Fill the application. Start a new career
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Mark - I know what you mean 40+ years in an endeavor can certainly feel surreal when you make that change. I had 40+ years employed at my former company and decided to take the leap when they put out an early retirement offer. I had to get back out there financially but the offer allowed for some "garden leave" paid time to get my head around what to do in my 2nd life and I didn't need to fully replace my income so I went 180 degree from my field and am learning something completely new but still tied in to the technology piece. Getting to learn a lot about manufacturing and building ships
Thoroughly enjoying the change, It was scary before I got into the door of the new job though.
The interview sounds very promising, I know if this one doesn't fit there are a lot of opportunities out there for your talents and the right one will connect. Definitely weird feeling but opening to new adventures... -
@Horace said in Fill the application. Start a new career:
Whomever hires you will be lucky to have you. Good luck! Nothing wrong with two incomes.
This…
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Best of luck, Mark - and congratulations on the opportunity to do something a bit different! I really hope it comes through for you.
I also hope the old source of income comes back
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Mark, honestly I think that you know too much about too many things for a transition like this to get to be crazy hard. Really confident you'll pick up something cool fairly quickly.
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Yeah, and it’s a good later career step. Let someone else worry about accounts receivable and admin stuff. Do what you know and enjoy, get paid comfortably, and get health care to last you into Medicare availability.
@Jon said in Fill the application. Start a new career:
. Let someone else worry about accounts receivable and admin stuff. Do what you know and enjoy, get paid comfortably
One of my former partners was the "managing/money/policy" guy. He was the president of the corporation, but not the department chair - he ran the business, but not the medical part.
When our group lost the contract at our hospital, he found work at another place - much MUCH larger, and he no longer had to worry about all that crap. He just had to give anesthesia (which he was very good at).
Shortly after he moved, he told me how nice it was to not have to worry about all that shit - just worry about the case he was doing at the moment.
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Second round interview went well and consumed the entire hour allotted.
Owner, Lead Engineer, HR and Office Manager were all present.
Started out being asked to introduce myself and tell my story about my experience. That was easy. "It all started in 1981 when my father brought home an Apple II..."
Three "difficult" tech questions/scenarios from the engineer. First was about a current client situation with old servers, multiple departments with security concerns due to multiple public IP address being assigned to individual servers, etc. Passed that one. Second one was a hypothetical scenario with a couple of products that I had no experience. They liked my response to that one as well. Basically, said I was unfamiliar with said products and would have to research them and the situation. Then collaborate with fellow employees to arrive at a solution. Third one I don't even remember, but I aced it as well.
Three or four less technical questions more along the line of basic IT support issues within the company itself. Printer not responding, workstation unable to join a domain, etc. easy stuff. Then an operational type question like: It's 3:00 pm on a Friday and payroll department is dead in the water and payroll/paychecks are not going out, and at the same time the President of the company calls you into his office and is experiencing an issue. What do you do? I replied, first and foremost, there is nothing more important than payroll. I know this as I spent 20 years writing and supporting payroll systems for large temporary employment agencies. I would tell the president that payroll is stalled and needs to be addressed first. After that is resolved, I will come see you. Aced it!
At the end, they asked more about me and if I had any questions for them.
I told them I was excited that they were in growth mode and that I would like to grow along with them.
Told them about my insatiable desire to learn new things, about my hobbies, yes, even the RC Helicopters, electronic knowledge, and coffee. That over the past 3 years, I taught myself 3D design and how to use a 3D CAD system and build, use and maintain 3D printers.
They have no coders on staff. Not even any people capable of writing scripts for productivity. I told them that coding and script writing is actually one of my areas of expertise and that I could bring that to the table to help with office productivity, etc. Brought up the fact that I spent my entire career writing custom software and that it could provide a new source of revenue. The owner liked that as the company they are about to acquire, has a custom software division and I could be very helpful with that.
At the end and as we were walking out of the meeting room, more informal personal questions about my family, the vacation I just took to visit mom, etc. The Office manager is going to Florida with her son in two weeks to go fishing pretty close to where we were.
I felt pretty good leaving that interview.
I should know something by this time next week.
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Sounds like you nailed it.
@Aqua-Letifer said in Fill the application. Start a new career:
Sounds like you nailed it.
Indeed. Thanks for the update.
Fingers crossed.
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@George-K said in Fill the application. Start a new career:
Would it be a long commute from your place, or is it mostly work from home?
In Janesville. About 15-20 minute commute up I-90
It's on-site. Although Hybrid is possibility in the future.
Tonight I went out for a beer at the invitation of my sister to a local bar. Met a guy who is worth more than anyone I have ever met in my life. An audiophile and automobile enthusiast. Went to high school with Mrs. Mark. Rubs elbows with billionaires. Super nice guy. Makes me feel very poor. lol His Turntable costs $40k. He ordered a new pair of speakers after attending AXPONA this year. $150k for the pair. We hit it off to say the least. Offered me a cigar and I accepted. Haven't smoked a cigar in over a year. It was a very very good cigar. Invited me to join his "listening group" I have his contact info in my phone. lol
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Yeah, if they bring you in for a second interview and it goes well you should be a shoo-in, whatever the hell that means.
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@mark You are quite a smart guy, and I am sure it will work out for you!
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Thanks for the update! Detailed. Love it, and sounds like a good interview. Not only answering questions well but interviewers always love when candidates bring extra skills and opportunities to the table, like you do.
Good luck. I’ve learned and seen even the perfect interviews not result in an offer. You never know what other candidates are out there, or other factors. But still…good luck!
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So, it's been over two weeks since the interview and I was resigning myself into believing that I had not made the grade for whatever reason. Did I say something I shouldn't have said? Was my knowledge not up to par? Was I too old? etc.
I sent an email to the recruiter this morning asking for an update. He responded quickly and said he would call me with the update/feedback. I still felt like this was over, until he called.
They loved you! The owner and engineer were so impressed with your level of experience and knowledge that they don't want to put you in the role of "just Sr. Engineer". They think you would be better suited as a Senior Level Manager! They are currently very busy with, and waiting to see how things develop with the acquisition of the other company before making on offer. This is no guarantee but things look very positive.
What a great way to start my weekend!
I still haven't heard anything from the company in Rockford. I sent my resume, references and cover letter in last week. My contact there said he confirmed that the boss got everything and that he has 8 other resumes to go over and is currently interviewing. I hope to hear something soon there as well. It's an IT Manager position with the goal of modernization from an IBM AS400 green screen MAPICS manufacturing ERP system.
