Careerchat II

[all swedes are racist]

1 hour ago, Iskaral Pust said:

What would be success for this role?  How should this role contribute to the organization's goals? What is the first priority for the new person in this role?  What will you need from this person to make your job easier?  Do you see this role changing over time?  How should this role interact with other teams/groups in the business?  What has made this role available?

Questions should be open-ended, focus on the interviewer's POV rather than yours, and open a picture of mutual success. Never lack for questions at an interview.  Don't ask about your benefits or perks -- you negotiate for them after you've made them want you.  Good luck. 

Thank you so much, great stuff. 

Another probably stupid question, if you don't mind, what's an appropriate timeframe for a "thank you for your time and consideration" email? My instinct says the next day, as the interview will conclude with the "thanks, good seeing you, etc" and any follow up that day would seem, I dunno, disingenuous?

[A wilding]

6 hours ago, R'hllors Red Lobster said:

this probably going to sound dumb or basic, but I have an interview tomorrow, and I'm having a little trouble coming up with thoughtful questions of my own to ask.

Also consider whether there any reasons why you might not want the role or are doubtful that it is for you. There may be some genuine questions you can come up with to explore possible issues. For example, as a technical IT person I would probably ask them about the methodologies, approaches and tools they use, which gives me a chance to assess them and also to make it clear that I am familiar with them (assuming I am) and/or can help improve things.

If you are asked for questions at the end of the interview, then it also gives you a chance to do a quick summing up of how you are a good fit for the role and will be useful to them in it.

 

[Xray the Enforcer]

4 hours ago, R'hllors Red Lobster said:

Thank you so much, great stuff. 

Another probably stupid question, if you don't mind, what's an appropriate timeframe for a "thank you for your time and consideration" email? My instinct says the next day, as the interview will conclude with the "thanks, good seeing you, etc" and any follow up that day would seem, I dunno, disingenuous?

I'd send it the next day.

[Iskaral Pust]

I'm getting moved to a corner office.  I'm excited to finally have a window again, although it only spans a quarter of the external wall thanks to an architectural style that looks better from the outside than inside. 

Back in 2004 when I first got my own office, I had a view of Lake Union and the Cascade Mts. in Seattle, then I moved to NYC and had an exterior office overlooking 6th Ave plus a glimpse of Bryant Park.  Then the new floor designs arrived and offices were moved to the interior with only a handful of corner offices and the rest of the windows bestowing their light on the cube farm. For 8 years I've labored in poorly lit interior offices but now I'll finally have a window again. 

My home has floor to ceiling windows spanning every inch of our external "walls" and overlooking Lake Michigan and the city.  This is why I work from home as much as I can. 

[Inigima]

Congrats Isk!

My job called me over the weekend to tell me they'd like me to attend training this week. It's nice to have my job offer me training, finally. A lot of it is barely relevant to what I'm doing, but if I can be the go-to guy on this in the future it's good news for my career.

[Iskaral Pust]

10 hours ago, Inigima said:

Congrats Isk!

My job called me over the weekend to tell me they'd like me to attend training this week. It's nice to have my job offer me training, finally. A lot of it is barely relevant to what I'm doing, but if I can be the go-to guy on this in the future it's good news for my career.

Nice Ini.  Just push out anyone else who also knows this area, cuckoo-like, and then your new knowledge will be even more valuable. 

[sperry]

As part of pre-MBA recruiting stuff, I've managed to set up office visits with a few target employers.  My first one is next week, and I was given an itinerary with 5 individuals that I will be meeting with.

 

I've looked them up on LinkedIn to see backgrounds and stuff, but not sure on the etiquette on this.  Should I mention that I saw they came from position or school xyz, or would that be awkward and I should ask them their background?  Obviously I want to come prepared, but not sure if expected prepration is just surrounding the firm, or also the individuals I will be meeting.

 

FWIW, this is not an interview, but will obviously be partially evaluative in the sense that the people I meet will be asked about me down the line.

