Roblin Blandford had this great idea to input his CV into Wordle to create a tag cloud - which is a visual representation of the most commonly found words in a piece of text. In mine you can clearly see that the most dominant word is Psychology. You can click it for a bigger version. Elly has created one too.
I have started looking for a new job (yes, again!). The severe boredom of the office I currently inhabit has me feeling like I’m stuck in a Groundhog Day-esque nightmare. Of course, I’ve been reminded by my peers that all jobs feel like this once the novelty of that “new job feeling” wears off, but I just don’t want to believe that. There simply MUST be an interesting, challenging (please for the love of god!), and rewarding job out there for me (am I being too naive?). I suppose it would be easy for me to wait until I have my Masters completed to begin job searching again, but my Groundhog Day is as unappealing as the thought of living at home for another year and a half.
I’ve learned quite a few things about job hunting since finishing my degree, some good and some bad (mostly bad).
A really handy tip whilst job searching is to register with Monster.ie and make sure to change the title of your CV regularly - it’s like hooking bait to entice the hungry recruitment agents (I assume their systems alert them everytime someone updates their CV). Over the past few weeks mine have included “Bored Graduate Seeks Challenge”, “Bored Graduate, Passionate about Technology, Seeks Challenge” and more recently “Graduate, Seeks Challenge, NO SALES”.
Unfortunately, recruitment agents have one major (very major) flaw, it’s that they are only capable of what I like to call “selective reading”. It’s almost as if they completely ignore the entirety of your CV and only focus on what is relevant to the jobs they themselves are trying to sell. For example, I spent months trying to get out of retail sales (successfully - horray!). Unfortunately I have over 5 years sales experience and although I’ve been working in an office environment for almost a year now the recruitment agents still go wild trying to make me take sales positions. The other annoying thing about recruitment agents is that they’ll waste your time. For instance, even though I have “E-mail contact preferred” listed on my Monster CV, they still call me, in the middle of my working day, and even when I ask them to e-mail me the details, so many of them insist on setting up a meeting with them instead. This, let me tell you, is another waste of everyone’s time. The best thing you can do is 100% insist that they send you a job spec (a long winded description of the job) before even going near their offices. Make sure that you are interested in a position they are recruiting for and that you can actually gain something from them and not the other way around.
Another lesson I have learned about job seeking in Ireland is that employers expect you to be a highly qualified individual with at least 2 or 3 years experience in your field, and this is for an entry level position. Seems to me like the job market is highly competitive at the moment. What I want to know is, where are all these people coming from with years of experience that are willing to re-start their careers in another company?
From abroad?
Could these guys please direct me to their old companies? Maybe they would be more willing to take a chance on an Irish graduate seeking some experience. And although I really don’t want to leave my partner, my family, my friends - I might just have to, and I recently applied for a User Experience Research internship in London. So, cross your fingers for me.
Another Science Week submission…
The Filofax
I’ve given up searching for the perfect electronic organiser or PDA and rather than continue to struggle with my data being scattered across wall calendars, notebooks, post-it notes, smart-phones, my laptop, my desktop in work etc., What with going back to college and working full time I’ve had to make sure that I am very organised, so I’ve recently started using a Filofax. It is a godsend.
I don’t have to worry about charging or syncing my Filofax. I don’t have to worry about the screen cracking if I drop it. I didn’t have to spend hundreds of euro on a device that would only partially suit me and would be replaced in 6 months or so by a slicker and better value for money piece of kit. Really the only worry I have is that my writing might not be legible after jotting down notes on a speeding bus. Although, now that I think of it, I wouldn’t mind if I could put some kind of password or lock onto it, to stop a certain someone trying to figure out what she was getting for Christmas.
My favourite feature of my Filofax is that there are no constraints to what kind of data that I can enter. As I am writing this I realise that it’s strange to apply these types of observations to something that is, on the most basic level, really just paper and pen. No matter how advanced technology has become nothing can change how satisfying it is to quickly jot down notes and drawings or doodle stars and Santa Claus around your daily calendar entry for December 25th. Simply being able to do anything I want (if I can draw it, or stick it, it’ll end up in there) is very productive for me.
