Rock bottom

This job search of mine has led me to some interesting places. There was the office that looked like it was straight out of 1986, with dusty-rose-colored walls and a phone that might have well have had a rotary dial (I believe the phone in this dingy, industrial office was the very first touch-tone model ever). There was the interviewer who made it clear that she didn’t like me before I even sat down (she thought I wanted a more “creative” job; I just wanted any job). And there was the part-time college test proctor position that I couldn’t even get a callback on (I’m pretty sure a trained monkey could have performed that job).

And after all of the resumes I’ve sent out, the place that really seems to want me now is 40 minutes from my house and offers zero benefits. Yep, I’d be a temporary-but-permanent employee. I’d wear one of the company’s uniform shirts in an office position but I wouldn’t really be an employee of the company itself; I’d be a contractor. And did I mention that the company had three employees killed on the job in the past two years due to the firm’s own negligence?

This is what it’s like to search for a job in America now. It’s depressing, it’s demoralizing, and it makes you wonder why you even went to college. Right now, I’m also half-contemplating going back to school for even more time and money, but I’m wondering what field to even get a master’s degree in. I can easily picture myself with a master’s degree and the same slim prospects that I have now. On an interview several years ago, I found out that one of my prospective co-workers had her master’s, and the job was barely paying double-digits per hour.

I looked up contract jobs today and I found an article from 2014 that said that many workers, especially older ones, are getting trapped in these temporary positions. Some of them are permanently temporary and others have a set end date. More and more companies are willing to add “jobs” but they’re not willing to offer 401(k)s, paid time off or health insurance. And that means that workers’ savings are being wiped out and that many people are also going to have to work until they’re about 80 years old.

I’d tell people not to accept these poor excuses for jobs, but I know that people need to eat. They have families to support. It’s not easy to find a job to begin with, so if someone offers you a chance, you might feel like you have to take it.

But as for me, I have to hope that there’s something else out there. Even if that hope is quickly running out.

It’s easy for many hiring managers and recruiters to think that these people and these jobs don’t matter when the managers themselves are making a good income and have benefits, but I just wish companies would step back and look at the toll these contract positions are taking on their lowest-level (and often hardest-working) employees.

5 Things I Wish Hiring Managers Would Do

Like lots of other Americans, I am searching for a job. I’ve sent out an endless number of resumes, given plenty of phone interviews and taken the time to drive many miles to in-person interviews, but even after all that, I’m still searching. Because looking for a job is my actual job these days, I have a lot of experience with the process, and there are some things that could definitely be improved. So here’s some advice I’d like to give hiring managers, and if you’re a fellow job-seeker instead, you can likely agree with these suggestions:

1. Don’t be cagey on salary.

Job applicants like me would be very grateful if more job posters would simply list a position’s salary in the posting. There’s no need to make salary a guessing game by asking applicants what their expected rate of pay would be. If an applicant says a figure that’s lower or higher than what the company wants to pay us, we’re knocked out of consideration without us even knowing why. And the old standby of writing “open” on job applications doesn’t always work on today’s online forms. Often, there’s a dollar amount that must be selected. So please, hiring managers, make it easier on everyone by stating the salary in the job description.

2. Don’t make us fill out everything all over again in an online form after we’ve already submitted our resume.

This is more of a suggestion to the web developers who create the job submission forms, but it’s extremely annoying and time-consuming to have to fill in all of our details repeatedly. If you have our resume, you should have at least most of the information that you need from us.

3. Decide if a cover letter is necessary or not.

I’ve noticed lately that many jobs (especially those on job boards like Indeed.com) have a place for an “optional” cover letter. I don’t know if those get read (or even submitted to the hiring manager) or not, so even though I do usually write one, I wonder if I’m wasting my time or if I’m actually giving myself an edge. If a hiring manager definitely wants a cover letter, they should write that in the job description. This can prove to be helpful in another way too — it can make sure an applicant reads the entire description, which is what you probably want in a potential employee. I’ve also seen companies ask for more creative “cover letters” — for example, one job posting for a newsletter editor wanted a cover letter in the style of a newsletter. This can be a good way for job applicants to stand out, but we need to know if they’re worth our time or not.

