A new wrinkle

Getting ready for my interview today I was running early (enough to stop by Binny's and pick up some new whiskey I was hoping) when I noticed my shirt had lost a button between washing it yesterday and putting it on today.  Whoops.

I'll be damned if I was going to let that stop me from either wearing it or going to buy whiskey though, so I quickly and moderately calmly whipped out the sewing kit and put it back on.  Easy peas-y.  Interview went fairly well too, and I have some new whiskey to try now too.

And if you think I didn't use the actual tin cup provided to pour the first drink, you haven't been paying attention.

It'll likely be a few weeks before I hear back about this place, but in the meantime I have some Tincup to try.  I've read a lot of complaints about their claims of being from Colorado vs where the whiskey is actually distilled, but who cares.  If it tastes half as good as the rave reviews I've read we'll be in good shape.

Current beer-scale: 8.1

Why didn't I learn my lesson

I'm sitting in a garage trying not to doze off before it's time to walk to my second interview today. Apparently I didn't learn anything the last time I said no more two interview days.

At least the first interview was in the AM at UChicago, one I'm really interested in.  I brought the enthusiasm and it seemed to go well. And parking downtown let me meet the write for lunch between.

But all I wanted to do at lunch was chug a beer,  and all I want tip do now is go to sleep.  It's cold I'm tired and I don't really care about this job.  Oh well they can't all be winners.

So I'll listen to the radio for a couple more minutes,  gut this interview out,  and Jane several beers when we're all finally home tonite.

Current beer-scale: 9.1 and staying high

You're early

but that's okay I'm prepared.

I've been looking for a chance to renew my expired license and take a bike in for a pre-good weather tune up, so when I set up a phone interview for 9:30 this morning it seemed like a good day to play hooky and get some stuff done.

Got off to a bit of a rocky start when the interviewer called half an hour early but luckily I was already set up and had had a coffee already. Apparently I did okay since they've already emailed about setting up an in-person interview next week. Sounds like I might be juggling a pair of interviews again on Monday, oh boy.

So in the meantime I made some meatballs and tried to get mentally ready to go back to the office for another day. Ugh. I think the whiskey's coming out to meet dinner tonite.

Current beer-scale: 7.6

I've got some time off so...

S'mores cheesecake?

S'mores cheesecake.

Not too shabby. A little busy, and not quite done in the very middle, but seems to be worth the effort.

Now for a pair of interviews. Why are the days off always busier than the work ones?

Current beer-scale: 8.1

Ever in your favor

The odds are indeed getting better!  Good things DO happen when you ride a bike.

Current beer-scale: 8.1

Thank you but no, thank you.

Ugh.  I was not kidding about not feeling so great on Tuesday, b/c this week took a turn for the crappy, literally, as it went on.  But thankfully I think that is starting to pass.

I don't feel much better though, b/c after a long day and a conversation with the wife, I decided to withdraw my application to a job at Notre Dame that I was scheduled to interview for next week.  It was a tough choice--the job was interesting and I really liked the person I had my first round interview with.  Unfortunately, neither my wife or I like the idea of commuting to Chicago/South Bend from a point inbetween, and the salary for this ND job is not enough to support a soon to be two-child household, even in South Bend. 

Once I realized that, I didn't want to waste the search committee's time, especially after just being on one where an applicant wanted a 4-day work week so he wouldn't have to move and we basically laughed at him.  It's too bad; I was looking forward to having the chance to take a day trip to ND, even for a 4-hour interview.  But I think it's the right decision.

So it's back to the grindstone, looking for something that's a better fit.  It's out there.  We just have to find each other.

Current beer-scale: 6 or 7 whiskeys tonite will hopefully burn this out of my stomach. 

Oh look, the sun.

I've found it difficult to support Bike to Work week this year. That's most likely due to not having work to bike to, but I'm trying not to let that get me down. I have the second of three interviews this week later today, and just schedule a fourth for next week. So there's less time than I would like to take the new ride out, but things are picking back up, and sooner or later one of these interviews will result in something. I hope.

