However, I have been asked for samples of documents I'd prepared for previous employers, and well, patently not mine to distribute and I said so.
Same here. I was like, "Sorry; those documents are protected under the BIGGEST LEGAL AGREEMENT IN THE GALAXY. What else can I provide instead?" I ended up giving them a "writing sample" of a paper I'd written in college.
(It was actually just an ordinary separation agreement, but even if I'd kept copies, which I hadn't, it would have explicitly been a breach of my little contract-y thing.)
Personally, my ambition is to write fanfic and eat bonbons.
When I was last job-hunting, I realized that I can apparently write a good resume and cover letter and get interviews, but I either don't interview well, or interviewers were turned off by my physical appearance, because I never managed to get the job offer.
"I am a careful thinker and in this fast paced world customers often find this frustrating . Over time I have learned to share my thought process so that the customer feels a part of the process"
I like this one! It fits for me, as well, so I'll have to remember that. I do usually talk with or e-mail the person I'm helping with my progress on a research question to let them know where I'm at in resolving their question/problem so at least they know what's going on and that I haven't forgotten them.
The weirdest part of the layoff stuff I just had to sign was the part where I promised I wouldn't apply for work at the company EVER AGAIN. Now I understand they dont' want ot hire us back as contractors making more money, especially not right away, but...EVER AGAIN? Yeesh.
Though I doubt anyone I like will still BE there six months from now. Anyone who didn't get laid off is looking for a new job.
How much am I enjoying that today I haven't had to have all the fans running constantly? I'm even thinking about putting socks on!
I'm even thinking about putting socks on!
I spent the last few nights sleeping covered with both my sheet and comforter! That's going to change this week, though--we're supposed to get up to the 90s, blargh.
meara -- words fail me. Perhaps because I know that particularly for salesmen and executive managers, hopping back to a former employer is almost
de rigeur
for advancement?
The weirdest part of the layoff stuff I just had to sign was the part where I promised I wouldn't apply for work at the company EVER AGAIN.
What would they do to you if you broke the agreement and sent them an application?
"Sorry, we're not gonna hire you. And since you weren't supposed to apply for a job here, we're not gonna hire you twice as much."
When I interviewed for my previous job, when I went back after my failed attempt at freelancing while taking care of Annabel, I was asked borderline-inappropriate questions about childcare plans and work-family balance. I answered the questions and took the job despite the red flags that raised because we needed me with a paycheck again that badly.
Turns out I was absolutely right about the red flags. There was all kinds of drama there about me doing my 50% share of staying home when AB was sick or daycare was closed because of snow (which happened a lot last winter), and even about my taking leave that my boss had signed off on, then forgotten about despite repeated reminders. The day after I found out my mom has cancer, back in April, I went in to tell my boss to warn her I might need to take unexpected leave depending on how things developed. This happened to be right after she'd been affronted that I'd had the nerve to take pre-approved leave the week before, and the first words out of her mouth were, "Your schedule is already ridiculously erratic, and it's a major problem." I kept my cool, but I instantly went from sorta job-hunting to applying for everything in sight, and I turned in my resignation a month later.
As for goals, I was honest in interviewing for my current job about the fact that I'm an aspiring novelist, and that my professional goals were to continue working my way up in university/hospital administration, but that I wasn't really shooting for high power. Turns out they LOVE that I'm a writer. My predecessor was an actor/aspiring director, and they value having artistic types around.
I've always been upfront about this being a day job.
I tell them that, short of Spielberg calling, there would be several months warning before I would leave.
The work I do has a lot of minutia -- so it takes concentration and a certain amount of intelligence but it is boring as hell.
They generally like having people who have some outside interest because we're unlikely to quit from the boredom.
