OT: On this episode of Days of the OT..

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Jim Bob

RIP RJ
Feb 27, 2002
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Rochester, NY
Speaking of this, I just got the options for healthcare plans for 2020 through my employer.

The good news is that management listened to the employee feedback and instead of just one option (a deductible plan), they are giving us three options for next year (two different tiers of deductible plans and an in-network co-pay plan).

The lower deductible plan is roughly the same out of pocket cost as what we have currently. It will take 2/3 of the savings of my car being paid off to go with the co-pay option. With my wife's new ADHD meds, that might be a good idea for us.

And it has been interesting to see things like bariatric surgery & gender reassignment surgery showing up on the list of things that can get covered.
 

vcv

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EJbG7KBX0AAP42f
 

valet

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more job talk!

yesterday i had a phone interview for a position that pays much (much) better than my last job, with more defined responsibilities and better benefits. i felt like i kind of bombed it when it was happening (got lost in my own head at the beginning when i was asked to 'tell them a little bit about myself'), but at the end of the interview the hr person told me they wanted to bring me in for an in-person, so i guess i didn't do as bad as i envisioned. i think when we got to talking more about the position itself my experience really showed through, perhaps enough to erase the half-babbling biography that i gave at the start. not trying to get too excited, but it feels nice to at least be considered for a good position in my field. a sign of good things to come, maybe
 

vcv

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Mar 12, 2006
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more job talk!

yesterday i had a phone interview for a position that pays much (much) better than my last job, with more defined responsibilities and better benefits. i felt like i kind of bombed it when it was happening (got lost in my own head at the beginning when i was asked to 'tell them a little bit about myself'), but at the end of the interview the hr person told me they wanted to bring me in for an in-person, so i guess i didn't do as bad as i envisioned. i think when we got to talking more about the position itself my experience really showed through, perhaps enough to erase the half-babbling biography that i gave at the start. not trying to get too excited, but it feels nice to at least be considered for a good position in my field. a sign of good things to come, maybe
"being a good interviewee" is becoming less and less of a requirement (some jobs are exceptions, of course).

When I interview people for my team, I do not dock people for being nervous, stumbling over themselves. I just want to understand their thought process, experience, perspective...
 

valet

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"being a good interviewee" is becoming less and less of a requirement (some jobs are exceptions, of course).

When I interview people for my team, I do not dock people for being nervous, stumbling over themselves. I just want to understand their thought process, experience, perspective...
that is a big relief to hear. i kind of got the same impression from the person i talked to yesterday. they were very receptive and professional about any nervousness or the stumbling i showed in some of my answers. the more that i think about it, the more that i realize that i have a half decent resume and know a lot about the day-to-day expectations of the position(s) i'm applying to. and that's really what counts in the end. i do wish i was just able to nail it that first time, though. but i have a second interview to clean up some of that stuff, so, no worries
 

vcv

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Mar 12, 2006
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that is a big relief to hear. i kind of got the same impression from the person i talked to yesterday. they were very receptive and professional about any nervousness or the stumbling i showed in some of my answers. the more that i think about it, the more that i realize that i have a half decent resume and know a lot about the day-to-day expectations of the position(s) i'm applying to. and that's really what counts in the end. i do wish i was just able to nail it that first time, though. but i have a second interview to clean up some of that stuff, so, no worries
How far are you into your career? When I'm interviewing for a more senior position, I may put a *little* weight into how the candidate speaks and how confident that come off as, but not that much.
 

valet

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How far are you into your career? When I'm interviewing for a more senior position, I may put a *little* weight into how the candidate speaks and how confident that come off as, but not that much.
i am a few years in, with prior experience doing other things that are tangentially related. this isn't a senior position. i'm not that far along yet
 

Dreakon13

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Speaking of interviews... am I the only one a little less comfortable as the interviewer than as a interviewee? I think I'm able to present myself better than I can present a company or a position.

I've sat in on interviews before and despite feeling as though I didn't do a great job with my part in it (my nerves showing a bit more than I'd like sometimes making my thoughts come through as a jumbled word salad :laugh:), my manager told me I did fine... though it was followed by a series of odd mixed signals that ended up having somewhat reasonable explanations behind them I guess. Leaving me kinda doubting myself though. Now I'm in this position of being a part of the interviewing process again (for what will be my old position as I transition to something else) and I'm not super confident about it.