Hope is the tricky thing here. A large part of me can't believe I'm still unemployed, b/c I've past all the markers I had in my head that I had hoped to be gainfully employed by. Christmas, New Years, birthdays, spring, baseball...Bike to Work week was honestly the last marker I had bothered to think up as far as "gosh I had better have a job by then." And I don't. It's not the end of the world, but it is disconcerting. The one-year marker is sneaking ever closer.

The best thing about this current batch of interviews is that one of them I didn't even apply to directly, but my resume got passed to someone from the job fair I went to last week. At the time I didn't have much faith anything could come of it, but I was still glad I went to even make the possibility of a connection. I got a call out of the blue yesterday about something I'm really interested in and excited about. That's exactly the kind of story it takes to break out of the unemployment slump. Fingers crossed.

Current beer-scale: 8.1

Nothing like a ride in a pee-soaked el car to a waste-of-time interview at a non-profit staffing agency to make you appreciate having all day to yourself at home. It's time for a long ride tomorrow.

Current beer-scale: high with a pair of mojitos down already.

I had an interesting phone interview the other day. Actually, it was more of an experience than an interview. And why is that? B/c 40 minutes after the scheduled phone call, I still hadn't heard anything and emailed the woman I thought was going to be calling asking if we should reschedule.

One trend I've noticed in this job search versus my last one is that people are using group emails to set up preliminary phone interviews with candidates. They're usually just blocks of time and a request to list which times work for you with no other contact info other than the email. So when something like that happens, there's no number to call to check in or anything.

Evidently the interviewer had tried to call but hadn't gotten through. And instead of leaving me a voicemail or phone number just moved onto the next candidate. Granted, with the numbers of applicants I've been told people are getting I don't really blame her for moving on. But I would have appreciated at least a way to call her if she couldn't call me. She asked to reschedule, but at that point I felt it was in my best interest to withdraw and move on myself. That's if I can get by the sneaking suspicion that my phone is absolute crap. How many times has that happened where someone couldn't get through and just moved on? I'm going to be totally paranoid about this now.

Besides, I've got enough apps out there eventually I'll get lucky. Except with the Red Cross, who evidently either don't pay anything or don't read the entire applications they get. I've applied there twice, and each time gotten an email about how due to my "salary expectations" I'm not a viable candidate. Remembering that after the first one, I greatly reduced my salary guess and included a note on the second application that salary wasn't as important to me than finding a position where I was supporting a mission I could get behind. Still, same email. Oh well.

Back to the grindstone. Besides, it's too nice out now to work anyway. The dog agrees.

No I will not get in the car daddy.

Current beer-scale: 2.3, low after last night's game 7

woof

Prepping for an interview that ended up going over 5 1/2 hours, that's how I spent my 31st birthday thank you very much. Ouch.

The disheartening thing about such a long interview is that you have plenty of time to talk yourself into thinking you're the top candidate, but that only guarantees you'll hear something to shatter that belief in one of the last sessions of the day. So even though I was sick and barely able to talk, I was feeling pretty great until the last two session. After giving a 30 minute presentation in the middle of the day that was really well received and a session with some of the students I'd be working with, I had myself well convinced that the job was mine. Only to walk out convinced of the complete opposite.

Oh well. I'm happy the sun is out and I can go to the beach without ice in the water. It's the little things right now.

Current beer-scale: fucking high.

google me? google you.

the headless man in the gray flannel suit

The job search continues, albeit with a few just-misses and some less than uplifting interviews. Let's just say the paranoia starts to set in sometimes when it comes to potential employers mentioning googling candidates and what someone could find. So that explains my lack of posting and the virtual desert my facebook page has turned into. When employers say they want you to talk about yourself, they don't mean they're impressed that you drank a guiness in five seconds last weekend.

Today was the first of two back-to-back interviews. Unexpected highlights included an improv session, rapid fire Q & A with multiple candidates, and the chance to sit in a corn thresher.

