Just Rambling Along: About Job Interview and Application Questions: Par...

Just Rambling Along: About Job Interview and Application Questions: Par...: Have you ever have a disagreement with a co-worker or superior? Trick Question?   Does anyone answer this “No” who is not applyi...

About Job Interview and Application Questions: Part2

Have you ever have a disagreement with a co-worker or superior?

Trick Question?

  Does anyone answer this “No” who is not applying for their first job? And if they do, do Human Resources and/or the management believe it? Seriously, human beings have disagreements, its part of our nature. And since we are all individuals with different experiences we are going to answer this question in different ways so there is really no one right answer. And saying no may make you look suspicious. This question is supposed to give the interviewer an insight into your “Emotion I.Q.” and will help them decide if you will work out well with the other members of the team.

Different Situations

   Some situations can be handled by just sitting down with the person and talking it out. If you’re like me you’ll need to take a little time first to think about the disagreement, I might be over reacting, or I’ll try looking at it from different angles. Sometimes, after doing this I realize that we don’t need to talk it, but I just might need to apologize. You can also ask the other person to show you what they mean because the problem could very well be a matter of miscommunication. Of course, there are times when you feel none of these options will work, maybe you feel a bit intimidated by the other person, if so, get help. It can really help to get a third person involved whether it’s a co-worker, someone from HR, or your boss. These people are seeing things from the outside, a completely different perspective, and you may find out that you and the other person involved in the disagreement are both wrong. You can also have an impromptu brainstorming session with co-workers, including the one you are disagreeing with, for a solution. I have used all of these approaches and they have worked well.

   There have been times when I’ve had to combine the options mentioned above. For example, I was designing the physical layout of a printed circuit board for one of the design engineers where I worked. He looked over what I had done and wanted me to make some changes, I worked on the changes until I came to a point where I couldn’t do what he wanted and I told him so. He took another look and said it was because I had done one section wrong. I reminded him what he had said (I had written his instructions down) and he replied “that’s not what I meant”. Okay, he gave me clearer instructions and I still had some problems so I asked him to come over. We worked together and still couldn’t do what he wanted, so I asked my two co-workers, each had 2 decades of experience on me, if they had any ideas. Working together we came up with a solution to the problem, it wasn’t exactly what the engineer wanted but it would work.

   There have been other situations when other steps had to be taken. We’ve all heard and/or seen news articles of people out of control. There is one incident that happened where I was working about 15- 20 years ago. I was an assembly-tech at the time, that’s a person who builds prototypes and special units per the engineers and then tests them. I worked in manufacturing next to the regular assemblers. The company had hired some contract workers for the area I was in. One young man seemed a little odd at first, but nothing really unusual. After a couple of weeks, people were avoiding this young and his behavior got worse. He wasn’t a very big person, but he was taller than some of the Hmong ladies working there. One day I found one of the ladies in tears and she told me she was scared to go back out to work. I went over to the area and the other women were kind of huddled together and this young was yelling and threatening them. The supervisor and managers were at the main business unit for a meeting. I told the man to stop but he just continued to rant. Fortunately, I was taller and a bit heavier than he was otherwise things might have turned out differently. I picked up a tool off the table and slammed it down hard on a clear space on the table far away from everyone. The noise made the young man jump, and when he looked at me I said as sternly as I could to stop it. He went back to work still ranting but very quietly. When the supervisor and managers came back we told them what had happened. We didn’t see that young man again. Turns out, he has a problem and needs to be on medication which he had stopped taking.

   Would I give this last example to an HR interviewer? I probably would not. But the first example I wrote, yes I would.

Conclusion

   Think about this question a lot so that you can give an honest answer with a good, short example or two. You don't need to tell the interviewer every situation or in great detail. Remember, lying really does not make you look good. If you do happen to be a little hot tempered like I sometimes am, work on learning to control it and don’t be afraid to ask for help if you feel a situation is getting out of control. And don’t get upset when someone disagrees with you, maybe they’re just having a bad day. Or maybe you are. In other words, wait, think and try to act positively instead of reacting negatively.

Just Rambling Along: About Job Interview and Application Questions: Wha...

Just Rambling Along: About Job Interview and Application Questions: Wha...:  Shocking      It’s taken me about two weeks to write this post because I keep getting overwhelmed with negative emotions. I was r...

About Job Interview and Application Questions: What do you do in your spare/free time?

