Update XVIII: 15 Miles From Lunch

[memphis]

On the plus side, he should be fired from the job in plenty of time to Focus on Christmas full time.

[Joe Biden 2020]

Thanks for the well wishes everybody.  I've learned a few lessons from last time that I will apply to this job.  I will practice on my CAD at home most evenings.  I will focus further attention to the detail.  I will relax and do my job.  They promise to fully train me rather than throw me out to the wolves immediately like I was at my previous company.

[Franzl]

Thanks for the well wishes everybody.  I've learned a few lessons from last time that I will apply to this job.  I will practice on my CAD at home most evenings.  I will focus further attention to the detail.  I will relax and do my job.  They promise to fully train me rather than throw me out to the wolves immediately like I was at my previous company.

Happy you've found something.

But what training do you require? I thought that's what CADD school was for?

[Joe Biden 2020]

The job starts Monday, November 3, 2014.  I will find out the official hours after all my paperwork is complete.  I've sent in my employment paperwork, so my recruiter will have it when she gets in first thing tomorrow.  Because of the job, I am back down at my parents for the night as I came back to talk strategy.  I will go back up to Tulsa tomorrow and spend the weekend up there while I wait to start.  I will attend one last church service at my Tulsa church on Sunday.  I will come back down Monday with my main computer and the things I will need to get started down here.  I will keep the apartment through at least the end of February/beginning of March.  If I still have a job then, I will probably make my decision to move out of the apartment completely by the end of May and move into an apartment in Oklahoma City.  If this job ends after three months, I will likely just go back to Tulsa and resume looking for another CAD job.  This is a 3-6 month contract with the slight possibility of being kept on for another contract after this contract end.  When I get back down here on Monday, I will stay at my parents through Tuesday night, November 4, 2014 and then move in with Grandma on Wednesday night, November 5, 2014.  I will go up to Tulsa on Saturday, November 1, 2014 and cast my ballot early since I won't be able to on Election Day itself.

[Joe Biden 2020]

Thanks for the well wishes everybody.  I've learned a few lessons from last time that I will apply to this job.  I will practice on my CAD at home most evenings.  I will focus further attention to the detail.  I will relax and do my job.  They promise to fully train me rather than throw me out to the wolves immediately like I was at my previous company.

Happy you've found something.

But what training do you require? I thought that's what CADD school was for?

Just the training on how they do things and exactly what they want done.  The training is not on drafting itself, but their specifications and requirements.  I wasn't really trained at my previous company, I was just thrown to the wolves and the wolves ate me alive.

[King]

Schedule a specific time of day everyday that you absolutely will study CAD. In fact, ask your new supervisor if you could spend time off the clock using the company computer after work to do some practice CAD time. It will look good coming from a new employee and guarantee you so it instead of in the comforts of home.

[Fmr President & Senator Polnut]

Tweed, I will say this is a globally respected defense contractor.  If this plays out with either 3 or 6 months, it will really boost my resume.  I know what to do this time and I will practice every night for a while.

nek minnut

[Joe Biden 2020]

Schedule a specific time of day everyday that you absolutely will study CAD. In fact, ask your new supervisor if you could spend time off the clock using the company computer after work to do some practice CAD time. It will look good coming from a new employee and guarantee you so it instead of in the comforts of home.

That's a very good idea.  I will keep that in mind!

[Mr. Morden]

If this job is in OKC, can you just break the lease in Tulsa and move out of there, presumably paying some sort of penalty?  How high would such a penalty be?  Cheaper than maintaining two separate apartments for all this time?  Or is breaking the lease legally impossible?

[Joe Biden 2020]

If this job is in OKC, can you just break the lease in Tulsa and move out of there, presumably paying some sort of penalty?  How high would such a penalty be?  Cheaper than maintaining two separate apartments for all this time?  Or is breaking the lease legally impossible?

I will stay rent-free with my grandmother while I'm down here.  I am going to keep the apartment just in case this job ends after 3-4 months.  If it does, I will take my experience back to Tulsa and resume life up there.

[J-Mann]

Among the litany of issues you may have Jeff, execution is chief among them.

You do have a vision for yourself -- from what I can tell, it's to be an independent provider, a head-of-household who puts in a Dick van Dyke style day, comes home after a solid eight hours to trip over the ottoman and into the arms of your housewife and your 2.4 children, waiting for you in your modest ranch-style house with the white picket fence.

The problem is, vision without execution is worthless. Anyone can say that they know they need to practice the skills they need to build a career. Anyone can say they need to exercise and lose weight. In fact, anyone can set an arbitrary goal associated with their vision -- even baby steps -- and if they don't actually do anything to work toward that goal or vision, it's worthless.

