Today's Dilbert

Prefiero no venderme

Contacté con una empresa cuyos servicios utilizo a menudo, preguntando si tienen un botón o banner pequeño para promocionarles gratuitamente, o a cambio de algún descuento.

La respuesta fue correcta, me dieron 3 opciones de publicidad en las que salía ganando un % sobre ventas desde mi blog... pero suponía un anuncio intrusivo.

Ahora les enlazaré de todas formas, pero sólo con el logo, sin el nombre... ya que hago yo el botón!

Éste era el 2 original

2: De niña tuve un gran susto que no pasó a mayores, con un pedófilo del cual logré escapar. Al cabo de unos años, cuando ya tenía 12 años, me empezó a perseguir otro que me había acosado en un cine y luego vio en mí una presa fácil. "No pasó nada" en el sentido de que no llegó a forzarme a prácticas sexuales, pero sí me estuvo vigilando de vez en cuando y persiguiendo de camino a casa un par de veces al mes desde los 12 hasta los 14 años, y me agarró más de una vez volviendo sola a casa y me forzó a besarle. No se lo he dicho nunca a mis padres, y durante años me afectó mucho. Al cabo de los años me di cuenta de que nunca he tenido de pareja a un rubio, ni me han atraído jamás, y creo que más que una manía o gusto (soy bastante ecléctica en cuanto a parejas y ligues) caí en que debía ser por rechazo a ese cabrón.

Epicentro

El alcalde de Lepe recibe de la NASA el siguiente telegrama:

"Atención: Movimiento sísmico detectado en Huelva. Epicentro en Lepe. Esperamos
noticias."

La NASA efectivamente estuvo esperando noticias, pero no reciben señal alguna.

A los seis meses reciben el siguiente telegrama del alcalde de Lepe:

"Movimiento sísmico controlado, Epicentro en la cárcel, y no os hemos
avisado antes porque hemos tenido un terremoto de la hostia "

Exposecretary

This week I made the effort to actually visit Expo Secretaria in Barcelona, as I was not too sure what I would find there.

It happened to be better than expected, I actually did find some contacts I needed for my Monday meeting... and bumped into suppliers for offices I used to work at. Bosses were surprised to see my waltz in the next morning, with a bagful of gadgets and ideas for our stand in Madrid in November... which we have been discussing at three meetings so far, and have another meeting on Monday to present my ideas.

The corniest bit was the titles the speeches and congress workshops had. Or the pink, plastic bracelet one stand gave me -Yuck!

First week balance

I started last Friday, so we can consider I've worked at my new office for a week now. The doubt comes from the long week-end, as Monday was a bank holiday.

The office itself is great -my part. It's nice, well designed, daylight streaming in through the window/wall... and good, comfortable, efficient furniture. Which in Spain is not that easy to find in an office!

The people at the firm are really helpful and nice. Silence is the thing that most shocks me -again, in Spain...- and how the team is so young, but am realizing how and why. Am really glad to start working here now, as they are just starting to implement new procedures and quality control processes for virtually everything, from documents to contacts' information... which is really needed. No way to find out where the Canon card or warranty was for this fax machine that seems to be almost new but sticks all the time -hey, if it's new, get it seen to!

The location is really convenient to me, and though there shall be no summer hours -many Spanish companies work only from 8 to 15 in August, or July/August- there are other things that compensate.

Finally, I have noticed how many of my suggestions as to implementing this system rather than that one, or how to optimize certain procedures, have been taken with surprised delight. They were looking for someone who'd get involved with the re-structuring of the company's systems, and they found Me, a suggest-aholic, so they are beaming every time I say 'Actually...'

So? I am really glad I took this job, and didn't jump to one of the other two offers I got the first day at this company.

The Lady Has Found A Job

...So I shall be back at work, and less likely to post. Even less, I know. What shall happen in the near future, probably, is what I had originally thought of: posting here a whatever I write concerning work at my other blogs.

Have a toast on The Lady!

And suddenly...

After yawning away my cvs, I suddenly have four interviews in three days, plus another two ahead of me next week, plus contacts from other companies who shall get in touch soon to coordinate meetings in Bcn.

