Trust your intuition for commitment without passion is empty

"For the sake of the blog, I hope there is a happy ending"

                                                                            - Blog Reader

Now there's an interesting thought. I received this quote from a friend the other day and it really got me thinking. Ending? Happy? What is that? If anything, in all of this I felt I haven't even begun. I know he meant the blog. The blog is about the transition phase, and the phase between graduating from college and starting my first job. How do you define a happy ending? I started to think about my most recent interview. If I got that job, would I really enjoy it. Everyone always talks about a start. Oh just get a job. Get experience. It's a start. Something about this quote seemed unfitting to me.

Yesterday, instead of do the same old bit and applying for jobs, I decided to do some "soul searching". I drafted a paper about what I thought would be the perfect job. One where my personality fits, and one that I would "happy" to start at. Turns out the job didn't need any specific type of degree. At least it didn't need the degree that I had. My dream job was communication-based: relationship-building, networking of the sorts, meeting clients. I went through college with the mind set "get a job, get experience, get a start", and it didn't get me anywhere. 

I've had three internships, had a job offer when I graduated, a plethora of interviews. I've made the mistake of thinking that you might "pretend" to be a certain person to get the job. I had the opportunity to "get my foot in the door". But I turned it down. Why did I turn it down? During all of my years in college I always had an intuition buried deep within my soul, that it was all counter productive. 

In a recent development, I have realized I spent my life listening to the advice of other people, but never truly listened to myself. I just didn't want to be those guys that listened to themselves and regret it later. I didn't want to be a quitter. I stayed committed to something that I was always unsure of. People told me to stick to it. I always did this with hopes that it would pay off later. Yet I never thought It would be the other way around. Commitment without passion was empty. 

I've had 5 interviews in Northern California, 3 of them in San Francisco. Today I received a call from a recruiter about my most recent interview. Turns out....I...didn't get the job. Surprise! Surprise! But strangely enough, I was glad. For the first time, I think I know exactly what I want to do.

Be Yourself. If you don't get it, maybe you will next time.

This morning I woke up at the crack of dawn to catch an interview in San Francisco. I was way less nervous this time, because I knew where to park and where I needed to be. I'll admit driving in the Financial district isn't easy, but you get used to it.

In previous morning drives on a Wednesday, it took me three hours to get to San Francisco from Napa in the morning. Once I left to pick my mom up at SFO and it took me three hours. My interview was scheduled to be at 10am. So I left early at 6:30am because I thought the drive could take me three hours with all things considered, but then it only took me an hour and a half.  I got there at 8:00am.

At first you might think, "Hey, that's a good thing, but wait parking is only three hours maximum for validation, and your interview isn't until 10am". I then accounted for the fact that the interview could be late, give or take 15 minutes. I was in the clear. I would just have to get back by 11am with validation from a local restaurant.

Since I was early I decided to go get some coffee at my second home, STARBUCKS and researched some more about the company I was interviewing. I thought about going to one of the validation restaurants but none of them were open until 10:30am. Great! I planned on rushing to the nearest restaurant right after my interview, spend the minimum $5, and make it on time to drive out of the parking garage. Why does all this matter? Well, parking in the San Francisco Financial District will cost you $3 dollars every 15 minutes, unless you eat there, which will cost you $8 dollars for three hours.

It's 9:30am, ready to go to the interview. How did it go? It was interesting. They wanted someone who can crunch numbers yet they asked me if I really enjoyed my previous experiences accounting. They wanted someone well rounded, yet asked me why I had all these different internships. It seemed like there was no pleasing them. I felt like I was interviewing the accountant type, yet this wasn't an accounting position, nor did it require an accounting background. I really want to work for this firm, and the recruiters told me I would know by Friday. Who knows, maybe I did well. It depends on the other candidates too.

It really gets me thinking about the line between honest answers and giving the answers people want in an interview. Some people have suggested that I "pretend" in order to get my foot in the door of the working world. I've done that before, and it never worked out in the past, so I don't see how it would now. If you "pretend" to be someone else, then you might get turned down for the job even if you could have been a good fit for it. You might get accepted in to the wrong role. Moral of the story, be yourself, but be your best self. If your best self doesn't get the job done, there's nothing else you can do.

It's 10:35 am, the interview is adjourned. I rushed to the nearest restaurant and bought a bubble tea and some egg rolls for $7. The drink was horrible. The egg rolls were good. I preceded to the parking garage, got in my car at 10:55am, and drove out ready to pay. The car attendant said "$24 dollars please". I said "What gives? I have the validation, it's within three hours". He said "only between the hours of 10am and 5pm". Doh! Oh well...I'll get it next time.

Patience and Being the Best

Usual morning, as I woke up, applied for jobs, on indeed.com. Today I decided to sort the search by most recent post date, and the San Francisco Bay Area. I plan to go look on LinkedIn next, whoopee. Click here, Click there, insert here, attach here. You ever notice how some companies make you apply directly on their website and others make it easier for you by just allowing you to insert a resume.

I'm thinking why all the trouble? I am unemployed here, and I have only so much time to apply to so many companies each day.  You want me to make a username and password, when we know I'm not going to check on your website again. You're going to call me if you think I'm good for the job. Better yet, you're going to call me if someone you know refers me. Anyhow, it does make me want to only apply for positions I really want. I guess that's what the company is filtering for. But don't they know that just because I go through all that does not mean I will take the job if it's offered?