4. Put yourself in our shoes.

I know that hiring managers want to make the best possible hires. But for many of us applicants, it’s hard to project our best selves in an interview, especially when we’re nervous and we really want the job. I wish that hiring managers would keep that in mind when applicants are in front of them. It can be hard for anyone to make a good impression in 10 minutes or less. And just because someone may not be the greatest interviewer, that doesn’t mean that that person can’t do the actual job well.

On another point, please don’t call us in for an interview if, for some reason, you think we have zero chance of getting this job. That’s a waste of our time and yours.

5. Communicate with us.

It takes literally seconds to send an email. If we didn’t get a job, let us know! Many of us are interviewing at different companies at the same time as yours, and we’d like to know which jobs we can cross off our list as we pursue other opportunities. Please don’t leave us in limbo. So few companies follow up with job applicants and I don’t understand why. A friend of mine got very far into the hiring process with one company — he had multiple interviews, and he was told that the company would be making a decision “soon.” That was six months ago. He figured out on his own that he didn’t get the job, and he has actually found another one, but he should’ve been told that by the company itself. And the company’s lack of communication makes it look unprofessional. Since he told me and his other friends about his experience with it, we don’t really want to work for that company either. Spending five seconds to send an email to an applicant is not only common courtesy; it can save your company’s reputation too.

If you’re a hiring manager, what frustrates you about the job applicants you’ve dealt with? And if you’re a job applicant, what other frustrations about the hiring process can you think of? Leave your comments below!

 

 

And so it goes

I haven’t published anything on my blog in years. Years!

And so much has changed.

For some reason, I’ve had a lot of hits on the blog this year (even without any new posts), and I’ll have more posts coming up about what’s been going on, so stay right here.

All right, Netflix, you’re starting to make me mad

Dear Netflix,

You came into my life Aug. 21 (my birthday) and I was instantly smitten (especially by your instant offerings). You showed me things I’d never seen before and we had some good times — some laughs, a few tears, and a few why-did-I-even-put-this-in-my-queue moments.

But now I’m starting to see your true colors.

It started with the huge delay you have with new release movies. I understand that this is some deal worked out between you and the major studios, but when I could go rent the same movie at a Redbox the day it comes out, it seems like I should be able to get it from YOU, too.

But of course that brings me to my second point. If you have a new release movie on your list, there’s no guarantee you’re getting it anytime soon after it finally comes to Netflix. I don’t know what the criteria is for sending these movies out, but I hate waiting a month for something to come to Netflix, then at least another 2-3 months before I get it in the mail. At that point, I might as well just wait till it comes on cable.

So, by the grace of God, you get “Social Network” or some other popular new movie in your mailbox. That doesn’t mean it will have all the extras on the disc like it would if you bought it. I’m not a big extras person (I never watch cast commentaries), but I’d like to have the option to watch them instead of getting a disc stripped of everything but the movie. For example, I read online that “Going the Distance” had funny deleted scenes, but my disc had no such scenes on them. I realize this move is designed to make me want to BUY the disc but that isn’t why I have Netflix. I want to rent, not buy.

Fourth, I have really gotten into “Dexter.” I watched the first two seasons on Netflix Instant and was eagerly awaiting the third. But wait–the third and fourth seasons AREN’T ON INSTANT. And as of right now, the first disc of Season 3 says “Long wait” and the second disc of the season says “Very long wait.” Which means I have to go to the video store and see if they have them in stock because who knows when I’d get the discs through you. It feels like you baited and switched me.

Finally, I read that you want to phase out DVDs completely within the next couple of years. That would be fine with me but you’d need to, oh, I don’t know, ADD MORE INSTANT TITLES. And keep them for longer periods because sometimes I’m not in the mood to watch a movie I added months ago before it disappears from instant two days later.

Can you work on this stuff, Netflix? For me?

Love,

Me

Christmas rapping

Every year I think, “It’s Christmastime already?? Wasn’t it just Christmastime last year? It doesn’t feel like Christmas this year. Seems like we just had it.”

