job-hunting 2.1 or, what I learned from this interview

My interview today was with a company located 40 miles away from my parents’ house. Thankfully I left two hours early—my Mapquest directions were wrong, and once I exited the expressway I couldn’t reenter without going totally out of my way for a while.  When I called the company, they couldn’t even help me. Miraculously I arrived only 10 minutes late. (Lesson #1: Double-check directions beforehand and always leave a big time cushion)

Then the next problem: my e-mail said “enter through the north entrance.” Do most people just know navigational stuff like that? I parked in visitor parking and went to the closest door; there, fifteen suited businessmen gathered together, touring the facility (?) with a guide. Simultaneously, flower deliverymen moved in and out of the building, bearing vases holding the longest, most beautiful roses I have ever seen—they brought in at least 20 bouquets. I still don’t know why.

I went back to my car and called the office: was there a tour going on? am I at the right place? Yes, she told me. Come back and push past the men. (Lesson #2: Always bring the business’s phone number along.)

I came back in, introducing myself to the secretary, and waited in the lobby. Another fifteen minutes later, a second secretary took me to a completely unadorned office where a young, suited man sat with my resume.  He asked me to “describe myself” and warned he’d ask “funny questions.” (Was this the weirdest day or what?) When it was his turn to describe the company and position, nothing was as I thought it would be: the job was different, the company style was different, and I knew I didn’t want to work there. (Lesson #3: You just never know what to expect with interviews.)

He never asked if I were still interested though, only promised he’d talk to his supervisor, as he ushered me out of the room, through the halls of roses, into the lobby.  He said the hours are 8:30-5:30, and he swears he usually lets them go by 6.  “I’m not a micromanager,” he said.

In order for me to consider the position, if it were offered, I’d have to relocate. The pay scale probably wouldn’t accomodate that, so this is an easy decision: no.

I don’t really know if I’ll be offered the job, though: the interviewer was concerned about my five weeks left of classes, realizing I’d have to leave early twice a week.

Reason #216 why I love my school

My meeting at the career center went well yesterday: I met with the Assistant Director, and she gave me practical advice for revising my resume, as well as lists of places to look for job postings. I left with new hope, seriously excited about the future.

fun on a budget: clothes

OK, I’ll admit it: “What Not to Wear” is my guilty pleasure. Stacy and Clinton crack me up, the transformations amaze me, and watching the show makes me want to update my wardrobe, rethink my fashion choices—in short, it makes me want to go shopping.

I’ve been “good” for several weeks: my last clothing purchase was in the end of March or beginning of April, and I only bought two things: an adorable spring dress and a black-and-white tunic top, both from JCPenney, for a grand total of $70.

But I’ve been feeling that itch. You know the one? The longing for something new and shiny, something wrapped in tissue paper and placed inside a shopping bag with handles? I tell myself Soon. Soon, when you land the job, when you have the spending money.

And in the mean time, I find contentment in these quasi-shopping means:

The Frugal Fashionista: I put this site in my Bloglines weeks ago, and its feeds are shortened so you have to open the site to read the posts. Let me tell you: I open every one. Name the celebrity, and FF has tips for scoring a similar style, at lower prices.

Reorganizing: I’ve been doing this regularly for as long as I can remember. Once or twice a year, I take all my clothes and shoes out of my closet and throw them on my bed, the dresser, the mirror, wherever. Then I try everything on. Really. I ask myself if there are new ways to wear old things, if I can restyle items. Bonus: I always, always find clothes I forgot I liked wearing. I don’t know why this happens.

eBay: With all the reorganizing, I usually set aside a stack of clothes that I can’t believe I ever bought: that bunchy skirt, the too-tight jeans, etc. If they’re in good shape, and especially if they’re brand name, I list them on eBay. Quality clothing really does sell well online, and then I’m adding money to the new-clothes fund. The not-as-nice stuff I pile in a bag for Goodwill and haul it out later on.

Right now, I’m wearing a newly put-together suit. It’s a jacket I bought at Sears a year ago, for $20; a pair of pants from the Limited, $60 but SO worth it because I wear them all the time; and a white t-shirt I got at H&M last year, for less than $10. The t-shirt was an accidental outfit choice last week, and I loved it so much, it’s become my interview staple.

job-hunting 2.0

Tomorrow, I’m meeting with a career counselor at my university. I don’t know what I’m hoping to get from her, really, short of a “Well, we’ll hire you here, you’re so great!” (Sigh. I dream.)

I expect she’ll evaluate my resume and encourage me to go to job fairs. Other than that, I wonder what she can offer?

