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jakebeI heard late last week that I wasn't selected for the Metrology Tech position at my current company. That was my last best shot at remaining with them, so it looks like Oct 24 really will be my last day.
Of course I'm bummed about it. I think it's impossible to make it to the final interview round for a position and not be disappointed when it doesn't turn into an offer. You can't help but wonder what you did (or didn't do) that swayed the hiring team away from you. In this case, it's hard to say. I didn't have direct experience in calibrating sensitive equipment, but I thought my internal knowledge of the company would make a good balance for it. I was too disappointed to ask what I might be able to improve on with the next interview, but I did write thoughtful 'thank you' emails to the interviewers and recruiter that I think went down well.
So that puts me back at square one with the job search. Honestly, that's the worst part of this whole thing. Until I got invited to the online exams for Santa Clara government positions, I had heard nothing but form rejections from folks I had applied to. I'm getting a lot of pings from rather scammy companies that are looking for experienced workers to exploit through low pay and non-existent benefits. It's really awful to see so many 'contract' positions or skilled positions that have been whittled down to part-time work so companies don't have to pay anyone what they're worth.
Anyway, this is just what is. I do have a really awesome support network full of people who've offered me resume advice, their names for referrals, even positions they think I might be good for. I'm not alone in this, and it makes me feel really grateful (instead of depressed and scared) to have so many folks pulling for my success. It really does encourage me to keep trying and doing my best, just to not let any of them down.
So I think I need to break Job Search 2025 down into three buckets: applications, upskilling, and budgeting. Applications are all the things like writing/editing resume, keeping track of positions I've applied to, practicing for interviews, and all the skills dedicated to standing out with my cover letter and everything. Upskilling is for taking online classes and/or getting certifications that will make my resume a lot more attractive to prospective employers, especially for things that can work for a broad range of positions. There's a Udacity SQL Nanodegree program I could resume AND a free ND program I could take up besides; there are a lot of Udemy classes for SQL, Excel, and (I think?) JavaScript that I could dig into; and I have a MasterClass subscription I really should be getting more use out of. Budgeting is mostly for taking a long, hard look at the cash coming in and making sure I've cut down my expenditures to live within my means. If I end up sleeping on any one of these three prongs, it'll make Fall and Winter 2025 significantly trickier.
The weekend was fun, at least. After playing a rather tough round of Commander with a few friends last week, Husboo was bitten by the Magic bug. We bought him a Merfolk commander deck that works...really well. Once you get enough merfolk on the board and the Commander's out, you turn searching for cards in your library into an engine that beefs them up across the board. It doesn't take long before you have a whole battlefield of monster fishmen waiting to wreck your shit!
My humble Commander is Bello, Trash Bard Raccoon. He finds a lot of artifacts and imbues them with a soul so suddenly they're all 4/4 Elemental creatures with haste and indestructible on my turn. It's a lot of fun attacking with these animated statues and bits of magic that can't be removed when I'm not playing (since they're not creatures then). In theory, a solid idea, but I've had a lot of trouble getting it to work as efficiently as it needs to. I haven't won with it yet, but I'm waiting for that one game where everything kicks into gear and the plan seems undeniable.
It was really nice having folks over all weekend for Magic and such. Now, it's all about putting my head down, focusing inward to tend my own garden. It feels like I've been spending a lot of energy chasing after bad results. I need to sit down and think about where my attention is going, and whether or not there are better directions for it.
Of course I'm bummed about it. I think it's impossible to make it to the final interview round for a position and not be disappointed when it doesn't turn into an offer. You can't help but wonder what you did (or didn't do) that swayed the hiring team away from you. In this case, it's hard to say. I didn't have direct experience in calibrating sensitive equipment, but I thought my internal knowledge of the company would make a good balance for it. I was too disappointed to ask what I might be able to improve on with the next interview, but I did write thoughtful 'thank you' emails to the interviewers and recruiter that I think went down well.
So that puts me back at square one with the job search. Honestly, that's the worst part of this whole thing. Until I got invited to the online exams for Santa Clara government positions, I had heard nothing but form rejections from folks I had applied to. I'm getting a lot of pings from rather scammy companies that are looking for experienced workers to exploit through low pay and non-existent benefits. It's really awful to see so many 'contract' positions or skilled positions that have been whittled down to part-time work so companies don't have to pay anyone what they're worth.
Anyway, this is just what is. I do have a really awesome support network full of people who've offered me resume advice, their names for referrals, even positions they think I might be good for. I'm not alone in this, and it makes me feel really grateful (instead of depressed and scared) to have so many folks pulling for my success. It really does encourage me to keep trying and doing my best, just to not let any of them down.
So I think I need to break Job Search 2025 down into three buckets: applications, upskilling, and budgeting. Applications are all the things like writing/editing resume, keeping track of positions I've applied to, practicing for interviews, and all the skills dedicated to standing out with my cover letter and everything. Upskilling is for taking online classes and/or getting certifications that will make my resume a lot more attractive to prospective employers, especially for things that can work for a broad range of positions. There's a Udacity SQL Nanodegree program I could resume AND a free ND program I could take up besides; there are a lot of Udemy classes for SQL, Excel, and (I think?) JavaScript that I could dig into; and I have a MasterClass subscription I really should be getting more use out of. Budgeting is mostly for taking a long, hard look at the cash coming in and making sure I've cut down my expenditures to live within my means. If I end up sleeping on any one of these three prongs, it'll make Fall and Winter 2025 significantly trickier.
The weekend was fun, at least. After playing a rather tough round of Commander with a few friends last week, Husboo was bitten by the Magic bug. We bought him a Merfolk commander deck that works...really well. Once you get enough merfolk on the board and the Commander's out, you turn searching for cards in your library into an engine that beefs them up across the board. It doesn't take long before you have a whole battlefield of monster fishmen waiting to wreck your shit!
My humble Commander is Bello, Trash Bard Raccoon. He finds a lot of artifacts and imbues them with a soul so suddenly they're all 4/4 Elemental creatures with haste and indestructible on my turn. It's a lot of fun attacking with these animated statues and bits of magic that can't be removed when I'm not playing (since they're not creatures then). In theory, a solid idea, but I've had a lot of trouble getting it to work as efficiently as it needs to. I haven't won with it yet, but I'm waiting for that one game where everything kicks into gear and the plan seems undeniable.
It was really nice having folks over all weekend for Magic and such. Now, it's all about putting my head down, focusing inward to tend my own garden. It feels like I've been spending a lot of energy chasing after bad results. I need to sit down and think about where my attention is going, and whether or not there are better directions for it.