 

Oh, and while I'm at it, should I bring copies of my resume? The people who I will be meeting with will have seen my resume, but again, this is not an interview.  If I should bring copies of resume, what should I bring them in?  For an interview, I'd obviously have them in your standard leather folio, but I've literally never seen anyone carry a folio outside of going to an interview.

 

Thanks all for being patient with someone new to this dog and pony show.

[Iskaral Pust]

14 hours ago, sperry said:

As part of pre-MBA recruiting stuff, I've managed to set up office visits with a few target employers.  My first one is next week, and I was given an itinerary with 5 individuals that I will be meeting with.

 

I've looked them up on LinkedIn to see backgrounds and stuff, but not sure on the etiquette on this.  Should I mention that I saw they came from position or school xyz, or would that be awkward and I should ask them their background?  Obviously I want to come prepared, but not sure if expected prepration is just surrounding the firm, or also the individuals I will be meeting.

 

FWIW, this is not an interview, but will obviously be partially evaluative in the sense that the people I meet will be asked about me down the line.

 

Oh, and while I'm at it, should I bring copies of my resume? The people who I will be meeting with will have seen my resume, but again, this is not an interview.  If I should bring copies of resume, what should I bring them in?  For an interview, I'd obviously have them in your standard leather folio, but I've literally never seen anyone carry a folio outside of going to an interview.

 

Thanks all for being patient with someone new to this dog and pony show.

It's usually OK to say "I saw from your Linked-In profile that..." but it could be creepy to refer to the knowledge without mentioning the source.  But I would focus talking points on the firm first and only mention their personal history if it has some strong relevance to the conversation.  It's good to know about them to help shape your approach to the conversation, but not necessarily to explicitly refer to any datum.

I've never heard of office visits with target employers as part of pre-MBA recruiting stuff.  I didn't participate in any of the recruiting activities at Booth.  Did you do this yourself or did the school set you up? Are they alumni interviewing you to see if you'll get accepted to the MBA program?  Are they potential employers who are meeting with MBA applicants to market themselves early in the process?  If either of the last two, then bring a resume with you just in case. 

It seems strange for any firm to commit five people to spend time with you so early.

Best of luck.

[sperry]

3 hours ago, Iskaral Pust said:

It's usually OK to say "I saw from your Linked-In profile that..." but it could be creepy to refer to the knowledge without mentioning the source.  But I would focus talking points on the firm first and only mention their personal history if it has some strong relevance to the conversation.  It's good to know about them to help shape your approach to the conversation, but not necessarily to explicitly refer to any datum.

I've never heard of office visits with target employers as part of pre-MBA recruiting stuff.  I didn't participate in any of the recruiting activities at Booth.  Did you do this yourself or did the school set you up? Are they alumni interviewing you to see if you'll get accepted to the MBA program?  Are they potential employers who are meeting with MBA applicants to market themselves early in the process?  If either of the last two, then bring a resume with you just in case. 

It seems strange for any firm to commit five people to spend time with you so early.

Best of luck.

MBB have scholarships available for incoming MBA students at a few schools to apply for. I applied for them, and in two of the cases I had individuals from the office I preferenced reach out to me and say "hey you didn't get the scholarship, but we like your profile and would like to keep lines of communication open." I really have no idea whether they reached out to everyone who applied, or if they were hand picking targets they liked.

 

So I let the individual who reached out know that I would be in that city date xy and z and would love to get to see the office and meet some people before I left the region for b school. Kind of figured I would be told they didn't typically do that, but instead I got set up with an itinerary that includes meetings with 5 people over 3+ hours. Hopefully I didn't bite off more than I can chew

[Iskaral Pust]

9 minutes ago, sperry said:

MBB have scholarships available for incoming MBA students at a few schools to apply for. I applied for them, and in two of the cases I had individuals from the office I preferenced reach out to me and say "hey you didn't get the scholarship, but we like your profile and would like to keep lines of communication open." I really have no idea whether they reached out to everyone who applied, or if they were hand picking targets they liked.

