Journal heliocentric's Journal: An odd phone call - "What are your skills?" 9
So, I get this phone call. They ask for "Charles." A tip that usually means they are a telemarketer as I never put the name "Charles" on anything but checks, credit cards, and other formal documents. I sign all of my emails as "Charlie." Charles was my Grandfather, and even he didn't go by that name*. Another tip was that they had this unidentifiable accent, had poor grasp of English, and they talked really quietly, almost like they were ashamed to be on the phone.
Fortunately, I didn't reach my point of hanging up on them before he said he was calling about a resume I submitted. Unfortunately, I had forgotten the name of the company since that was so early in his song and dance routine. Oh, and did I mention I've been dead sick since Thursday and my mind has been not with it and on drugs? Yeah, what a perfect state of mind to be to reach a perfect 2 hours of sleep in the past 24 hours. But I guess I put "Charles" on some versions of my resume. Silly me.
Ok, my mind goes into "Shoot, I have a terrible cough and this guy wants to do a phone interview, lets try to work our way out of this without seeming like I'm not interested" mode. He says, "Yes, I have your resume, but you don't list your skills. What are your skills?"
Now, I have a two page, filled from edge to edge resume. I list education first since grad school is sorta prestigious. This includes conferences I've spoken at. The second page is just job experience. "At company X for this amount of time I was this title at the end and these were my responsibilities." I figure listing that I was a Sun Solaris Administrator implies I can do most Solaris tasks, but I highlight some things where I had added responsibility. Such as: Patch Management Coordinator. You get the picture?
Me: "Ummm my skills. This could take a while. Let me start by telling you I'm standing in front of nearly 10 computers running in my apartment because I like to learn and play with the heterogeneity of computing."
Him: "Umm uhhh, did you say 10? Wow, what do you do with all of that?"
Me: "I'm the kind of guy that reads about every new technology out there, but I wouldn't be content with making business decisions about them unless I can play with them - try to break them, see how to fix them. I have file servers, print servers; Linux, Windows, and Solaris machines as well as different client types."
Him: "Ok, so what would be a list of your skill sets."
I begin to envision a page itemizing my skills, like some textual form to summarize my entire life.
I mean how can I even begin to write about all of my skills. Should I include MSDOS days stuff like print shop, Lotus, and WordStar? How about all of the dot matrix printers I have owned or serviced, or that I can juggle? How about my X10 equipped apartment, or that I do a good impersonation of Blue from Blue's Clues? What about my knowing how to play dreidel, or that I know what the HP stands for in Capsaicin-HP? Should I list how my grandfather taught me WWII-Special-Forces-style techniques for silent kills and ways to booby-trap a toilet? "Skills" is a pretty broad category.
I said, "Well, when were you planning on taking lunch, this could take a while." He laughed. I think things go well when I can talk to people on a more personal level.
Sure enough, it took 20+ minutes just to talk about what I know about wireless security... mostly slow due to his constant interruption to ask, "Wow, how do you spell that?"
Yep, my talking about SSID, WEP, and LEAP prompted him to ask me how to spell those things. I was mostly amazed I didn't cough up a lung, and he was apparently amazed that there are people on this Earth who know more about computers than he does. (From his reaction this was a good thing, he didn't strike me as the "Don't hire anyone that could ever take over my job" mentality - I've encountered those before)
So, needless to say I was able to bold him over with the beginning of my skills list, and he asked that we setup and interview. I told him that I'm really sick and that maybe we should touch base later in the week to firm up a time for maybe Thursday or Friday. He agreed and gave me his telephone number.
He then proceeded to give me "directions" (and I use the term loosely). Him: "You live in Middletown, where is that?"
Me: "Well, it is just south of Harrisburg."
Him: "How would you be coming to Reading?"
Me: "222"
H: "222? Oh, from Lebanon."
M: "No, 222 is more like from Lancaster, 422 is from Lebanon."