EDIT: I'm really more of a smart behind-the-scenes work horse (software developer) than the power lunch managerial type. Though my overall confidence and adeptness socially is something I'm really trying to work on (though I've been tearing myself down more than building myself up lately so the timing couldn't be worse)... I do see this as a good opportunity to test my chops.
 
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valet

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Speaking of interviews... am I the only one a little less comfortable as the interviewer than as a interviewee? I think I'm able to present myself better than I can present a company or a position.

I've sat in on interviews before and despite feeling as though I didn't do a great job with my part in it (my nerves showing a bit more than I'd like sometimes making my thoughts come through as a jumbled word salad :laugh:), my manager told me I did fine... though it was followed by a series of odd mixed signals that ended up having somewhat reasonable explanations behind them I guess. Leaving me kinda doubting myself though. Now I'm in this position of being a part of the interviewing process again (for what will be my old position as I transition to something else) and I'm not super confident about it.

EDIT: I'm really more of a smart behind-the-scenes work horse (software developer) than the power lunch managerial type. Though my overall confidence and adeptness socially is something I'm really trying to work on (though I've been tearing myself down more than building myself up lately so the timing couldn't be worse)... I do see this as a good opportunity to test my chops.
At my last job I was part of a few search committees to fill contracted positions for programs the organization I worked for ran, and I must say that it was much easier being the interviewer. as a side note, I think I'm really bad at phone interviews, but when I get to the in-person part I do just fine, maybe because I can actually get some type of real read on the person. This is as the interviewee. I've never conducted a phone interview as the interviewer

Anyways, I think being the interviewer is easier because you already have a sense of what you're looking for. As the interviewee you're just presenting stuff and you really have no idea what the interviewee wants in their potential employees, so at least for me, the nerves tend to build a bit and I feel like I can confuse myself talking in circles instead of just keeping things simple
 

Dreakon13

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At my last job I was part of a few search committees to fill contracted positions for programs the organization I worked for ran, and I must say that it was much easier being the interviewer. as a side note, I think I'm really bad at phone interviews, but when I get to the in-person part I do just fine, maybe because I can actually get some type of real read on the person. This is as the interviewee. I've never conducted a phone interview as the interviewer

Anyways, I think being the interviewer is easier because you already have a sense of what you're looking for. As the interviewee you're just presenting stuff and you really have no idea what the interviewee wants in their potential employees, so at least for me, the nerves tend to build a bit and I feel like I can confuse myself talking in circles instead of just keeping things simple
I guess I'm just good at saying what people want to hear for the most part. Not that I'd ever lie... but I'm genuinely the hardest worker you'll ever meet and pretty good at what I do to boot. I'm also a pretty humble guy. So it's not a stretch to find the right words in talking about myself to prospective employers.

There isn't really "saying what people want to hear" as the interviewer. At least that's not an approach that would garner any results. So I just don't really know what to say. There's the obvious stuff... who are you, tell me about your past job experience, tell me about your schooling, etc. Beyond that? /shrug

EDIT: I've never done a phone interview but I feel like it'd be tough. I need to be able to read the person to calm myself down, I guess I'd have to lock in on their tone.
 
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vcv

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Speaking of interviews... am I the only one a little less comfortable as the interviewer than as a interviewee? I think I'm able to present myself better than I can present a company or a position.
No, interviewing kind of sucks.

EDIT: I'm really more of a smart behind-the-scenes work horse (software developer) than the power lunch managerial type.
You lookin' for a job? Data engineering in the cloud? ;)

I guess I'm just good at saying what people want to hear for the most part. Not that I'd ever lie... but I'm genuinely the hardest worker you'll ever meet and pretty good at what I do to boot. I'm also a pretty humble guy. So it's not a stretch to find the right words in talking about myself to prospective employers.
I feel like I'm at the point in my career that I'd do really well at an interview, as the interviewee. It's all about confidence and having seen enough shit.
 
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TehDoak

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more job talk!

yesterday i had a phone interview for a position that pays much (much) better than my last job, with more defined responsibilities and better benefits. i felt like i kind of bombed it when it was happening (got lost in my own head at the beginning when i was asked to 'tell them a little bit about myself'), but at the end of the interview the hr person told me they wanted to bring me in for an in-person, so i guess i didn't do as bad as i envisioned. i think when we got to talking more about the position itself my experience really showed through, perhaps enough to erase the half-babbling biography that i gave at the start. not trying to get too excited, but it feels nice to at least be considered for a good position in my field. a sign of good things to come, maybe

"being a good interviewee" is becoming less and less of a requirement (some jobs are exceptions, of course).

