Job Interviews

My recent job hunt made me face job interviews for the first time in more than 10 years. The amount and variety of these interviews I went into is such a wealth of experience to me that I have to write it down for posterity.

The line of job I'm in is a bit technical so there are a lot of quiz-type of questions that usually have absolute answers. Interviews I went into are usually divided between technical and the more HR type. Usually you have to hurdle the technical one first before you are put on the second HR type which gauges more of your personality and suitability to the current team and company culture.

I can't tell you enough of my nervousness in the techie interviews because I know if I got 1 or 2 wrong - that's it I'm screwed. Especially for contract jobs since they expect you to plunge into the job right at the start so they want you to be extra sharp. So just imagine yourself in like a 'Mastermind' type of scenario where the person opposite is asking you questions and probing everything you say in a technical way. Worse still is if you're doing it over the phone. Well actually that has advantages such as you can hide your nervousness since they can't see you. Also you can rummage thru your notes (very quickly) as they fire away their questions. But it still boils down to whether you would appear and sound like you know what you're talking about. I think that's where my weakness lies because I'm a bad liar. I can't bluff very well. Whereas some of my colleagues were able to blag themselves to plum roles even though they don't have all the required work experiences.

Besides those points, going on interviews after more than 10 years in a job can be quite a shock. I'm not really good at it since I am by nature an insecure person and as everyone knows it is very important to appear confident and sure. There were also times when I have a 'mental block' where I forget even the simplest things that I do.

The solution to this is to prepare and to prepare well. Think of all the things they could ask you and if possible write down your best answer. Don't just try to remember everything in your head. You're bound to forget one or two things. As for technical questions, you definitely have to revise via textbooks in libraries (even in bookstores) or in the internet. Unless you have a photographic memory of everything you read and click on your computer you might be in for a shock when at crunch time you realise that you forgot the collective name of the suite of software you're using and some other everyday work stuff.

As for my actual interviews, there were times then that I feel like a multitasking operating system. I had interviews almost everyday for several weeks. Sometimes I have two at a time. Sometimes one phone interview in the morning then a face-to-face one in the afternoon.

First one, I was so unprepared I forgot to answer one fundamental thing about Packaged Procedures in Oracle Forms which I was using everyday in my work. Duh! Be prepared! I learned later that an ex-colleague was getting interviewed for the same position so I gave him all the questions they fired at me and all the tips I can muster. He did get the job, which I was genuinely delighted, but was troubled that he was only asked 2 quite easy technical questions. Waahh, not fair!

Second one, I went thru all the trouble of commuting to their offices and back for a series of exams. Spending almost £50 of my own money. Then after repeatedly calling them for 2 weeks to get an answer, they came back and said they're not recruiting afterall. Arrrggghh!!

Then followed a series of phone interviews:

One was for a job in Belgium, which was so intense they were asking about syntaxes of Oracle commands. They really need one with photographic memory.

Another was for a bank up north, which I really liked but it turned out I was beaten by an ex-colleague. Oh well ...

Then came this job for a software house in East Midlands whose interview was done by an agency person who didn't have a clue on what Oracle was. So I had to continually ask her to repeat the question and often ask her to spell it. As you can tell, it's one of those quiz type of interviews - one wrong answer and you're fried. Not surprisingly I didn't get a followup phonecall from them.

A software house up in Scotland liked my first interview so they sent plane tickets for my second interview. I didn't the job but I got to ride an airplane. :) They said they want someone with more customer facing experience. Maybe that means they want someone who's not fat. hehehe!

Next one is a university who had the temerity to ask for so many years of experience and technical skills then pay you peanuts. I thought it could do for the meantime but when I saw their offices - my God! It was really grim. They are in a tower block that didn't seem to have been maintained much since the 70s. Halls were dark, there were piles of boxes and paper everywhere. What's worse were the holes and cracks I saw on the window panes then patched up higgedly-piggedly with cello tapes or electrical tapes. Yikes! And everyone had a personal heater by their desks. It must be freezing up there in winter.