Jeff -- this is largely your modus operandi.

If you're ever, ever, ever going to pull yourself out of this seemingly endless cycle, you'll need to actually follow through toward your vision. Based on your work performance, I suspect that your actual execution on the job is more like the type of person who hopes to hide in the workplace and hope the boss never notices you, rather than someone who is actually interested in building a career.

You're not wrong to believe in yourself, and while I don't think you're anywhere near a good judge of your own abilities, it's not wrong to have a dream. But you're painfully bad at actually following through on, well, anything.

You ought to try something very simple in order to start making progress. This is an old story about (I believe) Andrew Carnegie. Each night before you go to bed, take a 3x5 notecard and write the five most important things that you can do the next day, and rank them in order of importance.

My guess is that this list would never include "Watching four football games" or "Eat at Braums." The list should be meaningful and important things that help you build toward your vision. Make the first (as an example):

1. Spend one hour doing AutoCADD training on Lynda.com
2. Take a 20-minute walk
3. Go to the grocery store and buy a week's worth of fruits and vegetables
4. Call and email contacts at CADD school to ask about potential connections for the job search
5. Research how to sublease your Tulsa apartment, in the event you land a job in OKC

At the beginning of each day, review your list and knock off the items one by one. Make sure these items build toward larger goals and, ultimately, your vision.

Jeff, I do hope you treat this opportunity better than the last and actually follow through on bettering yourself. Scoring a new position is not the end of your challenge; it's the beginning.

Will you at least try this method for a period of time (not say "that's a good idea!" and immediately dismiss or tell us "I'll think about it," but actually do it)? You can post your top five here and use the forum as an accountability tool, which would be an incredible benefit to you.

Now is about actions, not words or optimism or warm fuzzies or delusion. Action. What will you do to ensure your success from here on out?

[Bacon King]

Doing some catch-up here

I know it's early but:

going for the ride is its own reward.

I'd like to propose this for next season's title

[Joe Biden 2020]

Among the litany of issues you may have Jeff, execution is chief among them.

You do have a vision for yourself -- from what I can tell, it's to be an independent provider, a head-of-household who puts in a Dick van Dyke style day, comes home after a solid eight hours to trip over the ottoman and into the arms of your housewife and your 2.4 children, waiting for you in your modest ranch-style house with the white picket fence.

The problem is, vision without execution is worthless. Anyone can say that they know they need to practice the skills they need to build a career. Anyone can say they need to exercise and lose weight. In fact, anyone can set an arbitrary goal associated with their vision -- even baby steps -- and if they don't actually do anything to work toward that goal or vision, it's worthless.

Jeff -- this is largely your modus operandi.

If you're ever, ever, ever going to pull yourself out of this seemingly endless cycle, you'll need to actually follow through toward your vision. Based on your work performance, I suspect that your actual execution on the job is more like the type of person who hopes to hide in the workplace and hope the boss never notices you, rather than someone who is actually interested in building a career.

You're not wrong to believe in yourself, and while I don't think you're anywhere near a good judge of your own abilities, it's not wrong to have a dream. But you're painfully bad at actually following through on, well, anything.

You ought to try something very simple in order to start making progress. This is an old story about (I believe) Andrew Carnegie. Each night before you go to bed, take a 3x5 notecard and write the five most important things that you can do the next day, and rank them in order of importance.

My guess is that this list would never include "Watching four football games" or "Eat at Braums." The list should be meaningful and important things that help you build toward your vision. Make the first (as an example):

1. Spend one hour doing AutoCADD training on Lynda.com
2. Take a 20-minute walk
3. Go to the grocery store and buy a week's worth of fruits and vegetables
4. Call and email contacts at CADD school to ask about potential connections for the job search
5. Research how to sublease your Tulsa apartment, in the event you land a job in OKC

At the beginning of each day, review your list and knock off the items one by one. Make sure these items build toward larger goals and, ultimately, your vision.

Jeff, I do hope you treat this opportunity better than the last and actually follow through on bettering yourself. Scoring a new position is not the end of your challenge; it's the beginning.

Will you at least try this method for a period of time (not say "that's a good idea!" and immediately dismiss or tell us "I'll think about it," but actually do it)? You can post your top five here and use the forum as an accountability tool, which would be an incredible benefit to you.

Now is about actions, not words or optimism or warm fuzzies or delusion. Action. What will you do to ensure your success from here on out?

