Update XVI: Sidejackin' it in the Train Room.

[Joe Biden 2020]

so did you contact metrotech?

Yes, and the answer is in my previous post.

[Joe Biden 2020]

Still got an answering machine for the certificate lady.  I left a message explaining what I'm wanting, so now I have to wait some more.  It frustrates me because I called on this two weeks ago and got the same answering machine.  You all want answers and I want answers.  I'll call again Friday if I haven't heard anything.

The only answer I've gotten so far is from Russ Powers himself by email a week ago or so saying that I do have a certificate waiting, and to contact the person in charge.  He said the location of the certificate should not affect my employment.

How's Big Russ doing? I was hoping he'd pop up a few times in this season.

He's doing fine.  He's getting ready for another school year that starts this coming Monday.

[Joe Biden 2020]

So, I went to the call center place this morning that I found.  I filled out an application that took me an hour and a half to complete only to find out they'll get back with me.  So, I wait for their phone call.  It does give me time to search for other jobs that are better fits.  I did not go to the 13:30 interview I had today, because as myself, J-Mann, and Smash all found out it was all sales.  That's a no-go even more than customer service.  I've got a staffing agency interview tomorrow at 13:00 for an IT position.  We'll see what comes of these.

[Joe Biden 2020]

has anyone mentioned it would be much more efficient to apply online?  oh yeah, almost everyone has suggested that...

I do that, too, but there are some cases where face-to-face interactions have not gone out of style.  How do you possibly get immediate interviews when you apply at home?  That kind of thing does happen.

[Joe Biden 2020]

has anyone mentioned it would be much more efficient to apply online?  oh yeah, almost everyone has suggested that...

I do that, too, but there are some cases where face-to-face interactions have not gone out of style.  How do you possibly get immediate interviews when you apply at home?  That kind of thing does happen.

No job that is going to be worth taking will be likely to give an immediate interview.

That's the only job I applied for in person today.  I've applied for about 5-6 more online.  Have face-to-face interactions really gone obsolete?

[Joe Biden 2020]

Just about 30 minutes ago, I have scored another interview for tomorrow.  I had to push the early interview tomorrow back to Thursday.  The interview I just received is at 11:00 and in the same area as the job I just left.  This means I have interviews tomorrow at 11:00 and 13:00 and Thursday at 9:00.  The 11:00 is directly with the company and 13:00 is with a staffing agency.

[Joe Biden 2020]

has anyone mentioned it would be much more efficient to apply online?  oh yeah, almost everyone has suggested that...

I do that, too, but there are some cases where face-to-face interactions have not gone out of style.  How do you possibly get immediate interviews when you apply at home?  That kind of thing does happen.

No job that is going to be worth taking will be likely to give an immediate interview.

That's the only job I applied for in person today.  I've applied for about 5-6 more online.  Have face-to-face interactions really gone obsolete?

That type of stuff might exist in the fly by night companies, the call centers, or if your looking for a retail or restaraunt type of job.  However, if you are looking for some office job, it really doesn't exist.

Granted it is a completely different company and area then what you would be doing, but I use to work in Manhattan for a major bank/financial firm.  You wouldn't get past security in the lobby if you didn't have someone from the company okay it.  This is the same in many companies in NYC.  You aren't going to be buzzed up by going to security and say hey I have a resume to drop off.  F

Any back office type of job you would potentially work in likely wouldn't have that type of stuff (though perhaps in the heart of downtown OKC or Tulsa, that type of security is possible).  However, even if you go into an office you would be extremely unlikely to get anywhere beyond handing your resume to a Receptionist which may or may not make it to a HR dept or hiring manager.

I can see your point and most of the jobs I have found don't do immediate interviews, but there are some that do.  Like you said, though, they are mostly the hole-in-the-wall companies.

[Joe Biden 2020]

has anyone mentioned it would be much more efficient to apply online?  oh yeah, almost everyone has suggested that...

I do that, too, but there are some cases where face-to-face interactions have not gone out of style.  How do you possibly get immediate interviews when you apply at home?  That kind of thing does happen.

No job that is going to be worth taking will be likely to give an immediate interview.

I agree with this. Great companies are busy, and busy people making those great companies run can't drop everything to take an interview at a moment's notice. If you're looking for a career, expect the organization to have a hiring process that is lengthier than a handshake.

Good things come to those who wait.