A financial investment firm in the City called me for an interview. Offices were a stark contrast from the above - very posh, quite new, sleek and trendy, all reeking money. I think I did well in the written technical exam but I did not gel well with my interviewers. Besides one of them was so glum I think he had made up his mind even before he'd seen me. Though I was not sorry to see that job go because even if they're paying top money, the work was all about maintaining their legacy system (read: old system). Not much development work so no real prospect for growth.

Then I had a couple of 'long-shots' - meaning I really didn't have all the core work experience they need but were interested because they were in the insurance industry as well. The one in the south coast is the one I really covet. All new system with lots of development needed and lots of new technologies being introduced. Sadly they said they like my personality but needed someone with experience on the new ERP technologies. I know they're still looking but with the salary they're offering I think they'll have a tough time.

Next one is an insurance company near where I live. I really think I am a good fit in that position but my hunch is that the boss who interviewed might have been intimidated by me. She's well experienced and all but still quite young.

This is a funny one, the guy emailed me for an informal interview in an address in the City. So I went to the designated place expecting an office building. I kept circling around the area but couldn't seem to find it. Just then I saw one of the shop awnings with the number of the address. It was a wine bar !! I have heard of jokes about interviews in pubs but I never thought it would happen to me. I couldn't believe it that I must have walked by about 4 times unsure of whether to come in or not. To be fair, they were a decent bunch of people and wanted to see mainly my personality since they are a very small consulting company. Still, I think they should have done better than having it in a wine bar. That one would really stick in memory. :)

Did you have a meeting where everything seems to go wrong? Well this one was in the Docklands and I don't know what happened but I ended up being late! Tsk tsk, one of the cardinal sins of interviews - never be late! I made sure to leave home in plenty enough time but I think there were train cancellations and I ended up almost running from Canary Wharf tube station across a mall, over a bridge, then sprinted the last 250 meters (my PE teacher would have been proud). As I opened the glass door I was sweaty, panting, and looking particularly haggard. The interview was all right but it's just as well that they didn't call me back because from what they described me the job is mainly doing technical sales. Not for me!

Another software house that developed a multi-media broadcasting ERP software called me for an interview. Location was in North London high tower block office in a not so nice part of town. Though the inside of the office is nice enough in stark contrast to their surroundings. The people there looks laid back and were smart-casually dressed. The senior techie guy I met gave me a written test after only a few minutes of questioning. It wasn't a problem. I was confident of my answers so I handed it in after about half an hour. I thought that was the end of it but no! He sat down and dissected each and every answer I made and questioned me on why this why that. It turned out more exhaustive than I thought. After 2 weeks still no answer but I was not too bothered.

The interview I got for my current job was quite an ordeal really. I have to travel a total of about 6 hours to get to and from the site. Then a project manager and a senior techie guy grilled me for 1 1/2 hours on probably anything they can think of in Oracle. Minutes after all that, they had me take 2 45-minute verbal and numeric assessment exams. I tell you, I felt like a pulp when I got home. Good thing they offered me the job otherwise it would have been all for nought.

So there they are, all my interview experiences this year. Aren't you exhausted yet? It may not be over yet. I might repeat the whole circus in a year or two, who knows?

First Week Blues

It's been three weeks since I started on a new job and I knew it is always difficult to come out of your comfort zone but was still surprised with the intensity of my gloom in being away from my family and familiar environment. My first week in the West Midlands was hell. I missed my family (my children especially) so much during that time which was unexpected since I was usually fine with my occassional out-of-town one-week trainings. My goodness, you don't know how many buckets of tears I shed (in secret of course) on my first weekend home. It was just too painful for a mother to be away. The experience certainly made me realise how much my family means to me - me, the objective me the logical me. I didn't realise much motherly emotion I have.

The first meeting I had with my colleagues added to my depression. It was troubling to say the least that I found out what was happening to our production runs (which was mostly bad) with all the attendant problems. The way they portrayed it is like there is no solution and we might as well blow up the whole thing and start over again. I kept saying to myself - what did I get myself into? The tricky part is they have to come up with a working efficient system by December - that's only 6 months away!

The bad weather didn't help at all. Rain was pouring everyday throughout the week. It was May but the temperature was more like late winter. Plus all the places I saw in the area were quite run down places where you wouldn't want to live. I ask - why am I here?

