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My day, recapped
Be warned: I'm tired, which means this will probably be a long, rambling post. At least I'm putting it behind LJ-cuts.
So... my day, one episode at a time:
1. Interview with Thomson Tremblay (9:45-11:30 am)
Well, perhaps "interview" is too strong a word. I was there for nearly two hours, and spent only 10-15 minutes of that time actually talking with the recruiter. The rest of the time was spent filling out applications and doing yet another battery of tests. I'm not particularly impressed with them, actually, but here are a few of my impressions:
- The application form (computerized) is truly frustrating. It included pet peeves of mine like "not providing enough space to answer questions," "not including space for elaboration," and "poorly worded questions" ("As a receptionist, how many calls did you handle?" What? Per day? Per hour? Total???). Also, in the "previous computer use" section, it asked about programs for DOS -- who uses DOS anymore?!? The last time I used DOS, I was in elementary school!
- I did quite well on the English grammar test: 96%. (The only reason it wasn't 100% was because I couldn't remember whether "birch bark" was one word or two -- I put one; it was two.) On the French grammar, not so well. My actual score (60%) was bad, but not as bad as I thought it would be. Only in Quebec could this be counted as a mark against be, but I do, in fact, live in Quebec.
- I clocked in at 91 wpm typing. Go me! (The recruiter didn't seem particularly impressed, but *I* was.) The keyboards were hideously bad, incidentally.
- The Word test, unlike for other employment agencies where I've registered, involved copying a one-page document and then formatting it in specific ways, all while under a time limit. I did it pretty much all the way through, except for the table they wanted me to include -- for some reason, there was a glitch in their system that caused a space on the right-hand side of each cell. I probably *could* have found out where the problem was, but not while racing the clock on a foreign system. They'll just have to deal with it.
- The guy I spoke to was, well, distant. You could tell this was very much routine for him. Once he realized I didn't fit the profile for the job he contacted me about (I don't have the required French), he kind of just coasted through the rest of the interview.
All told, I left the interview with a budding headache, which came and went for most of the rest of the day. It was the source of much obnoxiousness.
2. Teaching (2:00-3:20 pm)
After stopping in at ILSC (the home-base for my language school) and finalizing my lesson for today, it was time to teach. Though it initially looked like I'd only have one student, I in fact had two, which was much better. Furthermore, between the stuff I didn't get to today and the stuff we're going to revisit on Thursday, I've got almost no lesson planning to do for my Thursday class. Yay! I like my advanced class -- I can do all sorts of nifty stuff with them.
3. Interview with SETYM International (3:50-4:20 pm)
An interview for a real job! The interview was set up by Randstad, an employment agency where I registered last week. However, I met with real people, in the real department where I might potentially be working. The down-and-dirty:
Company and job profile:
- The company is an international project-management training company. They've got three training centres: one in Montreal, one in Kuala Lampur, and one somewhere equally exotic I don't remember anymore. The majority of clients work for governments, and about 85% are from Africa. They come in, take the course (2-4 weeks) and then go back to their jobs to (hopefully) implement what they've been taught. The company offers training in English, French, and Spanish; I would be working with the English division. It's a relatively small company: about 25 employees, including both administrative staff and trainers.
- My job would not be as a trainer, but as administrative support. My job would be to do the paperwork for trainees and trainers, including setting up VISA, arranging accommodations and hotel-pick ups, etc. All three training centres are coordinated here in Montreal. The training season is in the summer, so the first month or two of my employment would mostly be paperwork, followed by summer months full of corresponding with trainees and trainers.
- This would be a temporary position until October 2007 -- I'd be replacing someone going on maternity leave. There's a chance the company might want to hire me for longer, but there are no guarantees.
Good and bad points:
- Good: decent salary for an entry-level position (equivalent of 26k / year)
- Bad: no benefits
- Good: already arranged that, if hired, I'd get the weeks of Pennsic off, albeit unpaid (yes, this is actually a make-or-break factor for me)
- Bad: I might be working on statutory holidays (eg: St. Jean; Canada Day). If so, I'd get another day off to compensate, but no overtime money.
