The Geek Shall Inherit The Earth
Jul. 29th, 2009 05:01 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
thessalianI had an interview today. I learned some very interesting things from it, main one being this:
Geekdom: it's not as much a stigma or dealbreaker as you might think.
To make it clear: this is an agency who wants to put me in with a medicolegal firm on a temp to perm basis. They've already shown my CV to the firm and they are very interested; they wanted to hear what the agency made of me and get a feel for what specialities I've worked in, so we had to do interview and registration as mainly a formality. The agent was well impressed with the list of hospitals I've worked at (I think the only London hospitals I haven't worked at are Guy's, St George's and Barnet) and specialities I've worked in (oncology, radiology, gastro, breast care, neurosciences, ophthalmology, haematology, orthopaedics, diagnostic imaging, a bit of medicolegal, a lot of medical devices, etc etc); given the list, I suppose that's not surprising.
Conversation went to my typing speed. I was disappointed - the keyboard was new and stiff and I only managed 75wpm. When told this, I sighed and explained that I usually average out at somewhere around 85/90wpm, depending on the day, and that I was a bit disappointed but was glad it was acceptable. She asked where the hell I learned to type like that. I told her "Writing" and went on to explain upcoming freelance work (sort of volunteer, but hey, it's for my portfolio so not complaining). In the course of that, the subject of Chaos Magic came up. She was really interested and impressed, and whatever happens, she wants a link to it. Though in the end, explaining it was a bit tricky. It ended up like this:
Her: So is it about a person, or...?
Me: It's about a group of people; sort of like a cross between Ghostbusters and Rentokil.
Her: Is it like Doctor Who?
Me: ...More like Torchwood, actually. Torchwood with magic.
Her: Oh, that sounds excellent!
I name-dropped a few other individuals in the podcast revolution and she wants links to them too. Now, see, this is the sort of thing that employment agents don't have to be that interested in, really; they can like that it shows that you're self-motivated and a lateral thinker and the rest, but they don't have to ask about the subject matter this way. But she did, and seems genuine. I impressed her on a number of levels, I think.
So ... seriously. If you're out applying for jobs and things, do not underestimate the power of your geeker interests. If you can maintain a website or forum or community, it shows leadership skills and organisation. If you write, podcast or draw, you are creative and active of mind. Either way, you're self-motivated and like to be busy. Finally, as I've proved today, you might just find an interested party - like all the times I've worked at offices and got, "Oh, I like Doctor Who; I've even got him as my desktop wallpaper!", "You have manga! Where do you get it here? Can I borrow that please?" and "Is this RPG and LARP stuff easy for newcomers to get into? It sounds really fun".
Geekdom: it's not as much a stigma or dealbreaker as you might think.
To make it clear: this is an agency who wants to put me in with a medicolegal firm on a temp to perm basis. They've already shown my CV to the firm and they are very interested; they wanted to hear what the agency made of me and get a feel for what specialities I've worked in, so we had to do interview and registration as mainly a formality. The agent was well impressed with the list of hospitals I've worked at (I think the only London hospitals I haven't worked at are Guy's, St George's and Barnet) and specialities I've worked in (oncology, radiology, gastro, breast care, neurosciences, ophthalmology, haematology, orthopaedics, diagnostic imaging, a bit of medicolegal, a lot of medical devices, etc etc); given the list, I suppose that's not surprising.
Conversation went to my typing speed. I was disappointed - the keyboard was new and stiff and I only managed 75wpm. When told this, I sighed and explained that I usually average out at somewhere around 85/90wpm, depending on the day, and that I was a bit disappointed but was glad it was acceptable. She asked where the hell I learned to type like that. I told her "Writing" and went on to explain upcoming freelance work (sort of volunteer, but hey, it's for my portfolio so not complaining). In the course of that, the subject of Chaos Magic came up. She was really interested and impressed, and whatever happens, she wants a link to it. Though in the end, explaining it was a bit tricky. It ended up like this:
Her: So is it about a person, or...?
Me: It's about a group of people; sort of like a cross between Ghostbusters and Rentokil.
Her: Is it like Doctor Who?
Me: ...More like Torchwood, actually. Torchwood with magic.
Her: Oh, that sounds excellent!
I name-dropped a few other individuals in the podcast revolution and she wants links to them too. Now, see, this is the sort of thing that employment agents don't have to be that interested in, really; they can like that it shows that you're self-motivated and a lateral thinker and the rest, but they don't have to ask about the subject matter this way. But she did, and seems genuine. I impressed her on a number of levels, I think.
So ... seriously. If you're out applying for jobs and things, do not underestimate the power of your geeker interests. If you can maintain a website or forum or community, it shows leadership skills and organisation. If you write, podcast or draw, you are creative and active of mind. Either way, you're self-motivated and like to be busy. Finally, as I've proved today, you might just find an interested party - like all the times I've worked at offices and got, "Oh, I like Doctor Who; I've even got him as my desktop wallpaper!", "You have manga! Where do you get it here? Can I borrow that please?" and "Is this RPG and LARP stuff easy for newcomers to get into? It sounds really fun".
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no subject
Date: 2009-07-29 05:55 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-07-29 10:22 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-07-29 10:16 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-07-29 10:20 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-07-29 10:30 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-07-29 11:18 pm (UTC)And fair point, though Eudolpho only gets really active when the lights are off unless circumstances are dire.