The Vent Thread

[Castor Troy]

Then I punch him and he shuts up :3

I usually need 8 hours since I've been going to bed at 1 am and waking up at 9 am.

[Radical_Yue]

Then I punch him and he shuts up :3

Violence and abuse is totally the answer to a healthy relationship. If anyone tells you otherwise, kick them in their no-no bits.

[BasharOfTheAges]

Working AAC I got 12 hours total from Thursday through Sunday. I was getting dizzy come Sunday. Monday through this morning I slept 20 hours. I feel like passing out right now.

[Iron Solari]

Vent #2 for the day:

Do you ever get that random sensation for no explicable reason that makes you feel completely and utterly... alone? Like devastating feeling that suddenly picks up and you can't shake it, no matter what you do? I've got that feeling... it happens every so often, mainly from a lack of social life outside of the computer I suppose, but that's somewhat my fault... Sometimes that feeling gets so overwhelming it makes you... I dunno... like a ghost living in a real world. People see you, but don't notice you. Air blows through your jacket and you feel... like it's blowing you away with it slowly. You wake up, but where's the motivation to live? Who is there to see? To do things with? To simply be with?

I guess I wish for that fairytale dream where everything is all happy and euphoric, but all I feel, see, and experience is that harsh sense of loneliness and depression. I've been conditioned from a young age to be like this and I would go back to fix things if I could, but I was so little then I had no idea what was going on...

I guess the best question is why do I feel like here is the best place to spill these thoughts, emotions, and... feelings?
Lately all I have really been posting in is this thread...
I guess sometimes you wish that someone would come along and just fix everything for you, only to realize that it will never happen.

... whew, Sorry guys and gals, didn't mean to be such a downer... especially on myself...

[Flint the Dwarf]

Do you ever get that random sensation for no explicable reason that makes you feel completely and utterly... alone? Like devastating feeling that suddenly picks up and you can't shake it, no matter what you do?

I used to get that too. I don't know exactly how to get out of the rut, but for me it was all about perspective.

I went through heartbreak at 19, and it caused me to pick up and move on. Just to get to a new place. But the loneliness (and not just "aww I'm not in a relationship" kind, but general disconnection) persisted occasionally. I moved back home for a while, putzed around, didn't do much. Then I moved out again, this time to live with my dad in a different city. I got a job and it kept me interacting with people all the time. Some of my blues went away. I set myself some goals and started to achieve them. But I still felt weird. Like I wasn't a part of it all. Oddly enough, for me, this place had the opposite effect that it has on you. For whatever reason, I felt like I had lost a home here. It's all history, but I had to get over it.

Eventually I got an apartment with a co-worker of mine, and I think that's when things started to pick up. I wasn't a socialite or anything. I didn't have any strong connection with anyone. But I felt more connected with Things. Felt more like a part of a machine that, although I didn't like it very much, I had never been part of before. Through work and finding a way to live for myself, by myself, I earned new perspective. We're all ultimately in this together.

Since then I've lived in different places, twice with family and once on my own. When I was with family, I was supporting them. It kept me going because I knew I was doing some good, but I could never enjoy it. Actually, some of that disconnect even recurred. It's ironic, but I feel more connected when I'm living alone. All I need to do is step outside and use my freedom to be part of our machine.

[Pwolf]

I applied for a IT Administrator position. It would be awesome if I got it but I have that nagging feeling that I wouldn't be able to do it. I know I can do it. I know I am capable of doing more than I am now and learning how to do more. I am confident that I have the skills and knowledge to be the best damn IT Admin this side of the American River... How do I get someone else to see that in me though?

I can list all the things I know and how many years I've been working in the field, but how do I show someone that those things aren't what make me the awesome technician I am today? Well, those things don't. It's my abilities to figure shit out, my persistence, perseverance, and my patience that do.

This reminds me of an intern we hired a few years ago. He looked really good on paper, knew everything we needed him to know, but as soon as he started working for us, those things didn't matter because he didn't have the same work ethic and enthusiasm for the job that we wanted.

I guess my overall frustration is that there are thousands of other people who have the same experience and and skills I have. Our resumes would be identical. Hell, what about people with more experience than me? How do I show that I'm awesome at what I do (cause I am) and that I'm capable of being awesome at doing something else?

I feel like I've mentioned this before, if I have, sorry, just feel like venting a bit.