When I interview people for my team, I do not dock people for being nervous, stumbling over themselves. I just want to understand their thought process, experience, perspective...

I've bombed more than my share of interviews in the past. I've found what helps the most is:

Be in a position where you aren't desperate to leave your current role or the job. When the stakes are high for you personally it's easy to slip up and go on rants. I've killed some interviews dead in the tracks by letting myself do some cardinal mistakes like bashing my current employer.

Prepare a few anecdotes and stories to tell that paint you in a good light.

Speaking of interviews... am I the only one a little less comfortable as the interviewer than as a interviewee? I think I'm able to present myself better than I can present a company or a position.

I've only typically been on panel interviews as the interviewee. Typically while we are looking for skills red flags, it's usually about team fit and personality. I'd much rather take a person who is 75% there skill wise but is fun to hang out with than someone who is overqualified but I don't want to deal with.

No, interviewing kind of sucks.

You lookin' for a job? Data engineering in the cloud? ;)

I feel like I'm at the point in my career that I'd do really well at an interview, as the interviewee. It's all about confidence and having seen enough ****.

I'm somewhat here, though, there are a few areas i can get hung up on. As someone with a mostly Sysadmin/Operations background, coding tests still throw me for a loop.
 
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Jim Bob

RIP RJ
Feb 27, 2002
55,647
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Rochester, NY


I don't always talk to parents on the other team. But when I do, it's usually when something like this happens.

The Webster parents went nuts when my son pushed the kid away.

Me: When you slash a kid and he's hurt, you might just want to skate away....

Webster mom: Maybe he was seeing if he was OK....

Me: I know my son. He wouldn't have reacted like that if he was asking if he was OK.

Webster mom: <mocking tone> You know your kid...

So, I ask my son what the kid said before he pushed him away.

"He was saying that he wasn't hurt that bad and he should get up."

Yup, I know my kid.
 

TehDoak

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Speaking of Jobs, I'm at a bit of a crossroads. Thankfully it's a very strong job market for my role (DevOps/Systems Engineering with concentration in Linux), or this would be a moot point completely. Basically, relocating for my wife's job has put me in about an 1-1.5 hour drive from the employment hubs (Tampa and Orlando). Given I can work 100% remote currently, the logistics of finding a new job are a bit of a pain. All things being equal, I'd probably prefer to be on site 2-3 days a week with the balance being 100% remote. But, if given the choice of 5 days in an office or 5 days 100% remote, I'm going to choose 100% remote, especially at an hour+ commute.

On the flip side, I'm about 50/50 whether or not my role will continue at my current company past February. Given the holiday hiring freeze, barring one opportunity that is still moving, that gives me a pretty limited window after 1/1 if i wanted continuous employment. I'm actually strongly considering starting a remote consulting company. I know one former employer has already reached out about doing some side work for him. I think the goal would be less hours (going from the standard 40 hour work weeks to around to 20-30 a week) and more flexibility while still contributing.

The cost of child care has really blurred the lines of whether or not to continue working at all. Even though I make enough to support a family of 4 on our own, we've had to hire a full time nanny to watch the twins while I work. So the net of me working has been reduced considerably. Essentially, 2/3rd of my paycheck goes to childcare at this point. The math on a long commute makes it even worse. Essentially adding 3 hours a day of day care paid out at OT Nanny rates would turn it to nearly a breakeven consideration barring a job that pays MUCH better. It also precludes me from a heavy travel schedule.

So, there might be a sweet spot in terms of cost/benefit where if I could carve out 20+ flexible consulting hours a week combined with moving the nanny to part time I could make more, work "less" and spend more time with my kids.
 

vcv

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Mar 12, 2006
18,373
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Williamsville, NY
Speaking of Jobs, I'm at a bit of a crossroads. Thankfully it's a very strong job market for my role (DevOps/Systems Engineering with concentration in Linux), or this would be a moot point completely. Basically, relocating for my wife's job has put me in about an 1-1.5 hour drive from the employment hubs (Tampa and Orlando). Given I can work 100% remote currently, the logistics of finding a new job are a bit of a pain. All things being equal, I'd probably prefer to be on site 2-3 days a week with the balance being 100% remote. But, if given the choice of 5 days in an office or 5 days 100% remote, I'm going to choose 100% remote, especially at an hour+ commute.