What can I say, it's about as interesting as the bike trainer. Which is not very, but at least the trainer gets the job done. Not really anything to write home about though. Thank god for 'Chuck' on dvd. 'Supernatural' is on its way.

The dog is getting too used to my being home to make me want to find a job. She lost her mind when I came in today after picking the wife up on the way back. I had been gone all of four hours. What a sweetheart.

Current beer-scale: 8.2

Beer me. Or whiskey. Whatever.

So, three interviews this week. One I ended up turning down the position, one I've already heard back as a negative, and one that seemed the most interesting has me crossing my fingers and fighting off panic. Why yes, it was a long week, thanks for asking.

It started off well enough. A pleasant drive up to Evanston for the first NU interview. I could see myself working up there. And yes, I am stubborn enough to think I could bike the 12+ miles each way a few times a week.

Not a bad part of the neighborhood.

Next was two consecutive bus rides downtown, for both the second NU interview and then CAF. Hard to believe, but the bus wasn't that bad.

That middle interview is another story. I had asked multiple times for a job description, only to hear that things weren't settled yet. Turns out it was basically coordinating a grant involving cancer research. Only the research is sometimes done using animals. Not for me, thank you.

The last one went way better than I expected, and suddenly that's the one I'm most interested in. Which is nice, b/c NU called yesterday afternoon to say that they had gone with an internal candidate for the first interview of the week. Wow that was fast.

Thankfully, I had picked up an old friend on my way home in the rain on Thursday and put it to good use to end the week.

Yup. Whiskey sure is good.

Current beer-scale: 6.6

This is it

Scheduled three interviews on consecutive days this week; Northwestern, Northwestern, CAF. The bookends are what interest me, with the one in the middle pretty much meh. I'm ready to rock 'em though.
Current beer-scale: 8.8

I walked to work today. I was carrying a suit to change into for an interview this afternoon. Against my better judgement, I decided to apply for the manager position that had just opened up above me. I was eventually able to convince myself I could overcome the awkwardness of getting laid off and if I was given the reins of the entire program, I could have some really positive impact over the long-term.

Apparently, my "great cover letter" and "demonstrated ability to do the job" couldn't overcome the department's "need to start fresh." Next time I'll go with my better judgement.

Big picture, this is still probably for the best. I'm just pissed I let me talk myself into thinking I had a chance at not only a promotion, but a move that would be easier in the short-term than finding a new job. The easy way was not the way to go here, and now I'm just stewing over that as I'm rehashing the interview in my head. Who exactly did I piss off at some point?

Current beer-scale: high enough to convince me to stay home sick tomorrow.

So I got calls 3 & 4 today and they were polar opposites. Call 3 was to set up a phone interview tomorrow with one of the local universities. Call 4 was a "pre-screen" before interviews. The phone scheduler: peppy, friendly, very happy to hear any time tomorrow would work. The pre-screener: abrasive, short, and honestly a little presumptuous about my current duties. Let's just say I'm not going to be upset if I don't make it through the pre-screening for that one.

But calls are calls, and they still make me feel better about my chances. Desperation still hasn't settled in, and I'm still getting fall-down drunk this weekend. Fantastic.

Current beer-scale: 5.1

thanks but no thanks

I got a call for a second interview yesterday...unfortunately they were looking for someone willing to work saturdays. As close to desperate as I'm getting, I'm not there yet. So I thanked them for calling and said I wouldn't waste their time for a practice interview.

As difficult as it was to say no, it was the right decision. Getting a second call does up my average tremendously too, even if I didn't end up actually interviewing. I'm up to about 50 resumes out right now, and 1 out of 25 feels a lot better than 1 out of 50. Not great by any stretch, but better.

In the meantime, let's get to the weekend so I can watch some more football already. Leaves are falling apples are getting picked, and I'm in the mood to get fall-down drunk on oktoberfest.

Current beer-scale: 8.4