It is the built-in software constraints that are there to stop users making mistakes that have stopped me from really embracing any kind of electronic organiser. Nothing exists that can imitate the physical aspects, the tactile sensations and visual guides that I employ. For instance, multicoloured page markers (flags) - the different colours represent different important events. They are physically placed to open the appropriate page, and they also indicate when similar events are taking place over a certain time frame (importantly though, this information can be discerned without flicking through the pages). Even something so simple like being able to put an already written post-it note straight into the Filofax saves me time during my day (be it in college or work). Sometimes I like to jot down quick notes about a project I’m doing, these are usually really messy (but yet very organised at the same time) mind-maps and diagrams. I am a very visual person and I like my data to be visually appealing - I can’t use pink, green and blue highlighter pens in a PDA now can I?
A really great addition to my Filofax has been a template I created in Microsoft Word to print out pages of information (timetables etc.,) that will fit, and also a Filofax hole puncher so I can place the pages perfectly. So no, I haven’t turned my back on technology all together (as if!).
You can read the other submissions to this competition here.
The new job is going well, a change of scenery is definitely something I needed. I feel a lot less stressed out. Working for 3 as a sales associate means I am completely focused on selling products and hitting my targets, rather than stressing out about the store paperwork and deadlines. You would think that I’d be happier now… but I’m actually bored. Selling 3 handsets is easy, they practically sell themselves. I’ve come to the conclusion that I was stressed out in 3G because I wasn’t being paid to BE responsible, but it was part of my job to be, but no-one else on the same wage had any of the management duties that I did. I’m craving a little responsibility now that I find my brain switching off and my automatic “robot selling phrases” kicking in. The only aspect of working for 3 that is keeping me interested is talking to customers about the X-Series.
X-Series is a sexy name for access to the “Internet” on your phone, or rather 3s version of the Internet. They have partnered with Skype, Yahoo!, Orb, Sling, Google, Ebay and Windows Live Messenger to bring features of these online services to X-Series compatible handsets. You also have FULL, free web access. There will no longer be a “walled garden” - if you connect to the “Internet” from any 3 handset at the moment, you’re only able to access a selection of mobile sites that are compatible with your phone, but the handsets due to launch on X-Series are highly sophisticated devices.
There is a massive interest in the Nokia N73, due to launch on the network sometime in January, I’ve got my eye on one of these bad boys. This will be the first X-Series handset launched, with the Sony Ericsson W950i following later. While most consumers I’ve spoke to are dying to get their hands on a Nokia handset with a 3.2 mega-pixel camera and Carl Zeiss lens, don’t be under any illusion that this is a “camera phone”, this is a truly portable multimedia and communication device.
With an X-Series handset you can check your e-mail, logon to Windows Live Messenger, make voice calls over Skype (currently limited to other Skype users), bid for items on Ebay and even use Google to search. You also can browse online, check your Myspace profile or your Bebo page. Your profile that you labored over for hours will still look a lot better when viewed on a pc screen though, as the Internet browser from 3 modifies webpages to look “better” on the handsets small screen, in order to improve legibility.
For all these features, you’d expect there to be a massive monthly fee, it makes sense right? Granted you’ll need to take out a 12 month mobile phone contract, as the service isn’t available on 3Pay, but the X-Series subscription is cheap and for a flat-rate monthly fee you have “unlimited bandwidth” (although there IS a fair usage policy, stating that 1gb is sufficient for each user).
In the UK the monthly fee for full services is €15 a month, or you can access services for €8 a month which excludes Orb and Sling only. Orb allows you to connect to your home computer, and Sling allows you to connect to your home television subscription (such as Sky Digital) both via your home broadband connection. These two features are probably the most impressive and yet the least accessible to non-geeks as they require a complicated technical setup (they’ll also drain the battery life out of your handset).
