Well, been back for a few days...am extraordinarily tired, but have slept too much...was sick with bad food poisoning a few days ago...so have no energy right now:(BTW, not my pic...just found it on Flickr...and thought it was pretty cool. The night I returned home...it too was beautiful, but the image will only reside in my noggin:P Very cool descending down into YVR...with the moon lighting the cloud tops...and the city lights far down below...one of the moments worth living for, methinks...haha, will stop now:P
Amgen was interesting. Prior to going for my interviews...I think I had many reservations about relocating...I simply went with the attitude that not many ppl received invitations for onsite interviews...and b/c of that, I thought it was a nice compliment. But in my mind, there were many impracticalities of going...
Following my interviews...and visiting the campus (it really reminds me of university and not a large company of 20000 ppl)...combined with the way that I was treated in my time there...Amgen is clearly a first class organization. One of the ladies who interviewed me, she had been working at Amgen for more than 15 years...and said that her current group (Investigative Tox, the one I am applying to)...it is the best she has ever known. Another guy...the last to interview me (more on that later)...he came from Pharmacia...and he had been there for 3 years...he said he actually enjoyed coming to work. It was an atmosphere that fostered continuing scientific thought...in a non-competitive environment...one that many ppl thrived in.
I was asked why I was interested in the position...in a number of different ways...well, to be honest...it was simply that I wanted to move to the next level...I wanted to be in an environment where I could test my limits...for I have never been one who was simply content with remaining static...though I am lazy in my actions:P From my perspective...and from that of those who interviewed me...Amgen is a place where the imagination can run a little wild...that it doesn't seem having or not having a Ph.D. is a primary criterion in determining whether or not an individual has ability. And to top it off, it is a large company, with the feel of a small academic, collaborative lab atmosphere...and I found that very stimulating... The fact that Amgen treats its employees in an extraordinary manner...that doesn't hurt either:)
Some last thoughts...am not sure if I will get the job...but nonetheless, it really was eye-opening. I had an opportunity to see what the possibilities were...and that is a great learning experience.
The funniest memories...totally random here:P Managed to talk to every interviewer about snowboarding...and of all ppl, the senior director...the head of the entire Investigative Tox group...he simply stated that since he wasn't making the decision...we talked happily about the 19 inch pink salmon he caught while flyfishing in Squamish:) And to top it off, the last guy to interview me...he simply stated that I had probably entertained all the questions he could possibly think of...so he wasn't going to ask me anything...so he proceeded to tell me about guys' night out..."the night where one can do things that the wife would kill him for"...he was joking, as I got the sense he was a good family man...but it did tell me something...the ppl were really nice to me...and that goes a long way...I think that is a tribute more to them as ppl and as a company...than my ability (or lack thereof) to put ppl at ease:P
Back to sleep now:)
No comments:
Post a Comment