On Mon, 20 Mar 2017 16:29:54 +0000, Stephen wrote:

> On 3/20/2017 3:58 PM, Jim Henderson wrote:
>> On Mon, 20 Mar 2017 09:03:34 +0000, Stephen wrote:
> 
>>> I don't know about teaching. Helping people to cope with life, yes.
>>
>> Well, maybe not so much about teaching, but about learning - and
>> everyone learns in different ways.  Sign of a good teacher is one who
>> understands that and can adapt.
>>
> There is such a thing as a good teacher?

Oh, yes, I had some great teachers - not just on subjects, but in life.  
Two of the best about life, actually, were violin teachers I had.

One of them taught me the importance of seeing things from other peoples' 
point of view, and how to do that especially when their POV was different 
than yours.

> Well maybe I did not go to the best sort of school. So have no
> experience.

Sadly, that happens - but teachers aren't just the people who stand in 
front of a class, either.  Good role models also teach by modeling good 
behaviour.

>>> I don't see it as a "one size fits all". Everyone is different and
>>> react to different situations, differently.
>>
>> True.  I don't mean to suggest anything differently than that - but
>> everyone should learn some baseline coping skills for what to do when
>> you fail, because failure is a big part of life.
>>
>>
> Failing in a safe environment is a good way to learn. At least for me.

Yep, absolutely.  Experience being what you got when you didn't get what 
you wanted - that sort of thing.

>>> I'm sure you do it sympathetically. Sometimes the best answer is "I
>>> don't know. I would have to research it and get back to you.
>>
>> That's exactly the type of answer I'm looking for - or for the scenario
>> to lead to a discussion about the types of information they're looking
>> for (since it's my scenario, I can answer those questions - so it can
>> become a bit of role-play).
>>
>>
> Honesty is really the best policy.

Indeed it is - and that's what I want.  It's easy to do interviews like 
that when you are the SME - because being a SME makes it much easier to 
smell out the bullshit.

> Indeed they should be. But sometimes the pressure makes people waffle.

Yeah.  Especially if they think about what's on the line.  After I got 
laid off, interviewing was much harder because it was about paying the 
bills - and I'm picky about who I'll interview with, too.  Always have 
been.

So when the outplacement service said I should be sending out something 
like 50 CVs a week and scheduling 10 interviews a week - that's not 
something that I see as sustainable, because you can't fake excitement 
about a prospective job.  When they ask you "why Microsoft" or "why 
Amazon" or "why McDonald's" - the honest answer at that point is "why 
not?  You're one of 50 people I sent CVs to last week."

But when it's just two companies who are interested (as was the case for 
me recently), I could honestly answer "I'm not actually looking - you 
guys came to me, but the technology you work on interests me, so I 
thought I'd see what you had to offer" - that's a much easier kind of 
interview to have.  I actually felt bad about withdrawing from one of the 
two I recently was talking to - but new responsibilities with a broader 
scope than what they offered, and without moving companies (meaning I 
still work from home instead of having a 90-minute commute each way at 
least 3 days a week) - staying where I am makes sense, even if they 
offered more money.  At some point, it isn't about the money - and it's 
nice to be able to say that.

Jim
-- 
"I learned long ago, never to wrestle with a pig. You get dirty, and 
besides, the pig likes it." - George Bernard Shaw

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