 Shocking 

   It’s taken me about two weeks to write this post because I keep getting overwhelmed with negative emotions. I was reading a discussion thread in one of the LinkedIn groups I belong to, it was about interview questions, etc. and one PR “professional” posted that if someone said that they liked to sit at home and read that person can forget about being hired. What? I was shocked and angered. What’s wrong with reading? I love to read, I love books. I think that either; 1) this “professional” is very young and has little responsibility outside of work and therefore has lots of time on their hands, 2) is very inexperienced with people, 3) arrogantly bias, or 4) simply following their superiors instructions. Whatever the reason, this person really needs to check out this website: http://www.leadershipinstitute.org/resources/readtolead.cfm.

Don’t Assume Anything

   Now, if that reading is the only thing they said they do, well, I know some people who would find that strange, but instead of writing that person off you should ask them what they read. You may learn something important about that person. Maybe they’re reading technical journals that will help them do their job better.

Maybe, like me, they read a variety of different subjects. And, just talking to the person about what they like to read they might relax a little and tell you about other things they like to do that goes a long with their reading. Besides, do you really know how much free time that person has? I know I don’t count house work, taking care of relatives (whether children, elderly, or disable) to be “free/spare” time. They may only have an hour a day to relax. That could seriously limit the time they have for adventure trips and charity work. One more thing, which person is more likely to be out of work due to a serious injury, someone reading or someone doing extreme sports or a bar fly?

Let’s see what You can Learn about Me from My Love of Reading

   One of things I like to do with my “free” time is to read – real books, sometimes eBooks, and sometimes magazines and newspapers. I enjoy – mysteries, memoirs/biographies/auto-biographies both historical and contemporary, science, history (yes textbooks as well), every once in a while a fantasy, and firsthand accounts of places and cultures I’ll never see myself.

   But in order to get these books I have to go and buy them. Oh sure, I could order over the internet, but that means using a credit card, and using internet access that I rather use for something else like research and emailing friends and family. Plus, I like holding a book in my hands, flipping through the pages, checking to see if it’s really a book I want before I pay for it. So I go to bookstores and search for books. While at the book store I meet other people, talk about books, have a snack or lunch at the café (if there is one) and do other things like type up this post. I might even make a new friend and maybe learn about a job opening.

   There are quite a few book stores in the greater Milwaukee area, a lot I haven’t visited yet. I look at traveling to these places as a bit of an adventure. A couple of weeks ago, I was headed to a book store located in a nearby suburb, as I drove along I saw a parade being staged so I found a parking spot and watched. Just before the parade started I got out of my car and joined a fun group of spectators to watch the parade itself, we all had a lot of fun. It reminded me of my childhood when I used to march in a couple of precision drill teams. Afterwards I headed off to the book store.

   There have been other times when I’ve gotten a little lost looking for a book store and found some very interesting places. Parks I didn’t know about, beautiful neighborhoods, different kinds of shops (I usually stop and check them out), and wonderful cafes and restaurants to return to. Of course there are some bizarre things as well.

Conclusion

   I do list sitting at home and reading as one of the things I do in my free time. If you saw that and decide to write me off as future employee you would have missed out on learning a lot about me as a person and a worker. If you were paying attention to what I wrote above you would have learned that; 1) I’m interested in the world and the people on it, 2) I can take the initiative and work on my own, 3) I tend to think outside the box, and 4) I am a team player as well (remember the Precision Drill Team bit). And you would have missed out on a value asset. 

My adventures with LinkedIn

I joined LinkedIn while I was still employed, mainly out of curiosity.  I didn’t have many connections and joined two or three groups that pertained to my job, one of which was full of good advice and information. Since my lay-off I started reading about people finding work through LinkedIn. So I thought I’d try it. After all, you can no longer find work by looking in the newspaper.

Of course there are job sites on the web and I will be researching those as well, but now I have a definite presence on the World Wide Web. Did you know that many potential employers do look to see if you are on the internet? It’s a good idea to have a more professional presence than just Facebook or Twitter.

LinkedIn Training                                                                  

I saw an ad for LinkedIn training called Linked Influence http://www.linkedinfluence.com/ by Lewis Howe and that it was on sale in June, so I paid for it and received access to a website with a bunch of interesting training videos.  My profile was all wrong, it fact it was a mess, so I cleaned it up, but I still wasn’t getting many views. Lewis said to connect with every one you can, the more connections the better. I admit that made me nervous, I don’t know a lot of people; after all, I had been working at the same place (two different company names) for almost 33 years and I really didn’t know much about networking. Then Lewis said to join a bunch of groups and maybe start a few. Oh boy, I never posted in the groups I already belonged to.

