Employ Bob

 Sorry for the spam. That's what I get for failing to close registration on this community. 

I now have a temporary full-time position working at the IT Help Desk at WR Grace. Hence the long stretch with no updates. It's full-time, and so far I've enjoyed working there quite a bit. The environment is pretty laid back, the call volume is generally mild, and the people there are some of the friendliest I've worked with.

Tentatively I'm there for a two-month contract, but depending on how things go I could be there longer. I'll have a better feel for it when the Help Desk manager returns from his medical leave.

In the meantime, I'm toning back my job searching considerably for the next month or so. Once I have a feel for when my contract may be ending, then I'll pick it up again.

I had my interview this morning for the tech support position, and I think it went very well. In addition, I learned that some of my other skills beyond technical support could have value in this company, so it would be a good place to have contacts to look for long-term employment.

A networking contact forwarded to me an ad posted in the Telegraph for an "Excel Whiz" to help with data conversions part-time. It seemed like it'd be a good way to earn a little extra money, and I feel I'm very much qualified for the position. I sent a letter of interest and an Excel-tuned resume.

I just finished my phone screening for the tech support position in Cambridge. I again think it went fairly well -- on a few of the technical questions, I was not able to give an immediate answer, although I did try to describe the steps I would go through to get the answer. I also feel I expressed plenty of enthusiasm and interest in the position. So, now she's going to talk to the recruiter and the account exec, and then they'll contact me.

I just heard from Veritude, and they would like to move forward with making an offer to me. Right now all they are waiting on is my reference and background check.

Yay.

I feel my interview at Veritude went very well. I had ready answers to all of the manager's questions (drawing mainly from my customer service experience at Circuit City), and he seemed impressed with my level of preparedness -- he actually complimented me twice on it, saying that not many of the candidates he's interviewed spent that much time on it. We also chatted informally a little before and after the interview, which hopefully made an impression. I'm going to send my thank you letter this afternoon, so hopefully that'll seal it.

I received an email from the recruiter I've been working with from the first MA consulting firm. He has a tech support position available in Cambridge near Alewife. He's sending me the information now, and if I'm interested, he'll set up the phone screening for tomorrow. It's expected to be a 3-6 month engagement.

I had my initial interview with Veritude, and I think it went alright. The feeling I get is that their requirements are fairly loose, which is understandable, since the position involves about a month of training. My task for the rest of the morning and start of the afternoon is to learn all I can about Fidelity Investments and 401k products so I'm ready for my second interview, which is at 10am tomorrow.

I just went through a phone screening with Veritude, and will be interviewing with them tomorrow. They were recommended to me by a networking contact as someone to check out for CSR positions. Assignments tend to be 3-4 months, according to the guy, and sometimes their client does hire permanently after the assignment ends. Salary is not fantastic, but it meets my short-term needs. It will hopefully also lead to contacts with Fidelity, which is a company I would expect could use good report developers from time to time.