Up With the Roosters

_IGP9714_Buff_orpington_crow_lr, originally uploaded by John Churchman/Brickhouse Studios.

Every night I tell myself I'm getting up at 5 so I can get an early start to the day. Every morning when the alarm goes off, my five o'clock brain involuntarily hits snooze. Every day I regret it. Once I'm up, I'm fine and not tired at all. Curse you, Morning Brain!

I'm not required to get to work before 8:30 and don't get paid overtime (I'm legally exempt), but my day is so much less stressful when I get in early and have everything organized before the phones start ringing and my email inbox starts filling up that it's very much worth it. I can't make up for it by staying late because then I'm tired and make dumb mistakes that I have to spend the next morning correcting. Besides, there are better ways I can spend my evenings.

I can't sleep with the blinds open because of the floodlights outside. Does putting your alarm clock across the room work? What about putting timers on lamps?

New Job Update

Stolt Tank Container, originally uploaded by fleandca.

Everything is going well, but I'm exhausted. I have to be at work by 8:30. If I leave at 7, I'll be 10 to 15 minutes late. If I leave at 6:30, I'll be 30 minutes to an hour early. Better early than late, so 6:30 it is...I can always stop for breakfast if there's nothing to do at work.

I have picked out a beautiful new apartment near my new job. It will cost me $1800 to buy out of my current lease, but with gas prices going up that may be a bargain.

I'm probably not going to blog too much about my job. I will tell you guys that I'm working in the export industry again. I have 13 years experience with a containership company, on the carrier side. Now I'm learning about the NVOCC side of the business, working for a tankcontainer company. What is an NVOCC? This blog explains it pretty well: http://shippinginsouthafrica.wordpress.com/2010/01/06/who-is-an-nvocc-operator-and-difference-between-a-freight-forwarder-and-nvocc/.

The pic is of a tankcontainer, but it's not one of ours. (I'm not sure if I want to name my employer, in case I've got any stalkers out there. ) They are not the tanker trucks you see carrying fuel to the gas stations, but 20' seaworthy tanks boxed in a frame so they can be loaded onto containerships..

I'm loving being back in the industry, but don't have much time to do anything else right now. I wish I could visit all of your blogs. I miss you guys.  I do have a travel post to write, and more weekend trips planned. Maybe this will have to become a travel blog - updated weekly - until I move. 

Back to Work

Today was my first day at my new job.  I received an offer for the full salary I was asking.  Woohoo!  I'm driving an hour and a half each way for now.  Yes, my dear readers, I am still in Houston after an hour and a half of driving.  We're roughly the size of the state of Rhode Island.  Then there's Houston's habit of annexing adjacent communities...whether they like it or not...all around NASA is Webster, Seabrook, Nassau Bay...but NASA is in Houston...it's confusing for me and I live here...I wonder what visitors think...  

(Texans measure distance in hours and minutes, by the way.  I'm 5 minutes from the grocery store, 30 minutes from downtown, an hour and a half from work, and 2 hours from the beach.  San Antonio is 3 hours away, El Paso 10 hours, and California 2 days.)  

My new job is near NASA, in the Clear Lake area.  The plan is to move to Clear Lake in a few months, after my daughter graduates.  I've already priced a few apartments, and I should be able to find something for much less than I'm paying now.  I'll miss living in The Woodlands, but it is a little on the expensive side.      

I'm so excited!  I'm also exhausted.  I feel like I'm rambling and babbling.  I'll get used to my new schedule and post something a little more coherent soon.    

Expand Search to the Big D?

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I blew it.  I should have just said ok, gotten up at 5 a.m., and driven to Dallas.

I've been filling out job applications and posting resumes online.  I got a phone call today!  They wanted to know if I could stop by tomorrow and take a typing test.  Of course!  Then she gave me the address and I discovered the job is in Coppell, TX by DFW airport.  "Oh," I said.  "I'm in Houston." 

It wouldn't be so bad in Dallas.  It's not that far.  Why did I even bring it up?

Reference Roundup

Calling numbers from your Rolodex to find out who remembers you is mentally exhausting.  A couple of the people I thought I got along with very well and would surely remember me - didn't.  One says he remembers doing an awful lot of business with us and promised to give a good reference since he remembers the company well, but he doesn't specifically remember me.  I really want to use him since I listed as an accomplishment that I grew an account (his) that was originally supposed to have 1 or 2 shipments a month to $6 million annually.  That reminds me...the salesrep for that account is my FB friend.  I need to send her a message. 

Another doesn't remember me at all but also told me to use him as a reference and he'll say something good.  Really?  This guy has a reputation for being difficult to work with, but for some reason he used to like me.  If I could score a good reference from him, that would be fantastic.  I think I need to follow the video's advice and have someone pose as a recruiter to verify what he'll say.