You shouldn't need to figure out whether people want to work for you, you should already know that, by what you do. If I thought I was a great company I wouldn't need to test the world. It would just go without saying. It's like products that have that "GUARANTEE" sticker. To me the GUARANTEE sticker might as well say, "Hey we are going to have problems, but we'll fix it (Smiley Face at the end)".

When I was in high school in my car obsession phase, I remember seeing an advertisement by GM and Hyundai offering 100,000 mile power train warranties. Back then I thought, wow, these companies weren't always known for reliability, but now there basically guaranteeing it. Toyota and Honda only guaranteed 36,000 miles. I thought everyone would buy into this, after all 100,000 miles is a longer ownership experience.  But then as time went by GM and Hyundai still didn't have the reliability that Toyota and Honda were known for. I had friends and read reviews that said, "Yeah, whenever my car breaks down I just bring it and they repair it for free". And I say, "How long do you have to wait? Isn't it inconvenient to have the car fixed at all". Meanwhile my Honda is just fine. Yet it no longer has guarantee.

So the moral here is that if you're truly the best and you know it, then you wouldn't have to prove it to anyone or have anyone prove it to you, right? If you have full faith in what you do, why do you need to prove it to anybody? Simply this, faith can't be seen or measured by anyone. And no one trust anybody anymore. That's the problem.

Few people have the patience to spend time and truly get to know someone. Most importantly, no one spends the time to get to know themselves. I sometimes feel like some people exist, just to exist. We go through the motions of life. Get a nice paying job, get married, get a house, start a family. That's that. I would know. I've been guilty of it at one time or another.

Taking risks and getting serious about your job search

It's Monday afternoon, and I have been searching and applying for jobs all morning. I started out by using indeed, and then I went on to use Linkedin. I have only started searching for jobs using Linked in for a month. I figured indeed captures most of the jobs, but then I remembered that Linkedin would show jobs that you might have connections too.

In today's search I started out looking for jobs close to the San Francisco area, looked at jobs in other states, and signed up for Linkedin's Jobseeker Premium. Chicago seems to have quite a few postings, so I applied there. I am always a little hesitant when it comes to applying for jobs outside of my area, because in my experience, I have never gotten a call for an out-of-state job, let alone few calls outside of my general area.

When I was in Texas for example I received most calls in the Austin and Houston Area. It's only when I moved to Napa, that I started receiving calls for the San Francisco Area. The search is difficult, but the reward of living and working in San Francisco or Silicon Valley is definitely going to be worth it. The way I figure it, is the older you get the harder it will be to take risks like the one I'm taking right now.

A lot of people probably wouldn't make this move as a graduate, but I had this feeling if I stayed in Austin, where I actually received a job offer, I would always wonder if I could've moved out here and got a job. I also heard that some people become complacent and end up staying in places for 5-10 years at a time before moving to the place they want to be. I'm not going to let that happen. I'm not some small town boy afraid to leave all that he knows to explore the world. I have an opportunity. I'm getting interviews. It's only a matter of time.

When I was applying for jobs, One of the pop-ups was Jobseeker Premium by Linkedin. For a cost of $29.99 per month, they would put your resume and profile at the top of these list of every employer you signed up for. I read reviews, and most recruiters might find it annoying, but so do most audiences when advertisements pop up. It's just business. I thought, "Hey I'm serious about finding a job, I'll take that chance". 

I feel like this job searching in the one of the toughest state for jobs, is a challenge and a puzzle just waiting to be solved. Am I am up for the challenge. The economy will recover as real estate values in the state of California are increasing at exponential rates, mutual funds/stocks for companies are outperforming bonds. I'm going to be there when it does.

Ahh! The Greatness that is San Francisco

Woke up today. Put on my suit, and drove straight to San Francisco for Two different interviews with the recruiting firm known as Robert Half International.

Let me start by saying, if you have ever drive in the Financial District for the first time, it's quite the challenge. Imagine the business of New York, dodging buses, taxis, BICYCLISTS, and pedestrians who scream "UP YOURS". I'm sorry, It's my first time -__-

To find parking was a whole other challenge on its own. I noticed all over at the corner of my peripherals as I was "dodging" the parking garages with signs saying "$3 Dollars to park here" with the fine lines "every 15 minutes" and "$32 dollars after 4 hours". Of course they validate if  you eat at a local restaurant, but only if you leave before the 4 hours are up. I still paid $32. I'm thinking the people in San Francisco must really love it here to pay that much. To my surprise they did.

As I arrived to the office one hour early, I decided to go get something at my second home, "Starbucks". As I was researching for my interviews, I noticed a blonde girl sitting across from me. I decided to ask her "Are you a local? I'm interviewing for a job here, how's living in San Francisco?"

10 minutes later and an exchange of situations she San Francisco was the best. She had moved here from Arizona with her boyfriend, and decided to become a free lance writer. She quickly gave me her card and said if you ever want to hangout and grab drinks. I thought to myself, "wow, friendliest place ever". I did the same thing later at a by the Ferry Market with a marketing intern (working for free).  People are amazingly friendly here. Like Austin except "even more inviting".

AS for my two interviews...We'll see how it goes...I'll tell you later if they pan out.