After more than 3 weeks, the fog is lifting. We've got definitely plans to move up here in the West Midlands. It seems there are nice places to live here after my extensive poking around. And there are workable solutions afterall to our work problems. Really, my first week was trying to say the least. I was firmly ready to chuck everything out and never comeback. I'm glad I hung on and just hope this will be the start of better things for me and my family.

A New Chapter Unfolding

A few months ago I mentioned my getting redundant from my work of more than 10 years. The times after that was fraught for me and my former colleagues with lots of anxiety, worries, frustrations, and disappointments. Thankfully now, relief and delight has replaced those emotions. While most of my ex-colleagues have remained in the London area, I'm off to pastures anew in the West Midlands. Yes sir, I'll be working with a company in the outskirts of Birmingham, the second premier city in Britain. For now, I will stay there during the week and come home every weekend. I'll see first how things work out before making the decision of whether to move the whole family. Certainly one of the plus side in living there is the affordable houses and flats. The general cost of living is cheaper as well. Let's hope this will be the start of a brand new adventure for our family. :)

And Now the End Is Near

We’ve been handed our marching papers today so officially my last day of work should be 8th of March 2006 (I have 3 months’ notice period). But my very last day of being here on site would be 23rd December. After that none of us are required to come in to work.

*sigh* Such an ignomious end to a 10-year tour of duty in this company. Despite knowing for about 2 years, since it was taken over by a large banking group, that we had to go most of us are still kinda wistful in leaving this company. We surely are gonna miss the heyday of our IT dept. The time when we didn’t have enough man power and resources to fill our growing business requirements, the time when our customer base were soaring, the time when everybody was eager to work towards a lofty goal – to be the very best company in our industry.

Our old CEO was very charismatic and he was in the thick of things. You often saw him walking around talking to people and he took time to listen to gripes and complaints. There were certainly problems and troubles, afterall there’s no such thing as a perfect company. However, a lot of our former colleagues who’re now employed in other firms often say that our old company was the best working environment they’ve been in. Certainly among us IT people, there was this palpable feeling of trust from the business people that we will do all we can to help them in the resources available to us because ultimately that was our role – to support the business. Unlike a lot of IT people I know who keep dissing users and generally want them all to go away. The work environment that I recall was that in say projects – the budget, resources, and deadline are all agreed with all parties. After that we were generally left to get on with the work. Not many managers micro manage their staff. It’s one of the reasons why most of us are multi skilled. Sometimes one may be resolving some technical issues with an intranet server when his main job was project management – that sort of thing.

Well so much for my reminiscing. I’ve got to wake up to the truth that I have to find work again. One thing I hate about it is the interviews. It just gives me the jitters so much so that often I get mental block especially in technical interviews. And god help me if it’s a panel one. Once someone asked me something about ‘triggers’ and for the life of me I couldn’t remember a thing while just the day before I was using it! Duh! Then one time I kept on nodding while the interviewer chatted on and then he stopped he was waiting for me. It turned out he was asking a question and just kept on nodding. Hehehe. Must be because of his heavy Indian accent. I think I have to learn to relax, yeah right relax … just don’t let my mind drift to the fact that if I don’t land a job my kids would be starving – talk about pressure.

These days I just quote the US $1 bill – In God We Trust. :)

How I Get to Work

In 6 months' time I probably won't be coming to my current place of work because of the impending redundancy we're facing. For posterity's sake, I'm showing here how I get to work in the last 10 years that I've been in this company. It was a hard slog the first few months but I got used to it in the long run.

First off, I walk or take a short bus ride to the train station from home. Walking takes about 10-15 minutes while the bus ride is about 3-5 minutes if there's no traffic. At the train station, I take a train towards the direction of London for about three stops.



Then I take this relatively new tram system. This is a favourite of commuters around the area because of its accessibility (no need to go up and down stairs) and efficiency (almost always punctual). It's a short 2 stops for me before I get off and take a ...
double decker bus for the final leg of my journey. I always take a seat upstairs. So nice to sit high up and have an eagle's eye view of things happening on the ground. The bus goes to all high streets, main streets and winds thru cork screw roads for, oh about 6-7 miles before it drops me off almost in front of our building. So this is what I might go thru every day - 2 buses, 1 tram, and 1 train. Then I do it all over again on the way home. All in a day's work ... ;)