things and stuff

[edenfalling]

In no particular order:

1. I have a job interview scheduled for Tuesday morning. This is in relation to the civil service job I mentioned nearly a month ago. I applied in mid-November, had my exam in late November, received my exam results last week, and now finally get an interview. Bureaucracy moves slowly! I am not the only person being interviewed, of course, but I really hope I get the job. It would remove about 70% of my current stressors in one fell swoop.

(The exam was pretty easy, btw. I am legally forbidden to reveal details, but it was structured to answer the following question: Can you, when shown how to use a simple database program you've never seen before, correctly and quickly enter, manipulate, and retrieve data? I can touch type and have learned my way around several proprietary software programs over the years, so the answer was obviously yes.)

-----

2. Still working my way through online training for Not the IRS, blargh. Oh well, at least I get paid for it! They're making a first tentative January schedule this weekend, though if I do get the civil service job, obviously I will have to change my hours.

-----

3. I hate Yuletide, I hate Yuletide, I hate Yuletide. I am about halfway to the minimum wordcount, but not remotely halfway through my planned story. *headdesk*

Ah well, I think I know where to butcher it in order to get a coherent thing posted by the deadline, if necessary, and then I'll try to get the extended proper version up before the archive goes live next week.

-----

4. Bought gifts for Mom and Vicky on Tuesday, which I will wrap sometime this weekend. Thank goodness for Ithaca's weird little specialty shops on and around the Commons. I also bought little extras for Mom, Dad, and Vicky, got Mom to buy a thing in my name for Dad (which I will wrap and pay her back for when I get to NJ), and went halves(ish) with Vicky on a gift for Aunt Cara. And I got all my holiday cards mailed out last Saturday, which is always a good feeling.

My card list has changed a bit over the years as my older relatives have died and I've tacked some former coworkers on. I've also started sending cards to Cat and Susan's parents addressing them by their first names, which feels kind of weird -- making the shift from 'my friends' parents' to 'adults I know as a fellow adult' -- but has not caused the sky to fall, so eh, whatever.

(I duck the issue by not using names at all when directly addressing them, because that is still a step too weird for me, but at least I'm not calling them Mr. and Mrs. M (or G) anymore. Progress by inches!)

-----

5. You know, screw it, I think I'm going to post ch. 16 of "Guardian" on my journal tonight even though I haven't finished editing and reposting the previous chapters on AO3. That will give me time to get a little feedback before I stick ch 16 up on a permanent archive, and I have never claimed to be a very patient person. When I finish a thing, I want a reaction NOW.

So yeah, gimme a few minutes and I'm going to do that.

Comments

[branchandroot]

I have my fingers crossed for your interview!

[edenfalling]

*attempts to think confident thoughts*

[transposable_element]

Good luck on the interview!

I'm in about the same shape with Yuletide and am planning the same stragey: get something online that satisfies the criteria, then finish it between the posting deadline and the reveal. One advantage is that my husband and daughter will be away Sunday through Tuesday, so I'll have plenty of time to work on it.

[edenfalling]

Thank you!

I got a functional fic posted, but it's only about, hmm, 1/3 of what I wanted to write, so I am still trying to get the rest of the thing pulled together. Let's hope we both defeat the evil deadline demons! ;-)

[aishuu.livejournal.com]

Yay for the interview! Civil service is a very secure field if you can make it in (I'm looking that way, too, after I finish college...).

[edenfalling]

I need to review all my 'how to ace an interview' cheat sheets from the unemployment bureau, because oh my god I want this job. It would solve all my financial problems pretty much forever. I could start saving again!

(And I could probably still work for Not the IRS on the weekends or whatever, because I do want that experience and extra money is not to be sneezed at.)

[aishuu.livejournal.com]

Most of the interview stuff is common sense, which you have plenty of it. From personal experience interacting with job candidates (I've seen just about all these bad behaviors):

Dress like a professional is number 1. The one most common thing I've seen done wrong at interviews is wearing jeans, tank-tops (hey, it's DAMN warm in NY right now!), tight clothing, cleavage exposing shirts... Think conservative until you get in and see what the office environment is like. Dress sharp (iron if it needs it).

Turn off your cell phone and any other distracting device. Do not make cellphone calls while you are on the interview site - it really turns off interviewers.

Don't refer to your parents, etc. I had a colleague who saw a mother accompany her twenty-odd college graduate to an interview. We thought it was an urban legend, but it's HAPPENING. Talk about helicopter parenting.

Arrive ten minutes early - much earlier and you can freak them out, and later shows disrespect.

Be nice to the secretaries or anyone you interact with. My office always asked the receptionist what she thought.

Have extra copies of your resume. I like carrying them in a nice folder. Everything about you should be orderly.

Have a couple of questions prepared - don't ask about salary for the first interview (it's NY State, you can find it on the website usually), but something that shows you are interested in the position. Most interviews will end asking if you want to know anything, and asking nothing is bad. Don't mention vacation plans, sick leave, etc... anything that indicates you're already thinking of perks. State regs will lay that all out, and it's not a good first impression.

If you're going office professional, are you on LinkedIn?

/busybody

[edenfalling]

Hmm. No problems with the clothes, the cellphone, the slightly early arrival, the politeness, and the resume copies. Where I tend to fall down is that I apparently project intense awkwardness when meeting people for the first time, and I have a regrettable tendency to blank on questions until about ten minutes after the fact. *sigh* I should probably make a cheat sheet with a couple talking points...

[aishuu.livejournal.com]

Not a bad idea as long as you don't bring the sheet IN with you and read from it. ;) Most people are nervous for interviews - don't worry about it. I think being sincere is more important.

[wistfulmemory.livejournal.com]

Good luck with the interview! I'll send some good vibes your way on Tuesday. I hope you get the job.

Job training isn't usually fun, but I'm glad you're getting paid for it.

Sorry about Yuletide. You can do it! :)

You're doing way better on gift buying than I am. *heads off to procrastinate even longer*

Yay for Chapter 16 *reads it to aid in procrastinating*

[edenfalling]

Thank you!