Odd things that help get me a job offer by Tony Green

Author 's Note: This article was intentionally intended to be posted in an article website. Since I have not decided what would be the most appropriate site for now I will post it here on my blog.

Image of frogs - who will stand out 

I was thinking back over the years when I have been in between positions looking for employment.  I am sure you know, there are typical ways in which unemployed people find work. Among them are using the Internet job boards and plain old fashioned face to face networking. However, on occasions I have used other methods than these to land myself job offers.

I was interviewing for employment with a software company who worked in the defense space. Normally when I conduct research ahead of a job interview I pound the Internet to see what I can find out. Most people search the first few pages of search engine results. In this case, I checked the results all the way to Page 30. Interestingly enough some M.B.A. students at the Monterrey Naval post graduate school had written a business plan on the company as part of their requirements to receive their degrees. I printed out 120 page document and crammed as much as my memory would allow beforehand.

The interview unfolded and from the puzzled looks of the interviewers clearly, I knew some details I should not have since some of what I read on line happed to be confidential. I finally confessed to where I had obtained the information. Sometimes, digging a little deeper than the normal person does have its benefits.  For the record, I did receive an offer for the job; however, I did not take since I chose not to relocate to where the position was eventually offered.

I recall another instance where I had finished my second interview for a position I had applied for and another candidate and I were the last two in the running. Our prospective employer was planning to offer the job to one of us.

I maintain a personal blog on the Internet in my spare time and I try to complete postings a few times a month. My blog is designed to document my thoughts and feelings in my own words. The people who had interviewed me came across the blog and after reading a few entries walked away with a favorable impression.

If you get to choose what is out on the public domain why not make sure your postings reflects you in the most positive light possible? In the end, I accepted this position as soon as it was offered.

I recall one browsing the various presentations one evening on slideshare.org. On occasion, PowerPoints are available which are useful in preparing for job interviews. I stumbled across a presentation a woman looking got a marketing job had submitted as part of her application. The document described her professional and personal life in way that, at least for me, allowed a much better feel of her background more than a resume or VC would allow. I decided to use it as a model for a template detailing my career and the knowledge which had been obtained as its various stops with snippets of my personality mixed in. After the second interview I sent the presentation to my employer as I understood he would be making his choice and anything I could do to influence his decision was fair game. I did receive the offer. To be honest, I am not sure if what I sent swayed him or not. The professional presentation about your career is still is useful tool to keep in your professional toolbox to be ready if ever needed in the future.

        In closing, I cannot guarantee any of these tactics will work for you in regards to seeking employment, however, but it never hurts to try.

We do not forget but we still do not know why by Tony Green

I spent much of the evening on the 11th anniversary of 9/11 watching the History Channel’s programming about the people of New York City who witnessed the worst terrorist attack in American history up close and personal.

I remember vividly listening to a voice message left by my mother who at the time lived close enough to the Pentagon to smell the smoke from the fire caused by United Airlines Flight 77. I will always be able to recall the sound of fear in her voice.

Image of Manhattan Skyline

I do not think any of us will forget what they were doing or where they were at the moment we found out the Twin Towers had collapsed. I was at the Alameda County courthouse in Oakland attending jury duty. After some reflection I wish I had a better understanding of why the hijackings took place. From most biographical accounts the hijackers were educated and articulate young men who instead of living their days and nights to the fullest chose to sacrifice their lives along with many innocent bystanders.

The best idea I can think is I know radical Islams are upset at U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East, particularly Palestine, and its support of Israel.  In short, the aggressive policy has placed the interests of the U.S. government and its allies ahead of the well-being of the people residing in the Middle East. This, in turn, resulted in many Palestinians living very difficult existences to which these radicals blame the United States.

In light of the successful mission by the Obama administration and Seal Team 6 in particular to kill Osama Bin Laden and the military’s effort to dismantle Al Quida as a terrorist organization I still wonder, as many American might be asking themselves, when are the next group of young men are going to concoct a plan designed at injure and kill as many Americans as possible?

Until a definitive answer as to why the attacks were planned and its corresponding solution it will only be a matter of time before this happens again.  Eight years have passed between the bombing on the World Trade Center in 1993 and the 9/11 attacks. Since that fateful September day 11 years ago I cannot help but to wonder are there people making plans for additional attacks as we speak?