H: "Oh, Lancaster Avangew" (I loved that accent) "Well, from there go under that bridge and take that road that like goes around the town up to that other road, not the one with all the U thing, the one after the one after that."
M: "Uh uh."
H: "Then get off at 5th Street."
M: "Oh, you mean the West Shore bypass to the Warren Street bypass now called route 12?"
H: "Yeah, I guess."
The conversation continued in just that well of him talking in vague generalities and me knowing the actual street names.
He then asked me how I pronounce my last name. This was the first time anyone has ever asked me that in my entire life. I have been asked how to spell it when I call in to cancel cable or to complain about my ISP, but never the pronunciation.
Me: "Zim-er-man" (I then feel like three frogs... Bud-Weis-Er)
H: "Oh, you use the German pronunciation. I lived in Germany for quite a while, but I am from West Africa. You don't hear many people still using the German pronunciation. I know some Himmelbergers and they don't keep it right."
I didn't want to get into it, but unless I'm wrong, Zimmerman goes a lot more like Shimmerman (think DS9 cast member) in Germany and how can one say Himmelberger any other way?
I then dig through my piles of notes about jobs I've mailed/emailed/faxed resumes to and I finally find this place. (I did a reverse lookup on his phone number for the correct address and name). I emailed my resume on 11/23/03. That's right, nearly two months to get to me. And this guy is talking like they want to hire someone ASAP because he is swamped. Huh?
However, this place was listed as the #1 company in PA in like 1993 and supposedly is one of the top 500 growing companies in the US, and they make really cool 3D training products for the military. Hey, stuff that simulates things that make big booms is always a fun job in my book.
I'm still holding out to hear from Company "RA" that I interviewed with twice last week. They said they would make a decision within a week and would let me know. I have an "in" with that place as my next-door neighbor (not the stinky one) works in the department that is doing the hiring. Thus I was able to fire on all cylinders to promote my good parts that are most appropriate for this job. Unlike Captain-What-Are=Your-Skills where I have no idea what area of my skill set to promote.
So, what are you skills? Ready.... Go!
* - His nickname was Oz, as was the style of the time {/end Abe Simpson}
Been there... (Score:3, Insightful)
As for what my skills are, when I was at University, I was looking for some temporary work to suppliment the meagre funds on which I was existing at the time. So I walked into a recruitment agency, only to be asked which word processors I could use. I said "all of them". "But what about Word Perfect?" came the reply, that being the prevalent package at the time. So I ended up listing all of the word processors that I'd used. The guy couldn't grasp the concept that one word processor was much like any other, and unless it was explicitly listed, then I obviously didn't know how to use it. Sigh.
Re:Been there... (Score:1)
This guy I was talking to I beleive was the MIS director for this company, not just a regular recruiter. I would hope he would figure out that one who admins a solaris box knows all of the things you listed, and more. (Every item you listed sparked the idea in my head
So, what are you skills? Ready.... Go! (Score:2)
uhm... i'm really good at the annoying nitpick!
"bold him over" should be "bowled him over".
http://www.bartleby.com/61/84/B0428400.html [bartleby.com]
look down by "phrasal verbs".
ooo - 3d for military! (Score:1)
It was like a wet dream job and I really wanted it, but didn't get it. Just as well since the pay was surprisingly bad.
My skills now seem to mostly involving pooping.
I am just amazed... (Score:2)
3-D for the military...sounds kind of cool. I wonder what they make, our company is always looking for 3-D stuff to show our software on.
Zim-er-man (Score:2)
As for "Himmelberger", that would indeed sound a little different in German -- Germans pronounce vowels somewhat differently (more in the mouth than in the throat or belly) and they don't have the "schwa" sound much; the "r" is also different in German (more guttural or trilled, depending on the accent -- sometimes it's so guttural it's like th
my skills (Score:1)
This is your official reminder to make a JE about that sometime
Re:my skills (Score:1)
Re:my skills (Score:1)
If I wanted you to do it now I would say something like... "Do it now or I shall send Aayush over to teabag you into submission!"