Josh Turner then posted on LinkedIn about something called Linked University http://linkeduniversity.com/ (which is geared more toward marketing) and offered a free series of ten training videos about LinkedIn. Yes, I signed up, hey they’re free! Josh’s free videos were also very informative and he gave some of the same advice as Lewis, especially about connections and groups. If you want to join Linked University for more information you do have to pay a fee http://linkeduniversity.com/learn-more/ .You can buy a monthly, annual, or premium account.

 Now I’m following that advice and it’s starting to work.

Using LinkedIn

I belong to quite a few groups now, half of them pertain to CAD and EMS work; the other half to writing. I’m e-meeting a bunch of new people and learning a lot of new things. Plus, I invite to connect with at least 5 people a day and receive at least one new connection a day. My views went from “9 people in the last 30 days” to “17 people in the last 15 days”. And that’s with only 80+ connections. I’m now receiving messages about job openings that I might be interested in. Pretty exciting isn’t it? I haven’t gotten up the courage to start my own group yet, but I have a few ideas for one or two.

I know that there’s a lot more to do, like actually apply for jobs, researching companies, and doing interviews. But thanks to the LinkedIn groups that I’ve joined I’m getting some good and some not so good information on all of that.

If you’d like to connect with me:

http://www.linkedin.com/pub/mary-m-russell/1b/293/647

Trying to keep busy

The heat this summer

It’s been so hot this summer that I’m having a hard time keeping busy, I just want to read, which is why I haven’t posted anything in a while.

This is what my roses looked like in May. The bushes in my little rose garden were just loaded with blossoms, now with the drought and the heat there are no more blossoms. The bushes still look healthy, no black spot so far the year. Hopefully, next year they’ll be blooming again.

Our little vegetable garden is also surviving. We’re carefully watering the plants 2-3 times a day. There are finally tomatoes on each of the tomato plants, but none yet on the squash.

Projects I’m Working On

I went to the Mitchell Park Domes here in Milwaukee, WI, and took a lot of pictures which I’m trying to turn into a photo blog entry. I’m going to try to visit more places in and around Milwaukee and post about them. It’s going to be a type of hometown tourist blog, separate from this one. I think this will help develop my factual writing skills.

I’m also working on an article about a trend in manufacturing hiring. There are more and more companies that are only using contract workers sent by contract agencies instead of hiring someone out right. I’m researching the pros and cons of this practice.

I’ve sort of put my novel to the side and I’m now working on some short stories. A couple of the short stories are connected to the novel (it’s a thriller). The others are just stories that pop into my head. I don’t know if I want to enter any into contests or just post them online somewhere. I recently learn of a website called http://www.scribd.com/ where you can post stories and get reviews, etc.

Job Hunting Stuff

Well, I’m taking a course from LinkedInfluence.com where I’m learning how to use LinkedIn.com to my advantage. Did you know that the more connections you have the better. And that using the right keywords correctly will help people find you? I didn’t. If you’d like to connect to me you can at http://www.linkedin.com/pub/mary-m-russell/1b/293/647 . I’ve been working hard on getting my profile to be the best it can be. Still need some recommendations though, but I feel funny asking people for them. Someone suggested writing recommendations for my friends and former co-workers and hope that they would return the favor. I’m thinking about it.

Well, that’s it for now. I tried to add a twitter button but couldn’t figure out how to. You can find me on twitter @MaryM59.

Check Your Facts..

New authors are always being told to do the research and to check /double check their facts.  Last week I came to realize that this is as important for readers as it is for writers.

I have to admit that one of my pet peeves is finding mistakes due to poor research by an author. It really ruins the story for me.

I was reading a new book, first in a new mystery series, by an author I had not heard of before.  The book started alright, the main character was quirky and interesting.  The setting was new to me, so intriguing.  Then the author mention that the main character’s late relative had joined the US Army Air Corps in the late 1930s  before the draft started in 1940, I stopped and thought that’s weird, the US didn’t enter WWII until after Pearl Harbor was bombed in December 1941.  Okay, I’ll ask my Dad about that since he joined the US Army Air Corp right after Pearl Harbor.