On the flip side, I'm about 50/50 whether or not my role will continue at my current company past February. Given the holiday hiring freeze, barring one opportunity that is still moving, that gives me a pretty limited window after 1/1 if i wanted continuous employment. I'm actually strongly considering starting a remote consulting company. I know one former employer has already reached out about doing some side work for him. I think the goal would be less hours (going from the standard 40 hour work weeks to around to 20-30 a week) and more flexibility while still contributing.

The cost of child care has really blurred the lines of whether or not to continue working at all. Even though I make enough to support a family of 4 on our own, we've had to hire a full time nanny to watch the twins while I work. So the net of me working has been reduced considerably. Essentially, 2/3rd of my paycheck goes to childcare at this point. The math on a long commute makes it even worse. Essentially adding 3 hours a day of day care paid out at OT Nanny rates would turn it to nearly a breakeven consideration barring a job that pays MUCH better. It also precludes me from a heavy travel schedule.

So, there might be a sweet spot in terms of cost/benefit where if I could carve out 20+ flexible consulting hours a week combined with moving the nanny to part time I could make more, work "less" and spend more time with my kids.
How do you feel about Site/System Reliability Engineering? :naughty:
 

TehDoak

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How do you feel about Site/System Reliability Engineering? :naughty:

That's where I'm aiming for my next role and role +1. My coding isn't quite there, but I need practice and a bit more public cloud experience. If I do do the consulting role, I'll probably advertise myself as SRE and Public Cloud Migrations/setting up CI/CD.
 

brian_griffin

"Eric Cartman?"
May 10, 2007
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Speaking of this, I just got the options for healthcare plans for 2020 through my employer.

The good news is that management listened to the employee feedback and instead of just one option (a deductible plan), they are giving us three options for next year (two different tiers of deductible plans and an in-network co-pay plan).

The lower deductible plan is roughly the same out of pocket cost as what we have currently. It will take 2/3 of the savings of my car being paid off to go with the co-pay option. With my wife's new ADHD meds, that might be a good idea for us.

And it has been interesting to see things like bariatric surgery & gender reassignment surgery showing up on the list of things that can get covered.
Might as well do both if they'll cover it. You're too old to join the military to get those outcomes covered (the PT will get you the weight loss, and the gender re-assignment will be covered by the service branch), and too good a citizen to go to prison.

Speaking of Jobs, I'm at a bit of a crossroads. Thankfully it's a very strong job market for my role (DevOps/Systems Engineering with concentration in Linux), or this would be a moot point completely. Basically, relocating for my wife's job has put me in about an 1-1.5 hour drive from the employment hubs (Tampa and Orlando). Given I can work 100% remote currently, the logistics of finding a new job are a bit of a pain. All things being equal, I'd probably prefer to be on site 2-3 days a week with the balance being 100% remote. But, if given the choice of 5 days in an office or 5 days 100% remote, I'm going to choose 100% remote, especially at an hour+ commute.

On the flip side, I'm about 50/50 whether or not my role will continue at my current company past February. Given the holiday hiring freeze, barring one opportunity that is still moving, that gives me a pretty limited window after 1/1 if i wanted continuous employment. I'm actually strongly considering starting a remote consulting company. I know one former employer has already reached out about doing some side work for him. I think the goal would be less hours (going from the standard 40 hour work weeks to around to 20-30 a week) and more flexibility while still contributing.

The cost of child care has really blurred the lines of whether or not to continue working at all. Even though I make enough to support a family of 4 on our own, we've had to hire a full time nanny to watch the twins while I work. So the net of me working has been reduced considerably. Essentially, 2/3rd of my paycheck goes to childcare at this point. The math on a long commute makes it even worse. Essentially adding 3 hours a day of day care paid out at OT Nanny rates would turn it to nearly a breakeven consideration barring a job that pays MUCH better. It also precludes me from a heavy travel schedule.