[Kitsuner]

I applied for a IT Administrator position. It would be awesome if I got it but I have that nagging feeling that I wouldn't be able to do it. I know I can do it. I know I am capable of doing more than I am now and learning how to do more. I am confident that I have the skills and knowledge to be the best damn IT Admin this side of the American River... How do I get someone else to see that in me though?

I can list all the things I know and how many years I've been working in the field, but how do I show someone that those things aren't what make me the awesome technician I am today? Well, those things don't. It's my abilities to figure shit out, my persistence, perseverance, and my patience that do.

This reminds me of an intern we hired a few years ago. He looked really good on paper, knew everything we needed him to know, but as soon as he started working for us, those things didn't matter because he didn't have the same work ethic and enthusiasm for the job that we wanted.

I guess my overall frustration is that there are thousands of other people who have the same experience and and skills I have. Our resumes would be identical. Hell, what about people with more experience than me? How do I show that I'm awesome at what I do (cause I am) and that I'm capable of being awesome at doing something else?

I feel like I've mentioned this before, if I have, sorry, just feel like venting a bit.

That's what the thread's for, man. It's not called the "Don't Mention Things Ever Again, Seriously Stop Bothering Us Thread".

I've got no advice, but in case it helps, I believe in you, dude. Long live the King!

[Kristyrat]

I applied for a IT Administrator position. It would be awesome if I got it but I have that nagging feeling that I wouldn't be able to do it. I know I can do it. I know I am capable of doing more than I am now and learning how to do more. I am confident that I have the skills and knowledge to be the best damn IT Admin this side of the American River... How do I get someone else to see that in me though?

I can list all the things I know and how many years I've been working in the field, but how do I show someone that those things aren't what make me the awesome technician I am today? Well, those things don't. It's my abilities to figure shit out, my persistence, perseverance, and my patience that do.

This reminds me of an intern we hired a few years ago. He looked really good on paper, knew everything we needed him to know, but as soon as he started working for us, those things didn't matter because he didn't have the same work ethic and enthusiasm for the job that we wanted.

I guess my overall frustration is that there are thousands of other people who have the same experience and and skills I have. Our resumes would be identical. Hell, what about people with more experience than me? How do I show that I'm awesome at what I do (cause I am) and that I'm capable of being awesome at doing something else?

I feel like I've mentioned this before, if I have, sorry, just feel like venting a bit.

Is there any sort of formal interview tied to the application process? That's really where you'd shine, Scott. Show them first hand that you're good at problem solving, and even give them examples of when you've figured something out that was stumping people (if they aren't already aware of your work).

If there isn't a formal interview, try to just contact the people responsible for hiring and chat with them. Can't hurt!

[ZephyrStar]

You're absolutely right about how you look on paper (skills) versus the things you've actually DONE while in the field, and how that makes you awesome. I generally just make a very short and simple bulleted list of skills for expected information, but then I make it a point to talk about how my performance specifically affected projects I worked on. So I list specific things under my job history that I did, like maybe:

Dec 2007- Aug 2012, Company A
• On top of regular duties, volunteered for special pilot program to launch and support new product, resulting in $3.5M new sales in Q4 2011
• Identified API feed code problem outside of my regular job duties and volunteered to help fix it, saving company 20% in claims over Q1 2012
• Pioneered new training program for new hires to quickly get them up to speed for agile integration, saving 3 months time and training costs

I usually try and do about 5-7 of these, keeping them short and sweet, per relevant position. Some positions have less, but if I've done a whole lot of good stuff, I want that known.

Take a look at all those guys who have similar or identical resumes, and then see if you can figure out a way to make yourself sound better than them, while still having those same skills. In my experience it's about having specific things you can show on a resume to get someone interested, then talk to in an interview so people go "hey, this guy really goes out of his way to work really hard and get stuff done" vs the guy who just lists skills only.

Something else I've noticed is how... really inept some people are despite looking good on paper. As in they don't know how to just get around fast in an OS, or don't readily pick up methods to work faster without someone having to hold their hand. If you're the kind of person who learns systems on their own, makes it a point to ask questions, and become a subject matter expert, this is really important to show! This is the ideal employee.

It's tough to put that into words on a resume in a bullet point without sounding like an ass, but you could do something like:

• Go to person on team for process improvements, workflow questions, subject matter expert for x and y systems
• Volunteered to mentor other employees to solidify their knowledge of workflows

[Pwolf]

Turns out, an old co-worker was the Admin for this company and moved on so I just applied for his position, lol. Got an e-mail from the HR manager saying he talked me up a bit. Apparently he told her that I taught him most of what he knows Interview Tuesday morning.