A page or two later, the author stated that the man has been discharged from the Air Corps in 1945.  Right I thought my Dad entered the Air Corps but was discharged in December of 1945 from the US Air Force since the Army Air Corp became the US Air Force DURING WWII.  I almost stopped reading the book.  But I decided to give the book another chance and I am glad I did.  It was a good story with great, eclectic characters.

So I asked my Dad about the draft, he said that he thought that it had started in the late 1930s, but since he was under 21 when he joined he didn’t get a draft until after the war.  I asked why did we had a draft before we went to war.  And he said that the government was worried about Germany coming across the Atlantic and that there were strong hints that Japan was getting ready to start trouble.  So I looked it up on line and found this web page united-states-imposes-the-draft .  September 16, 1940 was when congress and President Roosevelt signed the Burke-Wadsworth Act for Selective Training and Service.

I also asked about someone being discharged from the Army Air Corps in 1945 and he said that it was possible.  A small branch of the Air Corps remained with the Army after the rest became the US Air Force.  I looked that up too, it was a bit harder to find but finally I found this short web page air corps which states that the Army Air Corps existed until 1947.

The author was correct and I learned something very valuable.  Check MY research as a reader as well as a writer.

Coincidences?

What do you believe?

A few days before I was laid-off I found a business card on my truck window for NeedEncourage.com.  For some reason I put it in my wallet.  I found it the other day I went to the website.  There’s a page on the site with links to job search sites and career development, etc.

I’ve been wanting to take an online class for writing but couldn’t afford the money or time.  Last week I received an email for such a class at a price I can afford. I’m learning  a lot from this class.

Last night I just mentioned that I need to find a fax machine, he told me he used to go to Fedex/Kinkos. I found one near the Barnes & Noble I hang out at and their price is good.

Tonight, my Dad hands me a flyer he found on he’s vehicle, it’s for JobCenterOfWisconsin.com

Coincidence or answers to prayers? I prefer to believe the latter.

Then yesterday, I read an email about a phone scam, two hours later someone called, it’s the same scam. I told him that I knew all about the scam and hung up. The idiot called back today, same voice and background noise but different scam. I told him off again and hung up. He actually called back! Said that I was too fast for him.

How I Feel Now That I’ve Been Laid Off – Part2

                                        

Slept until 8:00am.  I’ve been trying to think positively.  Before I got the call informing about the lay-off I had been thinking about extending my vacation.  So I’m treating June as a long vacation.

I now have to write a resume, learn to type, work on my writing, and really clean house.  Maybe see the sites around Milwaukee, it’s been a long time since I’ve done that.  That will give me something else to write about.  I just learned this weekend that there is a ghost walk downtown.

I’ve been relearning my electronics, that should help with getting a new job.  I also found information on how to make my LinkedIn site more attractive.

I also got some story ideas from talking to my Aunt (Dad’s sister).  She is an alumni of Marquettte University Business School back in the 40s and worked for the government during WWII.  M y mom also went to MU and was one of the first 2 women to finally be accepted in their  Pre-Med program.  She also worked for the government during WWII.

Plus, now I have time for the gym, really need to lose 20-30 pounds.

Thoughts about being unemployed

7 June 2012  4:15am

                                        

It’s all very surreal, here I am, 53 years old and laid off for the first time in my life.  I had been briefly unemployed a couple of times when I was young, but I had left those jobs, they didn’t leave me.

I’d been working at the same place for almost 33 years, filling various job descriptions, over all those years.  You need to be flexible to stay employed these days.  I thought that I had made myself into a valuable employee, but I guess not.  Now I feel so unwanted and afraid.

It’s not a good idea to complain about the company you work for, or have worked for, especially online where anyone can read it.  Luckily, for me, I really don’t have anything truly bad to say about this last place I worked for.  Oh sure, I didn't agree with some policies and decisions over the years, but that’s normal for everyone I think.  There were some changes put in place that were, obvious to me, that were doomed from the start, but some things that I thought would be mistakes turned out alright.  Overall, it’s been a nice place to work.

Most of my former co-workers are/were good people, not perfect, but that’s makes them interesting.  Many of them have touched my heart and soul.  I will truly miss them, just as I miss the former ones.

Do I get a few part-time jobs, or hold out for full-time?  What about contract work?  And most importantly, how do I pay for my medicine and doctor bills