20 Jan

Posted at 06:20h in Quitting Your Job
I get a lot of people emailing me about how much they hate their job, and have to deal with politics, old people who hate change, etc. My advice to them is to leave. Get out as soon as you can. It will never get better. You may ask for a transfer of some sorts, but 9/10 it is in-grained in the company culture.There is a difference between being frustrated with your job and plain old hating your job. I've noticed the people who are frustrated, WANT to make change in their current job and WANT their group to do well. They are frustrated because things can be much better, but no one is listening to them and change is taking way to long.  These also tend to be the people that are good at what they do.  They are passionate and love change as long as it is for the better. If you're frustrated with what you're doing & have had no success advancing your initiatives, leave to another company. It is not going to get any better.

26 Dec

Posted at 14:44h in Career Inspiration, Interviewing, Linkedin, Networking Tips, Quitting Your Job, Resumes and Cover Letters
I get a lot of people asking me to help them find jobs. I'm not sure if they read about my job interview failures before they asked, but I digress.Their story is usually the same:
  • They hate their current job, or don't like how much they get paid
  • They want to find a job outside of their current industry.
  • They have been applying online for 2 months without any luck.
  • They know they can succeed in the job that they are going for.

25 Dec

Posted at 09:36h in Interviewing
In my first post, I laid out 5 interviews that I failed. That was just the start. I have 6 more to go. These interviews being the most recent.6) Large C0mpany Interview #1 that consisted of 17 interviews only to end in an a rejection.This interview #1 consisted of 17, yes 17 interviews over the span of 3 weeks. I made it to 17 interviews and I still managed to mess it up. After 3 years at a large consulting firm, I’m looking to get out of consulting. I had a referral within this large company so I was able to get an interview. First set of phone interviews go great, then I go to on campus interviews. This company eally did their due diligence before sending me out their. Everyone loved me until I get to the last interviewer. She asked me “who was your worst manager”. I told her about another coworker I worked with at a consulting company. She then asked “Can I get her contact information”. I was like WTF mate, and I will look into it. Then she asked me about my writing skills and if I can send her a writing sample. All I can think about was - lady, I implement technology systems for a living and why are you asking for this?  I think my resume was kind of jacked, and she didn’t think I can write for shit. She was probably right. Then they started asking for referrals from my CURRENT job before I got a job offer from them, and that’s when I put my foot down. You want me to tell my current firm that I’m interviewing with your company and mess everything up before I even know that I have an offer from your company? I'm stupid, but not that stupid. I said no thank you and told them I couldn't give them any contact information.I had another technical interview (which was my 17th) that I messed up royally. They were basic programming questions that I should have answered properly but I blanked out. I messed it up, but overall the whole interview process was pretty intense. It’s OK though I’ll get a second shot. If I made it to 17 interviews on my first shot, I can definitely improve and get an offer the second time right? WRONG!

24 Dec

Posted at 07:20h in Interviewing
To give you context, I am 30 years old and recently quit my job to start my own company. This post is more of a celebration of my interview failures. It is in chronological order starting when I was in college.1) Freshman year at College. I realize I have no money & I need to pay my own rent.I was interviewing for an hourly Job as a resume reviewer on campus. It was conducted by 3 interviewers interviewing 2 people at the same time. Yes, the same exact time in the same room, both interviewees sitting right next to each other. Every question that they asked, I jumped out and answered first. I didn’t really care about the other guy with me. I thought I was being proactive, out there, and letting them know i’m not afraid to give honest feedback. It turns out I was just an idiot. I didn’t get the job, and I felt stupid afterwards.I ran into the other interviewee and found out he did get the job.  That sucked.The interview did start well because I struck a conversation with the lady at the front desk. When the interviewer came out to greet me, she said “oh you know her?”, and my response was “oh, we just met”. +1 for me right? Then I fucked it up in the “group interview”. How does a resume / interview preparation shop interview two people at the same time!. Some sort of social experiment or something. but whatever, I messed it up, life goes on.