Cold cash is not what it used to be by Tony Green

Image of a twenty dollar bill

On this particular Sunday afternoon I took with my son to see a movie and while as we waited in the ticket line the women ahead of me mentioned she had sent her daughter home to get cash since the machine which processed debit/ credit cards was not working.

I thought to myself, “Are you kidding me?”

A few moments before I reached the booth to purchase our tickets the machine came back up. The incident made me think how cashless our society is nowadays. In my case, there are months where I go without using any cash as all.

How can this be? With the use of debit cards, and even using written checks has been reduced a large amount with the implementation of online payment of bills. Will we as a society ever become 100% cashless?

My initial thought would be, as with any electronics based technology, the possibility of a problem with either losing you electronic method of payment or a glitch in technology which would preclude your access to your money. Wouldn’t cash be nice to be able to use in that situation?

Time will tell but if we were to ever get rid of all printed money, what would the mint do with all of the cash?  Another issue which might arise is what happened if a bank was not readily accessible?

As a youngster growing up in Philly before you could open a checking account you needed to take your paycheck to a check cashing place which after a slight deduction for the service of cashing your check you had your wages represented in a pocket full of cold cash.

The future of printed money might be academic. People have bartered and exchanged goods with each other since the beginning of civilization.  The value of these commodities later became what we know today as cash. Since hand- to-hand transactions will probably not disappear it would be hard to imagine an electronic based method of commerce.

With that in mind cash might never fall out of use permanently but still is not what is used to be.

The use of a Home Owners Association by Tony Green

Image of townhomes

My homeowner’s dues went up again last month. Why? In my case, my fees have increased 100 dollars in the eight years since I purchased the home I currently live in. My question is, “what is the point?” It seems single unit homes are maintained in decent condition without working with Home Owners Associations.

Without doubt, I will concur the streets within the complex receive fresh paving and the grass is cut on occasion but in the case of an regular home the street department are taking care of that from the taxes we already pay.

I recall an issue with the color of the paint on my house. The person we bought the house from had installed a wire to run a phone line to the bedroom. (Do not ask me why this was not done when the home was originally built almost 40 years ago). It seemed they drilled a hole through the wall from the terminal in next to the storage area. In any case, I received a complaint from management because the wire was mismatched to the color of the house. In the end, I had find the exact color of paint at Home Depot and bought a one quart can to paint over around four inches of wire. 

I recall another instance where my wife was attempting to organize a garage sale. Later I received a letter we had not been granted permission from the homeowners Association in order to conduct a garage sale. Why is it I need to ask person to put on a garage sale on a property I purchased? Isn’t that one of the good things about being a homeowner?

Finally, I reviewed the financial statements sent by the managements of the Home Owners Association and even with after noting how methodical the details are laid out of how every penny has been sent and how the budgets are determined I still wonder, “Where is all of my hard earned money going?” 

If you manage a HOA and can tell me I would be very happy to hear what your feelings are on the matter.

Producing children for pay? by Tony Green

Older Asian Couple

The Chinese government supports a policy of prohibiting their urban citizens to limit child production to no more than one child. Parents with multiple children are not given the same benefits as parents of one child. Moreover, in some cases, wealthy families pay a fee to the government in order to have a second child or more. The policy is designed to tackle the problems which result from uncontrolled population growth like epidemics, slums, overwhelmed social services namely health, education, and law enforcement.

This is a strike contrast to the Japanese government.  During my recent trip to Japan, I realized many Japanese are aging but due to population trends resources to support this aging populace may become scarce. For example, my wife’s parents had three children from which they had two grandchildren. Over time if most families bear fewer grandchildren than children then in the long-term the population will decrease. Another example is my wife’s elementary school will be closing after being open since after the Second World War as a result of decreased enrollment of student in her area.

It was even mentioned at some point in the future Japan may cease to exist as result of this birth rate decline. This to me seems extreme; however, it is clear in the long-term something needs to done. How the Japanese government incentivizing its young people to create offspring in the same way that the Chinese in a roundabout way pays its residents to limit births?

I have a hard time believing I am typing this on a blog that anyone can read via the Internet. The concept of getting a stipend to grow families is not quite the “normal” idea of childrearing. Most people given the correct circumstances would happily produce offspring.   

Typically the younger generation looks after the older one. With the risk of there not being enough younger folks to address the needs of the older age group what is the alternative?   Should the Japanese at least consider finding some way to incentivize their populace to produce children?