 

So I let the individual who reached out know that I would be in that city date xy and z and would love to get to see the office and meet some people before I left the region for b school. Kind of figured I would be told they didn't typically do that, but instead I got set up with an itinerary that includes meetings with 5 people over 3+ hours. Hopefully I didn't bite off more than I can chew

Be prepared for an interview. 

[sperry]

Meeting was today, and the tone was definitely not that of an interview, despite it being set up like most later round interviews.  Very conversational, and really just an opportunity to ask questions and meet with some people from the firm.  Hopefully the fact that I did my homework paid off in me coming off as informed and professional. The shooting the shit part of these meetings has never been a problem for me and went just fine. I'm hoping this went well enough to land me an interview when official recruiting happens in January.

 

On the plus side, I really liked the people I met.  There was a very positive and friendly office vibe, which often isn't the case at "elite" employers.

[all swedes are racist]

Just gonna vent here for a sec, but I just RSVPd to a breakfast meeting, along with a few peers, with the owner/CEO of the company I work as part of his Listening Tour of the company, looking for thoughts, suggestions and bright ideas to help the company survive, grow, and thrive in a wild modern marketplace. 

Frankly, I'm kinda scared shitless. Wish me luck?

[MercenaryChef]

A certain presidential candidate is opening a hotel in dc and needs a chef for one of the restaurants there. I have been casually approached by some third party who is searching for candidates for the position. I couldn't express my disinterest in the opportunity fast enough. 

[BigFatCoward]

30 minutes ago, MercurialCannibal said:

A certain presidential candidate is opening a hotel in dc and needs a chef for one of the restaurants there. I have been casually approached by some third party who is searching for candidates for the position. I couldn't express my disinterest in the opportunity fast enough. 

you're missing out on the chance to poison said person. 

[Xray the Enforcer]

8 hours ago, R'hllors Red Lobster said:

Just gonna vent here for a sec, but I just RSVPd to a breakfast meeting, along with a few peers, with the owner/CEO of the company I work as part of his Listening Tour of the company, looking for thoughts, suggestions and bright ideas to help the company survive, grow, and thrive in a wild modern marketplace. 

Frankly, I'm kinda scared shitless. Wish me luck?

You won't need any luck, man. You have great ideas and you'll make a great impression.

[all swedes are racist]

8 hours ago, Xray the Enforcer said:

You won't need any luck, man. You have great ideas and you'll make a great impression.

Thanks  I'm just hanging my hopes on the fact he is generally a talker, and won't really 'let' me get a word in edgewise

[MercenaryChef]

1 hour ago, R'hllors Red Lobster said:

Thanks  I'm just hanging my hopes on the fact he is generally a talker, and won't really 'let' me get a word in edgewise

Go get 'em, dude! I personally believe in you. 

[Iskaral Pust]

More career planning questions.  I met up with a friend who works in finance/business planning at one of the tech titans, and he tried to persuade me that I'm wasting my time in a narrow focus area and should go work with him instead (he thinks they'd bring me in at a very senior role).  I need to get moving on some conversations about my next career step at my current firm. 

[Xray the Enforcer]

Good luck -- these decisions always creep up, don't they? I had that kind of talk a couple of years ago, and had to make the decision of leaving my hyper-focused career (possibly never to return because jobs are thin on the ground) or sticking it out. I chose to leave, partly because I was scared that I had become unemployable to the greater outside world and branching out was overall in my best interest. 

[Iskaral Pust]

22 hours ago, Xray the Enforcer said:

Good luck -- these decisions always creep up, don't they? I had that kind of talk a couple of years ago, and had to make the decision of leaving my hyper-focused career (possibly never to return because jobs are thin on the ground) or sticking it out. I chose to leave, partly because I was scared that I had become unemployable to the greater outside world and branching out was overall in my best interest. 

Thanks X-ray, good perspective.