guitar player's journal

[delay]

Do you have any quick advice on how to think about the technical questions?

Sleep well the day before and arrive well rested.

Think openly, share past experiences, be prepared to change your mind.

Listen well, especially for feedback. Technical knowledge is surprisingly subjective. Some developers ban SQL and others require SQL. Some like passion and others like soberness. Some like to plan and think, others like to be quick and responsive. It's hard to tell which one is interviewing you.

Try to figure out who will make the hiring decision. It's certainly not HR.

Ask for an example of a first task you could be assigned (this also puts them in a frame of mind where you are their colleague.)

Looking forward to read other's tips and best of luck with the interview!

[guitarplayer]

I didn't get the job but got constructive feedback.

[ertyu]

Still a win! How will you use the feedback?

[guitarplayer]

Yeah I am working on interview story telling. I have received repeated feedback that I come across easy to talk to and bright but I am not specific enough in my examples when I answer questions. This is not surprise to me, being specific enough feels like dumbing down answers. So I am working on that feeling to not prevent me from being more specific.

[zbigi]

I think in case of less senior positions, they might want you to explain things in more detail to check your thinking process, your levels of understanding and to make sure you're not a fake. There's plenty of high-level "talkers" in this industry who can't do much, they need to be screened for.

[delay]

Sorry to read you did not get the job! As far as I know interviewers search for a neutral explanation for the rejection, so as not to shame the interviewee. For example, they don't say "we planned to hire our colleague's nephew all along" or "you're married to someone from another department and we don't want you to spy on us", even though those are common causes for rejection.

For the job openings I was involved in the selection seemed to be about how the interviewee fit in the interviewer's plans for next year. From an interviewee's point of view that is hard to distinguish from randomness.

So I'd be careful about implementing changes based on feedback from a single interview.

[Jean]

The only interviewer that ever gave me honnest feedback was the military.
The only way to make honnest feedback universal would be to convince enough people to systematically retaliate with violence against bullshit feedback.

[7Wannabe5]

The only way to make honnest feedback universal would be to convince enough people to systematically retaliate with violence against bullshit feedback.

I agree that it is towards bad practice, but that seems like a harsh price to pay for faking orgasm.



Looking at the complex situation realistically, it's pretty clear that most job applicants do not interview frquently enough for similar positions to be able to sort signal from noise beyond the binary of Offered Position/Not Offered Position. One of my semi-ex-partners is an experienced engineer and he is constantly interviewing for positions he is only slightly to moderately interested in taking if offered. This is also analogous to the somewhat crude form of polyamory he practices which he is at least self-aware enough to designate as "hot-swapping." One clear disadvantage of the practice of "hot-swapping" whether for employment opportunities or relationship partners is that you are now the party more likely to piss somebody off for wasting their time, not providing clear signal, breaking their heart, etc. OTOH, the practice does improve your resilience in the sense that it is less likely you will ever be without a job or a partner, and it also improves your ability to separate signal from noise from field in terms of recognizing your standing/options in the current market(s.)

In theory, "hot swapping" or similar practice(s) should also greatly improve your ability to benefit from constructive criticism, but to some degree improved optionality limits pressure towards efficiency/specialization. For example, consider somebody who applies for job within one company/field, doesn't get the job, but does receive honest constructive feedback. If the applicant improves his functioning in alignment with feedback received, applies for the next opening and is hired, continues to apply for promotions within same company/field, he will likely become highly skilled, efficient, and specialized/expert in alignment with the purposes of that company/field. OTOH, a hot-swapper who maintains engagement with the open market will tend towards acquiring a more varied skill-set as he swaps from job to job, so may become more likely to ignore honest specific constructive criticism if/when not relevant over entirety of his more generalized options.

Which is simply my long-winded way of communicating that the best practice solution to any problem that resembles "I thought our date went well, why hasn't he called?" is to keep your dating profile open and keep taking interview (date) offers. And frequently, almost always in any situation analogous to At Will employment within capitalist system (as opposed to covenant marriage), it is also best practice to keep your dating profile and dance card open even if he did call for second date.

