I had my first phone interview with hp yesterday morning, and I think it went well. I interviewed with a lady who started out in the job I am interviewing for, so it was nice that she was able to give me a more in-depth look at what I would be doing as an advisory writer. The position was described to me as- when a customer has a problem with their computer (It crashed what do it do!?!?), they send an email to hp. That email is sent to the engineers who figure out how to fix the issue. Because it is widely acknowledged that engineers cannot write, their solution would be sent to me. I would then take their solution and rewrite it without the technical jargon so normal people could figure out what to do. I would be the technical writing go-between. Apparently because everything I would be writing is very time sensitive, this position is a step above the technical writer position. It is also more "technical."
The lady that interviewed me has an English Literature degree from UH, so it was nice that she knew my background and could give me some insight into the transition. We talked about my background, why I'm interested in the company, and what technical writing means to me. I told her I worked on the Purdue OWL (Online Writing Lab) webmaster document. She was pretty excited as she used the OWL site when she worked at the writing lab at UH, so that was pretty cool.
Tomorrow morning I have my second phone interview. I will be talking to a current technical writer in Taiwan. Since I've never interviewed for a tech job before, I'm not sure what all they will be asking me, which is a little nerve-wracking. In preparation, I am brushing up on my HTML and XML. I should probably get back to that right now. Interview #2 here I come!
Tuesday, January 8, 2013
Sunday, January 6, 2013
But Wait! There's More!
I applied for two jobs in Houston. I didn't really expect to hear back from either one, let alone get an interview. Then I got the interview for the health food company. A couple days ago, I got an email from an event planning company wanting to set up a phone interview for a position in their marketing division. I could not believe what I was reading. I had gotten more interviews in three days than I have in the last six months combined (and not for lack of trying- I spend my days off applying).
I started researching the company, did my Glassdoor background check and looked for company reviews online. I can't find much about the company strangely. This makes it seem a little iffy. They emailed me asking a couple questions about myself, when I can start, if I have my own transportation, and why I'm interested in the position. They also provided a list of clients, which I've never seen with any other scam company I have run across.
I still haven't decided if the place is legit or not, but I figured it can't hurt to set up the phone interview and see what they have to say. So, today I will email them back and start the process. This will make my fifth interview set up in Houston in a week. Apparently Texas wants me!
I started researching the company, did my Glassdoor background check and looked for company reviews online. I can't find much about the company strangely. This makes it seem a little iffy. They emailed me asking a couple questions about myself, when I can start, if I have my own transportation, and why I'm interested in the position. They also provided a list of clients, which I've never seen with any other scam company I have run across.
I still haven't decided if the place is legit or not, but I figured it can't hurt to set up the phone interview and see what they have to say. So, today I will email them back and start the process. This will make my fifth interview set up in Houston in a week. Apparently Texas wants me!
H-Town Bound?
The day after I scheduled my on site interview in Houston, I got an email from HP (Hewlett-Packard) saying they saw my resume and would like to set up a series of three interviews for their Advisory Writer position in, here's the really crazy part, Houston. I couldn't remember applying for this position. I looked back through my emails and there was nothing from HP. I went to the HP website to see if I had created an account to apply there-nothing.
Then I remembered my roommate, who works for HP in Chicago, had taken my resume into work to put my name in the hat for a tech writer position there. Apparently, HP puts the resumes they receive in a database that can be viewed by other sites as well. Of all places, Houston is the one that picked up my resume and decided to contact me. The coincidence it just too crazy.
I emailed them back; of course I would like to speak to them! Within 24 hours, I had three different phone interviews scheduled in four days. Next week is going to be a busy week!
Houston Calling
Since the whole Chicago interview/job-seeking process hasn't been working out so well (one semi-interview in 6 months of living here), and it is officially freezing here, I did something a little crazy not expecting anything to come from it. I applied for two positions in Houston that looked perfect. They both popped up on the PR/Marketing job board I was using at the time, and I thought hey-why not, not actually thinking anything wold come from it.
The next day I got an email from a small health food company who had reviewed my application and would like to set up a phone interview with me for their Director of Marketing position. You've got to be kidding me. After over 100+ applications here and 2 in Houston, I get an interview in Houston. I emailed them back saying I'd love to talk to them about the position and proceeded to do my homework on the company. It looked like it checked out, and I started to get a little excited about the position.
A couple days later, I had a phone interview with the CEO of the company. It went really, really well! (I think) The position sounds absolutely amazing. I would manage all of the social media for the company (Facebook/twitter/pinterest/blog). I would basically create the blog and post a couple times a week. There would be a little sales involved as well. So working at Nordstrom actually helped me there. After discussing the position, he talked to me about Houston, what the city is like, things to do there. Texas is in my top two places I'd like to live, so I was already sold. I was given a homework assignment for the next week. I had to come up with a couple blog posts, facebook, and twitter posts promoting their new product line that will be released this spring.
