Freaking the F out

It's been an interesting couple of days.  

The software company I had the phone interview with Tuesday called back yesterday. They want me to come in for another round of interviews next Thursday. This position is about 25 minutes away (not including rush hour traffic), though much closer if I'm leaving from Superman's. I would have about 2 months to learn their software (property management software for both commercial and residential properties) before being thrown to the wolves, ie their customer help desk.  

There is no on-call associated with the position, since they have round the clock staffing. So that's good. All I have to do now is convince them in person the computer help I gave secretaries, attorneys, and clients in my last several jobs qualifies as help desk experience. While I believe it does, I'm not sure they will.

The email I received Wednesday about the cattle-call type interview "sessions" is still a stumper. It turns out Big Bro knows 2 people who work there, so at least the company is legit. I was a little concerned I would find myself prisoner of some sales or marketing tactic. He says it's a good place to work. I still don't know how they got my resume, or which resume they have. I don't remember applying for a position over half an hour drive away (not including rush hour traffic). I certainly don't remember applying for a position where I only fill half the requirements.

Aunt Gertie sent me an article a while ago about how women tend to not apply for positions unless they fill almost all the requirements, while men will apply with only half the criteria applicable. Knowing this and actually doing something about it are two entirely different things. I do not feel comfortable selling myself when I KNOW I have what they are looking for. Knowing I do not have a substantial amount of what they want just makes the sale that much harder to make. So I don't see how I applied for this position, though I can't rule out the "everything this side of the Mason Dixon line" prospect. I was pretty desperate for a few days last week. I put in applications I never thought I would consider. This may have been one of them.

  

Anyhoo, I have an interview with them Tuesday afternoon. They say it will take several hours. Again, there is that in-person thing, when I do so well meeting new people. Here I have to convince them 1) my limited knowledge of SQL is enough, and 2) the times I spent pilot testing new software at TH qualify as testing experience. Again, I'm not lying about my skill set. I just don't know if my definition and theirs coincide.

I also received an email yesterday from Cleveland Clinic, saying they want to conduct a phone interview for a Systems Admin position. This is the most exciting possibility so far. It is close to home (definitely bike riding/running distance). I don't know what any of these positions pay, but Salary.com says Systems Admins have a larger pay arc than the other two. Pay starts about $10K higher, and the high end of the scale is about $20K more than the other two positions. Granted, whatever I land does not necessarily lock me into a 20-year career in that position, but it would certainly be easier to get a Systems Admin job coming from a Systems Admin job. Big Bro works at the Clinic, and says the health care and other benefits are pretty pro, too. 

The Clinic asked for times and dates that would be good for me, so I sent them several. I received an email today saying he would call me at the exact time I'm in the Hyland software interview Tuesday. I had to write back and remind him that time slot was not available. Now the phone interview is scheduled for Tuesday morning at 9:00am.

Oh. This happened too:

The entire first floor is now painted. I still don't know what the deal is with 2 island doors, the basement stairs need another coat, the back porch needs painting, and the 2nd floor needs new molding. None of those were in the original scope of the project, although neither were either the dining room or living room ceilings, pulling the carpet, and a few other minor jobs I've done.  

At this point I have to finish cleaning the living room, paint and polyurethane the radiator boxes (to protect against Bronte claws), lay a tile border around the kitchen counters, hang the island doors I have, put up all the outlet covers, and bring all the books, wall hangings and knick knacks back up from the basement. Most of that will be done Wednesday. Mom and I will probably spend some time next Tuesday finding everything a new home.

This will finally conclude the project I started with my Dad almost 2 years ago. I will no longer be over there twice a week, though I still plan to stop by at least once a week to see if there’s anything mom wants help with. The other projects will be scheduled in as finances permit, most likely on weekends throughout the summer.

I like to think he'd be proud.