It is also critical to notice who is offering vs. accepting contract at any given juncture within context and not confuse this with supply and demand. For example, a farmer can accept a contract to work on the railroad when his farm cash flow is low and/or he can hire on more farmhands when his workload is high. So, another functional response to not being offered contract of employment post-interview would be to consider what sort of contract of employment could you offer to somebody else? I detest the term "job creator", but putting yourself in this perspective can also greatly inform your practice as a "job seeker." For example, it will have the tendency to cause you to think more along the lines of "How does this business earn revenue/derive profit?" rather than "How can I match/perform this job description?" You could even approach an interview from the perspective of a corporate spy or raider or an investigative journalist, etc. All of us that have arrived at this forum should at least hold the freedom to have some fun with the process of inserting ourselves in variety of flows of cash or other resources.

[Henry]

The only way to make honnest feedback universal would be to convince enough people to systematically retaliate with violence against bullshit feedback.

Your thoughts are clear, but I think you can make improvements in the areas of spelling and punctuation.

[Jean]

Bad sex is already enough of a punishment for faking orgasmes

[7Wannabe5]

True. I was just thinking of the time my grouchiest partner ever said, "Don't make any noise unless I do something you really like."

But, seriously, I think there is already a well established correlation between bullshit feedback mechanisms and violence. For example, the likelihood of violence if a partner cheats vs. the likelihood of violence if a partner suggests opening up the relationship. The likelihood of violence if the car runs out of gas before the meter reads empty vs. the meter reads empty and then you run out of gas. The likelihood of violence if you follow the script society gave you, but you are not rewarded by society, vs. you follow your own script and thus are not rewarded by society. The desire for accurate feedback mechanisms is similar to the desire for privacy (because you want your own feedback mechanism set to zero when untended) and the urge towards territorialism. "All warfare is deception"- Sun Tzu -> "All deception is warfare"-Jean

[guitarplayer]

Thanks for chipping in all. The feedback I got after the interview is quite consistent with feedback I got across a range of situations in the past, that about not being specific enough. Example from non work life:

I had been in Madrid the last week and a bit taking lots of opportunities afforded by new environment, centrally located spacious flat that is paid for and comes with a cleaner. One such opportunity was that I devised a way to
- very cheaply go up to Sierra de Guadarrama using public transport, then
- hike about 10 miles doing winter foraging on the way.
- Ended up at one of the getaway palaces of the Royal Family and
- used free entry via citizenship (there were free entry conditions based on that) to visit the palace. Then
- got a pre booked bus to Segovia to see ancient aqueduct,
- have typical Spanish food and
- see Alcazar (or castle).
- Then headed back to the flat by bus and had brilliant meal half prepared before the trip.

It was a complex journey that spanned 7am - 10:30pm and felt like four days in one. Ticked many boxes and had been much enjoyable.

So with the above, I could be much more specific about details and how many things got into it, including DW having a coffee with her now manager back in Spring 2023 leading to her picking up a job that sent her to that flat to hang about here for quarter of a year. But I struggle to bother talking about all the details. I just enjoy a lot the fact that it was a complex journey that worked out and we got lots of fun and enjoyment out of it. Equally, at the table at the end of that day I would struggle to come up with my 'highlight' if you asked me.

Equally, in a typical work setting I get feedback that I 'just fix things' or 'just get things done'.

So, for the purposes of interviewing I would probably benefit from the ability to talk a lot in a descriptive manner. Because I recognize majority of people generally operate in this sort of way.

Detailing stuff better would be along @zbigi's comment, though I fully take on board there are many external circumstances I don't see like @delay mentions - and it is sobering to realise these so thanks for that! The honest feedback is that none of this is actually needed @jean, hah! I am continuously borderline on all the 'career' thing, but I think I am still about over 50% enjoying. @7w5 I think the ability to produce volumes of words half of yours would help me with interviews And more seriously, I think I will try applying for positions, Albert Ellis style who went to a zoo or somewhere and spoke to 100 girls to get used to speaking to girls (anecdote psychology students come across).

Madrid Royal botanical garden has free entries until lunch today so I am going to see bonsais and other.

Happy Christmas Eve everyone!

[NewBlood]

Enjoy Madrid, gp!
Spain is awesome and the food is so yummy. Maybe you can use this journal to practice being more descriptive to tell us about all your Spanish adventures Merry Christmas!

