woo Hoo! it's 1969 on Mon 5/16/05

[Alicat]

And Ali - So you've done the deed, have ya?  Good on you!  Destination known or unknown?

We had a mutual three month notice during which time I have been looking. My last day will not extend beyond May 31st. My wish is/was to take the summer off and go to all Giants daytime home games. I have my exit interview Tuesday morning so probably no 10@10.

I might have found a new place to hang my proverbial hat however. I have a third interview tomorrow afternoon and they called one of my references this morning. The only unknown is salary, we haven't talked about it yet and I just don't know when to bring it up. The location is approx. 2 miles from my house!

I had a phone interview Friday with a major company in SF but I really don't want a commute and they haven't called again.

How's your work situation? The one door closing and a better one opening saying will hopefully be true.

[Gazoo]

We had a mutual three month notice during which time I have been looking. My last day will not extend beyond May 31st. My wish is/was to take the summer off and go to all Giants daytime home games. I have my exit interview Tuesday morning so probably no 10@10.

I might have found a new place to hang my proverbial hat however. I have a third interview tomorrow afternoon and they called one of my references this morning. The only unknown is salary, we haven't talked about it yet and I just don't know when to bring it up. The location is approx. 2 miles from my house!

I had a phone interview Friday with a major company in SF but I really don't want a commute and they haven't called again.

How's your work situation? The one door closing and a better one opening saying will hopefully be true.

I'm not a believer in bringing up salary, unless money's too tight to mention.  If they're decent people they're not going to horribly low-ball you.  If you want to bring it up, you can always take the indirect route of asking about other benes (health insurance, sick/vaca days, 401k) and let then take the cue to talk about compensation in wide-angle.

As for my work situation, it's chaotic.  In a good way.  I guess having the Voice on my resume has its advantages.  The rundown goes like this (as much to remind myself as anything else):

* Pitched coverage of the Playing For Life softball tournament to Outsports.com -- accepted!  To be written over 4th of July weekend.
* Pitched a review of the new Aimee Mann album to the Voice -- accepted!  Already turned in, though it probably won't run until early June.
* Turned in my already-assigned summary of the EMP Pop Conference to StarPolish.com -- accepted, though we haven't talked compensation, and I'm frankly dissatisfied with the pictures I provided as part of my story.
* Pitched coverage to the Voice of a streaming media conference taking place tomorrow and Wednesday -- rejected by the print side, but accepted by the web managing editor as a web-only piece.  To be written Wednesday and Thursday, assuming I can get press credentials same-day.
* Requested 5 album reviews and 3 artist biographies to write for AMG -- was assigned 3 and 3 (including the bio of the Rubettes, which I devoured while doing my EMP research).  To be written over the next 10 days.
* Turned in latest set of 8 StarPolish reviews (a low-paying gig, but one that's mine for as long as I want it).
* Was asked to write a jacket quote for an illustrated novel with soundtrack that's almost ready for release.
* Updated resume/dossier at MediaBistro.com, Monster.com, JournalismJobs.com, and MTV Jobhunt, no takers from those sources.
* Got an email today from someone asking me for my resume, to consider me for work as a fact-checker with a startup magazine.
* Got ideas for about 6 other articles I want to pitch, if I can ever find the time and the focus.

So that's freelance life, a feeling not far removed from Mr. Toad's Wild Ride.

[urth]

We had a mutual three month notice during which time I have been looking. My last day will not extend beyond May 31st. My wish is/was to take the summer off and go to all Giants daytime home games. I have my exit interview Tuesday morning so probably no 10@10.

I might have found a new place to hang my proverbial hat however. I have a third interview tomorrow afternoon and they called one of my references this morning. The only unknown is salary, we haven't talked about it yet and I just don't know when to bring it up. The location is approx. 2 miles from my house!

Hey, good luck with this new opportunity--hope it comes thru if you really want it. The fact that it's so close to home is of immeasurable value--not having to spend hour(s) in the car every day (or rather, getting a little more time at home), not to mention less $ for gas in these usurous times, is huge.

And I agree with Gaz about the salary--when it's time to talk about that, you'll talk. So long as it's not a startup, they should at least make you a decent offer, and you can always negotiate--generally, don't take the first offer (at least not right off the bat).

And to stay on topic, I was just listening to this set (1969) and realized that there was no Beatles in this one--not unheard of, but kind of a rarity for sets of this vintage.

[mshray]

And Ali - So you've done the deed, have ya?  Good on you!  Destination known or unknown?

We had a mutual three month notice during which time I have been looking. My last day will not extend beyond May 31st. My wish is/was to take the summer off and go to all Giants daytime home games. I have my exit interview Tuesday morning so probably no 10@10.

I might have found a new place to hang my proverbial hat however. I have a third interview tomorrow afternoon and they called one of my references this morning. The only unknown is salary, we haven't talked about it yet and I just don't know when to bring it up. The location is approx. 2 miles from my house!

I had a phone interview Friday with a major company in SF but I really don't want a commute and they haven't called again.

How's your work situation? The one door closing and a better one opening saying will hopefully be true.

My 2 cents worth on the new job negotiations:  job title is ultimately more important than starting salary.  I get paid far les than the average BusDev Director, but that 'Director' is invaluable for both intiating contacts within this job & for leveraging to the next one (which I am getting pretty serious about).  Conversely my wife got stuck for far too long with a damned 'Associate' stuck in front of her job title, and although incremental raises and bonuses were no trouble, being an 'Associate' really held her back on the grand scale.

[Alicat]

Thanks for the words of wisdom. I don't really know what the official title of the job is or will be. I need to ask. We did discuss bene's and financials. I expected more so I'm trying to get it figured out in my mind and come back with an increased request. The benefits SUCK so I want to have increased salary to compensate for what I'm walking away from. Yes, not having a commute, mass transit or gas costs plus time costs, do add up in my favor.

I need to figure it out tonight and email them by tomorrow. I really want to gice it a shot as being employed will be better than not. I can always keep looking if it doesn't work. Three other jobs I really thought would be great, never called me. It's scary thinking about new challenges. I know I can do it but still worry about not meeting their expectations.

BTW Urth, a really nice guy I work with mentioned he saw a job of interest at Cnet. Not sure what or if he's really ready to jump ship.