And on and on.

I guess in the past I failed to realize that it wasn’t Christmastime that was changing. It was me.

There have been so many small but important changes in my life this past year. I reunited with some great old friends, went on two trips (much better than my usual yearly average of no trips), saw New York City for the first time (and rode a subway, train, cab and in a car with a crazy driver [long story]), got my apartment cleaning and organizing under control, started working out with (some) regularity, hosted Thanksgiving for the first time, attended two lovely weddings,  bonded with my dad and my fiance’s mom (and my fiance himself), learned to deal with my work and fell in love with movies (“Wendy and Lucy,” “Sherrybaby”), TV shows (“Weeds”), Groupon and pumpkin pie.

So this year, I’m seeing Christmas in a different light but I know it’s  reflecting a new way of viewing the world. One that’s not so stagnant; one that makes me look forward to new opportunities and experiences — like a trip to Disneyland I’m planning next year.

I hope you’ve had a great 2010 and wish you a wonderful 2011!

 

My latest love

Sorry I’ve been MIA lately. (“I fly like paper…” Wait. Never mind.) It’s just that, for my 30^th birthday last month, I received the gift that keeps on giving.

A Netflix subscription.

I’m not sure I could love this any more than I already do. Movies I can watch instantly? Yes, please! Others I can receive in the mail very quickly? Uh huh!

And to think when I signed up for my gift subscription they “encouraged” me to put at least 6 films in my queue and I was daunted by the task.

I now have 76 in my DVD queue and 55 in my instant one.

I’ve been watching movies I’d heard of over and over but never watched (“Nine to Five,” “Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory”); TV shows I love and had missed some episodes of (“The State”); and others based on what Netflix told me I would like (“The Aviator,” “Julie & Julia”).

A lot of the movies I’ve picked have had a common theme: trying to break out of a rut of a life. Examples include “Clockwatchers” and “Waitress” (the latter of which made me fall hopelessly in love with Nathan Fillion). But what’s interesting with these movies is my reaction to how each protagonist gets out of that rut.

One of the most interesting movies I’ve seen so far through Netflix Instant is “Year of the Dog.” I wanted to watch this because I adore Mike White, who wrote and directed it. I also like Peter Skarsgaard, and I’d never even heard of this movie until I wiki’d him after seeing “An Education,” which I also loved. I wasn’t as big a fan of Molly Shannon’s (her SNL characters just grated on your nerves) but she surprised me in this movie.

I’m not going to go into the plot because you can find that anywhere, but the path her character took at the end surprised me when I first saw it. Only later did it make sense and I really appreciated it. I don’t want to give it away, but I’ll just say that the phrase “Do what you gotta do” applies, and I think it even taught me that.

There are times when I’m at my job and I think, why am I doing this? I’d rather be doing a million other things, but different reasons stop me. “I need to work,” is one of them. “I need money. I need insurance. I’ve put in 5 or so years at this company and now I get more vacation time.”

But if I’m not happy, then what good is any of this? Life is kind of like a movie — what you do with your opportunities affects the outcome. And you can’t be afraid of getting rid of all the things that keep you from growing, because what kind of ending would that be?

That’s what Netflix has taught me so far, anyway.

I love you, Netflix.

And Nathan Fillion.

How to Watch Free Movies on YouTube

I’ve been on a movie kick lately. I’ve toyed with getting Netflix but I don’t know if I want to have money taken out of my account each month (especially if I have a busy month or get tired of watching stuff and I don’t get my money’s worth out of it).

If only there were a free way to watch movies online, with no downloading, no viruses and no signing up for strange sites?

Hello, YouTube!

I’ve watched several movies on the site that were uploaded by users, and while it may be kind of weird to watch a film divided into 9-12 different parts, you get used to it. It’s kind of the same as watching a movie on TV, with “commercial breaks” between segments.

That being said, there are some tips I’ve gleaned from the process that might help you out if you’re a YouTube Movie Junkie Newbie:

1. No, the latest No. 1 hit at the box office won’t be on there.

You have better luck if you’re looking for slightly older films that have been shown on TV, such as “50 First Dates.”

