With the doubling in size of our company comes a corresponding increase in the workload for those of us in the Project Management and Quality Assurance department. Fortunately we are taking measures to grow our department to meet the needs. Unfortunately that means I'm back in the interviewer seat for a large chunk of my exceptionally scarce time. As a public service to job seekers and an attempt to make my life easier, I present Jim's Rules of the Interview:

First, the resume:

1. Proof your resume. Proof it again. Hand it to your spouse / significant other / mom / nearby hobo (hobos will work for beer so it's very cheap) and have them proof it. There should be exactly zero spelling errors on your resume. When you are applying for a position with heavy documentation duties there is even less tolerance than that.

2. Don't mix cases. "Proofed corporate news documentation and implemented a redaction policy" is good. "Performed systems evaluation tests and modifying active test plans" is bad.

3. I have a limited time slot to conduct the actual interview. There are questions I have to ask and questions that I want to ask. The ones I have to ask are the same as the ones every other interviewer has to ask. Answer those on the resume. Tell me why you left IBM. Tell me why you want to leave Sprint. Pull your major accomplishments and essential qualifications out and put them right at the start of your resume. Put a one-line description of what the companies you worked at actually do. Nobody except you and the other four people who work there know what "Synergy Systems, LLC" is or does. more...

Posted by: Jim at 09:52 AM | Comments (18) | Add Comment
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1 Geezz......you hired me as a wife faster and with less rules!LOL Now if you just DARE to call me unprofessional!I know where you live....

Posted by: The Brat at February 18, 2006 10:31 AM (oqu5j)

2 That's because the sex outweighs all of that other stuff. HR gets all moody if we start interviewing "out of the box". And you've definitely got the skills of a professional. ;-)

Posted by: Jim at February 18, 2006 12:27 PM (oqu5j)

3 I once interviewed a freelance designer who had a wonderful description of a project that he worked on in his resume. He even featured the work very nicely in his portfolio. The only problem is, it was work that I had done. He didn't get the job.

Posted by: Stephen Macklin at February 18, 2006 12:58 PM (DdRjH)

4 I know zip about IT but I'd work for you in a heartbeat, Jim. Happy (head)Hunting! xoxo

Posted by: Margi at February 20, 2006 05:05 PM (nwEQH)

5 So yer sayin' I should wear pants to the interview? WTF kind of work place is that? No freedom of expression, you damned Neocon. We've had several kids from the local University and Tech Colleges around here come in for interviews wearing T-Shirts, Jeans and Doc Martins. Not how I'd have dressed, but to each his / her own, I didn't even discount them from the positions available. Dress code I can teach, raw talent I can't. Then there are the kids that come in with "body art" on display. I'm as open minded as anybody, but the least they could have do is taken out the Nose, Eyebrow and Lip Piercings, and Fer cryin' out loud tone down the Green Hair. I draw the line when they have the 'nads to say they want "freedom to be themselves". Each time they've been given this freedom, just not here. I ended up calling the folks in charge of the program at the Tech School and asking them to speak to their kids about proper interview dress, manners and techniques. My all time favorite: Somebody that answers, yeah or naw to a question. Are the days of Yes Sir or No Sir gone forever? By the way can I edit then resubmit my resume? I may have embellished just a bit when I said I was CEO of Microsoft.

Posted by: phin at February 21, 2006 01:00 PM (Xvpen)

6 You are a huge sweetie! Just so happens I am in the job hunting arena again and this is just perfect timing. I am trying to get my resume into good eyecatching order and those suggestions will help.

Posted by: Machelle at February 22, 2006 11:33 AM (ZAyoW)

7 Another question, hope you don't mind but since you interview picking your brain is good. Do you have an example of how to put why you quit on a resume? I have company employee dates what they did at the company list of what I did/accomplishments, etc.

Posted by: Machelle at February 22, 2006 11:34 AM (ZAyoW)

8 "Reason for leaving:" is the general method. Here's a snippet from mine: 1997 - 2000 Winfield Industries, Inc., Buffalo, NY Administrative Assistant Polyurethane component manufacturer Reason for leaving: Relocated to Atlanta, GA · Database Design, Implementation and Maintenance · Hardware Evaluation, Purchase and Implementation · Software Evaluation, Purchase and Implementation · Etceteras Note that this went through several revisions before I got it just right. Reason for leaving started out as "Skinflint bastards refused to pay me what I'm worth", changed to "Only the captain is obliged to stay on the sinking ship", then finally arrived at the informative line shown above. You wouldn’t happen to be looking for a business analyst position, would you?

Posted by: Jim at February 22, 2006 01:25 PM (tyQ8y)

9 Wow. That looks totally crappy without the table. All mixed up, too. Follow-up rule: Don't submit your resume though comments on a weblog.

Posted by: Jim at February 22, 2006 01:26 PM (tyQ8y)

10 Wow! This could be the best & most honest advice for job seekers I've ever seen. As I am on the seeking end, I have much appreciation for your P.O.V. on the interview & resume. Thanks for your advice.

Posted by: Tuck at February 22, 2006 02:10 PM (JRLuB)

11 Well - I'm glad I haven't had to interview for a job for the last 15 years! (my interview for the job I have now was... "want a job?" my answer..."um sure". LOL) But - really - this is all excellent advice.

Posted by: Teresa at February 22, 2006 05:01 PM (FZwDL)

12 Resumes? In my industry (where the workforce is 80% female) the most rigorous interview I ever had involved some tight pants and, on occasion, some good-hearted finger blasting. If ya know what I mean. I ain't saying it's right or wrong, I'm just saying that's the way it is.

Posted by: shank at February 22, 2006 05:28 PM (jfEhX)

13 Reason for leaving,"Only the captain is obliged to go down with the ship." That's fucking genius. I mean, that truely is the shit. I would hire someone who wrote that. Seriously. If, like, I didn't have to forward the winners resume to HR for their goddam records. There is NO HUMOR in HR.

