Farty Poop just doles out surprise after surprise. First Tim assumes that Tix knows all about token ring networking, an old technology that is still in use in some very very conservative installations. (Here’s a link for the IT geeks among you.) Tix is insulted, because token ring is way old, and we know part of Tix’s comic schtick is to have just a bit of a chip on her shoulder about “maturity.” There was nothing in the job interview about TOKEN RING!! The good news is that Tix won’t be called on to use her miniscule knowledge and zero experience with Token Ring, as Farty Poop runs on “up-to-date” ethernet.
And thankfully Tim is actually providing an old CRT monitor for Tix that works (sort of), but then he lets slip he pretty much regards Tix as a system administrator, when she had been told the position opening was for a developer.
What new surprise awaits Tix as she tries to settle in to this new job?
Things I have learned: In a job interview, NEVER admit you even know about a technology more than two years old, unless the job description specifically called for it. Even if they use it, they probably have it in some crumbling albeit mission critical old part of their enterprise that no one likes and you’ll be tagged as the go to guy for the old tech and never get a chance to learn the new stuff.
I have a friend who has that experience. He's a designer and applied for a designer position. When he finally started to work, it turned out that his job was more of a secretarial and administrative work.
It only gets better so keep reading. BTW the essence of all the Farty Poop tales is true and most of it actually happened to me and quite a lot of it on this one job, which, needless to say, I didn't stay at for very long, but every day I didn't quit was one day too long.
BTW if you'd like better brand recognition of your comments across all blogs get yourself a globally recognized avatar at http://en.gravatar.com/site/signup/ It's keyed to your email.
I like this story arc a lot. And the tip was a good one. I have a habit of naming each and every program, software, and hardware I had experience with no matter how ancient it is. That could be what was hurting me. Thanks for the heads up!
@Colleen: Thanks for the advise. I got my new face now.
Tix really is having a bad run in this new job. Maybe she should bring her own computer from home
Tix already suggested her own laptop when she first saw the junk pile. Remember? Boss said no because of "security." And she did effectively bring in her own computer, the one she got from Marilyn. She just forgot a monitor. Anyway, no one would want to read a story where everything goes well, Tix efficiently does her work and gets a raise after a while. Yawn!
I know! You should see the pile of legacy stuff they keep throwing at me.