I had so much fun working on that "assignment!" I have thoroughly missed getting to use my brain for something other than folding jeans. I spent the next few days carrying around a notebook and jotting ideas for what to send back as my sort of audition. About four or five days later, I emailed the document with my work and prepared to sit back and wait for the results.
Not 12 hours later, I received an email back saying that he loved my work, it was exactly what he was looking for, and he would like to interview me in person! It so happened that I am already going to Houston in a couple weeks, and he was available to interview me while I'm down there! So on Friday, January 18th, I will have my first real, on site interview in Houston!!
The next day I got an email from a small health food company who had reviewed my application and would like to set up a phone interview with me for their Director of Marketing position. You've got to be kidding me. After over 100+ applications here and 2 in Houston, I get an interview in Houston. I emailed them back saying I'd love to talk to them about the position and proceeded to do my homework on the company. It looked like it checked out, and I started to get a little excited about the position.
A couple days later, I had a phone interview with the CEO of the company. It went really, really well! (I think) The position sounds absolutely amazing. I would manage all of the social media for the company (Facebook/twitter/pinterest/blog). I would basically create the blog and post a couple times a week. There would be a little sales involved as well. So working at Nordstrom actually helped me there. After discussing the position, he talked to me about Houston, what the city is like, things to do there. Texas is in my top two places I'd like to live, so I was already sold. I was given a homework assignment for the next week. I had to come up with a couple blog posts, facebook, and twitter posts promoting their new product line that will be released this spring.
I had so much fun working on that "assignment!" I have thoroughly missed getting to use my brain for something other than folding jeans. I spent the next few days carrying around a notebook and jotting ideas for what to send back as my sort of audition. About four or five days later, I emailed the document with my work and prepared to sit back and wait for the results.
Not 12 hours later, I received an email back saying that he loved my work, it was exactly what he was looking for, and he would like to interview me in person! It so happened that I am already going to Houston in a couple weeks, and he was available to interview me while I'm down there! So on Friday, January 18th, I will have my first real, on site interview in Houston!!
Sunday, December 16, 2012
It's not what you know; it's...
...what your alumni relations will provide. Not long after I moved to the city, I posted on the Purdue Alumni Club of Chicago's LinkedIn page saying that I'd just moved to the city, was looking for a job, and requesting any advice people could give me. About a month ago, I received a message from a fellow member of the club asking what it is that I would like to do. After exchanging a few emails, I sent him my resume, and he passed it on to their recruiting team.
A couple weeks later I got a call from one of the recruiters wanting to set up a time to talk to me about the Advertising Coordinator position. A couple days later I proceeding to have the world's shortest interview lasting all of three minutes. I was asked:
Where did I go to school?
What did I major in?
What am I doing now?
Why am I interested in the position/company?
What are my salary requirements?
When could I start?
He said he would forward my information back to the company, and they should contact me by the end of the next week to set up an onsite interview. That was two weeks ago. I emailed the recruiter and haven't heard anything, so my next plan of action is to contact the company and make sure they received my info and I haven't slipped through the cracks. Oh the joys of waiting...
A couple weeks later I got a call from one of the recruiters wanting to set up a time to talk to me about the Advertising Coordinator position. A couple days later I proceeding to have the world's shortest interview lasting all of three minutes. I was asked:
Where did I go to school?
What did I major in?
What am I doing now?
Why am I interested in the position/company?
What are my salary requirements?
When could I start?
He said he would forward my information back to the company, and they should contact me by the end of the next week to set up an onsite interview. That was two weeks ago. I emailed the recruiter and haven't heard anything, so my next plan of action is to contact the company and make sure they received my info and I haven't slipped through the cracks. Oh the joys of waiting...
Halftime Magazine articles
Hello all! I'd like to apologize for the ridiculously long hiatus from posting on here. Time flies and all that. Anyway there have been some happenings in the past couple months of my absence. My first two articles for Halftime Magazine have been published, online and in print! This is my first real in print publishing (not counting my research) for my work, so I am super excited about it!
My first article is the magazine's feature article for our September/October issue. You can view it online by clicking here. The article is profiles of the first and second place finishers for DCI Finals in World and Open classes. It was really exciting to get to interview such major names in DCI and discuss their shows and seasons with them. I got to learn some pretty awesome things about what happened behind the scenes during their summers. It was especially fun to interview the members who were still riding the high of their placings in finals. There was so much excitement and energy in their words that it made my job of capturing the passion of finals quite easy. I got a five page spread (eight if you want to include ad pages) and pictures; not too shabby for my first article.