And on Thursday, I have another interview scheduled.
Source: Careerbuilder

This is for a writer/editor position within an accounting corporation. As the HR rep described it, I’d be rewriting business-language writing into copy that ordinary mom-and-pop shops can understand. The pay is $33-$35K, with benefits: those are the good things. The location is over an hour away, which means I’d have to painfully commute for a few months until I finish school and can find another place to live: that is the bad thing.

decision-making

When I was in college, I heard a presentation I’ll never forget, probably because the speaker handed out candy. At the beginning of his talk, he passed around, to a crowd of several hundred people, boxes of dum-dum lollipops. “You don’t have to take one,” he said. “But they’re free if you’d like one.” So I took one, sucking on the fruity flavor while he continued.

His message was about waiting for the right thing: specifically in relationships. He wanted us college kids to not rush into anything, but to be willing to patiently wait for the person who would be right for you. Then he pulled out another box: packs of jolly ranchers. This time, you could only take a pack if you hadn’t already eaten a dum-dum. Of course, I thought. Well, if I’d known about this, I wouldn’t have had the sucker. He never said anything about choices.

He talked about Ruth, in the Bible, and how God brought her together with Boaz. He said in the middle of Ruth’s story, you (and she) wouldn’t have known what the end would be: so with life, he told us.

Then, you guessed it, he pulled out the final candy: Reese’s Peanut Butter cups. You could only take one of those packs if you hadn’t had either of the previous choices. Now, the very few (a handful, seriously) were left: they probably wondered if something better would still be coming. But then again, if they loved PB cups, they probably wouldn’t care. I think that was his point: when you go for something, make sure it’s worth it, make sure you want it.

To me, that’s the difficulty with decisions: sometimes I’m just not sure what’s worth it and what I really want. There are pro-con lists, flow charts, advice from friends … but, in the final analysis, I have to just choose, and that can be daunting.

Today I logged into my stock portfolio, ready to buy shares in a company I really believe in. I watched the ticker go up, down, up, down. I passed on buying because it was up $0.05, then watched it rise another $0.20. Buy it then? What if it goes down? Well, what if it goes up?

You just never know, with decisions. You don’t know if there’s something great—or not great—round the corner, and so it’s scary. All you can do is research, plan, and hope. Hope your investing and budgeting and controlling brings what you’re hoping for, and hope that what you’re hoping for is worth it.

job-hunting and saving money

The job hunt continues. I was wondering the other day how I can rationally continue this personal finance blog when my personal finances are … well, dwindling, I guess. But, even as a quasi-employed, soon-to-be-grad-school-graduate, I’m still spending carefully and saving appropriately. I suppose having all this free time makes for great planning.

Here’s where I’m at right now:
Stock portfolio: $25,000
Bank account: $250.00
Paypal account: $50.00

Incoming (expected income):
Article #1: $600.
Article #2: $50.
eBay sales over the next week: $20.
Income tax refunds: $700.
Total incoming: $1370.

I am planning to deposit a big chunk of those funds into my stock account, and I’m hoping to have a full-time source of income by the end of May. At that point, depending on my salary, I will set my new budget, of which I hope to save at least 40%.

job-hunting 1.2 or, HELP!

The company I interviewed with called me back for a second interview; I passed.

Usually, once I get interviewed, I can get the job offer; getting the interview is the hard part. I know finding a job can take a while—isn’t the average 3 months? Still, though, I wish I could shorten the search. Am I missing something? Here’s a list of the steps I’ve taken so far; please, if you have any further suggestions, ideas or what-not, contact me. How did you find your job? If you’ve helped hire at your company, what tips can you offer?

1. Posted my resume online at Monster, Careerbuilder, HotJobs, ChicagoJobs, Craigslist and my school’s e-recruiting site.

2. Checked (and checking) those websites daily for updates, applying for anything that interests me.

3. E-mailed my former profs, asking for connections.

4. Web-researched companies I’m interested in and sent my resume via e-mail or snail mail (sometimes in response to a posting, sometimes not)

5.  Created an online portfolio that contains writing samples, a brief bio, and more in-depth info about my academic program.

the stock market

My dad started a stock portfolio for me a few years ago, with a smallish sum of money. Then, when I worked at the insurance agency after college, I lived at home, so I was able to save chunks of my paycheck to deposit. $1000 here, $500 there… and the money kept growing.

Recently I read an article about inflation and how leaving money in a bank account actually makes you lose money, over time (!) and I decided to move another chunk of money into Scottrade account: $1000. My bank account has much less in it now (a lot less), but I have income I’m expecting, so if I watch my spending for the next few weeks, I should be fine.

Now all I have to decide is where to put the money. I’d love to buy Google, but at $500-something a share (last I heard), that’d be silly.

interview 1

Since I began the job-hunt a few weeks ago, I’ve had a few responses, but today was the first interview. I met with two senior editors at a local publishing company. Their organization creates three monthly magazines, dealing with construction, IT, and M2M. Though the subject matter doesn’t exactly intrigue me, I genuinely believe anything can be interesting if you make it that way.

