Dating LA

what it's like going back to work after maybe one too many Friday lunch drinks

Fri, 24 May 2013 22:34:46 -0700

My day today.

For reference

Thu, 23 May 2013 12:20:18 -0700

Twice now I’ve been asked for references.

I’ve never had to give references before.

Do people really check references? I feel like they’re just stalling to reject me. I guess nowadays, with so many people looking for work, you have to use something to weed out the crowd.

I feel the same way with positions that require an MBA. Weeding out the crowd for people who went into mega-debt for a Masters degree.

As someone who’s given interviews, I’ve always wanted to ask for references, and actually follow up on the reference. I’m not interested in how good the interviewee is. It’s more to verify the bullshit they may have told me.

Filled

Wed, 22 May 2013 18:54:39 -0700

Well, #1 job was filled by someone else.

Disappointed? Yes.

Surprised? Not really.

In my experience, you kind of know when you landed a job. It’s like meeting “the one”. So, when I got the blow-off email I knew the interest was gone.

In-person 3

Tue, 21 May 2013 22:17:00 -0700

Well, my third in-person, a follow-up to a phone interview from last week, was tonight. Good interview. He seemed confident to hire me, but I also know he’s interviewing other people.

Aren’t we all?

Checked out the office - it’s just him and a marketing coordinator. The rest of the work is outsourced.

Am I ready for this drastic difference in working environments?

In another update - my former co-worker says his work has an opportunity, so my resume is off there.

We’ll see…

You know what's sad...

Tue, 21 May 2013 10:50:00 -0700

I bought a dress at Target off the clearance rack. It was the last one, and it was a bigger size, but I thought…

I guess it will just be roomy.

Then I put it on this morning, and it fit snugly around the girth of my hips.

Well, fuck, I’m a size *# now!

Anxious

Mon, 20 May 2013 15:49:01 -0700

I really enjoyed meeting you. I’ll be in touch top of next week.

This was the message I got from the job that I was most interested in after all my interviews last week.

I’ve dated around enough to execute my usual M.O. - move on. I even have another in-person tomorrow with preferred job #2.

Anyway, it probably just means they’re interviewing other people, and someone can still out sell me.

A dramatic exit

Mon, 20 May 2013 12:13:32 -0700

Earlier I alluded to my dramatic exit from one of my jobs.

It went like this…

I was laid off from a job I was planning to leave anyway. I was doing a bit of freelance, but I quickly I got this great gig with a small boutique agency in Beverly Hills.

Things were great. The girls were great. The founder was… difficult. I was only 26, and eager to learn. I was full of passion, but didn’t have the experience to handle difficult people.

That difficult person was the company founder, my boss.

There was no mentoring here. I was working under a micro-managed electron microscope. Every mistake was a big mistake. It was guilty, and prove my innocence.

I couldn’t work there anymore.

So, I looked for a new place to work. Very early Monday morning, on my last day, I came into work (I had keys to the office), sent a long dissertation of “I Quit”, erased everything off my computer, locked the office, and dropped the keys into the mail slot.

To prevent my boss from contacting me, I changed my number over the weekend. Then I sent emails to my inbox, filling up the storage, so my email couldn’t receive anything. I kept it that way for a month.

That’s how I left. Not the mature way, but it was a way. The only way I could do it and teach that guy a lesson.

I think now i have the tools to deal with my old boss. But he’s probably still a swarmy asshole.

And I always move forward, never back.

In-person 2

Fri, 17 May 2013 14:24:28 -0700

Good interview. Quick interview, too, which is my favorite.

I have shit to do.

The guy reminded me of one of my old bosses. The boss who made me quit in a dramatic fashion. To this day, my co-workers remember how beautifully I constructed that exit.

One of my proudest moments of age 26.

Anyway, the job is asking a lot. It’s a tiny shop - 5 people - but he likes my skills and expertise. Someone might come in and out sell me, but that’s okay.

I had a good interview.

Can eHarmony Help You Find a Job?

Fri, 17 May 2013 12:20:10 -0700

Can eHarmony Help You Find a Job?:

Can a dating Web site help you find a job? EHarmony thinks so. The Santa Monica-based online dating site has plans to launch a career service by the second half of next year. EHarmony may have success matching single men and women – an average of 542 eHarmony members are married every day in the […]

My “dating is like job hunting” theory in the works…

Here's where I'm at

Thu, 16 May 2013 20:09:41 -0700

Tuesday: In-person, sent references
Wednesday: Phone interview while sick
Thursday (today): one phone interview postponed. Other phone interview went great!
Friday: In-person at lunch, with a phone interview later in the day

If I don’t get an offer soon…

In person 2

Thu, 16 May 2013 15:17:17 -0700

A sudden in-person scheduled for tomorrow. I sent my res in last night, 15 minutes later - response.

