Loutfard's journal

[ertyu]

This really is good feedback, 1 and 2 in particular are very useful

[loutfard]

This really is good feedback, 1 and 2 in particular are very useful

Yes indeed. I was a bit worried about my technical skills and lack of recent formal relevant experience being the most likely bottleneck. Like... "Is he able to do the actual work?". I didn't have enough calibration to the real world in this area, so I didn't expect them to consider those strong points. Probably a classical INTJ thing.

In hindsight, passing the HR monkeys by practicing job interviews should have been higher priority. My first and last formal job interview was in 2001. After that, either I wasn't looking for interesting work or it found me. I obviously did prepare, but without speaking to people very much.

[guitarplayer]

If I remember it right, Kahneman around the start of his career as a psychologist worked with the HR for the Israeli army, doing psychometrics for them. Later reflecting, Kahneman concluded that there is little correlation between any recruitment results and performance down the line.

Which is another way of saying that applying for jobs is to an extent a numbers game.

Besides, this seemed to me to be a potential move from 'good' to 'better' and the situation you default on is doing what you are doing which is building a good resilient life framework already.

Good you take it well! I always struggle despite best efforts, the monkey in me.

[loutfard]

Good you take it well! I always struggle despite best efforts, the monkey in me.

There was a bit of "oh, crap" feeling. The feeling didn't last long. Some very smart friends and I had planned a long weekend hacking on a free software/open hardware project. On Saturday evening, I was absolutely in the flow. I came home after midnight, couldn't stop and cracked a sticky technical issue half an hour later.

I'll still try and pierce the HR layer. Some interviewing training, a bit of numbers game, and a healthy dose of lighthearted irony should do the trick.

[ertyu]

Seems like the things they pointed out are all the communication/interviewing/people skills part -- to me the feedback you shared sounded like they thought you were technically fine, but another candidate came across more personable. So you're right, interviewing training -- coming across as personable + having prepared answers to common questions so you can answer them fluently -- is where it's at. There's a small army of HR people on youtube doing videos on, "how to answer BLAH common interview question" -- search something like, how to answer job interview -- and watch a couple. Get a sense for the voice and the language that's expected. I agree w @gp's point that interviewing skills and the ability to do the job are different skills and one doesn't actually imply the other. Good luck

[loutfard]

I'm researching the retirement rules applicable to me. They look extremely tailored to "work until 67 and don't think of doing anything that deviates from the norm":
- The pension rules are arcane and neigh impossible to research.
- The public pension administration does not provide me with any assistance. At all. They ignore any requests for information from anyone under 57.
- My pension as a tenured public servant gets calculated on the basis of an average of the last ten years. It's not clear if that is the last ten years in service or something else.
- I need to have worked for at least 30 years within the EU before I have access to a guaranteed minimum pension. That would be (years worked/45)*(percentage of full time during my entire tenured carreer).

The only thing more or less clear? Reducing my tenured job to working just a few hours a week would be a dangerous financial pitfall. I'd better quit, give up tenure and/or move abroad.

I have plenty of time and will continue investigating. It's increasingly looking like a union membership will be the only way to get reliable basic information.