What never ceases to amaze me is how many young engineers don't realize that a job interview is a bi-directional process. While it is true that the man with the gold makes the rules and you are attempting to convince the man to throw some of the gold your way, it is equally true that (assuming you are a good engineer who takes his role seriously) you are getting ready to contribute something more valuable than gold; namely your time. In fact in many cases you are bargaining more than half of your waking life for some of the gold and given that time is more valuable than money, the prospective employee is often dealing from the incorrect position.
It is often the case that companies during the interview process look for such intangibles as culture fit, aptitude, character references, credit scores, biological tests and a background check. It can be a long and difficult process which is OK, but in many cases it is a uni-directional process which is not OK. The prospective employee at every step during the interview process should be asking such questions as 'do I want to work here', 'how good is this company', 'does this company share my core values', 'has this company been a good corporate citizen', 'is this employee I have been subjected to someone I would enjoy working with', etc. It is also fair to request the same information from a company they have requested of you.
If a company requests a credit score from you, it should be fair to request a financial statement from the company. If a company requests a list of three references from you it should be fair of you to ask for a list (and associated contact information) of three former employees from the company, after all, if the company can't provide three former employees who have positive things to say about the company or if all former employees are happy to be former employees that says something.
Whenever I interview with a company for a position which is a replacement position (IE I am replacing someone who left as opposed to a newly created position) and they ask me why I left my previous job, after I answer their question I usually ask why the individual who I am replacing left. In a lot of cases the company will want to know why I have changed jobs so frequently (the average life expectancy of a software engineer by the way is somewhere around 18 months) and after I describe why I left various positions they are interested in, I typically request of them the average stay of an engineer while in their employ. Though the interviewer is usually surprised by this sort of thing, I am sure they are no less surprised than I am when they ask me for such strange things as a background check or a credit score; after all, what could my credit score possibly have to do with my job performance, but the average term of their former employees is relevant for me to deduce what my anticipated employment term would be with them.
Anyway, my point is that the interview process is a bi-directional process, look before you leap, ask the same of a company that it asks of you and don't give away the farm because your life is more valuable than money and in many cases it is piece of your life you are exchanging for gold.
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
Sunday, November 16, 2008
Premonitions
When I was young my mother would say silly things like 'I had a premonition last night about your uncle so and so' and she would actually call uncle so and so to make sure he was all right. Even at 8 years old I knew this was foolishness and I have been comfortable all these years knowing that sort of thing was nonsense right up until yesterday.
Two nights ago I had a terrible dream where one of my sons who appeared to be about 5 years old or so was at the beach with myself and his mother. We were swimming and he got pulled under the water by the current. I tried frantically to save him but I couldn't find him; he was lost in the ocean. I woke around 5am and couldn't get back to sleep because it worried me so much. I called my youngest son who was vacationing in my condo on the beach in Ft. Lauderdale at the time and warned him and his girlfriend several times not to swim in the ocean because of the rip tides.
Later I opened my email and learned my nephew had been in a motorcycle accident and was in critical condition in the hospital. It was not clear he would survive and if he did he most probably would be paralyzed from the neck down. Later that evening my second youngest son was in jail for domestic battery as he had downed about 10 shots of vodka when he saw a picture of his cousin in a coma in the hospital and I guess he decided to take it out on his girlfriend. In an instant both my son and nephew had been taken from me but what is so unsettling is the premonition I had the night before and how crazy my mother was for believing in that crap.
Two nights ago I had a terrible dream where one of my sons who appeared to be about 5 years old or so was at the beach with myself and his mother. We were swimming and he got pulled under the water by the current. I tried frantically to save him but I couldn't find him; he was lost in the ocean. I woke around 5am and couldn't get back to sleep because it worried me so much. I called my youngest son who was vacationing in my condo on the beach in Ft. Lauderdale at the time and warned him and his girlfriend several times not to swim in the ocean because of the rip tides.
Later I opened my email and learned my nephew had been in a motorcycle accident and was in critical condition in the hospital. It was not clear he would survive and if he did he most probably would be paralyzed from the neck down. Later that evening my second youngest son was in jail for domestic battery as he had downed about 10 shots of vodka when he saw a picture of his cousin in a coma in the hospital and I guess he decided to take it out on his girlfriend. In an instant both my son and nephew had been taken from me but what is so unsettling is the premonition I had the night before and how crazy my mother was for believing in that crap.
Saturday, November 15, 2008
My First Blog
Not having a blog is kind of like not having an iPhone; I can't afford to be that cool. In the case of the blog it is more a scarcity of time than money, however, after having been settled in to my new job for some time now and not having an extremely long commute, I finally have some spare time to muse on random thoughts so here we are.
Today my topic is parental responsibility. Typically I will muse on technology (specifically coding), however, this morning I received a disturbing email from my ex sister-in-law. It seems my youngest nephew was recently involved in a motorcycle accident and it is not clear if he will survive and if he does he will be paralyzed from the neck down.
While it is a well known fact that my youngest nephew is a bit of a hellion it is also my belief that he is this way because of a total breakdown in parental authority on my ex sister-in-laws behalf. The last time I visited with her, her egg sucking hounds refused to get out of my bed regardless of how many times I threw them off. She would not let me put them out of the house so I ended up sleeping with the flea bags. She also allowed both my nephews to have their friends over and spend the night drinking (neither were 18 at the time). When the night's partying was done their friends dove home, even though I tried to make her drive them home. When I told them I would drive them home they refused and DUIed their way back to wherever they came from. The bottom line is a little common sense goes a long way.
I hope my nephew survives and by some miracle recovers enough to lead a happy life but it is not looking good. I realize accidents happen but sometimes as with luck, we make our own accidents, and much like with common sense, a little parental authority goes a long way.
BTW be sure to visit my friend who inspired by blog's name. He can be found on this blog site under the name 'The Secret Life of Bears' http://secretbear4.blogspot.com/.
Today my topic is parental responsibility. Typically I will muse on technology (specifically coding), however, this morning I received a disturbing email from my ex sister-in-law. It seems my youngest nephew was recently involved in a motorcycle accident and it is not clear if he will survive and if he does he will be paralyzed from the neck down.
While it is a well known fact that my youngest nephew is a bit of a hellion it is also my belief that he is this way because of a total breakdown in parental authority on my ex sister-in-laws behalf. The last time I visited with her, her egg sucking hounds refused to get out of my bed regardless of how many times I threw them off. She would not let me put them out of the house so I ended up sleeping with the flea bags. She also allowed both my nephews to have their friends over and spend the night drinking (neither were 18 at the time). When the night's partying was done their friends dove home, even though I tried to make her drive them home. When I told them I would drive them home they refused and DUIed their way back to wherever they came from. The bottom line is a little common sense goes a long way.
I hope my nephew survives and by some miracle recovers enough to lead a happy life but it is not looking good. I realize accidents happen but sometimes as with luck, we make our own accidents, and much like with common sense, a little parental authority goes a long way.
BTW be sure to visit my friend who inspired by blog's name. He can be found on this blog site under the name 'The Secret Life of Bears' http://secretbear4.blogspot.com/.
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