Interview Attire

On Mon, 26 Sep 2005 16:44:54 +0000 (UTC), with neither quill nor qualm, Christopher Tidy quickly quoth:

"I'm dressed for interviewing but I brought work clothes with me. They're in the truck. Shall I get them? I can start immediately."

I once worked for a fellow who wouldn't hire anyone until he had taken them to lunch. His hiring decision hinged on whether a candidate seasoned their food before taking the first bite to see if it needed seasoning.

Well I am retired and not really looking for any employment, but they opened up a Hyundai plant here as well as a heap of supporting other businesses, and if I happened to stumble on a job that fit my fancey and hours, I would apply or try for it, but one in partiuclar I heard about was for a second shift tool room machinist......and it was located only 3/4 of a mile fromthe house. I swore after 31 years 10 months in the military I would never wear any shoes or boots that required polish, nor ever get another hair cut.......and wear nothing but blue jeans and T shirts........and sneakers.........I have held up that statement since retiring, and dropped in and applied for the job,, just for the hell of it. I also had my ears repierced since retiring as well, so in I go with my earings, long hair about to the middle of my back in a pony tail, a Black T shirt and blue jeans and Nikes, and desperately in need of a shave as well.......Filled out the application, handed it in, and left. ABout 5 days later I get a call for an interview, to which I went. Interview lasted almost 30 minutes.....and the two foks giving the interview were setting there in white shirts and ties and wingtip shoes.......After the interview I was thanked for coming in and sort of wrote it off......2 days later I get a call and was informed the job was mine if I wanted it. I took it and the pay was really good.........so was conditions and benefits......all I did was make one of's and make repair parts if needed for the production lines. Did not have to leave a well equipped shop for anything.........About 4 months into this job, I get called into the office, and informed they are wanting to move me to a production supers job.........if I was interested........I declined....I preferred to stay in the machine shop. No mention of clothes, hair or what have you was mentioned ever during my employment or interviews.. so it goes to show if you have the talent or capability you'll get the job if your the best qualified for it.......I am still working there, making some extra money to play with and its been great so far. I am now in charge of anonther machinist and the entire 1st shift maintenance crew.........Don;t get as much time on machines as I used to earlier, but its a good job just the same and the pay is even better......but I can pretty do much as I please......

============================================== Put some color in your cheeks...garden naked! "The original frugal ponder" ~~~~ } ~~~~~~ } ~~~~~~~ }

There's probably more to it than you're telling, but he sounds like a bigger fool than the ones he weeded out.

I guess it could be worse. At least the candidate got lunch out of the deal!!

I remember interviewing for my first full time job at GTE Labs in Waltham, MA - we went down to the cafeteria and I wasn't feeling terribly well after the plane ride. Made the mistake of getting the 'mystery chicken' and could hardly eat it.

The engineer I replaced later told me that he wondered how I survived being so skinny and not eating anything!

Jim

Did you work for Thomas Edison?

"Whenever Thomas Edison was about to hire a new employee, he would invite the applicant over for a bowl of soup. If the person salted his soup before tasting it, Edison would not offer him the job. He did not hire people who had too many assumptions built into their everyday life. Edison wanted people who consistently challenged assumptions."

-- From Thinkertoys, by Michael Michalko, Ten Speed Press, 1991

That sounds like about 65% of the machinists here in California. Big companies or little.

Gunner

"Pax Americana is a philosophy. Hardly an empire. Making sure other people play nice and dont kill each other (and us) off in job lots is hardly empire building, particularly when you give them self determination under "play nice" rules.

Think of it as having your older brother knock the shit out of you for torturing the cat." Gunner

(snip interesting story)

You're not an apprentice, Roy. Huge difference. Good presentaton suggests potential, but track record and experience beats potential at least short term. Even a biz with a long-term view needs short-term performance if there is to be any long-term.

C'mon! You can only choose bwtn a 3-piece or a T-shirt??

How about a clean pair of Dockers and a shirt with some buttons. Wear a simple belt with the Dockers and roll the sleeves up off the wrist if the shirt is a long sleeve.

...my current boss still teases me occasionally about not wearing a tie to my interview with her two jobs ago!

That's scary! I'd not heard that story before, but I used a similar test. I took applicants to lunch, let them order whatever they might like -- and noted what assumptions they made at table before tasting.

I also noted table manners, in the sense of regard for others regardless of which hand one might grab a spoon or fork or a chicken wing. I don't mind if a guy jams his face with grub while farting, but I had customers of more refined sensibilities.

I also condidered the instincts of my VietNamese "secretary", a teammate who was far more than a "secretary" but that's how I found a fit in my org that HR couldn't reject though they sure tried. I wasn't supposed to hire her, only supposed to give her an interview to check a box. I offered her the job after 15 minutes of interview. English was and still is a third language for her, but she was and is an unusually capable person when it came to getting done whatever needed doing.

She'd organized logistics of feeding Saigon during the fall with a price of many piasters on her head, made the last plane outta Saigon. She's an incredibly capable woman with good instincts. I've been retired for 6 years now, still see her now and then when I occasionally visit the ol' puzzlepalace to consult. Politically-incorrect-in-the-workplace hugs happen, oh well.

How about people who challenged the (foolish) assumption that pre-salting soup indicated a lack of independent/creative thinking?

Joe (who doesn't care for the taste of salt)

Yeah, that Edison made some pretty stupid choices, didn't he?

" people who challenged the (foolish) assumption that pre-salting soup indicated a lack of independent/creative thinking" sounds like a modernist liberal to me.

Steve

Tell me just what you think you know about Edison, that great man.

Well as someone that admires Edison, I think one of his biggest bone head screw-ups was picking the wrong side in the AC vs. DC debate.

But all in all, he does deserve the title Great Man.

That would be impossible. I could tell you what I DO know about him, though.

Steve

Edison was a crook who took credit for the work of others, and pulled off marketing scams which sent the electrical generation industry back a decade. He was the Bill Gates/Microsoft of his century, and I don't mean that in anything approaching a good way.

He didn't "pick the wrong side", he picked the side which would result in immensely more generator sales for his company. He did everything he could to impede (heh...impede, get it?) AC power and acceptance of same.

In much the same way as other ruthless industrialists who would lie, cheat, and steal to reach their objectives, I suppose, yeah.

Dave Hinz

Dave, do you know of any book that honestly discusses this? I heard these allegations and they make some sense, but I want to go a little in depth.

thanks

I've got a new, in the wrapper copy of "Tesla - a man before his time". email me your address and it's yours. Goes into the specifics of the AC/DC GE vs. Westinghouse thing in detail. Short version: Tesla approached Edison with this new thing he invented called AC. Edison told him he'd pay $30,000 if Tesla would develop it to "usable", Tesla did. Edison weaseled; Tesla went to Westinghouse. Edison then did everything possible (including public electrocution of dogs by AC) to show that his DC was "better".

I will refrain from commenting on my 12 years of experience working for the company Edison founded.

Dave Hinz