2. Search for “[movie title] part 1.”

This should get you what you’re looking for, but—

3. If the clip you find says it’s very short and it  and shows a production company logo, it’s not what you want.

If you go to the clip, it will only have a URL to a website to watch the film. I don’t trust or recommend these sites; staying on YouTube is much safer. The real segments of movies will usually be 9 to 10 minutes long.

4. Sometimes entire parts won’t have sound.

This is annoying and usually because “the WMA” wouldn’t allow a song to be played in the segment. In the past when this has happened, I’ve usually found the same clip from other users WITH sound (and possibly foreign subtitles), so sometimes you just have to search around again. But once in a while the clip you need is nowhere to be found, and that does suck.

5. Of course, there are more than just movies on YouTube.

You can also find deleted scenes, trailers, interviews with stars and more material.

Like I said in the first tip, not everything is on there. But a surprising number of full-length films are, if you’re willing to dig for them. Good luck!

What’s Cookin’

I used to be the queen of convenience foods (the Freezer Queen?). All I needed was a box and a microwave and I was good to go.

But then something changed (or maybe the Food Network rubbed off on me). One day, I no longer wanted to eat ingredients like “maltodextrin” and “canthaxanthin,” not to mention a bunch of preservatives and too much salt and fat. Things like “ammonium phosphatides” and “sucroglycerides” just didn’t sound tasty to me anymore.

So I found some recipes online and started … cooking.

And I actually liked it.

Yes, there are some downsides. Sometimes I cook too much (and eat too much). And I really wish I’d had to take home ec in school so I would have known how much sugar to use when my measuring cup didn’t have the exact marking for the amount I needed (I didn’t want to risk putting in too much or too little so I found that the measurement equaled 16 teaspoons – which I faithfully scooped out, 16 times. Sigh.).

But the feeling of accomplishment you get when you follow a recipe and actually create something good and tasty is priceless. And it’s also nice when you find a new recipe and know that you have all or most of the ingredients it calls for already in your kitchen.

Here are four of the recipes I’ve tried recently, and my reviews. They’re all on the Taste of Home website, which has a ton of recipes that usually aren’t too complicated or expensive to prepare (perfect for a newbie like me, and maybe you too):

Honey-Mustard Potatoes

http://www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/Honey-Mustard-Potatoes

These turned out great! I used small white potatoes instead of red, but they were still very good. And I bought green onions for the first time ever because of this recipe. Did you know green onions cost about $1 for 2 bundles at the grocery store and are wrapped together with a sticker that includes a UPC code (so you don’t have to worry about weighing produce and annoying the people behind you in line)? See, told ya I was a newb.

Italian Bow-Tie Bake

http://www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/Italian-Bow-Tie-Bake

This couldn’t have been much easier to make and it was so good. Only four ingredients are required, too, and you can try using whole-grain pasta to make it even healthier. This is amazing.

Golden Chicken Nuggets

http://www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/Golden-Chicken-Nuggets

These…didn’t turn out so great. (And the original recipe didn’t have a photo with it so I used a photo from a similar recipe.) I tried to make my own Italian seasoning to bread these with because I haven’t been able to find bottled Italian seasoning in a store, and it just didn’t taste good. I found an Italian seasoning recipe online and made it but I didn’t have any marjoram — I don’t know if that made a huge difference or not but the breading came out too herb-y and without a lot of good flavor. But this also could have been because I used too much breading. Anyway, sweet and sour sauce didn’t even save these nuggets, unfortunately.

Raspberry Coffee Cake

http://www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/Raspberry-Coffee-Cake-3

This. Was. Awesome!

I think this was the first cake I ever made from scratch and it came out really well, even though I didn’t soften the butter before I combined it with the other ingredients (after dealing with a lumpy mixture, I finally just microwaved the batter a little) and I didn’t make the glaze for the top, just to cut out some sugar. This is a really moist, delicious cake that I’m sure I’ll make again sometime. Even if you don’t like raspberries, I’m sure you could try blueberries, blackberries or pretty much any other fruit.

