1.30.2002

"The 10 most common mistakes by job candidates:
1. Have little or no knowledge of the company, products, culture or competitive landscape.
2. Presume they will get the job.
3. Want to know about salary or stock options before they discuss job responsibilities or their career path.
4. Cancel interviews, show up late or leave early for no apparent reason.
5. Flaunt other job offers or try to incite bidding wars early in the interview process.
6. Show little regard for hygiene or conventional dress codes.
7. Use their cell phone during the interview.
8. Have unsightly eating habits at restaurant meetings.
9. Chew gum, suck on water bottles, pop mints or smoke during interviews.
10. Overextend their stay by asking too many questions." - from cnet.com

Aaaah... that takes me back to the last millennium!

Wait to get laid off, then start new job days later... ad infinitum

"This is negative reinforcement at its best: slack at work, get laid off, lay around, get new job, repeat. Or, work hard (like me), bill lots of hours, watch as your company goes under and fails to make payroll, [then] go into debt with no job. This is making my already questionable work ethic (I'm writing this on company time right now) take a turn for the downright shameless." - Lori Cox, on Salon.com

Good! Where do you think we get new fairies from, anyway? Come on over to the dark side, honey. We've been waiting for you.

1.29.2002

BOFH Products from The Register, UK

You wouldn't be a jobfairy if you didn't enjoy Bastard Operator from Hell. This is what we read instead of romance novels in order to give us that warm, gooey feeling inside.

Dress three pay rises ahead

Dressing a few tiers above your station is not pretentious, it's sensible. The only way bosses can imagine you in a more powerful position is to visualize you there. Give them a helping hand by looking sleek. Interns do this all the time, looking as if they are on salary even if they are wearing a very well ironed shirt from the Gap sale rack. Smart girls.

- Anna Johnson, author of "Three Black Skirts: All You Need to Survive"


Excellent advice from Down Under. This is one area in which all the Job Fairies except the Fairies of Darkness and Light could use help. Although, to be fair, the Green Fairy's spouse has him in a virtual uniform of Dockers-and-crisp-polo-shirt-with-logo. They come in green and navy and beige and beige and more beige! ;> And the Aquamarine Fairy has some very nice sweaters. Come to think of it, Teal's look has improved recently too. Maybe it's my wardrobe that puts the shocking in Shocking Pink.

Oh, and congratulations to the Fairy of Utter Darkness - she just got hired at a startup company (been in business 4 years, actually) that might just have a clue... They have actual products, both hardware and software, and even customers who buy these products. Really! Seems they might have a chance at staying in business, after all. However, considering that the three previous startups for which she worked went belly up, I reminded her to pay herself first... Because it never pays to get too attached to what you do for a paycheck or where you work.