So, there might be a sweet spot in terms of cost/benefit where if I could carve out 20+ flexible consulting hours a week combined with moving the nanny to part time I could make more, work "less" and spend more time with my kids.
Stay home, give consulting a shot.
Alternatively, negotiate with a company who can slow-boat a project by spreading the contract spend over a longer timeframe.
 

brian_griffin

"Eric Cartman?"
May 10, 2007
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As someone who has also traveled the world I disagree. I mean in Sweden mother's or father's can stay home with the baby for 1 1/2 years with 80% pay, and be guaranteed by the government that they will have their job when they get back. USA is overworked, has more mental health problems than any other country, and some of the worst health insurance programs in a 1st world country. All the while being the largest economy on the planet. The corrupt politicians and the 1% are controlling us like puppets. Europe in particular blows the USA away in many categories and is a reason 7 out of the 10 happiest countries in the world reside there. Just an example as the CEO of my company got a 10% raise this year over last and makes over 9 million per year while I get my 2% raise while being a top 1% performer in New York State.

How U.S. Employee Benefits Compare To Europe’s
Top 1% performers don't get 2% raises in well-run private (non-government) companies.
Either your company/division isn't doing well, or you make way above the pay range for your job role/grade already, or they're telling everyone at your location they are top 1% and stiffing everyone. I encourage you to learn more about your personal situation (your pay relative to their internal scales for your position / role, what market data they use for your job code, etc.). You deserve to know, and they should tell you.
 

valet

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I guess I'm just good at saying what people want to hear for the most part. Not that I'd ever lie... but I'm genuinely the hardest worker you'll ever meet and pretty good at what I do to boot. I'm also a pretty humble guy. So it's not a stretch to find the right words in talking about myself to prospective employers.

There isn't really "saying what people want to hear" as the interviewer. At least that's not an approach that would garner any results. So I just don't really know what to say. There's the obvious stuff... who are you, tell me about your past job experience, tell me about your schooling, etc. Beyond that? /shrug

EDIT: I've never done a phone interview but I feel like it'd be tough. I need to be able to read the person to calm myself down, I guess I'd have to lock in on their tone.
haha, i am exactly the opposite. i hate saying the things that people want to hear. it just seems gross to me. i get that it has its advantages in certain situations, and i will reluctantly do it, but i feel that it definitely comes across as inherently fake when i try just because i am so not into it.

i am also plain bad at self-promotion, probably for the same reasons. i prefer just having a chat and seeing if the people like me as a person. it's a good indicator of how i'd fit into the the company culture, etc. not that i lack confidence in my abilities, or anything. i'm not worried about my own performance. i'm just not good at pumping myself up to display that i actually can perform whatever duties might be assigned to me
 
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TehDoak

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Top 1% performers don't get 2% raises in well-run private (non-government) companies.
Either your company/division isn't doing well, or you make way above the pay range for your job role/grade already, or they're telling everyone at your location they are top 1% and stiffing everyone. I encourage you to learn more about your personal situation (your pay relative to their internal scales for your position / role, what market data they use for your job code, etc.). You deserve to know, and they should tell you.

It honestly depends on the company goals. My company was bought by a Private Equity company a few years back. After waiting 4 years with no raise despite good reviews every year, i finally got a raise. A whopping 3% raise. Less than 1% a year.

That is awful for them and talent retention. The problem is, it's actually planned "attrition" as when someone leaves, they are posting the job in either India or Mexico to save on costs. So they have little issue if I packed up and left.
 

Dreakon13

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Jun 28, 2010
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Mighty Taco, NY
haha, i am exactly the opposite. i hate saying the things that people want to hear. it just seems gross to me. i get that it has its advantages in certain situations, and i will reluctantly do it, but i feel that it definitely comes across as inherently fake when i try just because i am so not into it.

i am also plain bad at self-promotion, probably for the same reasons. i prefer just having a chat and seeing if the people like me as a person. it's a good indicator of how i'd fit into the the company culture, etc. not that i lack confidence in my abilities, or anything. i'm not worried about my own performance. i'm just not good at pumping myself up to display that i actually can perform whatever duties might be assigned to me
The funny thing is that the things I say (or the things I'm good at saying) probably sound fake... but it isn't. I'm just genuinely a bit of a cornball when it comes to work and in a professional setting. I try and not take work too seriously (with a few exceptions), but I do take my work seriously.
 
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cybresabre

prōject positivity
Feb 27, 2002
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Doak--hire the nanny to only watch one of the twins, boom! 50% savings off the top. The abandoned kid will figure things out by watching their sibling get cared for. Heck, switch kids each day so that the emotional scarring is, again, halved!
 
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