Going to Need a Job Soon

How many do you slave for? Which kind" They still come in two kinds right? It's been so long....":O}
Do you have extended family near by to help out in the tight corners?
I Know they still get older with time!
How old are yours? ":O}
 
No debt other than a nearly paid off car. Having that kind of self discipline is admirable! The last real job I had was with a medical electronics manufacturer in northern California. Even though the pay was meager going out to lunch nearly every work day sort of made my day. It's not easy being a brown bagger. Good on you, booman!
 
Oh, I forgot to ask how many wives do you have and is this your "Only" family or just the first you plan on? ":O}
(Sometimes a thought comes to me...like:
"Hey Booman's wife might be reading over his shoulder, why not have a bit of fun!? ":O}
 
Thanks guys! Again you all so encouraging.
I have applied for 18 jobs last week...
I still have my current job for the time being, and have not received an "end of line" date :D
So still at it... enjoyed my 4 day weekend
 
I've been out of a job myself, and I really don't wish that on anyone.

I wish you the best of luck on your job hunt. I'm sure you will be able to find one as you seem like a very knowledgeable guy. :)
 
Thanks!
I have a 2nd phone interview today with an IT manager. This is a good sign...
 
I have an in person interview tomorrow and Wednesday. With two different companies!
 
Me too :D
But I'm a bit nervous. One job sounds like a really cool company full of techs, the other is much larger and offering more money. Which is important when we have a single-family income.
 
booman said:
Me too :D
But I'm a bit nervous. One job sounds like a really cool company full of techs, the other is much larger and offering more money. Which is important when we have a single-family income.
Click to expand...

Two questions:
1) Can you live on the lower salary?
2) Could you be at least not hating life if you took the higher salary?

Taking care of your family is important, and if push comes to shove, you do what's necessary. However, speaking from experience, it takes a LOT of money to make me able to tolerate a job that I hate (whether that's because of the job itself, the management, the co-workers, or whatever).
 
Important post, thank you Gizmo. We have no idea how the job offers compare. But if it's more money for a job you hate, Gizmo gives great advice.
 
Gizmo said:
Taking care of your family is important, and if push comes to shove, you do what's necessary. However, speaking from experience, it takes a LOT of money to make me able to tolerate a job that I hate (whether that's because of the job itself, the management, the co-workers, or whatever).
Click to expand...

Yeah. I had a job not long ago where everything seemed great. Awesome coworkers, but the boss turned out to be a fucking asshole, which is an understatement. I think I had the lowest pay in Norway (even less than those who pick berries in a field), and I worked as technician, salesman, greeter, managing the shop and workshop and helping the other company in the same rented space with greeting their customers and selling their products, which was in addition to being my boss babysitter cause he couldn't do anything himself and couldn't do anything right.

If I'm going to work as a slave I better get paid royalty for it.
 
I did two in-person interviews yesterday. Both went great. The big company has 800 end users and a big IT departments with engineers and all. They are mostly younger guys and have only been there 5 years or so. They might pay me more than I'm making now. I got that dreaded question "So, what do you think you are worth?"

I never answer that question because I think it is a trap. If I answer less than I'm not confident, if I answer more than I'm arrogant. So I tell them "I'm worth what you are willing to pay me" or something on those lines.

The other interview was at a smaller company that works with Lawyer/Government agency sensitive data. I was put through multiple-gauntlet of questions from a manger and Director of IT. They liked me and plan to get back to me about the job. The workplace is really cool, relaxing and casusal, but I don't think they will pay me what I'm making now because it is only a helpdesk position.

Yesterday I did an in-person interview with a really cool networking/installation company that deals with fibre-optics, server rooms, media rooms and everything around that. The guy who interviewed me is director over IT and they have a small team. Typical servers, laptops, workstations and even CAD department. The interview went good and they might pay me more than I'm making now.

Its amazing, I've never been in this position before... Its actually fun talking to other techs about technology. A lot of us come from the same background and deal with users, software and hardware. So its easier to interview with IT positions.
 
booman said:
I got that dreaded question "So, what do you think you are worth?"

I never answer that question because I think it is a trap. If I answer less than I'm not confident, if I answer more than I'm arrogant. So I tell them "I'm worth what you are willing to pay me" or something on those lines.
Click to expand...

I generally answer with what I'm currently making. Admittedly, I make at the top end of my profession, but that establishes the fact that if someone is paying me that now, then I must be worth it or at least close to it. Inevitably that is followed by "Would you be willing to take less?", and to that my response is something along the lines of "I'd like similar compensation, but we can negotiate the particulars"

If it's a position I'm wanting, then I follow up with something like "I might be convinced to take less at the start, until you are comfortable with me".

That leaves me in the driver's seat, but also leaves the door open to discussion. In effect, I am establishing parameters, that I am willing to be reasonable but there are limits.

When I was unemployed for 5 months, I was getting desperate and basically saying "what are you offering?". Despite the fact that I NEEDED work, I now realize that was completely the wrong tactic. When I got the job I have now, I had the good fortune of having a recruiter who actually took the time to work WITH me (BTW, it was E2 Recruiting, pronounced "E squared", at www.e2recruiting.com, those guys are AMAZING, Brian Abbot was the guy I worked with). The recruiter found me on Monster, and actually worked with me to build a resume that was targeted to the prospective employer, gave me all kinds of advice and coaching, and ultimately helped me land my current job. He convinced me to go back to the tactic I had used in the past, which I've outlined above. Obviously he wanted me to get as much as possible because he got a cut, but it was still good advice, IMO.

You're right, you can't appear too needy or you'll get raped, but you can't appear to arrogant either.
 
Gizmo - You have way better negotiation skills than I do. I never even thought about saying I would take less at first until they are comfortable with me.
Two of the jobs I've interviewed for should pay more than I'm making now.
Its crazy, I make decent money right now with a single-income family and no debts. We are making-ends-meet, but it would be nice to make more money to build a savings account.
(We have one car to pay off, but we pay a $1000 up front each year so we don't have monthly payments. We have about $700 to go.)
 
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