Goals

Time to set some goals with the new job. I know I have to make this work and I can only do that by setting goals.

I have to take each day one at a time.

Think before you react.

Be proactive, not reactive.

I am excited and look forward to this change again in my life.

NFL draft day

The Cowboys made some great picks in the draft yesterday. I was surprised to see them pick up a TE in the third round vs. a wide out. But with the rest of the draft today, we will wait and see.

Check back shortly.

Talking Heads

As their song goes... Found a job. WOOT!!! AAA Landscape found in me what they needed to fill a supervisory position. I am very anxious to get started and show them what I am worth. This is gonna be fun.

Partagas

It's been two weeks since my last Partagas Black Label. I think today I will stop and buy some more. Enjoying a good cigar is not something one should keep from one's self.

I shall talk more on cigars over time as well.

Warming up

Today is certainly warming up. I have a feeling this is gonna be a hot summer. So besides the costs of living sky rocketing... it will cost us a fortune to stay cool as well. This is getting crazy.

Kim's B-DAy!!!!

My daughters twenty second B-Day.... man they grow up so fast. Happy Birthday sweety. I love you.

What a wonderful morning.

The temperature this morning was perfect. Slight morning chill, I love this time of year. Soon the heat will be upon us and then we can complain. But for now let's enjoy it.

The plants are loving it as well. Time to fertilize and start to adjust the irrigation a bit more. Don't prune anything yet except new suckers.

I think I will start doing a weekly plant article. Plants that I love and want to share with others. Keep watching for each weeks article.

Where was I?

So I called AAA. They soon returned my call and asked me if I would come in for an interview with the original interviewer and another senior manager. I agreed and we all sat down and discussed the position that was soon to open and what my qualifications were. Things went well and I seriously believe we might come to terms on this. I hope so. Great company to work for, good wages, and benefits. I could certainly lend my knowledge to a firm like this and help them grow.

I will call them tomorrow, Monday, and let them know I am interested and we need to move forward. Let's hope for the best.

Following the career path...

So after all that I still find myself unemployed. I look back and find myself analyzing my path, my interviews, my answers, and what might have happened. I thought I prepared well. While preparing, I found numerous sources on the net that helped prepare me for interviews, panel interviews, asking questions, and everything else you could imagine. I couldn't believe how much easier it was.

After finding out I wasn't the first choice, I let the mind wander. Everything I did was played over and over. What went wrong? What did I do? What didn't I do? What would I have done differently? I guess I will never know for sure. I did email the recruiter back thanking her and then asked a few questions to see what I might find out about the reasons why. She didn't answer them. She did reply saying there might be a opening for car sales, but I am not a car salesperson. While it might be a path to that buyer job, the pay would be much much less and without ever knowing why I didn't get the buyer job in the first place, I couldn't see myself wasting another year of my life waiting for an opening that wouldn't be there because they felt I wasn't the right choice.

So I found myself back in the race to get employed.

Let's step back two weeks. During my interview process with CarMax, I was still looking and answering ads. I had two interviews for the assistant manager position with the local furniture store Tres Amigos. The pay sucked but a job is a job. I thought both interviews went well. I was prepared, asked the right questions, and felt I answered their questions just as well. They explained they would refer to the owners for the final decision and call me within two days. That was two weeks ago. they never have called. Nice furniture there but terrible HR services.

Another interview I had was with AAA Landscape. One of Arizona's largest landscape companies. I submitted my resume and an online application to see what might be available. After a couple of weeks I did hear from them. While no openings for my wealth of experience was there, they would shop my credentials around the company. I received a call from them about a potential opening the day before my RVP interview in Phoenix with CarMax. I was very upfront and honest with AAA and said I was interviewing with another firm, that the other firm was not in landscaping, and that I needed to honor my prior commitments. AAA of course understood. The contact at AAA asked me to keep him informed of the results. I said I would call him as soon as I found out. Last Thursday after I received that dreaded email, I called AAA and asked for another face to face to see what this position entailed.

And again thats where I will leave this and will continue this soon...

Story continued...

So after waiting another eight or nine days I receive another email asking when would be a good time to call me for a lengthy phone interview. I reply anytime is good. A couple of days go by and I get the call. The recruiter is very nice and polite. She asks me series of questions and asks how I would handle different situations and so forth. Call lasted over an hour. She then said she would be in touch and would like to set up a in store interview. I think things are looking good.

Now another two of three days pass and I receive a email asking if the following Friday would work for me. I agree. The recruiter informs me that this would be a panel interview and suggests that I study up on CarMax, it's history, the positions responsibilities, and of course have some questions of my own.

That Friday comes and I am prepared for the onslaught that awaits me. I put on my good business suit. Shine those shoes and get there fifteen minutes early. Over the next six hours I am interviewed five times, given forms to fill out about back ground checks, credit history, driving history, blood type, hair length, and who my best friend was in the first grade. I was given computer tests as well. Each interviewer asked basically the same questions, and the last interviewer was the Purchasing Manager. He was a very nice and cordial person. We talked for fifteen minutes and he basically said things looked good... BUT! Ah the old but!. I would need to meet with the RVP... Regional Vice President, who approved every hire. They would send me to Phoenix to meet with him. No problem I said. Whats another six to seven hours of my life and three hundred miles round trip? They decided the following Wednesday would be good.

So that Wednesday comes up. I don that suit, shine those shoes, and remove all the pug hair from my accord thanks to my killer attack pug that sheds more than a hundred dogs combined. I drive to Phoenix and meet with the RVP. The meeting lasts an hour or more. He asks the same types of questions that the others asked. I was feeling good and positive. I was asked to give a urine sample there too. That was interesting. But I digress. I felt I was the best candidate for the job. Twenty years of management, sales, HR duties, and everything else under the sun. Willing to give my life to prove myself to a company. I was the man.

We the left the meeting with the understanding that he would contact that purchasing manager in Tucson and the recruiter in Virginia. They would notify me that afternoon or the next day. I made that long trip back home. As the day finished out, no call came, no email arrived, and no carrier pigeon made its way to me.

The next day came and a few hours later I received the email.

Thanks for applying and we liked you BUT!... we liked someone else even more.

Poof!!!! Thirty four days later, nine interviews, four hundred miles, thirty emails, and enough stress to ruin my stomach for years to come. The best guy for the job fell short.

So here I leave this part for another day...

Looking for a career.

I have spent sixteen of the last twenty years owning and operating a landscape firm. The other four years I was operations manager for a wholesale plant nursery and six months as your friendly Schwans customer service manager. Now I am unemployed.

Recently while perusing the employment career boards, I came upon a ad for Buyer in training with CarMax. I must say I was intrigued. I love cars and the thought of changing careers was sounding better and better. So I applied. Thirty four days later I get the e-mail saying, Sorry... try again. Wow, it's like getting dumped by a loved one. What I found interesting in all this was two fold.
One: The hiring process for some companies is extremely intense.
Two: The internet can be a wonderful source to prepare you.

My venture into the fray of hiring started out easy enough. I began as I stated earlier, was applying on line through their web site. This included posting my resume, filling out an application, and other assorted forms and such.

About a week later a recruiter contacted me via email and the process went to stage two. She asked when would be a good time to call and discuss my background and why I was looking at CarMax. I replied and soon found out the recruiter had just left for a week's vacation. So I wait... and wait... and wait.

I'll continue this story a bit later. I must ready myself for another interview. Check back shortly.