October 2011
4 posts
I hate this article →
I have mixed feelings about even posting this, since I really don’t want to promote this horrible article, but here are some excerpts:
“What a [job candidate] likes to do outside of work might show how they are in their job,” she says. “As a hiring manager, what you don’t like to hear is, ‘I just like to sit around at home and read books all...
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College Grads Gain on M.B.A.s →
Yeah, big surprise here. I saw this one coming a few years ago.
Back in 2007/2008, I applied for those summer associate positions at various banks. It was for the summer of 2008, which is just when the recession really hit, so you can guess how that went. I was contacted by one bank, BNP Paribas, via email to complete some sort of online “psychological screening.”
I never heard from...
I'm back
Hey everyone,
I gave up on this blog for a while, since I was trying to focus on my new grad program, but I do have a few complaints to share… so here I am!
Recently, I came across a site called “occupy occupy wall street.” This group is apparently united under the premise of “the 1% strikes back.” Yes, because, clearly, they really need to strike back against...
June 2011
10 posts
Yes, I'm living up to my blog title, as...
As per my previous post (here), I was recently rejected from a position that I wasn’t sure I wanted anyway. I wish I could give the details, but I’m paranoid that someone who knows me will find this blog and identify me:( However, my freelance assignment recently ended, so I’m back to hanging out at home, applying for jobs, and looking for free/cheap things to do. Since I’m...
2 tags
“In life you have to do a lot of things you don’t fucking want to do. Many times,...”
– Al Swearengen, Deadwood (via everythingtv)
You know what sucks?
Being rejected for a job you didn’t even really want! For some reason, it’s more insulting than being rejected from something you actually wanted.
Has anyone else had this experience?
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Priorities
(in keeping with my promise to post a bunch of old stuff, this was something that actually happened in December 2010)
Today my only plan was to go to the liquor store, to pick up a bottle of Bailey’s that I had promised to bring to a holiday party at a friend’s place. When you have only one errand to run, somehow your whole day revolves around that. So today was liquor store day, and...
2 tags
“Not a writer!”
– The guys to Peggy, after she turns down a second drink during a work meeting.
(Mad Men)
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“Now, I didn’t actually know any commercial bankers, but a commercial banker was...”
– Michael Lewis, Liar’s Poker
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Things to do this summer
Since my job/project is ending soon, I need to find something else to do for a few months until grad school starts in the fall. (Funny, I always thought that the one thing I would NEVER turn out to be is one of those career students. I guess you really can’t predict anything.)
Naturally, I’m searching for some sort of summer job/part-time job I could keep during the fall semester....
Reblog if you're willing to answer anything that...
2 tags
Update
So, since a few people have asked, here’s some info about what I’ve been doing lately…
I’ve been working at a short-term, part-time job, which is probably ending in a few weeks. Unfortunately, I’m actually hoping that it ends soon, since (like some of my previous jobs), the reality of the position was not at all what the hiring manager told me it would be. I keep...
Having Needles Stuck Under Your Fingernails Should... →
badjobinterviews:
The job interview process can be quite taxing to the applicant’s mind, body and wallet, but at no point should it involve being tied up, flogged and tortured… right?
Authorities in suburban New York have arrested a man who did the above-mentioned things, and more, to men who thought they were applying for high security gigs in the intelligence-gathering industry.
The jobs...
May 2011
10 posts
1 tag
Since I am (probably unreasonably) paranoid that my boss checks my Internet browsing history, I do most of my stupid web surfing/slacking off on my phone instead of my work computer. That will probably backfire though, I bet he thinks I’m texting instead. Today I spent my morning squinting at Thought Catalog on my phone, while trying to look serious and not laugh out loud. I’m sure...
3 tags
“It’s a job I fell into because I wasn’t strong, and grew to tolerate because I...”
– (Ryan Bingham)
Walter Kirn, Up in The Air
It came to my attention yesterday that my accountant had made an error on my taxes. He did not count me as my parents’ dependent, nor did he count me as my own dependent. Which leads me to conclude something I had always suspected…
I don’t actually exist.
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“Realize, as the long hot days freakishly repeat themselves, one after the other,...”