Overall X-Series sounds rather impressive, as the service hasn’t launched in Ireland yet I haven’t had the opportunity to test the above features out. As soon as I get my hands on my very own N73, I’ll post a full usability review. For now, there is a fantastic review of the UK version over on Digital-Lifestlyes.info.
Since my last post I have officially graduated from college, you can see all the embarrassing photos of myself and my classmates in our graduation gowns and caps over on my bebo page. I spent some time in cork working/training in the 3Store on Patrick’s Street, and other than that I’ve just been playing around with my new toy. I finally got my dream camera - the Fuji Finepix S5600 - it was a graduation gift from my parents, and by gift I mean they handed me money and said “We were afraid of getting you the wrong one.”
So far, I’ve yet to master the finer “complicated” functions of the camera, which is frustrating but also makes me realise that for once in my life I should probably read the manual. The camera takes fantastic photos and it’s really quick, making multiple shots very easy to take. The 10x zoom is incredible, it makes you feel like a spy. It’s a lot of fun. Getting clear close-up shots of small objects isn’t easy though, having tried to take shots of a bearded dragon at the weekend I’ve come to the conclusion that I must (yes, must!) purchase a fisheye lens and macro, for panoramic and close-up shots. I don’t have any other negative comments, I’m very happy with my purchase, I did have one small problem with it though.
After less than a week of it being in my possession there was one very annoying problem – the additional memory card I purchased with it was faulty. I lost all of the photos I took at the weekend. However, I was pleasantly surprised to come up against no hassle whatsoever in Pixels, where I purchased the camera. When I explained the situation, they simply gave me a new memory card, none of the usual arguments or “I’ll have to talk to the manager” bull that I’m used to from sales people.
So, to make sure it was working perfectly with the replacement card, I took some shots of my dog Ben, who is definitely no stranger to the camera, in fact he is quite the little poser as you can see below.
I spent 4 days last week training for my new sales position in 3 Ireland and now I’m on one week paid holiday, fantastic, especially considering I only started working for them on the 23rd of October. I’m currently waiting for the store to open on Henry Street, I had considered being placed in the Grafton Street store but I know there will be a greater opportunity to sell in their flagship store when it eventually does open. Unfortunately 3 are rather secretive about anything that goes on internally so I wont be able to post any information about the new store or the company, so for now, I’ll simply have to direct you towards their media centre.
What I can tell you, is that I’m really excited about being involved, once more, in the roll-out of a new breed of retail environment. When I first started working for 3G in their first Eircom Broadband Studio it was a challenging and rewarding experience and of course it was fun to be surrounded by top of the range technology. Just like the O2 Experience Stores, the Broadband Studios are an example of how hands-on demonstrations of new technologies, and by giving customers a venue in which to interact with a new product, increases their likelihood of actually purchasing. This is exactly what the 3Stores will be about - trying before buying. From a personal perspective, I find that I’m much more likely to want to buy a new piece of electronics if I can first try it, feel it’s weight in my hand, and see what it can actually do for me. There’s nothing worse than being confronted with a plastic dummy or a picture in a brochure, even reading a reviewers opinion of a product is nothing in comparison to actually interacting with it.
Speaking of new technology, I’ve been using the new Firefox 2 for the last week and although at first I was a little put off by how similar it looks to the Apple browser Safari, I’ve actually found that two of its new features are very beneficial to me.
Spell Checking - as you type. This is the feature on OpenOffice.org (the free office suite) that converted me from a Microsoft Office user to an OpenOffice Writer. Anything you type within your browser is checked for spelling mistakes as you type them, it completely erases (no pun intended!) the need for any kind of “check spelling” options that most web-based e-mail services offer. It’s certainly made writing this blog post a lot easier, usually I would be writing this in OpenOffice first and then copying and pasting it (because, yes, I admit it, I’m really bad speller).
Search Suggestions - again, as you type. Whatever search engine you prefer, that lovely little search box built into Firefox dynamically updates a drop-down list of suggested search terms. Not only does this speed up your search, it also may suggest searches to you that you hadn’t even thought of. Thus opening you up to even more information or even, narrowing it down for you further, so you can find exactly what it is you’re looking for.
