This Business and Moment...

[bJN]

Well I had my first phone interview yesterday, I think I can safely say I don't like them - much more comfortable being able to talk to someone face-to-face and judge the conversation from their reactions. Interview went well enough, couple of technical questions that I either blanked on and couldn't answer, or I just didn't know (and seemed to be out of scope for the role knowledge anyway in my opinion...). Not expecting to be offered the position but can use it as experience, first interview for about six years really!

Had an actual interview today, for a role I think I would prefer and could flourish in, and that went swimmingly! Now just a waiting game to hear back from them whilst I keep looking!

 

[randomshenans]

Good luck man!

 

[FortuitousFluke]

Well I had my first phone interview yesterday, I think I can safely say I don't like them - much more comfortable being able to talk to someone face-to-face and judge the conversation from their reactions. Interview went well enough, couple of technical questions that I either blanked on and couldn't answer, or I just didn't know (and seemed to be out of scope for the role knowledge anyway in my opinion...). Not expecting to be offered the position but can use it as experience, first interview for about six years really!

Had an actual interview today, for a role I think I would prefer and could flourish in, and that went swimmingly! Now just a waiting game to hear back from them whilst I keep looking!

Best of luck with it. I was offered a job last week after an interview that I considered really average. Apparently they were delighted with me so it just goes to show that sometimes even if you feel you didn't hit you peak it doesn't mean you didn't come across well, sometimes what we wanted to project and what recruiters are actually looking for can be a bit out of sync.

 

[russell664]

A quick question, I have been offered a job which I have taken doing IT support with future development in infrastructure. Stoked isn't the word, very excited!

What would class as a formal job offer? I am currently awaiting a letter, but I have an email from my to-be manager detailing the following points:

• Salary
• Holiday
• Other benifits

The email says 'I would like to formally offer you the post', I have said that I would take them up on the offer of the role along with my address to send the formal letter and a start date which has been confirmed.
Maybe i'm being impatient. All of this was confirmed last week.

Would the above class as a formal job offer, the lad I work with has his own recruitment business and says that it does count as a formal offer, even if I don't have the formal letter yet. Just looking to see what you guys think!

 

[randomshenans]

Yes. Your contract will be in the post if you give them your address. Christ, I've started work and got my contract the same day before, so I'd class it as a formal offer.

 

[russell664]

Yes. Your contract will be in the post if you give them your address. Christ, I've started work and got my contract the same day before, so I'd class it as a formal offer.

Thank you for the confirmation, so effectively the letter isn’t a necessity as the main detail is in email form?
Not sure how this all works, been in the same place for 3 years, but really wanted to progress so here I am.

Also, Is there anything I need to do in the meantime before I start? I have asked if there is anything I should brush up on etc... or do I just wait until the start date?

 

[Mrs Seabiscuit]

What is the average time thats seen acceptable to be in one job role/company.

 

[randomshenans]

A lot less now than it used to be. You'll typically see 18 months. I don't think moving soon is an issue, as long as a. you can explain why and it's for good reason, not "I didn't like it, I didn't get on with my boss etc." They are red flags normally and b. you don't do it all the time. Again, if you have the old short spell at a company it's fine, if you can answer a. well. If you have loads of 3-6-9 month periods in jobs, I'd think twice about hiring them as they wouldn't last.

 

[Phate]

So my old boss, who bullied the **** out of me, created my work life a living hell...and generally made me very unhappy for 6 months...is now working in Microsoft...

I was outside having coffee with a colleague, and saw this familiar looking guy leave the building. Then recognised it was him.

Came in, checked on Skype...yep! Hes working here.

Fortunately its for a different team on the other side of the building so I have very little chance of bumping into him, I have also since blocked him on skype...don't want him attempting to get into my head. Our technologies are also completely seperate so no chance of there being a professional need to interact either.

Can't wait to actually bump into him though, when he asks how I am I will outright tell him "Much better now I am no longer working for you"

 

[Rids]

How do you guys deal with unrealistic expectations being placed on you at work?

Our new CFO has started and he has been given a mandate to sort out the group solvency position. As our insurance company and group top company are incorporated in Gibraltar we have always used a local solvency expert to handle the relationship with the regulator and calculate / manage our solvency position. About 6 months ago I was made Solvency II Reporting Accountant and given the task of taking some of the workload away from our local managing agent. The idea is that I'll control the inputs to the solvency model and pre-populate as many of the fields as possible to ensure greater visibility of the Solvency position on our end. I don't have a Solvency II background, I'm very much an assistant in this regard with the goal was it was explained to me at the time to garner knowledge over time.

Its not been the best of transitions into the new role, the local Gibraltar expert is very much like a black hole in that correspondence gos in but not much comes out the other way. He is a nice guy and helpful when you do manage to get hold of him but he has a lot of other clients and cannot give us the attention we need. Anyway this last couple of weeks the poop has really hit the fan as there have been some real issues with assumptions that were being made in the Solvency model that I identified as incorrect and after fixing this we're in a bit of trouble with the regulator.

The new CFO wants me to create our own internal Solvency model we can use to check the work performed by the Gibraltar guy, I'm expected to do this. I have less than 6 months experience in Solvency, I've not read the 813 page guidance, I simply do not have the ability to do this. I have explained this, but nobody seems to care, I have told people that this is beyond me, its not something I can accomplish. This is the sort of thing you employ a Solvency II manager / expert to do, you'd pay them close to double my already generous salary... nobody cares, thats the expectation, do it.

If I had 3 months of savings I'd have walked out today, I'm up for giving almost anything a go, but the expectation here is so unrealistic and the task is daunting. I know for a fact that I can't do what is being asked of me, and nobody cares.

