Junior Web Developer with AOL7
December 4, 2002 @ 1600
Arrived at the North Tower building in Chatswood at least 40 minutes before actual scheduled interview time. Read a magazine and some of the Business section of SMH while waiting in the empty lobby. Watched people go by until 4. Small talked with a guy carrying out servers. Interviewed by Craig Sharkie, the Broadband Content Director. Called him on the internal phone to get him out of his office. No one was in the room.Standard open ended questions. What did I know about AOL? A little story on the name, but on the Australian branch I couldn't think of anything, not even the merger with Seven Network. Asked why I wanted to work for AOL and this was after I told him how much of a joke and nuisance it was with the free cds and hours. Told him I didn't give a shit were I worked, as long as I worked.
Skills test. Simple HTML and content editing. Method of operation bothered him as I told him that the example should drop "WC" in favour of "toilets" and "Insert some other copy" was stupid. I code in silence and in a testing situation this isn't lightly looked upon. Tried to undercut the opposition by $5000-10000, of which there was about 7 others.
Bushfires started as soon as I got onto the train station at about 1630. Damn job was exactly like the underground work done over at The Wax Conspiracy.
Publishing Assistant with POL Publishing
August 9, 2002 @ 1000
Actual job turned out to be Website Management/Programming or Developing after a second look over the CV. Panel grill. Jan The Editor, Greg The IT Guy and The Designer. Showed them some of the work done in the magazine at UWS Campbelltown. Gabbed with the IT guy about working on stuff. Editor looked perplexed. GD looked disgusted and underwhelmed at portfolio. Down to the ground level with the IT guy for skills test. Simple HTML mixed with ball breaking FLASH. Lack of Design and GD skill was the so-called fate sealer. Supposedly lost it over someone who was more into graphics.Programmer with Squiz.net
August 9, 2002 @ 0930
Arrived at interview 30 minutes late. One on one interview with John-Paul Syriatowicz, the CEO or some such of Squiz. Talked about coding and work standards, told him "team work" was foreign and undesirable and that commenting of code was done well after the work was finished, if at all. No skills test where one could have been taken.Editor with Unimail
April ??, 2002 @ 1030
Arrived 10 minutes late. Crushed hand of Andrea Culligan, CEO of Unimail, during handshake. Swivelled constantly in swivel chair. Stared her down. Used slang and talked negatively of everything else. Some serious gesticulation at hand. Told her about the bullshit involved with working on student magazine at uni. Revealed that phone conversations, which would be a large part of the job, aren't a done thing. Told later on that the Employment help for students on campus should be used. Job was so similar to the non-paying position already held at the same time.Print Distribution Runner
Late 1998
Hazy, although I do remember answering a question with, "hip to the flavour of the new social world order." Spotted something along the lines of "Do not recommend" on my file during the last days of the Olympics. Ended up being a volunteer anyway. There was an eighteen month wait.