– Helen Fielding, Bridget Jones’ Diary
(In honor of my totally boring Memorial Day weekend…I always feel like I should do something more fun for a holiday weekend, but I never do.)
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A Generation of Slackers? Not So Much →
It’s worth remembering that to some extent, these accusations of laziness and narcissism in “kids these days” are nothing new — they’ve been levied against Generation X, Baby Boomers and many generations before them. Even Aristotle and Plato were said to have expressed similar feelings about the slacker youth of their times.
I usually don’t like anything that generalizes about a...
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Why Graduate School is Like Crack
Because one day, a long time ago, you were really bored and thought that it might be fun to try. Years went by, and though you knew deep down that it wasn’t really improving your life, you kept doing it anyway. It wasn’t fun, and it wasn’t going to help you become a self-sufficient adult (whatever that is), but it was all you had. Then you woke up and found yourself broke, friendless, and barely...
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Recession
Companies that thrive in a recession:
KMart/Wal-Mart/etc.
TJ Maxx, Marshalls, etc. (btw, I loved TJ Maxx long before the recession. As far as I’m concerned, their expansion is the best thing that came out of this crappy economy!)
The Dollar Store
McDonald’s
The makers of Ramen noodles and other cheap food
The makers of Ambien (who can sleep anymore?)
Any others?
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The google searches of an unemployed person
(not a scientific study, just for your entertainment) top jobs 2011 career change graduate schools US how to make a career change unemployment benefits eligibility for unemployment benefits why aren’t i eligible for unemployment file for bankruptcy personal bankruptcy are student loans discharged in bankruptcy (I’ll save you the time - no, they usually aren’t) student loan undue...
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No free lunch
Don’t you just hate it when someone at work tells you, “oh, on Monday we’re all going to have lunch [paid for by the company] in the office to celebrate someone’s birthday…” and Monday rolls around, and it’s never mentioned, and everyone goes out to buy their own lunch as usual, and you feel stupid for believing them?
Yeah, I hate that too.
(The worst...
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““You only took 2 puffs of your last one.”
“That’s cause I don’t really smoke....”
– Buddy and Abby, Bounce
April 2011
23 posts
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“Why shouldn’t I work for the N.S.A.? That’s a tough one, but I’ll take a shot....”
– Will Hunting, Good Will Hunting
Unpaid jobs: The new normal? →
yeah “pay off” for the company! Just another way for companies to make more money while not paying their workers (interns are people too; if someone goes to a workplace and does work, they are a worker!).
I love the part where the business owners complain about how they had unpaid interns who were unreliable due to having to balance other paying work. Umm, how the hell do you expect...
“Last month more than 14 million Americans were unemployed by the official...”
– The lede graf from Paul Krugman’s column today, and he could have painted an even harsher picture. He doesn’t even talk about how many of the jobs that people are stuck in fail to pay true living wages. The column is recommended reading: The Intimidated Fed - NYTimes.com (via tartantambourine)
gizmosandnoodles asked: When did you graduate with your MBA? I graduated in 2005 with my degree and have been looking for stability ever since. Have you considered teaching? It's okay if you rage over that question. I know people ask me that and quite frankly I feel like bitch slapping them. Not sure why having a Masters in anything equals teaching.
3 tags
““I think I always meant to be a nurse but I veered a few degrees. Like you said...”
– (Ryan Bingham and Linda)
Walter Kirn, Up in The Air
aplacefornegativity asked: Hihi! I'm completely considering your post about regrets and taking it to heart, but what if it's just these couple of years that people regret their grad degrees with this job market and all? What if in a few years you'll be glad you have an MBA?
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“Ortolani: Hey, let me give you a slice of advice. Get yourself a weapon. Anyone...”
– Oz
(btw, this is also good advice if you ever get a corporate job. not the weapon part, the smiling part. don’t do it.)
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Lumpy Pudding-Rantings of an unemployed Lump: It... →
i have some additional rules i’d like to add, such as:
once someone has interviewed (whether on the phone or in person) for a job, they are a candidate. The hiring company MUST reply to the candidate when the person tries to follow up regarding the position. Even just to say “thanks for coming in, but we hired someone else.” At this point, I’ve stopped caring about...