Why was he still working?

I should be scared.

Phone interview

Wed, 15 May 2013 19:08:34 -0700

I really am sick. Losing my voice.

Crocked on the phone interview, but it wasn’t for a place I would go to anyway. Still, an interview is an interview.

Dating LA: Wasn't this place about dating?

Wed, 15 May 2013 19:07:12 -0700

Dating LA: Wasn't this place about dating?:

leendadll:

datingla:

My dating tumblr turned into a “job hunt” tumblr.

I had lunch with a friend last week. I turn to him whenever I need a different, professional perspective.

“Job hunting is much like dating,” my friend said.

I’ve always felt that way, too.

It’s weird because when I first started to chronicle…

I’m still working on how to become an independent philanthropist for animal charities. In the “do what you love” theory, it’s either that or getting paid to sleep.

We could get paid to sleep if we were part of an on-going sleep study about testing beds and pillows, or something. I love sleep, too.

Wasn't this place about dating?

Wed, 15 May 2013 14:40:11 -0700

My dating tumblr turned into a “job hunt” tumblr.

I had lunch with a friend last week. I turn to him whenever I need a different, professional perspective.

“Job hunting is much like dating,” my friend said.

I’ve always felt that way, too.

It’s weird because when I first started to chronicle my dating life, I would have confidently told you that I could land any job. I was that… confident!

Now that I’m in a steady relationship, I have no confidence in my job skills. Everyone tells me that I do so well; I’m exceptional. But I’ve lost that fire to believe in myself.

Everything has flipped!

At one point in my life, I wanted to write poems. Vietnamese have a long history of being great poets. I wanted to write a set of poems that related the work life with dating life.

"When it comes to work, your desire to improve your life is a powerful motivator. Explore ways to..."

Wed, 15 May 2013 12:20:08 -0700

“

When it comes to work, your desire to improve your life is a powerful motivator. Explore ways to upgrade your skills with additional training or education. Confidence and charm can help you land something well above your apparent skill set. You’ll do what it takes to succeed. Be sure this does not compromise your personal integrity.

The Full Moon/Solar Eclipse of November 3 can bring you to an important career crossroads. Decisions made near the Eclipse have a lasting impact.

”

- 2013 career outlook - Monkey

One down...

Tue, 14 May 2013 21:18:45 -0700

kittywritesmeow replied to your post: Interviews
Good luck!!!! :)
leendadll replied to your post: Interviews
GOOD LUCK!!

Thanks for the good luck wishes!

Interview went fine. Asked me to send references.

Okay.

More phone interviews lined up this week. Great timing with my sore, raspy voice. Just going to use the Kathleen Turner thing to my advantage.

Last night I redid my resume… for the third time. I follow a great Tumblr, CV Parade, for layout ideas. Creative people are much more… creative than me.

I’m more crafty.

Interviews

Mon, 13 May 2013 18:16:06 -0700

In person tomorrow.

On phone on Wednesday.

Get working.

Meg Jay: Why 30 is not the new 20 In my 20s - I was career...

Mon, 13 May 2013 13:03:43 -0700

Meg Jay: Why 30 is not the new 20

In my 20s - I was career hungry. My dad was cutting my off financially, so I had to get going. Sure I was out of work for a year (I was fired), but I had something.

It wasn’t until my mid to late 20s that I started my “million man march” dating marathon. That dating life I chronicled at length.

I’m in my 30s now. Do I feel better about myself? Sorta.

No.

I still feel like I’m in my 20s, but everything is flipped. I have my relationship path, but I’m on the “million career march”.

I’m tired.

On the mend

Tue, 07 May 2013 13:32:19 -0700

BF is on the mend. He ate two sandwiches yesterday.

We might be going to Florida. I love his business trips. I, also, don’t give a shit about work. I told myself that this year i would be in the office as little as possible.

Letters of Note: Don't expect me to be sane anymore

Mon, 06 May 2013 13:52:35 -0700

Letters of Note: Don't expect me to be sane anymore:

Fascinating letters. Interesting correspondence.