Month: November 2014

That’s right, I am getting burned by job searching.

 

It’s not really a surprise to me, given that companies in general are (usually) filled with executives just trying to get a good ROI (Return on Investment) so they can feed themselves and others (or so their butler can feed them).

 

I’m gonna go into detail now on exactly HOW I’m getting burned.

 

My first job attempt was at Agile Learning Labs where I was a kit assembler.  I just had to pack kits with all sorts of things, in the same order, in the same location within the kit, and forever and ever until the job ended.

Then came a week where Agile had a huge order of kits, and we needed to step up the game.

I turned into a chicken and flew the coop.  Yep.  I quit.  And it was totally, literally, because I didn’t think I could keep up.  I’m torn on this one:  Between whether I should’ve stayed and gotten experience, or whether I should be proud that I wasn’t a full-fledged kit assembler.  I am a creative person at heart.  Kit assembler has nothing to do with that.

I label this (in hindsight) as “getting burned” because well, I was obviously having spurts of creativity before the job.  And getting my talents labeled as “assembling kits” was just insulting to my creativity.

 

The next one was a lot better suited to me.  It was as a video editor…at a skin-care products company.

I am not well-versed in the skin-care department, which probably led to what happened.

I was happily putting together what was a pretty good video, utilizing a 3D plugin I downloaded for Sony Vegas.  Then they changed things, saying that I should actually present the products in THIS order instead of THAT order, and these other two products should be presented like THIS (I think…it was something like that).  Then I got angry.  I called them out on it, suggesting maybe they should call the head of their company for more information.  I am not proud of this, and I now know exactly what happened here.

 

See, most companies are built inside a “need-to-know basis” culture.  Each employee, no matter what job they are in, is only told what they need to know.  A video editor is only given his assets and told in what order to do things in.  A sales guy is only told about the products and what they do, and told to make the products sound awesome.  A hardware guy is only given product parts and told to put them together according to a diagram.  They are not told about what goes on internally or what other employees are doing.

 

I was only told what the products were and told to make a video out of them.  Then, internally, the company apparently had a meeting, and decided that the way they presented their products was not the best way.  So they changed it.

But, being in the need-to-know culture, I was not told of the meeting, I was only told of the result, which contradicted what they told me earlier.  Contradictions like that, from a place of authority, get under my skin.  So yeah, that was a thing.  Needless to say, they fired me.

 

The next job…opportunity…was Colfax International.  Why did I call it an opportunity instead of an attempt?  Because…and I’m still confused on how this happened…It DIED.  That’s it.  No warning, no information, not a single email from an employee saying I’m not right for the job, just silence, and then my agent gave up.  Yes, I have a job agent.  I’ll get to that later.

 

The next…opportunity…was Iron Systems.  Er…Iron Networks.  Actually maybe it was technically both.  I have no idea.

 

I actually think I spooked the company on this one.  I was…somewhat nervously and clumsily because I didn’t understand what I was doing and I had THREE USABLE ASSETS TOTAL…making a video.  And then someone pointed out that the colors that I was using for the video were supposed to match exactly the colors on the company’s logo.  I kinda figured that would happen…then, on a hunch, I checked the logo colors against another image sent by the company that had the same colors…except they weren’t the same color.  The color was very slightly off by a couple of RGBs.  And yes, that’s what you’re supposed to do.  It rules out just eyeballing it.  So I was sent into a panic, and told my agent to ask the company a few questions about why the colors didn’t match, and a few other things I didn’t understand.

 

They went silent.

 

Yup.  I never heard from them again.  My agent even resent the questions…but to no avail.

 

I just gotta say:  Colfax International and Iron Systems are HILARIOUS to me.  Think about it:  Places of authority where you are supposed to earn money to feed yourself and others…just drying up like that.

 

I’m not trying to insult either company, but…when working for Iron Systems, I actually spooked them.  That is just great.

 

Okay, I’m done.  Now to talk about my agent.

 

The agency itself is called Gatepath, and it helps disabled people (apparently autism disables me…I don’t get that) find jobs.

 

I’m not quite sure what to make of it.  So far in my quest to find a job…nothing stuck.

 

Our hero has battled through companies that didn’t fit him, climbed the highest peaks and slid down smashing into rocks, and beat one foe into the ground that could have been useful if our hero didn’t try to be our hero…and…

 

What was I talking about?  Winning?  Scaring companies away?  What?  Oh, right, my agent.

 

You might think that my agent isn’t helping.  Yeah, well, I could totally just open a newspaper and go to the Jobs section and try to find one that way.  But considering what I was able to find through an agent, I hate to think of what I’ll be able to find by myself.

 

That said, I have something on the back burner that might help.  Key word for however long: MIGHT.

 

That thing is a possible job at Apple.

 

“Wait what??”  I hear you ask.  “Apple is a HUGE company that demands EXTREME precision at EVERYTHING.”

 

Yeah.  And your point?  I haven’t been successful at anything prior.  You suddenly want me to think logically?  Let me point you back to the Iron Systems incident.

 

Also:  I love Apple.  And I still love it, even if people are screaming bloody murder at every move it makes.  And I found 300 entry-level jobs in the Bay Area.  At Apple.

 

But I’m scared.

I have read accounts of former employees getting really annoyed at the culture that Apple made.  I am not surprised.  Steve Jobs made it so every employee scrutinized everything they do to the Nth degree just so they could make products that everyone loves.  I am not looking forward to Apple if that’s all it is.  Remember how I wimped out at Agile Learning Labs?  Yeah, that.

 

So I literally have no clue where to go from here.  Really…I have NOTHING.