My second article is a feature for the November/December issue, which just came out a couple weeks ago. The article is Auditioning for Drum Corps; which gives an overview of the general audition camp experience, what to expect, and how to prepare. There is also a sidebar with tips on how to conquer your nerves (something I've struggled with since I first picked up the trumpet). This article proved to be a little more of a challenge for me than the previous one. I was given more creativity with the focus and format of the article. When I was given my word count I had no idea what I was going to say to fill up all that space. In the end I had nearly twice as much as I needed and spent a great deal of time chopping out anything unnecessary to the article. Entire sections were hacked; I don't think I've ever had so much information and so little room. After I finally finished it, the last person I was waiting to respond got back to me, giving me even more information that had to be included. Another word slashing party comenced. However, I'd rather have that issue over not having enough content (I'm always positive I won't when I start writing). I had to do a couple rewrites to get the format my editor wanted, but by the end I was pleased with the result. I got a four page spread with pictures (six with ads). This one isn't out online yet, but will be next month, so check the Halftime Mag website later.
Finally, the Midwest Clinic Band and Orchestra Conference is here in Chicago next week. I emailed my editor inquiring if we cover the clinic or if it's even in the scope of the magazine. She asked what I had in mind, and I pitched a couple ideas. She responded that both my ideas would make good features, and she'd like me to do a short Noteworthy section as well. So I will go to a couple clinics, send her my notes, and we'll go from there. I'm excited!
My first article is the magazine's feature article for our September/October issue. You can view it online by clicking here. The article is profiles of the first and second place finishers for DCI Finals in World and Open classes. It was really exciting to get to interview such major names in DCI and discuss their shows and seasons with them. I got to learn some pretty awesome things about what happened behind the scenes during their summers. It was especially fun to interview the members who were still riding the high of their placings in finals. There was so much excitement and energy in their words that it made my job of capturing the passion of finals quite easy. I got a five page spread (eight if you want to include ad pages) and pictures; not too shabby for my first article.
My second article is a feature for the November/December issue, which just came out a couple weeks ago. The article is Auditioning for Drum Corps; which gives an overview of the general audition camp experience, what to expect, and how to prepare. There is also a sidebar with tips on how to conquer your nerves (something I've struggled with since I first picked up the trumpet). This article proved to be a little more of a challenge for me than the previous one. I was given more creativity with the focus and format of the article. When I was given my word count I had no idea what I was going to say to fill up all that space. In the end I had nearly twice as much as I needed and spent a great deal of time chopping out anything unnecessary to the article. Entire sections were hacked; I don't think I've ever had so much information and so little room. After I finally finished it, the last person I was waiting to respond got back to me, giving me even more information that had to be included. Another word slashing party comenced. However, I'd rather have that issue over not having enough content (I'm always positive I won't when I start writing). I had to do a couple rewrites to get the format my editor wanted, but by the end I was pleased with the result. I got a four page spread with pictures (six with ads). This one isn't out online yet, but will be next month, so check the Halftime Mag website later.
Finally, the Midwest Clinic Band and Orchestra Conference is here in Chicago next week. I emailed my editor inquiring if we cover the clinic or if it's even in the scope of the magazine. She asked what I had in mind, and I pitched a couple ideas. She responded that both my ideas would make good features, and she'd like me to do a short Noteworthy section as well. So I will go to a couple clinics, send her my notes, and we'll go from there. I'm excited!
Sunday, September 9, 2012
Back in the Saddle Again
After a two month hiatus from the job hunt, I have returned to the world of resumes, cover letters, and job search sites. I wield a new and improved resume and a new found pickiness for what I am applying for. Instead of applying for every single position that looks remotely relevant to what I want to do, I am focusing on jobs that I really want. I already have a job that, while is not exactly stimulating, is stable and kind of fun, so I'm not longer in the desperate-I just need a job to survive-period.
I have also shifted my job search focus to mainly Chicago. I am tired of not knowing where I'll be in the next month(s)/year. I want to be able to make plans and buy furniture (I am still sleeping on an air mattress). I'll admit I wasn't thrilled about staying in the Chicago area at first, but I have come to love it here, so I'm planning on sticking around for a while. I'm sure I'll hate myself for it December-March when I'm freezing to death.
So right now I'm in a pretty good place where I'm hoping the right job comes along. However, if it takes some more time, I can live with that too.
I have also shifted my job search focus to mainly Chicago. I am tired of not knowing where I'll be in the next month(s)/year. I want to be able to make plans and buy furniture (I am still sleeping on an air mattress). I'll admit I wasn't thrilled about staying in the Chicago area at first, but I have come to love it here, so I'm planning on sticking around for a while. I'm sure I'll hate myself for it December-March when I'm freezing to death.
So right now I'm in a pretty good place where I'm hoping the right job comes along. However, if it takes some more time, I can live with that too.
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