So that’s been my excursion out of the freezer aisle and into the frying pan. I’m proud to say that my last couple of trips to the grocery aisle have involved no purchases of frozen items — well, except ice cream, because I’m not perfect.

If you attempt any of the recipes above, or know of any more quick, easy dinners for me to try, please let me know!

I love you again, Food Network

Once upon a time, I watched the Food Network all the time. I learned how to make meals in 30 minutes. I found out how to make a tortilla from scratch. I gasped with anticipation while watching a painstakingly prepared multistory cake be carried to the judges’ table.

Then I got tired of it all and switched to TLC.

Recently, though, FN has beckoned me back. (And I don’t have much of a taste for TLC shows like “Police Women of Rinkydink County” and “Mall Cops Patrol the Parking Lot”).

But there are some shows I just can’t go for. It’s painful to watch “Cupcake Wars,” for example. Besides the fact that everyone on that show takes something as (let’s face it) trivial as cupcakes DEADLY. SERIOUSLY., it’s hosted by a guy who’s also a magician and goes by the name of Justin Credible.

Yep. SERIOUSLY.

I also can’t watch anything hosted by Alexandra Guarnaschelli because of the first impression I got from her. Years ago, when I first started watching FN, she was a contestant on the Ultimate Thanksgiving episode of Food Network Challenge. I don’t remember if she was making potatoes or the turkey or what, but she just gave up. Just threw in the towel without even trying to make whatever she was making work. I have no idea why FN gave her her own show because it’s clear that she wouldn’t have even made it past the first week as a Food Network Star contestant.

Speaking of which, that show has restored my faith in the network. I watched Food Network Star for a couple seasons, skipped last year, and now I’m back. It’s not a good show by any stretch of the imagination but, like the finest junk food, it’s filling and addictive.

I don’t even have a real favorite contestant this year, unlike in previous years (search for “Adam Gertler” on my blog to find out my favorite candidate of all time). But there is one who’s moving up slightly in the pack for me (not for the same reason as AG, though).

Aarti Sequeira already has her own food show – on the Internet. She comes with an expertise in a style of cooking not often found on FN, a fun personality and experience with teaching people to cook (what a concept, FN). Check out her blog: http://www.aartipaarti.com/

And here’s links to her “shows” on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/user/aartipaarti

Oh, and FN execs, if you need to get rid of someone in order to make room for “Aarti Paarti,” may I suggest:

Angry Birds…attack!

The iPod Touch has to be one of the greatest things ever invented. This slim rectangle of lusciousness houses the three things essential to being:

1. Music

2. Internet

3. Games.

Sure, if it were an iPhone, you could make calls on it, but who cares? The three things above should keep you so busy that you won’t even notice that you can’t gab on it.

Anyway, my latest obsession on my iPod Touch has been Angry Birds. You have to like a game that:

1. Consistently gets 5-star reviews

2. Costs only 99 cents (and is updated frequently by the developers at no extra cost to you)

3. Has tons of replay value, both while you’re trying to get through the levels and after you’ve gotten through the levels.

It’s also incredibly easy to learn, and while some levels may frustrate you, they make you keep trying harder. (Also, if you get really stuck, you can go to YouTube and watch one of many walkthroughs to help you.)

The premise is simple: Fling birds in a slingshot to hit green pigs.

That’s it.

Each level presents a different challenge. Sometimes your bird can be pressed to go faster, sometimes when pressed a bird will turn into three birds. And pigs could be nestled under wood planks that splinter when hit, or they could be under stone barriers that are harder to penetrate. Levels sometimes take a lot of trial and error, but once you figure out the secret formula, you’re golden.

And speaking of golden, there are Golden Eggs hidden in the game, that, if found, lead to even more levels. (Here’s a list of where to find some: http://www.pda-247.com/wordpress/2010/04/how-to-find-the-golden-eggs-in-angry-birds/)

This is probably the best 99 cents I’ve spent on a game in this platform and it’s honestly worth much more. So what are you waiting for? Go bust up some green pigs now!!