The book I'm using, Knock 'Em Dead 2005 (I've ordered the 2011 version from Amazon) says:  "Keep an open mind when developing those lists.  You never know who your friends are.  You will be surprised at how someone you always regarded as a real pal won't give you the time of day, and how someone you never thought of as a friend will go above and beyond the call of duty for you."  That has proved very true.  Someone I thought didn't much care for me sent a whole list of job search sites, and a couple of people I thought would be great references are ignoring me.  Oh, well.  That's life.  I'll keep calling because you never know where the next lead will come from.    

Gathering Evidence

I had to pull out some of my old performace reviews and letters from customers to help come up with some accomplishments to add to my resume.  It occurred to me that I should be taking these things with me to job interviews.  I've got a copy of an email that one of my supervisors sent to her superiors about how we went to lunch with a client and all the good things they had to say about me.  Into my folder it goes. 

Another is a fax from a customer that says, "Please convey to your upper management at [previous employer] my appreciation for the effort and diligence Jennifer [last name] has given to this account over the past year in consummating our export shipments to Matadi and Lumbumbashi in the Republic du Congo.  She has followed up on every occasion on direct requests from us, and other times on her own initiative on potential problems.  She is a very professional and dedicated employee."  It's handwritten on a fax cover sheet, but I'm using it.  It's going into the folder as well.

The manager's statement on one of my performance reviews:  "Jennifer worked diligently to get a credit issue for one of her top customers resolved to everyone's satisfaction.  This continues to be an issue for this customer, but with her follow-up with the other departments involved, she has it under control. 

Jennifer also maintains an excellent relationship with her accounts and with the sales team that supports these accounts.  This is evidenced by feedback received from customer surveys.

Jennifer also assisted in training co-workers with [company computer software] and continues to be a resource for her teammates."

I don't have any letters of recommendation.  I'm pretty sure my previous employer does not allow them.  These should be almost as good...

Job Interview Questions



Maybe I should shop for a newer version...

It's time to kick my job search into high gear.  I've thought of two accomplishments to add to my resume and I'm writing a first draft of a general cover letter for freight forwarding company's today.  I need to also practice my interview answers.  I learned in school to think of questions you don't want to be asked in a job interview and prepare answers ahead of time. You guys can help me out.  Ask a question you would/have asked a prospective employee.  Ever been asked a really tough question during an interview?  Give it to me. 

Examples:
1)  Why have you not worked in the last 2 years?  What have you done with the time?
2)  Why should I hire you?
3)  What is your greatest strength?
4)  What is an example of one of your weaknesses?

I'll come up with answers and post them in the comments.  Honest, tactful critiques are welcome.   

Round 2

I dragged myself out of my warm bed, showered, dressed in my new pants and sweater (one that was not in the pics from yesterday's post) and headed to my interview.  I told the receptionist that I had a 10:30 appointment with Ms. V.  She made a phone call then informed me that Ms. V was not in today.  What?  Oh, no...

The woman I spoke with last week was there.  She said Ms. V had an emergency, but she rounded up an export supervisor for me to speak with instead.  Again, I did my best to enthusiastically sell myself.  I think I'm getting better with each interview.  I really would love to land this job.  I'm excited to learn the freight forwarding side of the business.  (It doesn't hurt that I would be earning almost as much as I was making at the container shipping company.)  The export supervisor liked me, but I still have to interview with the export manager.  I'm waiting for a call to schedule the next one.

I'm running out of appropriate clothes.  Most of the new ones I bought are not good enough.  I want to dress a bit nicer than I would on a typical workday.  Maybe I could put my suede jacket over a blouse...or the new blazer I just bought...or maybe I should shop for a new interview suit.  I could probably find something for around $150.  

Wow, Black Really is Slimming

I instantly lost 10 pounds!

For almost two years I've had no need for work clothes, so I haven't been buying any.  I had to go shopping or I would have nothing to wear when I do get a job.  I headed to Dillard's to buy from their "Investments" petite collection.  I bought two pairs of pants, two blouses, a blazer, and two sweaters I found on sale in another department for $163.67.  Everything is machine washable!  They'll work until I can afford better.

Light at the End of the Tunnel

Light at the end of the Tunnel, originally uploaded by FireFlyBuzz.

Image from flickr.

I didn't get the job that I interviewed for last week, but I had another interview with a different company today. I did better this time. I did a lot more speaking and less just listening and nodding. I didn't wait to be asked why I haven't been working for almost two years and what I've been doing with myself - I told her straight away. No one was hiring for positions paying what I was used to earning and even if I was willing to accept less they weren't eager to hire me for a position I'd leave as soon as something better became available, so I decided to go on sabbatical and travel. I took advantage of my time and the money I'd worked hard to save visiting places I'd always wanted to see. I'm not sure if I told her that I also did a semester of college...

I have to interview with at least one other person before I can be hired. We've scheduled it for Monday. I'm starting to truly believe I'm going to find something soon. There is a light at the end of the tunnel and maybe this time it's not a train.