[Joe Biden 2020]

Add to my interviews two job fairs.  A job fair on Monday, August 4, 2014 at 13:00 and another customer service job fair on Tuesday, August 5, 2014 at 9:00.

[Joe Biden 2020]

Bushie, I am not trying to "be negative" as you so often accuse people ITT of being, but why do you consistently and repeatedly seek out customer service jobs?

Realistically, they are the only types of employers that would hire someone with Bushie's work record.

Which is another reason I tend to gravitate toward those jobs.  I know my job record sucks and while I still try for the really good jobs, I know call centers will mostly be there.

Heck, I know that if push come to shove and I'm out for too long without a job, I could go running back into the arms of the call center I just left and I'd be hired on the spot.  Naturally, I don't want to do that and I don't expect to have to do that, but it is the safety net of all safety nets.  It will make staying in Tulsa much easier if things go horribly wrong.  Like I said, I don't want to do that, and I left there for a reason, but it will be there for me if I need it.

[Joe Biden 2020]

Bushie did you tell Allison that you were thinking about leaving this last job you had before you guys broke it off?

Also does the original wedding date come back into play if you guys decide to get back together in the fall?

I did not tell her of my plans to leaving, because at the time we broke up I was still planning on going to work Monday.  It wasn't until Sunday evening that my mind changed.  We broke up on Saturday.

I highly doubt we'll get back together and if we did I think the original date would then be too soon.

[Joe Biden 2020]

What's the longest relationship Bushie's ever had?  8 months?

This one lasted 2 days shy of 10 months from start to finish.

[Joe Biden 2020]

Bushie, I am not trying to "be negative" as you so often accuse people ITT of being, but why do you consistently and repeatedly seek out customer service jobs?

Realistically, they are the only types of employers that would hire someone with Bushie's work record.

Which is another reason I tend to gravitate toward those jobs.  I know my job record sucks and while I still try for the really good jobs, I know call centers will mostly be there.

Heck, I know that if push come to shove and I'm out for too long without a job, I could go running back into the arms of the call center I just left and I'd be hired on the spot.  Naturally, I don't want to do that and I don't expect to have to do that, but it is the safety net of all safety nets.  It will make staying in Tulsa much easier if things go horribly wrong.  Like I said, I don't want to do that, and I left there for a reason, but it will be there for me if I need it.

What was the last straw for you with that place? Something must happened because you seemed committed to sticking with it for a while.

Thursday and Friday last week really changed my mind.  It's hard to say what the last straw was as it was all a cumulative effect.  I guess if I were forced to name a last straw, it was that the managers knew absolutely nothing and came to work actually high on weed and were not stopped as they walked in.  Mind you, weed is still illegal in Oklahoma and it should not be consumed before work.  I wasn't really surprised that they were high on weed as the place had absolutely no drug testing policy.  It accepted not only drug addicts, but it also accepted convicted felons.  Many of the managers and even my classmates have been incarcerated before.  I'm all for reintegration, but it still made me feel uncomfortable.

[Joe Biden 2020]

The longest you've held a job would be my question.

2 years

[Joe Biden 2020]

Whatever happened to his Kenyan children anyway? It's like they've dropped off the face of the earth.

The kids are doing very well.  We just had a group down there all summer who will be coming back to Oklahoma in the next few days.  I kept tabs on them while they were down there and I'm about ready to write a letter to both of them so the next group can deliver them sometime this fall.

He also said back in January during the brief Allison break up period that he was concerned that dating Allison would mean the end of his Kenyan dreams.  Now that Allison is out of the picture, he's oddly said nothing about wanting to take the opportunity to move to Kenya.

I'm still praying about Kenya.  I would definitely like to go, there's no question, I'm just concerned about the logistics of going down there.  First, I feel I need to spend a summer down there and get somewhat acclimated to life down there.  That will tell me if I am suited for a much longer stay down there for maybe like a year or two at a time.

[Joe Biden 2020]

I'm home from the two interviews.  First one was a bust.  They were selling life insurance and union benefits to gullible union members.  I sat and listened to the 45 minute presentation (time I will never get back), but when it was time to give our thoughts on the feedback form and if we wanted to pursue this, I got up and walked out.  I've done life insurance before.  Been there.  Done that.   Almost got the t-shirt.  The second interview took a whopping 3 minutes - 2 minutes 30 seconds of that waiting.  Since I had previously applied to that staffing agency for other positions, all he did was take my name and number and submit my name to the actual client.  I've never heard back from this particular staffing agency on any of the jobs I applied for, so I'm still not sure they don't have phantom job openings.  All in all, I think today was a bust.  Not to mention it was pouring down rain the entire time.  I got soaked to the bone for nothing...  Oh well, at least I didn't fall for that life insurance.   To be quite honest, it sounded like a slightly better version of Ameriplan.