Posted by: Paul at February 22, 2006 07:36 PM (fz+XU)

14 I am Flibbertigibbet and I approve this message. Having recently found a couple of jobs, I can attest that the Jim Peacock method will not only wash your car, help you regrow hair, attract swarms of cute bunnies, and cause explosive -- though entertaining -- colon failure, but it will help you land the job of your dreams as well!

Posted by: Flibbertigibbet at February 22, 2006 07:42 PM (+u0lU)

15 This is a great post, Jim. I'm so glad I've not had to put a resume together or interview. It takes practice. This current job, they called me and asked me to work. I bulletized my performance appraisals from when I worked with them last and submitted it as my resume was a formality. Thank God. If I had to get a real job, I'd be sunk.

Posted by: Bou at February 22, 2006 10:59 PM (iHxT3)

16 Another thing -- Honesty is always the best policy. In the tech realm, if you don;t know the answer off the top of your head, it's not as big a deal as your ability to find the answer. When I've interviewed people in the past, I've given a lot more credence to the guy who would say "I don't know" and not try to bullshit me.

Posted by: J Fielek at February 22, 2006 11:52 PM (L5zvv)

17 Good point there. In tech it's often more important to know where the answer is than what the answer is.

Posted by: Jim at February 23, 2006 05:23 AM (oqu5j)

18 "In tech it's often more important to know where the answer is than what the answer is." This is very true, because things tend to change so fast - yesterday's answer may not be the best one or even the right one for today. But if you know where to look for information - that is the key.

Posted by: Teresa at February 23, 2006 11:44 AM (FZwDL)

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It's true. It happened on Wednesday. I was leveraging around for a scratch and put a bit too much pressure on it. I felt it bend a bit awkwardly but didn't think anything serious had happened.

When I whipped it out yesterday morning I saw the damage. The tip was bent over at a 15% angle. I straightened it out but there must be something wonky in the area where the tip and the shaft meet. As soon as I start using it the damn thing bends over again.

This is very distressing for me. I use the hell out of it - multiple times a day, sometimes for hours at a time. I like a precision instrument. Even if I'm just messing around with it I expect it to perform perfectly. Now my aim is all off and I don't even like using it anymore.

Lovely Wife bought me some "replacement units" a while back. I can use one of those to take care of critical tasks but it's just not the same. They don't have the smooth feel of my original equipment and (not to brag) they're smaller. They don't fit very well in the receptacle either, if you get my meaning.

Speaking of original equipment, that poses some problems all by itself. I'm not saying that mine is one of a kind but I guarantee they aren't making any like it any more. Trust me, I've Googled it. (Interesting images in that search, by the way.) I've been sending messages to the creator to see if there's any way to get mine repaired or replaced with equivalent equipment but I never got an answer back.

So, anybody know where I can get a replacement stylus for a Dell Axim 4 PDA?

Posted by: Jim at 12:50 AM | Comments (8) | Add Comment
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To celebrate the new year my company bought itself a large travel company in the UK and a larger one in Germany, catapulting us from the second largest business travel company in the USA to the third largest in the world.

As you might expect the workload for Enterprise Technology in general, and the Project Management / Quality Assurance group in particular, has not decreased. In fact, you would not be incorrect if you guessed that our workload has increased substantially. It's one of the reasons I haven't been posting a whole lot. Where I used to get up bright and early, read a bit, write a bit, shit, shower and shave, I am now catching up on emails and project statuses, shitting, showering and shaving. I've tried to eliminate one or more of the "S" class morning tasks to make room for more blogging but have had mixed results with such experimentation.

But help is on the way, and the sooner the better. We have authorization to hire a QA Manager, 2 Project Managers and a Business Analyst. Experience in the travel industry is a plus but not a grand requirement. Similarly, living in the Atlanta area is a plus (that's where HQ and our department are located) but not required. We also have departmental offices in Chicago and Kansas City (Missouri).

So, who wants a job? If you want more detail on any of these just give a holler.

Posted by: Jim at 02:44 PM | Comments (11) | Add Comment
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1 If I can work from home I'm game.

Posted by: phin at February 06, 2006 03:36 PM (Xvpen)

2 No such luck, me boyo. We're almost but not quite totally non-virtual.

Posted by: Jim at February 06, 2006 04:18 PM (tyQ8y)

3 Hire me! I am fucking sick of my job!!

Posted by: The Brat at February 06, 2006 04:37 PM (oqu5j)

4 Sorry, Babe. You know what they say: "Irreplaceable equals unpromotable".

Posted by: Jim at February 06, 2006 05:54 PM (tyQ8y)

5 Ugh......sickening!

Posted by: The Brat at February 06, 2006 05:55 PM (oqu5j)

6 If they took right out of school with a BS in mechatronic engineering, and were willing to wait until may, i'd think about it. Hypothetically speaking, of course.

Posted by: tommy at February 06, 2006 08:20 PM (EhwJT)

7 The waiting until May part could be problematic.

Posted by: Jim at February 07, 2006 04:18 PM (tyQ8y)

8 aye, story of me life. :-D

Posted by: tommy at February 07, 2006 10:46 PM (EhwJT)

9 I am not applying for a job, but I am wondering if the acquisition of the international sites means you'll be coming over here PS-wifi makes working on the toilet that much easier.

Posted by: Helen at February 08, 2006 01:40 PM (pYaFz)

10 Why can't you have offices in NYC?

Posted by: Flibbertigibbet at February 09, 2006 02:52 PM (gKBKR)

11 We do, but only for travel managers.

Posted by: Jim at February 09, 2006 06:22 PM (tyQ8y)

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