I went in with an open mind, but the first interview, with ED #1, was unbelievable. He spent a good 20 minutes talking down the position, assuring me I would find it boring. He also didn’t smile—not once. His handshake was weak, his eye contact too long, and overall he was quite creepy. I had all but decided to forget this position, when I met with the second editor.

ED #2 was charming, personable, and smiled often. I liked him right away. He told me he didn’t have technical knowledge before taking the job, but as a writer he learned as he went along.

Sigh. Stuff to think about.

dealing with customer service issues

I’m lucky enough to manage my two bank accounts at a small, local branch of a smallish bank that treats me quite nicely. It’s my dad’s bank—that’s how I ended up there—and he’s a favorite customer. Basically, what this means is that if I’m charged for overdrawing (only happened once—it was a paypal issue) or someone else’s faulty check, the bank reverses it, as far as I can tell mainly because I’m his daughter.

I won’t get into all the ethical questions of one client being treated differently or that client’s daughter reaping the rewards; that’s not the issue of this post. Rather, I want to talk about what you should do when your bank—or a restaurant, store, you-name-it—treats you poorly. What should you do when you’re not on a first-name basis with a manager, have no high connections, and your account/purchases command only a tidy sum, not enough to garner extra attention?

This is a subject I know well. In my first job out of college, I was an insurance agency office manager, which involved filing, organizing, computer work, and, mostly, customer service. From 9-5, five days a week, I answered questions about policies, updated policies at clients’ requests, and generally just made our customers feel better. My mission was to make them understand and to make them happy with our agency.

Anyone who’s ever worked with the general public knows the variety of customers:

a) The needy: This customer calls in, not primarily to get help or service, but to get a listening ear. They want to tell you about the neighbor kid who broke into their house over the weekend and had a drug ring in their living room, or about their now ex-girlfriend and the burden of getting rid of the shared house (both true stories).

b) The aloof: They’re in, and they’re out. Annoyed they even have to talk to a low-level employee like you, they ignore your name and advice, stating their request in clipped sentences: “I want X. That’s it. Thank you.” click.

c) The schmoozer: Some may find this type frustrating, but I’ll admit the entertainment value alone made the call worthwhile.

d) The mysterious: Refusing to give you any information, demanding to talk to the agent immediately, this client views sharing insurance info as something akin to handing out a blank check or SSN. When they finally get put through to the higher-up, they ask to change their phone number, or something equally mindless.

So, back to the original issue, which of these personas is most effective?
The answer: it depends.

Like customers, customer service personnel carry different personalities and attitudes and moods. While one strategy may work best with one CS agent, it might fail miserably with another.

So here’s my advice: Know what you need, Stay calm, and Have a back-up plan.

My younger brother went to college out of state for a while, forcing him to open an account at a more national bank. He’s been with them for two years, and he’s been happy. He uses only a debit card–no checks–and no one at the bank recognizes him when he goes in, but it works for him.

Recently, though, he needed to have actual hard-copy checks and also wanted a separate checking account to use for eBay-ing. He looked at his bank’s website and happily learned they offer free checks for life. He went in, requested a new account with checks, and was on his way. All was well until he received his next statement with a $25 charge smacked on.

I gave him the same advice: a) know what you want, b) stay calm, and c) have a back-up plan. (I think I also added: be firm, and don’t let them manipulate you—but that’s a family thing probably.)

KNOW WHAT YOU WANT
Before you call, go in, or meet with someone, get all your facts straight. What do you need to have happen to make you happy? It could be a charge reversed, a rebate issued, whatever. Have any documentation with you. Study the business’s stated policy to see if there is an existing standard policy. Once you know exactly what happened, what was wrong, and how you want it corrected, you’re ready.

STAY CALM
A lot of people mistakenly think yelling or name-calling will get their way faster. It’s just not true. All that will really happen (unless you perchance get some new, timid, unsure worker) is you will tick him or her off, and they’ll be even less likely to help you. You can be serious, firm, even unfriendly; but don’t freak out. It’s unprofessional and makes you look desperate.

HAVE A BACK-UP PLAN
*Even when you go into a situation with all your ducks in a row and you stay completely professional, you still have a chance of hitting an agent who will not help you. If, after really trying, you cannot make headway, ask to see a manager. Again, don’t lose your cool here.
*Begin again with the manager. Hopefully he or she will be better at understanding your case.
*If this still doesn’t work, consider dropping your business and switching to another provider. While you’re at it, send a letter to the business owner or CEO, CC-ing to the manager and anyone else you deem appropriate.

And if that still gets you nowhere, turn around and don’t look back. You really are better off elsewhere.