[Joe Biden 2020]

Do you plan to actively campaign against Mary Fallin Bushie?

Probably not actively campaign, but I will vote against her.

[Joe Biden 2020]

bushie, did allison ever get on to you about your chronic unemployment?

Nope

[Joe Biden 2020]

I'm home from the two interviews.  First one was a bust.  They were selling life insurance and union benefits to gullible union members.  I sat and listened to the 45 minute presentation (time I will never get back), but when it was time to give our thoughts on the feedback form and if we wanted to pursue this, I got up and walked out.  I've done life insurance before.  Been there.  Done that.   Almost got the t-shirt.  The second interview took a whopping 3 minutes - 2 minutes 30 seconds of that waiting.  Since I had previously applied to that staffing agency for other positions, all he did was take my name and number and submit my name to the actual client.  I've never heard back from this particular staffing agency on any of the jobs I applied for, so I'm still not sure they don't have phantom job openings.  All in all, I think today was a bust.  Not to mention it was pouring down rain the entire time.  I got soaked to the bone for nothing...  Oh well, at least I didn't fall for that life insurance.   To be quite honest, it sounded like a slightly better version of Ameriplan.

Here's something that is confusing to me: how do you not know what you're ping to be interviewing for until you're there? I can see keeping the name of a company confidential until you're deeper in the hiring process if you're working through a recruiter, but to not even know what the job is? How is that possible? You are at a point, Jeff, where you shouldn't be getting surprised in interviews. It's probably best that you don't respond to the vague postings that promise the potential of high wars and don't say what you'll be doing. It's best to work directly through a company's HR department, find roles on their websites and not on job boards, and work through recruiters, not staffing agencies.

I have worked with Recruiters and staffing agencies in the past (though didn't land a job through them).  When I used them, there were times I knew the potential employer, there were times I didn't, but I always had some type of knowledge of what the position was about, what in entailed, etc through the conversation I had over the phone prior to the inrerview, as well as the job posting itself.

I definitely had an idea of the objectives of the position, but I didn't know the means to achieving said objectives would be selling life insurance.  That part wasn't disclosed on the ad.

[Joe Biden 2020]

So Bushie, what would you do if you got a CADD job with a pot smoking supervisor?

I'd bite my tongue and work.

[Joe Biden 2020]

Good morning, folks.  I've got a big headache this morning and it's still raining outside.  I've got a couple places I could check out today, but if think I may relegate my search to the Internet.

[Joe Biden 2020]

Good morning, folks.  I've got a big headache this morning and it's still raining outside.  I've got a couple places I could check out today, but if think I may relegate my search to the Internet.

How long will you nap be? Watching any baseball games?

Right now, my head hurts too bad to take a nap.  I doubt I'll watch much baseball today. Instead, I'm watching coverage of the NFL Training Camps on NFL Network.

[Joe Biden 2020]

So you're absent again from your new full time job of finding a full time job.  Momma miight fire you.

I thought about sulking today, but I've decided against it.  I can't afford to lose an entire day to a headache.  I've taken medicine for it, and indeed it has come down slightly in the past hour, so now I'm going to go to a couple staffing agencies in midtown Tulsa and put in applications.  I may stop somewhere and grab a bite to eat first to see if food might help my headache some.  The jobs I'm going to put in for are a dispatcher and a receptionist.

[Joe Biden 2020]

So Bushie quit his job to lool for a job and instead is going to watch NFL training camp coverage?

I can do both at the same time, except when I'm out looking for jobs.

[Joe Biden 2020]

I'm home from my errands this afternoon.  I accomplished what I set out to do today which was to put my application in at two staffing agencies in Midtown.  I wasn't expecting to accomplish any more than that.  Now, I'm home and will continue the job search until 17:00 when I'll call it quits.  Since I took that Excedrin about 10:30, my headache has dropped from a Grade 8 down to a Grade 5.  It still hurts, but it certainly feels better than it did just a few short hours ago.