Have literally been late to an interview because I was contacted on the phone just as I was walking into the underground TWICE this week. Now, let's see if I finally get one of these jobs. Some have interesting salaries or bonuses, some other are interesting because they involve art galleries, publishers... but pay less. I should start thinking of sticking to whatever comes first, if they don't make their minds up soon.

By the way, the Cuban project starts to have a bit more consistency. And if I did get the job at a local gallery, then I could wrap it up better when I got down to free-lancing for the Cuban artists project. Now that would make it a third positive point towards this offer, as I had already considered the fact of working with art and the fact of being close to my son's school, in my favourite area in Barcelona. The negative sides are the lower salary, compared to other processes I am in, and the working hours -one Saturday a month, I'd have to work all day long.

Esto no es lo que parece

Si llegaste aquí por casualidad, este blog es fruto únicamente de mi incompetencia programadora, para dar soporte a ciertos textos que no quiero escribir completos en mis otros blogs.

Sin embargo, sé bienvenido!

Quiet week

Only had one interview, this week. And not for an interesting job, either.

I guess all the tension in Vatican is keeping our employers busy -hooked on the tv.

Does this sound familiar to you?

Yet another phone-interview!

Coming to hate them. They catch you off-guard.

This time I was at Eva's place, with her asking me all the time 'Who is it? Who is it? Who are you talking to?'. It was the only job I'd applied for that was not in Barcelona City, but was really interesting, import/export. The guy from the HR asked me what I was looking for, I said I was looking for a job in Barcelona. SO, instead of giving me an appointmente for a second interview, he said he'd say something in three days aprox. Sounds like a no-no, doesn't it? AM not deleted from the process yet, though.

Officially a Secretary?

Last week I received this big parcel. Wasn't expecting anything, so I opened it, quite puzzled. It was from Secretaria Plus. It was, basically, an updated guide of hotels, restaurants and other interesting services around Spain -A Must For The Perfect Secretary- and a load of ads for office products, dental clinics, spas, and The Event. I am not going to the Secretarial Congress or whatever they've decided to name it, as I can think of better ways to spend the 399 euro it costs to attend to the three days -550 if you buy it at the last moment!- yet I guess I'll attend the exhibition. What I am still thinking over is whether it is worth to subscribe as a member of the Profesional Secretary Council -80 euro per year, initial fee of 100 euro deducted till end of April.

This, I guess, shouldn't be in their policy

Yesterday afternoon I received a phonecall from a certain HR company. They were phoning me, allegedly, about a job offer I'd applied for almost a month ago, on 09.03.05. Not a high-fly job, yet really well paid if you consider the effort/nerves/responsabilities/wage ratio. Plus, in the centre of Bcn, so I'd be close to my son's school and friends' places for lunch/evening meetings.

Let's say it, it was as a receptionist for a cultural institute, with a high level in Catalan, Spanish and English. But better paid than both my previous jobs -Marketing & Purchase Assistant and Head of Export dept.! Hey, no problem, I shall pick up the phone and attend your visitors with a hell of a great, bright smile for that wage!

Where's the catch to it? I didn't know, so I wanted to find out. Sometimes they ask for a receptionist, but you end up doing secretarial work too -no problem in that case. Sometimes it's more a case of a typo -thanks, but no thanks, in that case.

So, today I went to the HR office for the interview, and the girl in charge of recruitments said that the job wasn't worth applying for now, the conditions had been changed and the salary, the only thing she guessed had attracted me to a lower kind of job*, was almost sliced down to half! Nonetheless, she wanted to see me to have me in her databank, as my experience and profile was fit for a few positions they'd been trying to cover some while ago, so now they guess they may have a job for me soon(ish). Would I be interested in Export, Import, Marketing [...]?

I must say, the salaries in Spain have receded so badly it is not the first time someone behind the desk has warned me about a change in wage, terms and conditions or has commented on how little the companies are expecting to pay for a well trained and experienced professional. They say some times they feel bad even for publishing certain ads, yet people still do reply to them!


*So she called it o_Ô

Making some progress

I am now waiting for my third interview for a certain job that I consider quite well paid, with some extras to it, and where I can see myself working, though it would mean acting out a different version of myself -almost as when working three months for Ensenyament- so I can adjust to a Corporate Assistant Profile.

