Re: interviews and ethics

["Chuck Martin" <cm -at- writeforyou -dot- com>]

"David Castro" <thetechwriter -at- yahoo -dot- com> wrote in message
news:210641 -at- techwr-l -dot-  -dot-  -dot- 
> Chuck Martin wrote:
> > One of the important things I look for in a job is happiness. Happiness
is
> > more than compensation. Happiness includes enjoying the work, being
> > respected for my skills, and working with equally competent people, both
on
> > my team and on other teams. I generally woudl select a (somewhat) lower
> > compensation on an otherwise great job than higher pay where I'm
miserable.
>
> I am with you 100%. I am going on an interview today, after being laid off
(for
> the second time in my career) on the 8th. I *love* interviews! Where else
can
> you talk about yourself and your work to someone for an hour or more and
> actually have them be interested in what you're talking about? I talk to
my
> wife for more than about 60 seconds on something I've done in some
> documentation, and her eyes glaze over. <Sigh>

I never thought about it that way. I've always loved interviews, I get
really excited because I usually am interested in what the company is doing
and whatI may be able to do to make the product even better and more
understandable.

>
> So I'm going on an interview today. I've been told in previous interviews
that
> I am refreshingly honest when I interview. And I think that's good for me,
but
> sad for those who aren't so honest. I look at an interview as two people
trying
> to figure out if the applicant is a good match for a position. That
requires
> that an applicant provide an honest picture of him/herself. If I provide
> inaccurate information about myself, and then get the job, what's the
> likelihood that I'm going to enjoy my work? I'd say it's significantly
less.

I've come too\ see a rerally strong analogy to dating. When you first meet,
whether it's that first date or the interview, both of you are on your best
behavior, trying to show you best sides. A second interview is like a second
date, you're both trying to feel a little more comfortable with each other.

Getting hired and accepting is like deciding to go steady. You start really
getting to know each other, and the facade begins to fade. You start to see
each other's faults and shortcomings. Some you know you can live with, can
work around. Sometimes, you come to the realization, after months or
years--or even weeks--that what you saw in each other in those first starry
moments just isn't reality, and it just isn't going to work out. So you
break up and move on--which is rarely easy.


> One last thing that should be either an encouragement or a warning
(depending
> on who you are!): the person who will be interviewing me recognized my
name.
> When we went over where she could know me from, we determined it must have
been
> from this list (either that, or my WinWriters presentations last year...I
was
> unclear as to which she meant). So, everybody mind your P's and Q's,
because
> you never know when your posts here could come back to help or haunt you!
:-)
>
At my last regular job, where I'd hoped to stay longer until the layoffs hit
there, my manager had seen my presentation at WinWriters a couple of years
earlier. But the most amazing "recognition" was another interview not long
after I'd moved to the Bay Area. The guy I was talking with said he
recognized me. Turns out he'd seen my photo in a local Seattle weekly, where
I'd been Sports Editor for 5 years (as well as writing news, features,
etc.), and because I also had a weekly column, my picture was next to the
byline.

What's interesting is to Google your name and see the results. (I heard a
cool term for that recently, but it slipped my mind). I found out that "I"
am a technology writer for a magazine and an assistant basketball coach for
a college in Massachusetts. Interestingly, one of the first results was my
Amazon book list. I guess I have to figure out how to promote my own web
site better to get higher up the search results.

Chuck Martin

P.S. Good luck on the interview.