1 tag
Yet another crappy job fair →
I wonder if anyone has ever actually gotten a job this way? I did once get a part-time job from a job fair in college, but that was… 10 years ago. And it’s not really the same thing as a full-time job that you can keep long term. Anyone have luck with job fairs?
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“I have never seen men on Wall Street in such agreement on an issue as they were...”
– Michael Lewis, Liar’s Poker
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Grad school
It sounds horrible, but I’ve realized that everyone I know who attended graduate school (for any degree) hated it and frequently tries to discourage other people from following in their footsteps. I know that some of my followers are considering business school - good luck and I hope it works out better for you than it did for me (I mean that sincerely) - but I have to admit that if I could...
3 tags
“Pain or damage don’t end the world. Or despair or fucking beatings. The world...”
– Al Swearengen, Deadwood
“You can choose your friends, you can avoid your family, but there is no escaping...”
– (via hateyourjob)
2 tags
Yet another phone interview
I’m so disgusted with interviews and interviewers that I can barely stand to be civil to them anymore. I just had a phone interview with some horrible perky girl whose first question to me was “tell me something about yourself that’s not on your resume.” I guess I was supposed to talk about my hobbies or something, but I hate that sort of thing so much that I actually just...
“What the hell do you want to work for somebody else for? Work for yourself!”
– Irving Berlin’s advice to young songwriter George Gershwin (via hateyourjob)
3 tags
“I profess to being a little sketchy about my Wizard of Oz, and Morton digresses...”
– Barbara Ehrenreich, Bait and Switch
(this quote refers to a meeting with a career counselor of some kind who apparently uses dolls in his “treatment.” It’s from a nonfiction book.)
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“Lady, people aren’t chocolates. Do you know what they are mostly? Bastards....”
– Dr. Cox, Scrubs
3 tags
“We were rock climbing in Bryce Canyon. It’s a program. Wilderness...”
– (Ryan and Julie Bingham)
Walter Kirn, Up in The Air
1 tag
Tumblr Tuesday
If you like my blog, please recommend me here.
Thanks!!
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More excepts from job ads
I’ve done these posts before, but I can’t help myself from doing another one - there are just so many crazy ads out there! Here are a few choice excerpts:
Must be as passionate about emptying the dishwasher in the company kitchen as planning fabulous dinners at hot new restaurants for our team. This personal will be an integral part of our firm with unlimited growth potential.
Um,...
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New York Times article (Job Fair) →
I found an article in the Times about a midtown job fair that sounded very similar to the one I (almost) went to. Looks like I didn’t miss much.
teachmehowtobeckie asked: Hi! thanks for following me, I'm new to tumblr and I think it's awesome that you're writing about the realities of post grad life.
Anyway, I was wondering, would you ever consider looking overseas for a job? I've never really been away from NYC but I'm highly considering it myself.
Anyway, I was wondering, would you ever consider looking overseas for a job? I've never really been away from NYC but I'm highly considering it myself.
“A lot of fellows nowadays have a B.A., M.D., or Ph.D. Unfortunately, they don’t...”
– Fats Domino (via jessekquotebook)
March 2011
11 posts
3 tags
“Was that your boss?” says Julie.
“That’s never been clear. We use the new,...”
– (Ryan Bingham) Walter Kirn, Up in The Air
study: no job >= bad job →
despite all of my complaining about unemployment, i agree with this! some of my previous jobs were definitely worse than being unemployed.
theersatzvegetarian:
Interesting. Of course it’s only one study, but I’ve seen this anecdotally a number of times with friends.
Maybe unemployment isn’t so bad after all. A new study says that, income notwithstanding, having a demanding, unstable and...
2 tags
Job Fair
Note: this article refers to a job fair that took place in the fall of 2008
Part 1
Although my expectations are low, I decide to check out a job fair. It’s a hotel on 32nd St., right by Herald Square. As I get ready, I anticipate walking up to the front desk to ask where the job fair is. Twenty minutes later, I’m walking down Broadway toward 32nd St., where the hotel entrance is. Seeing a line...