[7Wannabe5]

Equally, in a typical work setting I get feedback that I 'just fix things' or 'just get things done'.

I was a human resources middle manager for a couple years, so I had to interview hundreds of humans and make hiring decisions (because my manager generally slogged this responsibility off on to me.) If I was hiring for somebody to be on my own team, and somebody indicated during an interview that they "just get things done", my immediate response would be, "Welcome to my team!" However, if I was attempting to fill a position according to a set of specifications provided by another manager and/or corporate uber-lords, a candidate who was more descriptive would likely give me more opportunities to check whatever boxes needed checking. Memorizing a few scripts written towards this purpose would grant you the leeway to only have to improvise your transitions.

The type 7 on cusp of 6 is sometimes labeled The Con-Artist, so babbling on until boxes are checked like video game targets, is pretty easy for me, although there are prompts that will stall me due to the deep level of bullshittery I am going to have to go to in order to give the answer likely preferred. The main things that make me nervous in an interview, dating, public speaking, acting, or similar situation would be my physical appearance and comfort and dealing with miscellaneous externalities such as microphones, elevators, writing implements, walking in heels in a straight line and talking at the same time, or the view out the window. Since I generally err on the side of slob, I have to "practice" with whatever costuming would be appropriate for the situation until I am comfortable with my choice. The utter detest I feel for pant suits even somewhat influences my affinity for female political candidates. When I am actively dating, I always have standard Date 1 (casual but cute) and Date 2 (slightly sexier) outfits which I repeatedly wear. So we all have our own particular issues to deal with in these situation in which we are bound to deal with some degree of judgment from others, and the downside of being good at getting your foot in the door is that you can sometimes even con yourself into thinking you'd be great/happy at the position. Fear of Success is a real thing.

[DutchGirl]

Thanks for chipping in all. The feedback I got after the interview is quite consistent with feedback I got across a range of situations in the past, that about not being specific enough.

I guess this calls for a spreadsheet! (Ha ha).

Create a list of what types of character traits or behavior they want you to talk about - "Can you give an example of a time when you did..." and then whenever something happens at work that fits one of these, put it in the spreadsheet (with enough detail!), add the date (throw out the oldest examples at some point) and then check the list when you have an interview coming up.

I'm glad that in my kind of work I generally do not have to do this, but for you it seems it's part of the deal.

[delay]

The feedback I got after the interview is quite consistent with feedback I got across a range of situations in the past, that about not being specific enough.

Many extroverts can feel what you expect and give feedback along those lines. Sometimes the feeling is not even required, and they ask "What are your weak points?" during the interview, and mirror that back to you when you ask for feedback. Then your self view of "not being specific enough" becomes a self fulfilling prophecy.

I would test this by stating I am "too specific" as one of my weaknesses, and seeing what happens.

[guitarplayer]

@NewBlood, thanks! This time of the year, days are 2 hours longer here than where I got here from and almost all of them are sunny (I now get @_J's winter sun retreats). I am outside doing retreats in Retiro Park (retiro = retreat) every day when I am not away for hikes etc. A lot of Spanish food is meat and cheese based and I don't eat this sort of stuff, however the variety and quality of fruit and veg is much more than in the UK, + there is lots of ethnic shops here were we are.

@7w5 yes it is about ticking boxes, for sure. I certainly have doubts if I am going to enjoy being successful (at getting promoted, career etc), but I want to keep at it for a while to find out.

@DutchGirl yes I have heard this spreadsheet technique. I am hesitant to employ it because it might turn it into such a painful exercise that I will abandon the idea all together. But I might employ it.

@delay this is clever.

End of year reflections

Overall I feel good about the past year.
- I met in person a number of people from the forum
- DW and I did a number of hikes
- I learned to program in Python
- Got a promotion (earlier in the year, so this one above would actually have been second promotion in one year!)
- Almost got another promotion (this one above)
- Found a bunch of mushrooms and berries, apples in the wild etc
- Tended a raised bed
- Had a new nephew
- Discovered some of Latvia
- Have been hanging out in Madrid for almost a month (with over a month more to come)
- Ramped up doing pull-ups to a 102 pull-ups in one session interspersed with a total 11km+ run. But actually I think I could easily do more.
- Fixed a number of things in the flat
- Paid the flat off (okay kind of, still waiting for the penalty period to conclude to smother the remainder of the debt with cash)
- build an expense recording app for DW and I
- I just checked and it so happens that as of Dec 2024, if I gather assets in the most generous way, that is including value of our flat and value of social security, then all this combined equals 25 times our 12 months rolling average monthly spending, annualised (quite a mouthful).