- Good: 9-5 work, though there would be the occasional early morning or late night
- Good: the people seem pretty friendly, and I managed to develop some rapport with them
- Good: great location: St. Catherine between St. Laurent and Place des Arts
- Good: it seems like an interesting company to work for, at least short-term
- Good: built-in end date: no worrying about being stuck in a rut
- Bad: if hired, I'd need to give notice to my current employer. I'm not thrilled with the idea, but I'd be willing to do it.
All told, the interview seemed to go well. The company will get back to the employment agency by Thursday telling them who they want to hire (they've already interviewed 2 other candidates). This looks like a pretty good job, actually, and I'd probably take it if they offered it to me. More updates as they occur.
4. Tea, karate, and more tea (5:15-8:30 pm)
After that interview and a few phone calls to "my boys" (read: Ian and Marc), I went over to Blue Monday for tea and relaxation. I didn't finish my pot of tea, because I needed to leave for karate, but it was very tasty. I no longer remember what it was, but I'm sure I can re-discover it next time.
After that was karate. The Persistent Headache of Obnoxiousness was back, so I took things very easy. I nearly left class halfway through, but I stuck it out until the end, and I'm glad I did. Yay for stubbornness: it is sometimes a virtue.
After class, I had planned on going to the SCA, but instead had tea with Phil at Cha Noir. Neither of us had been there before, and we'd both been meaning to go for a while. Final verdict: good tea, nice ambiance, but no couches. I still prefer Camellia Sinensis, but I understand why some people prefer Cha Noir.
So... from that point, the Persistent Headache of Obnoxiousness was acting up and I decided to go home, take an advil and a shower, and now I'm feeling much better. Also, I've poured my mind out into LJ, which always helps.
So, that was my day in far more detail than anyone could possibly want to know. In my defence, I warned you when I started. It's your own fault if you didn't listen to me.
Tomorrow: teaching, meeting with Marc in the afternoon, possibly karate. That's the plan, anyway. As today proved, plans tend to "gang aft agley" when I'm not looking. Now, for a bit more relaxation and then to bed with me. G'night all.
So... my day, one episode at a time:
1. Interview with Thomson Tremblay (9:45-11:30 am)
Well, perhaps "interview" is too strong a word. I was there for nearly two hours, and spent only 10-15 minutes of that time actually talking with the recruiter. The rest of the time was spent filling out applications and doing yet another battery of tests. I'm not particularly impressed with them, actually, but here are a few of my impressions:
- The application form (computerized) is truly frustrating. It included pet peeves of mine like "not providing enough space to answer questions," "not including space for elaboration," and "poorly worded questions" ("As a receptionist, how many calls did you handle?" What? Per day? Per hour? Total???). Also, in the "previous computer use" section, it asked about programs for DOS -- who uses DOS anymore?!? The last time I used DOS, I was in elementary school!
- I did quite well on the English grammar test: 96%. (The only reason it wasn't 100% was because I couldn't remember whether "birch bark" was one word or two -- I put one; it was two.) On the French grammar, not so well. My actual score (60%) was bad, but not as bad as I thought it would be. Only in Quebec could this be counted as a mark against be, but I do, in fact, live in Quebec.
- I clocked in at 91 wpm typing. Go me! (The recruiter didn't seem particularly impressed, but *I* was.) The keyboards were hideously bad, incidentally.
- The Word test, unlike for other employment agencies where I've registered, involved copying a one-page document and then formatting it in specific ways, all while under a time limit. I did it pretty much all the way through, except for the table they wanted me to include -- for some reason, there was a glitch in their system that caused a space on the right-hand side of each cell. I probably *could* have found out where the problem was, but not while racing the clock on a foreign system. They'll just have to deal with it.
- The guy I spoke to was, well, distant. You could tell this was very much routine for him. Once he realized I didn't fit the profile for the job he contacted me about (I don't have the required French), he kind of just coasted through the rest of the interview.
All told, I left the interview with a budding headache, which came and went for most of the rest of the day. It was the source of much obnoxiousness.
