things not to do in an interview...

Esp. if you want to get the job...(alternatively, the following are means to ensure the contrary!)...

Have been involved in interviewing candidates for the principal scientist (Ph.D.) position in my group at work...the most remarkable thing about interviews is the consistent normalcy of the process...but my ideas were shattered late last week...

I have to qualify what I have to write next with the following...I have no doubt this individual is very knowledgeable...and he is definitely a very nice person. So Thursday night, my supervisor, a coworker and myself met this individual for dinner...then I attended his seminar the following morning...and was in the group that had lunch with him...and what follows...I swear there is NO embellishment!!! So here's the list of things you should NOT do at an interview:

1. at dinner...if the hiring manager is a bit round and is obviously enjoying his dessert...you should not ask if they exercise...this is almost akin to asking an overweight lady if they are pregnant...

2. when you present data at a seminar...it is good to review it beforehand..."hot off the press" data is great...if, and only if, there are NO holes big enough to drive a bus through...

3. you should never make a statement that one of the interviewers looks like a mass murderer (apparently yours truly looks like the Korean guy at Virginia Tech...good thing I have a thick skin and didn't take it personally)...and when others give you repeated hints to drop the matter...you should NOT continually re-assert your point by mentioning the various rationale for thinking a certain way...(to be honest, I think his prescription must have been a little off, but I digress...)

4. it is bad form to negotiate "work from home" days on the interview...particularly when you are told that the company does not have this policy...he spent 10 minutes further discussing the merits of doing so after being told this...

5. when asked "why do you want to work for the company?"...it's best to say something that is attractive about the company...even if it is not true...of course, no one ever fibs:P Stating that you turned down the offer for an interview the first time HR approached you...and the ONLY reason you came, is that they were persistent...(and that it is hard to find a good HR dept these days)...probably not adviseable! But what do I know ;-)...

a weekend with ma fan girl...

Well, went to the SD zoo this weekend...picked up my gf from LAX on Friday night...took us an hour to get out of there and onto the freeway...2+ hrs later, we rolled into our hotel...was way past my bedtime...combined with having to deal with California's finest drivers, I was in a wonderful mood...haha, actually was quite excited to go meet the animals! The zoo is worth going to...now if only I had a Nikon dSLR with an 18-200 mm VR lens...then I would be truly happy:P

In the course of two days, this is what I discovered (or "re-discovered") about my gf:
-she likes to make fun of my small ears and big head (it never gets old for her!)
-she likes to slap me on the forehead or pull my ears when I least expect it (such as when I am driving on the freeway!)
-she always makes herself at home in my car (indications of this include cookie crumbs all over the passenger seat, her feet marks on my dash and the seat reclined all the way back!)
-she never closes doors after herself and leaves my cupboard doors wide open (perhaps she forgets what was in them?!?)
-she moves my bathroom mat around with her (apparently it keeps her feet warm)
-she will break off a conversation and run off whenever she sees an interesting thing (animal, flower, bird, strange spot on a wall...ok, ok, the last one I made up...but her randomness does wonders for my ego...guess I have no ability to carry on any sort of interesting banter:(...)
-she is happy (truly happy) when she gets a chance to have an In n Out double double cheeseburger! (that's awesome...since I am so cheap:o)
-she was extraordinarily excited when it turned out we had time to go to LA Chinatown to look for 2 buck t-shirts in Saigon Plaza...and wasn't disappointed when we arrived too late...(plus she bought 2 - 1 dollar lanyards...and that made her happy!)

After all these (and more)...there's one thing I learned...for some, a few of these may be annoyances...but this is really the good stuff...

(and if you think I am normal...guess again:P)

Took this with a point and shoot digicam awhile ago...wanted to share :o)...now if only I could justify getting a Nikon D80 with an 18 - 200 mm VR lens...sigh, one day... :(