Firefox 2 is wonderful piece of new software that I applaud for it’s user friendly design, it’s almost endless possibilities in the ability to customise and thus improving your own efficiency as a user, and it’s completeness - features that every new version of Microsoft’s Internet Explorer lacks. There is a definite need in the software market for development that is geared towards the user experience.
Hopefully the new MsC in Cyberpsychology in IADT will have some focus on user experience research as a way to improve software and hardware development. It’s a course that I shall be considering over the next couple of months as I research my options for next year (or later). On Monday evening, the 6th of November, IADT will be host to a Cyberpsychology seminar entitled “Cyberpsychology: An Emerging Discipline” and will be hosted by my thesis supervisor Dr.Grainne Kirwan. If anyone is interested in attending please contact IADT with your information in advance so you can be formally invited.
I’m starting training tomorrow for my new job in 3 Ireland. Training will be for a few weeks and it’s in the Gresham Hotel, which is very very classy, too classy for the likes of me. It’ll be a nice break; paid training is such a wonderful thing.
I’m really excited about seeing the new shop I’ll be working in, which will apparently feature entertainment bays and “play pods” where customers can try out 3’s 3G network – such as streaming video and music downloads, games too. They’ll have “live handsets” for customers to try out (3G tried this once before, but found that it was too tempting for thieves - I wonder how long it will take before a few are stolen from the 3 store). There will also be a “chill-out area” for shoppers (and the staff, I am assuming!).
To be honest, it’s all sounding rather appealing to the boyish nerdy side of me. There’s nothing I like more, than showing people what technology can actually DO for them and it’s sounding like the 3 stores will be a innovative place to do just that.
I handed in my two weeks notice on Monday, not because I got the job in Google, but because I accepted an offer to work for 3 Ireland in their new Henry Street store. Monday was a hectic day, I had to decide whether to take the job with Three or hold out for Google. In the end, I was right to accept the position in Three.
Google were supposed to get back to me on Monday and even after leaving a voicemail message, they didn’t actually get back to me until Tuesday evening. I received a really impersonal rejection e-mail from them, a real copy and paste job, telling me that based on my “qualifications” and “experience” that they didn’t think me a “strong match”. My instant thought after reading this was “did they not have my cv?”. I’ve politely asked them to provide me with additional feedback on why they think me not suited to the position, and am still waiting to receive it.
The Google recruitment process was very thorough, after an assessment test, 3 phone interviews and 2 face-to-face interviews all I received from them was an e-mail to tell me that I didn’t get the job, and that was 3 weeks after the face-to-face interviews. From start to finish, the whole process of them figuring out I wasn’t suitable for the position took over 2 months. It stressed me out, it pissed me off, it excited me, and more than anything else it got my hopes up far too much. I really thought this was the perfect job for me, but I think I was too eager and too… maybe desperate to work them. I probably should have shut my mouth about how great I think their company is and how I would have liked to be able to participate in their research projects, some time in the future. Perhaps they thought me too enthusiastic? In the end, I don’t think I’ll be applying to work for them again; it’s not worth the stress and the extreme effort… I still can’t believe they had to interview me 5 times to figure out they didn’t want to hire me, it was so terribly unnecessary.
Anyway, I’m not going to beat myself up about it, considering that I have a brand new opportunity, to make lots of commission working for the Three network. I don’t know how long I’ll stay working for them, but I need to start making more money, what with Christmas just around the corner. In the New Year I’ll have to start visiting recruitment agencies in hopes to get a “real” job – despite my CV being available on every Irish recruitment website possible I seem to only be getting offers for sales positions. Shall I be doomed to work in retail, forever, regardless of my college education? If I can’t get a job with my degree, is there even any point in even doing a masters next year, is there any point in doing it ever?
