I go the HP way back when it was free and remember you writings . Life is sure funny . No good deed goes unpunished. I'm sure there are a lot of solar panels on roofs because of you. Hay why not come work with me. Pay is low, not job security ,not AC (air) not insurance,retirement ect. But driving a EV is a big + ----- Original Message ----- From: "Bruce EVangel Parmenter" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Friday, October 11, 2002 11:17 PM Subject: When not to talk EVs ...
> Many know, it has been a year since hp walked me out the > door after 25 years, and I have been competiting with all > the other dead.com walk-outs out there. Besides knocking on > doors and beating the bushes, I have spent my off time > toward a goal. After this quarter, I will obtain my degree > making it easier for me to compete. > > One of my resume submissions had a response (its like > fishing and some times you get a bite. But it means nothing > until the fish is in the boat). > > I passed the first step by having an appointed phone > interview. The job opening is out of SF for a UPS / power > conditioning company. I had submitted my resume for a 'UPS > Battery Specialist' position (a glorified title for a > technician job). > > The interviewer is based in OH, so we juggled our time zones > to match his work hours. He had sent me a pdf that had the > diagrams, symbols, and multiple choice questions we were to > talk about (it was a test for him to know if I knew my > stuff). These were items that I had not touched since my > high school Electronic class (a very long time ago). > > So, being resourceful, I quickly 'boned up' on Ohm's law > formula, resistance in parallel, oscilloscope readings, > color codes, schematic symbols, etc., using web searches. > > As it turns out, I did well (its like riding a bicycle), but > it was smart to bone up first. The OH interviewer was not > technical, but I knew better than to mention the errors with > the questions he used. Now that I had shown him I know which > end of a D cell is positive, he was more interested in me. > > When you interview, one has to use care with their words and > approach. You don't give too much information as they could > make some wrong assumptions, and then you are out of the > running. :: bummer :: > > But, I could hear in his voice that I had gone beyond the > beginning barrier, and he was interested in me. He told me > that with all my qualifications I could easily jump beyond > the battery specialist to a CE (Customer Engineer). This is > what I did before, but on million dollar computer systems, > not the power conditioning units that supply power to the > computer room. > > I told him I was still interested in the Battery Specialist > position (even though it paid less), as I was interested in > learning that job. He was a little set back by my statement, > as if the Battery Specialist position was beneath my > abilities (and wouldn't I want the extra: duty, overtime, > stress, lack of sleep, for a little more $). And he asked why > (?). > > I told him I am interested in the power Electronics of their > units (we are talking 150 kw units here) and the batteries > that supply them. I then told him that I have some > experience with high currents and voltages as I drive an > Electric car ... > > That didn't register much with him, and he proceeded to give > me the rest of the position details. He emailed me a pdf > application form, which I was to fill out and fax a to him > (signing my life away). He felt he had a match as he said I > should expect a call from the local SF manager (sorry, he > did not call). > > Today, I had to pay a store clerk to screw up my fax (they > put some pages in backwards and upside down, even though > I gave them the stack in order). I will postal mail the > missing pages. When I returned, I had an email from the > local manager to call him at 3 pm (as one gets closer to a > job, your hopes rise). > > I talked to the local manager, and he in a smiling voice > said the OH man said I 'want' to be a Battery Specialist (?). > > I said Yes. > > He said, " ... but you have so much experience ... " > > I said, "Did he tell you that I am interested in learning > your high power units and that I drive an Electric Car?" > > His voice was still smiling he said, "yea ... but do you > know what the job is ... ?" (talking about the EV did not > mean a thing to him, and it would not help me to mention it > again. I am sure he would not be interested at this time in > a conversation about the thousands of amps used by NEDRA > dragsters. It would likely hurt my chances, as he might > think I am some 'Wacko'). > > I repeated back to him what I had been told the position > was, but we had to end our conversation short as he got > another call (he had two phones to his head). > > We did establish I am going to meet his 'Battery Specialist' > (who was sick this week) at one of his jobs on my side of > the SF bay. He is probably thinking I would get an idea of > what the 'Battery Specialist' job is about (and I might > change my mind to be a repair CE instead), and his man could > report back to him what he thought of me. Sounds fine to > me. > > Their set-up, office locations, tools, support, etc., sound > very similar to what I had before, so the job would be a > shoe-in. They do have regular company courses that his team > has to take (three times a year they fly to OH). So, that > might be a stumbling point of them asking me to drop my > degree efforts to satisfy their business needs (that is the > same problem I had before, I could not finish a class as I > was always paged out to do a job). > > In all me previous interviews, I never mentioned my EV. > I hope my EVangel zeal did not hurt my chances to land the > job (it is real hard for a hp-way worker, to not be > working). I'll just have to wait and see. > > > > > > > ===== > ' ____ > ~/__|o\__ > '@----- @'---(= > . http://geocities.com/brucedp > . EV List Editor & RE newswires > . (originator of the above EV ascci art) > ===== > > __________________________________________________ > Do you Yahoo!? > Faith Hill - Exclusive Performances, Videos & More > http://faith.yahoo.com > >