2. Teaching (2:00-3:20 pm)
After stopping in at ILSC (the home-base for my language school) and finalizing my lesson for today, it was time to teach. Though it initially looked like I'd only have one student, I in fact had two, which was much better. Furthermore, between the stuff I didn't get to today and the stuff we're going to revisit on Thursday, I've got almost no lesson planning to do for my Thursday class. Yay! I like my advanced class -- I can do all sorts of nifty stuff with them.
3. Interview with SETYM International (3:50-4:20 pm)
An interview for a real job! The interview was set up by Randstad, an employment agency where I registered last week. However, I met with real people, in the real department where I might potentially be working. The down-and-dirty:
Company and job profile:
- The company is an international project-management training company. They've got three training centres: one in Montreal, one in Kuala Lampur, and one somewhere equally exotic I don't remember anymore. The majority of clients work for governments, and about 85% are from Africa. They come in, take the course (2-4 weeks) and then go back to their jobs to (hopefully) implement what they've been taught. The company offers training in English, French, and Spanish; I would be working with the English division. It's a relatively small company: about 25 employees, including both administrative staff and trainers.
- My job would not be as a trainer, but as administrative support. My job would be to do the paperwork for trainees and trainers, including setting up VISA, arranging accommodations and hotel-pick ups, etc. All three training centres are coordinated here in Montreal. The training season is in the summer, so the first month or two of my employment would mostly be paperwork, followed by summer months full of corresponding with trainees and trainers.
- This would be a temporary position until October 2007 -- I'd be replacing someone going on maternity leave. There's a chance the company might want to hire me for longer, but there are no guarantees.
Good and bad points:
- Good: decent salary for an entry-level position (equivalent of 26k / year)
- Bad: no benefits
- Good: already arranged that, if hired, I'd get the weeks of Pennsic off, albeit unpaid (yes, this is actually a make-or-break factor for me)
- Bad: I might be working on statutory holidays (eg: St. Jean; Canada Day). If so, I'd get another day off to compensate, but no overtime money.
- Good: 9-5 work, though there would be the occasional early morning or late night
- Good: the people seem pretty friendly, and I managed to develop some rapport with them
- Good: great location: St. Catherine between St. Laurent and Place des Arts
- Good: it seems like an interesting company to work for, at least short-term
- Good: built-in end date: no worrying about being stuck in a rut
- Bad: if hired, I'd need to give notice to my current employer. I'm not thrilled with the idea, but I'd be willing to do it.
All told, the interview seemed to go well. The company will get back to the employment agency by Thursday telling them who they want to hire (they've already interviewed 2 other candidates). This looks like a pretty good job, actually, and I'd probably take it if they offered it to me. More updates as they occur.
4. Tea, karate, and more tea (5:15-8:30 pm)
After that interview and a few phone calls to "my boys" (read: Ian and Marc), I went over to Blue Monday for tea and relaxation. I didn't finish my pot of tea, because I needed to leave for karate, but it was very tasty. I no longer remember what it was, but I'm sure I can re-discover it next time.
After that was karate. The Persistent Headache of Obnoxiousness was back, so I took things very easy. I nearly left class halfway through, but I stuck it out until the end, and I'm glad I did. Yay for stubbornness: it is sometimes a virtue.
After class, I had planned on going to the SCA, but instead had tea with Phil at Cha Noir. Neither of us had been there before, and we'd both been meaning to go for a while. Final verdict: good tea, nice ambiance, but no couches. I still prefer Camellia Sinensis, but I understand why some people prefer Cha Noir.
So... from that point, the Persistent Headache of Obnoxiousness was acting up and I decided to go home, take an advil and a shower, and now I'm feeling much better. Also, I've poured my mind out into LJ, which always helps.
So, that was my day in far more detail than anyone could possibly want to know. In my defence, I warned you when I started. It's your own fault if you didn't listen to me.
Tomorrow: teaching, meeting with Marc in the afternoon, possibly karate. That's the plan, anyway. As today proved, plans tend to "gang aft agley" when I'm not looking. Now, for a bit more relaxation and then to bed with me. G'night all.