But... I have also been contacted several times via e-mail and phone for a more interesting project, at least as far as I can see right now, but with a much minor expectation salarywise and in terms of extras, security, and so on. This is, I have been contacted to take part in the setting up of a certain art gallery, first virtual and later on real, in Barcelona. The major problem is I have not been able to actually see anything related to this project, so I can not guess how far it is in the future nor how serious it shall be. It is more attractive to me, yet it may even vanish in thin air after a while, or just never happen. I have read information on previous projects taken up by this person, but I haven't found anything recent and have not received his promised files yet. Also... I was quite taken towards it in the beguinning, so when I was asked to name my expected salary I went too low for an initial negotiation, reckoning it is a new project to start off virtually from scratch, and I thought the moment I sent my reply I should have asked for something a bit higher.

And, right now, I have been contacted via telephone regarding a job I applied for, had a terrible line on the phone, and had to repeat my words over and over, and ask my interviewer to repeat what he said... and he ended by hanging up on me! I ran out to a better area for my mobile, returned his phone call, explained what happened... and failed to get a chance to talk to him again!

__

Update: Seems like I've lost the well-paid job.

Disconnecting

I am spending Easter with my family, and the cybers around here are really bad: most have weird timetables -closing from 1 to 5, for instance!- and are three times as expensive as the ones in Barcelona. Plus, the cybers near my parents' have terrible connections! they are slower than the regular home connections at my friends' place!

I have found ONE place, more or less ok, the best one around, though it looks odd!

Just have to hope I get a pc when I come, as it is not very big: it's a few pcs with a coin slot on them, at the reception to a hostel. Believe me: the best value!

Interview in four languages

Yes, it seems to have been fine! The interview started off in Spanish, then we went on talking in English, then French :*) -which fortunately I had mentioned in my CV I can use, but am not fluent- and then in Catalan, then back to Spanish and Catalan again!!!

Once the interview was over, the man told me he'd send on my cv -the English version I sent- plus the introductory letter I'd sent initially, along with my Spanish standard Infojobs cv. He mentioned a couple of times my presentation/introductory letter was quite good, he'd liked it :DDD

So, am onto the third level of this selection progress... keep your fingers crossed!

P.S.: Once this interview was over, I had to sit a psicotest and then write a bit on why I was interested in this job, for their graphological test! My habit is writing in CAPITALS, so I wrote it like that, as otherwise I'd be forcing it and it wouldn't be my natural me. I hope it's ok!

Interesting interview tomorrow

Had a telephone interview for over half an hour, and then they proposed a second interview on Monday, for this odd, weird job -can't be more specific right now, but it could be fun!- with a good wage plus meal tickets!!!So far, I have never been in a job where they gave us tickets, while many of my friends invite me out with left-over tickets now and then...

How I love eating out a quick lunch, instead of preparing stuff to carry in a Tupperware! Now that wouldn't be a reason to feel guilty and stooooopid!!!

Anyway, first interview was great, though the phone woke me up from an afternoon nap, Friday I was exhausted...

Parents still reminding me I should hurry and get a job immediately, I am not covering my expenses with what I get now, and they must think I'm just sitting around, laughing my life away without worrying about work!

Sorry... been busy

The course ended last Thursday, so I have been already jobhunting. Had a few days off going to the doctor with my son and other little things I'd scheduled for these first free mornings, and am now down to business.

Yesterday I had two interviews:

One was for a temp job, 9 months at a food multinational famous in Spain for its crisps. The position wasn't specially appealing, but it had a decent wage and the working hours were perfect. Plus, there is a high chance to get a proper job as it'd be helping at the Human Resource dept.

The other one, in the afternoon, was for an Export Assistant at a Chemichal company. Better wage, better contract, and not a temp. But the interview didn't seem to go as well as the other one. I somehow felt uneasy with the interviewer, and though I'm used to job interviews and to go through various screening rounds, this time I was getting nervious by the end of the interview -she was jotting down a load of notes about our conversation, and sometimes seemed unsatisfied.

By the way: It was a good chance for my son to feel a little adult: he waited for me at the Mac Donalds -yes, don't say a word- nearby, I walked him there and gave him the money to order a kids menu on his own and wait till I'm over the interview. He loved the experience!