Job Searching: The Importance of Dressing Up

 

The Never-ending Job Search

Yesterday I had another interview. It was fairly last minute, and I rushed to the bathroom, showered, changed, dressed, did my make-up and hair.... It was online with no video camera. My boyfriend was perplexed. Why was I going to all this trouble, when the interviewer wasn't going to see me?? My answer - it makes me feel better, more confident in my responses. What if, mid-interview they had asked me to video chat? It all worked out - I am fairly certain I got the job!

It also worked out that I got another interview arranged just a short while later, that was a video interview - and I was ready.

There are several things you should do for a video interview already mentioned above:

1. Clean up: If you get ready like it is a face-to-face interview, your demeanor changes. Your attitude, your awareness of self; your confidence.
2. Dress-up: they may want to see you, even if you don't think it might go there. It gives you a confidence in the process that you do not gain otherwise. Plus, they may want to see how deal with the unexpected. Be ready for anything; right now!
3. Do your hair: nicely, for the same reasons listed above.
4. Put on perfume or cologne; you like it - it gives you confidence.

Your Resume - Update it!

No, I am not interesting in insurance sales or financial adviser positions, thank you!

Make sure it is visually balanced and flows well. I now check mine every time I apply - recently I had to download it, and their interface had rearranged everything! Check, check, and recheck before applying!

Resume Skills & Bullet Points

Make sure that your skill-set has the keywords used within the posted position in it! If the company uses OCR scanning software to screen email submissions - you definitely want yours to pass the scan and get looked at! One more point: if you are emailing directly to someone to review, have bullet points, and make it pretty! HOWEVER, if you are submitting via any of the job board sites save a version that is an .rtf file so you can tell the difference, and remove all of the bullet points. I have found that when it gets uploaded into most interfaces, the bullet points don't get translated well, and end up as very weird looking ASCII text. (see above photo for no bullet points)

Bullet Points

Only use bullet points if you are sending your resume directly to a person to review! I keep multiple formats on hand, all with the same content: .rtf, .pdf, .doc depending on how it will be sent over.

What is your favorite Job Board to use?

So many choices.... which Job Board gives you the best results? (I'll limit it to the big ones... and Other)

• Monster
• Indeed
• CareerBuilder
• Craigslist
• Word-of-Mouth / Friends
• Other - comment which one below!

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Lastly: Beware of Scammers!!

So I have had my first real scam attempted (that I let flow a little further forward-thinking the sheriff department could actually do something). In my determined attempt to gain decent employment, a career... I had a 'wait-a-minute, this sounds too good to be true' incident. Well, thank you to my southern-California raised cynicism, I am happy to report it failed. But what a time-waster! I felt it was a scam from the get-go, but allowed them to actually send me something. Which I took to the sheriff department.

Unfortunately, there is nothing the sheriff can do about it - apparently, they get hundreds of these reports per month. So I say to you - use Google, it is your friend. Google the name of the person in the text with the company name, like this: "John Doe" "Bhushan Steel*" in the Google search bar. Then go find the company website, and in my case, I contacted their HR department and asked about the employees by name - the HR department will give you a yes or no answer on whether someone works for them. I explained what was happening in my 'Interviewing Process' and the rep stated neither of the names provided worked there, and that "X company would NEVER send you a check, or ask you to pay for X." The scammer wanted me to buy some software to connect to the company VPN... maybe $50-$100 software? Nope - they sent me $3,450.00!

My favorite part was the Nigerian gentleman who called me from what sounded like a telemarketing room, stating he was the company attorney, and that they would be suing me for not sending their check back. I told them to get it back from the sheriff department after 30 days!

Be leary... I asked this latest attempt: ...before you continue, may I ask if you require any type of fees or check to cash? to move forward if I am selected?

No response. So I sent them Bhushan Steel's warning. Stay safe out there in your search, and good luck! I believe a good old phone interview, inviting you to a face-to-face is still your best chance of not being a scam victim. The company spokesperson for the phone interview may not be local, but the location you will be working from is - and someone should be able to have a sit-down with you!

