Open Options
For the first time in 5 years I have options. It's been a long time coming, and it's not like I've been sitting 'round waiting for stuff to magically happen.
I had both a telephone interview with a local major university for a sysadmin position, and an in-person interview with a well-known storage company. I sat on the side of the road, with the tractor trailors blasting by like the intro to Star Trek. I'll bet it sounded pretty strange over the phone. The man was nice, and we chatted about form and function. I really held myself back from begging for the position, though I did cut $20k off my salary -- I want in there.
The in-person interview was fine, except for the HRC -- apparently she simply tosses all resumes into the can, including mine, and mine from other recruiters. It actually took a Silicon Valley recruiter establishing a relationship with the boss of the hiring manager to get them to look at me -- bypassing the HRC.
In my initial 5 minutes of meeting with her, I had said something to the effect of how hard it must be to find competent technical people in Pittsburgh. Her snotty reply was that she disagreed with my statement, and they had over 100 competent engineers currently working there. Go figure, this req has been open for a while, and I'm sure I have even applied for it before.
Talking to my recruiter afterwards, the deal is between the recruiter and the hiring manager -- and HR is out of the picture. The HRC must have asserted herself in the hiring process just to feel important, and justify her otherwise useless function. My recruiter agreed with me, but didn't offer any additional information. The confirmation was enough.
Of course, later that day, I had found out that they had interviewed the third candidate (me being number two), and instantly determined that the gig is mine. Go figure -- when HR is out of the picture, I secure contracts no problem. When an HRC is involved, I never ever hear from that company again. Ever.
So now my task is to juggle the contracts, and ensure that I have continued employment. I'd prefer to leave my current agency without a sour taste. My preference is for the university, but the money is up north.
I had both a telephone interview with a local major university for a sysadmin position, and an in-person interview with a well-known storage company. I sat on the side of the road, with the tractor trailors blasting by like the intro to Star Trek. I'll bet it sounded pretty strange over the phone. The man was nice, and we chatted about form and function. I really held myself back from begging for the position, though I did cut $20k off my salary -- I want in there.
The in-person interview was fine, except for the HRC -- apparently she simply tosses all resumes into the can, including mine, and mine from other recruiters. It actually took a Silicon Valley recruiter establishing a relationship with the boss of the hiring manager to get them to look at me -- bypassing the HRC.
In my initial 5 minutes of meeting with her, I had said something to the effect of how hard it must be to find competent technical people in Pittsburgh. Her snotty reply was that she disagreed with my statement, and they had over 100 competent engineers currently working there. Go figure, this req has been open for a while, and I'm sure I have even applied for it before.
Talking to my recruiter afterwards, the deal is between the recruiter and the hiring manager -- and HR is out of the picture. The HRC must have asserted herself in the hiring process just to feel important, and justify her otherwise useless function. My recruiter agreed with me, but didn't offer any additional information. The confirmation was enough.
Of course, later that day, I had found out that they had interviewed the third candidate (me being number two), and instantly determined that the gig is mine. Go figure -- when HR is out of the picture, I secure contracts no problem. When an HRC is involved, I never ever hear from that company again. Ever.
So now my task is to juggle the contracts, and ensure that I have continued employment. I'd prefer to leave my current agency without a sour taste. My preference is for the university, but the money is up north.