What the heck do I do?

 

[Phate]

Call a meeting with your manager and the CFO. Explain that whilst you are eager for the challenge, you are at a skill & technical limitation and worry that failure to delivery could have negative effects for the business and its finances. In order to achieve this you require proper mandated training to better prepare you and more assistance than simply "just do it"

BTW I have no idea about that type of role, but I assume there is decent training available for it.

 

[Quartz]

Been a really good week for starting to make contacts. We should now have 3 advisers on board... just need to confirm it all. I have been speaking with LinkedIn yesterday as well, a friend of a friend put me in touch with someone, so we're in the process of seeing how we can get Path as a part of what they do. There are some great opportunities there.

I've been reading your posts about using blockchain with CVs and I think you've got a good idea but I think you're missing two massive markets: criminal evidence and video and audio media.

With criminal evidence could you not use your technology to verify the chain of evidence after initial acquisition?

And could not your technology be used to fight deepfaked media?

 

[Quartz]

The new CFO wants me to create our own internal Solvency model we can use to check the work performed by the Gibraltar guy, I'm expected to do this. I have less than 6 months experience in Solvency, I've not read the 813 page guidance, I simply do not have the ability to do this. I have explained this, but nobody seems to care, I have told people that this is beyond me, its not something I can accomplish. This is the sort of thing you employ a Solvency II manager / expert to do, you'd pay them close to double my already generous salary... nobody cares, thats the expectation, do it.

Do you have the budget to hire someone for a month to do this? Or teach you to do this?

Hmm... are you officially qualified to do this?

 

[randomshenans]

I've been reading your posts about using blockchain with CVs and I think you've got a good idea but I think you're missing two massive markets: criminal evidence and video and audio media.

With criminal evidence could you not use your technology to verify the chain of evidence after initial acquisition?

And could not your technology be used to fight deepfaked media?

Probably could well be a great use case for it. We've also been exploring the open science space, in how companies can open up scientific discovery using staking and blockchain, but there are so many things you could do!

We're going nicely on it at the moment actually, just need to keep up the momentum. I found out today I didn't get the internal job in my team, that I've been doing for the last 6.5yrs because I'm not senior enough lol it's like the lowest level job, but same level as I am now... I didn't even really want it but I know lining up raising Path funds by end of March is going to be tight as. Now my options are limited and might well sign on the French unemployment... haha good times! You have to go through some **** to find gold and all that.

 

[Rids]

Call a meeting with your manager and the CFO. Explain that whilst you are eager for the challenge, you are at a skill & technical limitation and worry that failure to delivery could have negative effects for the business and its finances. In order to achieve this you require proper mandated training to better prepare you and more assistance than simply "just do it"

BTW I have no idea about that type of role, but I assume there is decent training available for it.

I have tried to get my point across that this something that is beyond me, but the message doesn't seem to be getting through. I think calling another meeting might be a good shout. The problem is that there isn't anybody else within the company that has the experience to develop me in this area, its a specialist field and being based where we are the talent pool isn't particularly large. Not sounding cocky, I am the best they have at this in house, I'm the only one with more than a basic understanding, but the task being asked of is something that requires indepth knowledge and experience I've just not had time to pick up yet.

Unfortunately there really aren't any kind of deep dive courses for this anymore - a few years ago when this was first being proposed and implemented then there were more options, now all I can seem to find are one or two day overviews of Solvency II, nothing that is going to get me into the detail I need.

Do you have the budget to hire someone for a month to do this? Or teach you to do this?

Hmm... are you officially qualified to do this?

My suggestion is that if the company wants to have greater control and ownership of this then they need to bring in a proper inhouse Solvency II manager, they'd need time to understand the company, and then time to implement the kind of changes required. I suggested that somebody decent on a 6 month FTC would ideal. Given the importance of Solvency II reporting there can be no justification for the funds not being available, you get this wrong and you could lose your license to trade - for whatever reason thats not the way they want to jump, some kind of politics game, I don't know.

There is no real Solvency II qualification to speak of, any decent accountant should be able to do it, give me enough time and enough support and I'd be able to pick it up. Give me somebody with an understanding of it to learn from, bounce ideas off of and I'd be able to pick it up in 6 months...



I'm really not looking forward to work tomorrow.

 

[HungryHippos]

So my old boss, who bullied the **** out of me, created my work life a living hell...and generally made me very unhappy for 6 months...is now working in Microsoft...

I was outside having coffee with a colleague, and saw this familiar looking guy leave the building. Then recognised it was him.

Came in, checked on Skype...yep! Hes working here.

Fortunately its for a different team on the other side of the building so I have very little chance of bumping into him, I have also since blocked him on skype...don't want him attempting to get into my head. Our technologies are also completely seperate so no chance of there being a professional need to interact either.

Can't wait to actually bump into him though, when he asks how I am I will outright tell him "Much better now I am no longer working for you"

What do you do at Microsoft? I have a few of the guys there on my Skype contact list for when **** hits the fan

 

[Phate]

What do you do at Microsoft? I have a few of the guys there on my Skype contact list for when **** hits the fan

SCCM Engineer.

 

[ChrisD.]

SCCM Engineer.

Eugh, I think the only thing worse than SCCM is SCOM.

 

[Phate]

Eugh, I think the only thing worse than SCCM is SCOM.

Yeah it takes a special kind of crazy to want to support this technology

 

[randomshenans]

Haha

I had an interview this morning for a PM role, not really sure how it went really but I'll find out later in the week if I get called back. I have a doubt that they'll think I don't carry enough clout (age really) to run the team across all the different sub groups, but hey! I'll see later. I could do with a role haha no way we'll be ready to raise any cash before that. This stuff always takes twice as long.