Yes, they do. I’m applying for several state jobs, and the letter is actually considered your civil service test, and they score it.
That’s great to hear. Can you give me any indication of the level of formality they might be likely to expect here? The questions are all about me and what I’ve done - it’s quite hard to avoid answering them in terms including ‘I believe…’ and ‘I feel…’ - how hard should I be trying to avoid that?
I do answer in the 1st person, and my published test scores have been pretty high. You are ranked against every other person in the state who’s taken the test, and you can see your rank on the state website if you create an acount there.
I’ve scored among the top ten in the state on two different exams. Still haven’t got a job offer though.
Just finished a screening interview and I’m pretty sure I’ll make round two. The only downside is they are moving the offices further away from where I live.
I’m going to Austin this week! I’ve got an interview with the government of one of Austin’s suburbs.
If I get the job, there’s still the issue of what to do with my house, but I think I can finish it up and get it on the market (at a huge loss) or rent it out by the end of October.
Luck to Mangetout, elmwood, **Contrary **(and any others that I missed.) I hope it goes smoothly. As always, keep us updated.
As for me, the deal from London is disappointing me. On their side they have done none of the things that need doing to move this forward. Like fill out the paper work that would allow them to pay me. We were supposed to start in Oct, but even if they fill the paper work out now, there is no way we would get it all through the government in time for me to be paid in Oct.
Of course, this is why I still go on interviews. If something comes up, I’m going to have say - thanks guys, but you aren’t fulfilling your end of the deal. See ya.
I also just applied for a job in what sounds like a small local company, doing pretty much the same as I did in my last position - not as enticing as the above-mentioned position, but I’m not in a position to be too picky.
So how should I word an email to as company I had a phone interview with that hasn’t gotten back to me yet? (The woman I spoke with told me I should have heard back by the 19th.)
I was thinking about:
Or would it be better to just call her for that personal touch?
I tend to send emails to avoid an awkward situation if I’m no longer on the list.
I would add that I’m still interested in the position, ask about a timeline for the next step in the process.
I would change that a bit if you were given some relevant information during the interview, like a next contact date that has already passed.
Just spoke to London. Had some good feedback and bad feedback.
The bad first. I suspect that these guys aren’t even reading my updates. One of the questions today was made perfectly, incredibly plain two emails ago… The type of thing where I said: If you don’t do A and B then I can’t do C. Today I was met with surprise that C wasn’t done.
The good news is, one of the partners has agreed to take ownership for A and B.
Both have reinforced their commitment to wanting to move forward.
Am I the only one who hears “London Calling” by the Clash as she reads Khadaji’s updates?
Yeah, I thought so. 
Thanks! After getting what was claimed to be a random El-Al-to-Tel Aviv you’re-a-terrorist style workover from the TSA (really – “step over here, please”, waiting in a glass “hey everybody, look at the terrorist!” booth where everybody can see me for five minutes, getting patted down and scanned, getting my wallet searched, my laptop disassembled and the parts swabbed, and dealing with a barrage of questions that made crossing Checkpoint Charlie in 1985 seem like a cakewalk in comparison), I finally made it to Austin.
Irony: the TSA agent quizzing me was Middle Eastern.
Oh … I didn’t have SSSS on my boarding pass, either.
I just had a phone interview. I did not perform as well on the technical part as I would have wanted - but the questions were pulled from somewhere that was looking for more theory than practice. Beyond that I think it went well, and we spoke on the phone for 55 minutes. He said he would get back to me Monday.
I don’t know if I want it, but until one of my other deals works itself out, I have to pursue everything.
Well I hear Werewolves of London, myself.
His hair was . . . . PERFECT.
I applied for a job earlier in the week (via Monster) that is quite a close match to my background and experience and is fairly local - I don’t generally hear anything at all back from such applications, so I decided to chase this one up with the agency that posted it.
I think that was worth doing - I had a pleasant chat with the agency rep, who said he had been deluged with responses, but would sift out my CV and take a close look at it.
He called me back a minute or two later to say that the email from Monster had mangled the presentation of my CV, so I emailed him a new one in a couple of different formats. If the Monster system did a similar thing to all the other applicants, this morning’s exercise might just give me a competitive edge…
And . . . I did make round two which will be on Tuesday. It’s a phone interview with the hiring manager. The final round, should I get that far, is face-to-face with the hiring manager.
OK. I just got a spam for a service called Resume Rabbit. Input your resume once and it will distribute it to 75 job web sites.
I hate the idea of helping out a spammer, so I won’t use it.
But I thought about it and decided that maybe it might be of some help to someone here, and I’d rather help you out than stick to silly principles.
So I sent an email to the woman I spoke with a few weeks ago on Tuesday, and haven’t gotten a reply.
If you don’t want me, at least have the common decency to tell me.
Yeah I’ve set my expectations for any sort of reply to my emails at zero. I know recruiters et al are swamped, but it’s still very discouraging and also more than a little dehumanizing to hear nothing.