Re: agony over interview


S. 'Trash' Ny Qui wrote:
Well, it seems to me that people are largely ignoring my postings on
the progress of my job-obtaining process. Obviously, people are not
interested. May be, in some degree it has to do with the non-conformist
subject of my latest posting :-).


It is Shabatt over here ...


The selection criteria were written broadly, although the manager
ensured me that they were tailored for me. If I do not win this
position, then this was probably the result of change of the managerial
mood -- they do not want any longer to get me into here. At the moment,
I am banking at conducting the highly-challenging experimental projects
with minimum of resources (which nobody around does), but perhaps this
is a wrong strategy ? Will this get me a higher-level position in the
future ? I see my contemporary colleagues are placed in the positions
of managing and running the resources (equipment) for the rest of the
lab. This is a mode of existence for them. I am not among them.


What is going on, I think, is that you are broadcasting your technical
skills as the strongest side of your personality whereas the general
trend is that the higher positions are intended to be managerial. Which
is why in the minds of those who drive your place you are a junior.
Plus your immigrant background which is always there - they look stupid
to you, you look stupid to them ... this kind of things ... On the top
of that, another trend is that computational modeling is supposed to
take increasingly bigger role in scientific development. Like it or not
you are trying to swim against the tide.

General considerations are that the interview is not a place to change
something in organization. Your nearest goal is to put your foot in the
door. Try to understand where the wind blow just today and align your
strongest sides along the direction. Later you will work toward your
own goals but today try to align with their vision of the place
whatever crappy that might be. After all they are not going to kill
experimental work altogether. So, what is the place of that in their
minds just now? And what is the relations with computational work they
believe? If you manage to fit nicely in that current status (quo?) you
have a good place to start building your relations inside and may be
change something if lucky and persistent.

And no (Russian) jokes, unless you are 100% sure that they are WASP
amusing.

Old Pif

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