What I am going to do differently is play with my AutoCAD every evening.  Like King suggested, I'm going to block off 45 minutes most every evening except Wednesday to play with it distraction free.  I will try to keep it at the same time or close to the same time every evening so it's easier to maintain.  While on the job, I will also pay more attention to detail and pay as close of attention as I can while they train me.  I want to do everything within my power to prove myself worthy of going the full contract and being put on another contract.  I learned a lot of things from my previous opportunity and plan to make a lot of changes.  This is not by any means an exhaustive list of things I'm going to do.  I've got a whole list worth that would take a couple long posts.  Instead, suffice it to say that I am going to take this job much more seriously than I did the last job.

[Joe Biden 2020]

On the plus side, he should be fired from the job in plenty of time to Focus on Christmas full time.

It is so much easier and so much more fun to focus on Christmas when you have a job.  The 3 months won't end until February 1.

[Grumpier Than Uncle Joe]

Lol. A  big time defense contractor hired Bushie in 10 minutes. Another BS job he's pulling on us.  Oh and RIP Granny.

[Grumpier Than Uncle Joe]

Did you take a nap today yesterday?

[Joe Biden 2020]

Did you take a nap today yesterday?

I did take a nap yesterday.

[Joe Biden 2020]

Lol. A  big time defense contractor hired Bushie in 10 minutes. Another BS job he's pulling on us.  Oh and RIP Granny.

I thought it was awful fast myself, but I'm not going to question it and neither should you.

[memphis]

On the plus side, he should be fired from the job in plenty of time to Focus on Christmas full time.

It is so much easier and so much more fun to focus on Christmas when you have a job.  The 3 months won't end until February 1.

You didn't last the full 3 months at your last job. I stand by my statement. Prove me wrong.

[Fmr. Pres. Duke]

Has anyone reviewed this job yet? It sounds a bit...strange...that a large defense firm hired Bushie that quickly. His first job sort of made sense, small mom and pop operation, but this sounds strange.

[J-Mann]

Lol. A  big time defense contractor hired Bushie in 10 minutes. Another BS job he's pulling on us.  Oh and RIP Granny.

Jeff never sent me the actual job description, and I certainly question such a hiring practice, but there are short-term and entry level CAD positions available through this company. By the look of the job posting I found, they are hiring several short-termers, possibly to relieve some workload. Their experience requirements are quite low.

[Joe Biden 2020]

Has anyone reviewed this job yet? It sounds a bit...strange...that a large defense firm hired Bushie that quickly. His first job sort of made sense, small mom and pop operation, but this sounds strange.

I've PM'd it to J-Mann and Smash, who both have "approved" of the job.  During the interview, he asked me about 10 questions, which I gave the correct answers to, and performed a drafting demonstration right there in the interview room.  They told me as I was walking out it would be a week or two before they reached a decision.  So, I proceeded to head up to Tulsa to that customer service job fair when I happened to get hungry and stopped at the McDonald's on the Turnpike between OKC and Tulsa.  I sat down to eat and happened to check my phone and had a voicemail from my recruiter.  I first thought, "Oh crap, no job."  Then, I checked my email on my iPhone and saw an email from her that said "Offer!!" in the subject line.  I checked the voicemail and sure enough that's what she said.  The voice mail was already 25 minutes old and I was already 65 miles up the road, so about an hour given city traffic at 10:45-11:30 in the morning.  I called her right away and confirmed the details and then I proceeded to choke down my burger and got back in the car, called Mom, Grandma, and then posted on FB and the Forum, then I got off at the next exit and proceeded to head back to my parents so we could talk strategy.  It may have been 30 minutes that elapsed between interview and offer, but still not much time.

[King]

Yeah, he sent me the company name and I'm pretty sure I found the exact job posting he got in OKC on their website.

It's a short term drafting position that only requires an associates degree (which he beats) and some experience, which he technically has enough of as a drafter and also his Northrop Grumann history on his resume (I assume he put it on this application) They seem to be looking for multiple people so maybe they aren't going to be very discerning. It also makes a big deal about being an affirmative action employer, so saying yes to being American Indian (again I'm assuming on his application) might have done him some good.

It all checks out here. I think we've moved past the scam job era of Update. The real question is whether Bushie can hold down this pretty good legitimate job.

[King]

One thing about this company is that it's such a big operation (they mention CAD workstations) that you better cross your Ts and dot your Is on your work. It's likely going to be a mill operation where bad employees are purged fast. I imagine they are going to do metrics on you rather than have eye test personal supervision of your work. If your output is subpar, you'll be brought into the office for a talk pretty quick.

[Fmr. Pres. Duke]

What did you eat at McDonalds as a celebratory meal??