scribbles tagged ‘gobsmacked’

speculation obscures evidence

Wednesday, May 8th, 2013 | tags: , , ,  |

After the interview I was invited to stay behind to talk to the interview panel. They asked me:

interviewer: we were curious about your references. One reference was 4 pages of detailed praise for your work. The other reference was one page which, while highlighting your strengths, seemed a bit odd. It made us suspicious about your referees motives. For example, were you sleeping with your first referee and then moved on to be sleeping with your second referee, that would explain the differences. We thought you should know about the differences

Gobsmacked silence as I take on board that I’ve been judged by presumptions, based on popular gender stereotypes, rather than the actual content in the references. A pair of good references couldn’t possibly be because I do good work, must be because of sexual relationships. Reference length differences couldn’t be attributed to differences in author’s writing styles .

wendy:  you should take the content of the references at face value, they are both genuine comments on my work and not my sex-life.

I was given 2nd refusal on the job, if the first (male) candidate rejected it. I decided not to accept it if offered.  Why would I want to work for an organisation where key people are more interested in speculating about my sex-life than actually seeing what’s in-front of their noses – my good work.

speculation obscures evidence
1 vote rating 5

3 bits of fabulous banter »

questions are telling

Saturday, May 4th, 2013 | tags: , , ,  |

interviewer: what will you do if a 40yr old male Engineer says to you, that’s a load of rubbish, I don’t need that

wendy: I’d get some good evidence to demonstrate the value to him

interviewer: what would you do if he says he doesn’t listen to women

wendy: (pauses, a bit gobsmacked) I’d stay focussed on the work and what it could do to help him do a better job

interviewer: imagine he just ignores you

wendy: I’d calmly walk to the rest-rooms, SCREAM, then calm down and find my manager to strategize how we can deal with this idiot

 

I was offered the job

I didn’t take it

questions are telling
5 votes rating 5

4 bits of fabulous banter »

Piñata

Tuesday, April 16th, 2013 | tags: , , ,  |

I had never heard of a Piñata when I moved to the USA. My manager was going out to buy one for a friend, I asked him what it was. He was gobsmacked that I didn’t know. How could I have lived a truly fulfilled life without knowing what a Piñata is? He explained that it was a colourful paper container, often shaped like a donkey, that is hung from a tree branch and people beat it with baseball bats until the sweeties it contains fall out.

wendy: so it essentially rewards people for being violent to something that looks like an animal?

manager:  yeeeeaarrh (he’s Texan)

wendy: Americans are strange people

Piñata
1 vote rating 5

7 bits of fabulous banter »

are you talking to me?*

Friday, April 7th, 2006 | tags: , ,  |

shop assistant:    ‘are you finding everything alright?‘   (Standing over 5ft away from Wendy without having made eye-contact)

Wendy:       ……(doesn’t realize the assistant is  talking to me)…….

shop assistant:      “ARE YOU FINDING EVERYTHING ALRIGHT?’‘  (louder, without moving closer, without  attempting to gain eye contact)

Wendy:   (walks to the shouting assistant, smiles) “were you talking to me?”  

shop assistant:   “yes” (looks a bit gobsmacked)

Wendy: “Can I help you?” (I adore reversing who is helping who with this phrase)

shop assistant:     “are…are  you finding everything alright?”

Wendy: “I’m just browsing,   but thank YOU for asking” (or provides  specific purchase criteria)

* the phrase ‘are you talking to me’ is often used as a pre-cursor to a contrived argument, a deliberate provocation to a fight.   Well illustrated  by Robert De Niro in ‘Taxi Driver’  

are you talking to me?*
rate wendys scribble

what do you think of that »