If there’s one thing about “chiq” fem-phones that I’ve hated in the past, it’s that they are often feature-filled yet lack the ability to expand the memory. Take the Nokia 6111, great looking phone, fantastic features like bluetooth and a megapixel camera – yet, what’s the point of a megapixel camera phone if you can only take about 20 photographs at its highest resolution? The new Benq-Siemens E51 is a big change to this annoying trend. From the outside it appears to be the successor of the popular Siemens CL75 (the “poppy” phone) but there are some major differences, for instance the 1.3 megapixel camera instead of vga, it’s bluetooth enabled and also has a micro-sd slot so you can expand the memory. Siemens haven’t launched a new phone in a long time, the reason being that it was bought out by the Taiwan based Benq group. Rebranded as Benq-Siemens, and with the launch of the E51 into the Irish market also comes the E61, a “music phone” which boasts a 512mb miniSD card and dedicated music buttons. Both of these models are due to launch on the O2 Speakeasy range and will retail at approximately €150.
I had the opportunity to play around with both phones during the week, both phones have the same user interface which seems straightforward enough, easy to navigate, but with it’s bright colours it’s probably more suited to the teen market. Personally, I really like the style of the E61, its slick black with red/orange stripe reminded me of the A-team van. The dedicated music buttons are easy to use, and although it only has a vga camera I can definitely see this being a popular alternative to the more expensive Sony Ericsson “music phones”. With regards to the E51, it’s nice to see a phone that’s being marketed towards women that has excellent features such as bluetooth and a micro-sd slot. It borrows from the CL75 quite successfully, with its integrated compact mirror but also comes pre-loaded with a “5 minutes to fabulous” java application that shows you how to do your make-up in five easy steps. It’s this feature that made me take 5 steps away from this phone. I’m sure it’s not for everyone (me included) but it’s a nice gimmick and along with its low price, and with Christmas fast approaching it’s sure to be a big seller.
In personal news, I’ve had no feedback yet from Google about the Adsense position. So don’t ask. I’ve been told it will be sometime this week, possibly tomorrow, before I hear anything. At least in the meantime I can distract myself by trying out the “5 minutes to fabulous” java application to see if it can turn a butch like me into a pretty chiq girl… the odds are pretty slim though.
The interview with Google on Monday went really well, both team leaders who I met with were really nice, educated and nerdy. Despite feeling extremely over-dressed, it seems that everyday is “Casual Friday” at Google, I was comfortable and confident throughout the entire hour of interviews and simply being able to walk through the offices themselves was an interesting experience. I don’t want to overanalyse for now, but I’ll tell you one thing - the Google offices themselves are really funky and cool. I think I would fit in perfectly there. In a weird coincidence though (or maybe just the work of a certain search engine) there’s a comment on my previous post from someone who is competing for the same position as myself. Weird.
While I’ve been off contemplating moving jobs I’ve also been in the process of doing Apple Sales Training (I’ve gotten Silver Status, half way to Gold! Hurrah!), even I don’t use the knowledge to sell the products it’s a great way of finding out about Apple technology. Although, I still haven’t found the answer to why Jen’s new iPod Nano keeps freezing randomly and needs to be reset. I’ve been assured by one of my colleagues that all Nanos go through a “phase” where they need to be reset occasionally, Jen seems to think it’s going through puberty and it’s acting out against her.
Speaking of Ipods… the best time of the year to buy one would be right now. What with Apple launching the new iPod Nano and 80gb iPod, all the iPod range has gone down in price (so the old stock gets shifted quick) - you can actually pick up a 30gb/60gb Video iPod for €290/€340 here in 3G on Henry Street. Which I think, is a bargain. Although, I’ve heard a rumour that you can get the 30gb for only €270 in Spectra Photo on Grafton Street. Even nicer!
Seeing as there has been a price drop in the iPod range, it’s only natural that the Creative Zen Vision M will have to drop in price to compete and there is even rumour online that Creative will be upgrading the capacity of the Vision M to 80gb, they’ve also launched their new widescreen mp3/video player the Vision W. Since my Micro Photo got stolen I’ve been using a 1gb Creative player, which is fine by me, at least in the short term. If those Vision M players go down, I think I’ll invest in one of those rathar than an iPod.