__________________________________

*I am using Bhushan Steel, a real company as my example, as they are 'on to' the scam. On the company website, they have this warning in bright red at the bottom of their website: Job seekers Alert!
It has been brought to our notice that certain individuals are misleading job applicants by claiming themselves to be employees of Bhushan Steel Ltd or as authorized job agency of Bhushan Steel Ltd. They have been misguiding the candidates to deposit a certain amount of money in lieu of providing employment or as a deposit towards travel for the final interview round, etc.
Bhushan Steel Ltd does not take any such fees/facilitation charges in lieu of employment.
Anyone dealing with such an agency/employment portal/individual will be doing so at his/her own risk and the Company will not be held responsible for such loss or damage suffered directly or indirectly.

Scammer Check

I cropped off the Routing number, as it really was their account at the company. Basically - the scammers want you to cash the check and purchase stuff, and send them the receipts. Then you're liable to repay the bank when it comes back as a fake. | Source

Prolong Your Roof Life! Repair It Yourself!

 

Fix that leaky chimney or flashing!

As having spent a few hours on my roof today to remedy an issue with our chimney I have to share that in a previous life, I worked as a roof inspector for quality assurance. We were a third-party entity that provided an RFP to roofing contractors, then enforced the SOW onsite. The end-user hired our company to represent them in all roofing matters, so for the purposes here, we were the end-user customer.

The way a roofing system works is there are several layers in this case for a ply system and aggregate roofing material on top. We provided what the system would be, the materials it was to be made of, and ensured that it was installed per our specs - which in some instances exceeded the manufacturer's specifications.

The underlayment goes down, then the roofing system on top of that, then the metal flashings, and if you're lucky - it includes the finishing roof cement, granules, and silver paint.

Repaired Chimney Flashing

Finished Chimney Flashing Repair

Fixing Flashings

On top of the roofing system, when you set metal flashings at every roof system penetration, you need to ensure that the water barrier is still intact. Unfortunately, in a residential setting, most roofing contractors do not finish the flashings in the manner in which we do in a commercial setting. What normally happens in a commercial setting is that the contractor sets the new metal flashing down on top of the roof system using tar and/or mastic (roof cement), complete with granules embedded and silver paint.

So today, I was informed I needed to get up there and fix it... since we are expecting rain. So I go up, and it is readily apparent where we needed some help at the chimney. So here is how you do it:

Supplies:

• Brush
• Broom
• Rags
• Nitrile gloves (more than a pair - this stuff gets messy, mastic is toxic)
• 2" putty knife/spatula
• Mastic - if you are expecting rain the same day or so get the 'wet' version.
• Webbing of some sort: the mesh used for drywall repair or fiberglass, or similar
• Granules: absorb, kitty litter, or similar
• Silver Paint; reflective roof paint preferred

Supplies

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Mastic - standard

How to do it:

1. Clean the debris from the area with a brush or whatever tools necessary.
2. Using a 2" putty knife or similar, spread the mastic along the area to be repaired. about the width of the putty knife, making sure there is a proper seal; no holes above the membrane.
3. Add the granules onto the mastic once completed, patting them into the mastic - not just sitting on top.
4. Paint the whole line of mastic/granules silver.
5. Do this at every area for repair, remembering that water flows downhill, including around all of the flashings*.
6. Check the flashings welded areas and rims, sealing any area that has come apart. Notate that you need new flashings, replace at next roof repair opportunity.

This should get you through the worst of it! Let me know how it goes!

Photo Gallery

Click thumbnail to view full-size

Finished Chimney Flashing Repair

Me up on the roof.....

How did it go?

How much roofing experience do you have? How was this for you?

• A lot, this was a piece of cake.
• A bit, I didn't find this intimidating at all.
• A little, I was slightly intimidated - and afraid of heights to boot!
• None, I was terrified. But I did it, ladder and all!
• None, and still none. I got to the part where I called the roofer and had them come fix it temporarily!

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