As of 2025, I started exploring Epicureanism and intend to continue this for the remainder of the year. (There is also a bunch of other things DW and I wrote on a piece of paper).

[guitarplayer]

January 2025

Life in Madrid is good. Outside of work we have been spending time hiking nearby mountains several times, visiting Segovia and Seville, going to the cinema many many times watching movies nominated in the Goya Awards. We went to multiple museums which are minutes away.

I look forward to heading back to Scotland as well. By the time I am there it will be almost March so days will be reasonably long and spring will soon arrive. I am going to 'bid' for a raised bed again, in fact I think we will try to bid separately with DW to get a cheeky set of two raised beds

Work is fine. I occasionally apply for various jobs but actually I like my job. Also, my manager it telling me our team will be expanding and I should get ready for a promotion interview sometime this year. This may well be the most sensible, meaningful, hassle free and practical way to go. If I manage the interview! I got a resource on job interviewing from another forumite (keeping them anonymous just in case) and one peripheral thing from it that stands out for me is something along the lines of 'get to the point of liking doing job interviews'. Which I half taken on board with applying for jobs and going through the process of 'job hunting' even though I am not in dire need of it. Sort of in line with Albert Ellis' recommendation for treating phobias. He was shy to talk to girls so got himself into a shopping mall or some such with the aim of talking to a hundred of them. And it worked.

Additionally, as an outcome of getting unsuccessful with one other job interview, I am also studying 'what colour is your parachute?' Surprisingly for me it seems to be a book in disguise similar way to the ERE book. It is a book on career counselling / advice where the underlying theme is how to best be of service to the world, like the ERE book is on retiring early where the underlying theme is how to not be a burden to the physical world.

Money is fine. We spend more on food because there is no dumpster diving community in Madrid. I did an overcomplicated overview of our income and expenses a while back and according to it we are saving around 75-80+% income. We are more or less repeating the same we did in our previous super low cost lifestyle in the Scottish countryside, but now in a regular urban setting.

Health is okay. I vary exercises, pull-ups, burpees, running, stretching and combination of them. I think I average over 6 days a week. I established this provisional routine where every so often I run around the Madrid central park and do pull ups whenever I pass next to a pull up bar. My record is 124 pull-ups accumulated over 12 sets. I am not optimising this very much, it is just a fun thing to do. I also did a Cooper test recently and scored 2940m for 12 min run.

Food is great. Madrid has lots of small green grocers with fruit and veg at a bargain, and good quality. I snap pineapples for 1euro per kilo, once I got one for 0.80c / kilo! Or a bag with 7 ripe pomegranates for 1 euro, same for a dozen bananas.

[SouthernAlchemy]

Hey GP, it's awesome to hear how well you are settling into the Spanish life! I haven't seen you over in the Foraging Log for a few months. Any prospects for the new locale?

[guitarplayer]

Hi @SouthernAlchemy, yes when we went to Sierra de Guadarrama we had found some winter chanterelles but in Spain one needs a permit to pick mushrooms so we left them. So this permit phenomenon tells me that foraging is alive and well in Spain! Stretching the definition of foraging, we also saw a wild boar (did not take it with us).

Otherwise, now is the quiet season foraging-wise on this hemisphere. That is not to say that there is nothing out there, but late summer and autumn are much better for spotting wild foods. Going back to before heading to Spain, I had cycled over to our estate apple tree sometime in November to get the ca 100 lot of apples it gives; and on another occasion I collected a lot of birch polypore for teas, this stuff is anticancerogenic + other good things about it.

Also, my intention for the foraging log was to log new specimen I foraged to show folk, so if I got more of the same I tended not to post it. But actually, finding wild foods is so much fun maybe I should just log them anyway for enjoyment of myself and others.