Hiring People Sucks

I think I have said it before on here, but I HATE the hiring process! It is so time-consuming and draining. You have to create an ad that gives enough detail so that every Tom, Dick, and Harry doesn't apply, but you want to have something to talk about when the interviews roll around besides "well, it's all in the ad I posted". I like to put at the bottom below the description of duties that a cover letter must accompany resumes to see if applicants can follow directions. Then you receive 10,000 responses because the economy sucks. No cover letter = automatically deleted. That weeds through a few. Then you get to read the same thing over and over and over. "I am a highly-motivated, dedicated, hard worker." "I believe I have all of the skills necessary to perform the job you are advertising for." "I have great customer service/data entry/people skills." "Through my previous work experiences I have gained a lot of knowledge about the service industry." Blah. Blah. Blah. At this point my mind starts to wander to other things and I have to re-read cover letters 6 times before I retain anything. Once I have sorted through the responses and deleted any that did not submit a cover letter, or their blurb contained more than one spelling/grammar issue (I am a stickler for detail and if you did not proof read your one opportunity to impress me then I do not want to waste my time meeting you in person) then comes the scheduling of interviews. What time works for me? When am I not knee-deep in projects? How much time should I set aside for folks? Okay, send out emails inviting people to come in for interviews, now I wait for responses. Once all of that is squared away the big day(s) finally comes when I get to see if the words turned into me match the words that come out of the person's mouth. There is a lot of "oh, yes, I know how to do that", and "definitely, I think I would be a great fit here". I wonder what percentage of the information exchanged during a formal interview is pure and utter bull shit?? Of course no one is going to say "I really just need a job and am not truly qualified to do anything so this ad seemed like it may work. I am usually late for work and have been known to not show up at all." It would save so much time and energy if people were 100% honest. (Kind of like in the movie The Invention of Lying.) None the less, if I feel a hunch about a few then I bring them back in a couple of days later to meet with my Supervisor and Boss. From there we all discuss our opinions, intuitions, and judgments hopefully agreeing upon one suitable candidate. This is the step I am at currently. I now have one person that may work out. Time is ticking and the holidays (aka: the busy season) are getting closer and closer so it is now or never. On Monday I will call the top potential and hope that a) they have not accepted another position elsewhere over the weekend, and b) that they do indeed "fit in" and "work out" well with me, the department, and the company as a whole. Hiring is stressful, requires a lot of time, and in the end is truly just a gamble. You cannot make someone be the ideal employee, you just have to hope you picked the right person with the right work ethic. Only time will tell...

DDDDEXTER!!!

I have been waiting over 10 months for the 7th season of Dexter to start and finally on Sunday night my wait was over! I had some friends/fellow fans over and we had a little premiere party.

My "Evidence" box with items from each season and some cupcakes (Red Velvet with "broken blood slides"--sugar and food coloring--and Key Lime)

 "Blood" jello shooters in syringes and Dexter-style blood spatter set up

 My "kill room" and the broken sugar blood slides that I put in the Red Velvet cupcakes

 Severed doll legs tied with pretty red bows

I know that people who don't watch the show will not understand these pictures, but trust that I am a true fan and did my best to incorporate things from all of the seasons/on-going themes! It was fun to set up...maybe I should be an event planner...

A Day in the Life...

I thought I'd do a different type of post to mix things up a bit. I took a picture every hour (that I was awake) one day last week. Follow me via photos through my day :)

8:00 am - Wake up!! | 9:00 am - Work time

10:00 am - Breakfast & Paperwork | 11:00 am - More paperwork...

12:00 pm - Lunch time (made myself a little sandwich that day) | 1:00 pm - Trip through the kitchen (they were making breakfast pastries)

2:00 pm - Me & Maura in the Packaging Room gettin' it done | 3:00 pm - New office mascot: his name is Larry.

4:00 pm - Lots of coolers for shipping delicate treats | 5:00 pm - Twitter break!

 6:00 pm - Whole Foods has pumpkins | 7:00 pm - Drinks at Bacchanal with friends

 8:00 pm - DVR is the best invention ever | 9:00 pm - Look what was in my bed!! (Just kidding, it is a prop for my Dexter party that came in the mail that day!)

 10:00 pm - Laundry folding is my favorite chore... NOT | 11:00 pm - A little reading time before hitting the hay

And that was my day :)

First Day of Fall

I am so happy that it is officially fall!! It doesn't feel like it, or look like it for that matter, but the calendar says it is so. It has been a pretty relaxed Saturday. I slept in late (glorious!) then did brunch with Brie at Coulis. Minus the fact that they put bacon in her omelet (did you know that vegetarians don't take kindly to pig parts being cooked into their food?) our meal was delicious. We watched Up All Night that was recorded from the other evening and have been piddling/cleaning/organizing our own rooms most of the afternoon. Not a bad day. 

I am crossing my fingers and toes that the Saints game tomorrow turns into a big win!! The 0-2 record they are starting off with has been discouraging. But I am not a fair-weather fan, so I will stick behind the win or lose...but man a win would be nice!!

September Tease

All I want is crisp "fall" weather. That's it. Just a break from the heat. The temperatures have been dipping a little lower and by "a little" I mean highs in the mid 80s. Football season has started...the Saints aren't doing well...I don't want to talk about it...so it is supposed to be chilly outside. (Who watches football with the AC on?!) I want to wear my cardigans and eat pumpkin dip and admire Halloween decorations and watch horror movies on TV and witness leaves changing colors and drink hot tea to warm my bones. I want fall. *Pout* 

I leave you with my latest Instagramed picture.

My favorite fall tree picture from home :)

Oh and my new shoes!!

Summer Vegetable Tian

Summer Vegetable Tian: A Recipe Recommendation

I saw this recipe on Pinterest and thought I would give it a whirl. It was pretty simple and quite tasty. Here is what you need to try it out yourself:

1 Zucchini

1 Yellow Squash

1 Potato

1 Tomato

1 Yellow Onion

1 Tbsp Olive Oil

1 tsp Minced Garlic

1 tsp Thyme

1 cup Mozzarella Cheese

Salt & Pepper to taste

I diced the onion and garlic and sauteed them in the olive oil. After about 5 minutes I spread them out on the bottom of the sprayed casserole dish I was using. 

While the saute action was happening I sliced up the rest of the veggies and sprinkled them with salt, pepper and thyme

Then I layered the colorful slices into a pretty pattern on top of my onion/garlic mixture (if you like cooked tomatoes you may want to use 2 since those seemed less proportionate to the other vegetables).

This went into a 400 degree oven, covered. After 30 minutes I removed the aluminum foil, sprinkled on the cheese and popped it back into the oven for another 20 minutes to let everything melt together.

Voila! Summer Vegetable Tian--great by itself or as a side. Enjoy!

Fall TV Line Up

Fall is the best time of year for many reasons (in my opinion), but one of my favorites thing is the return of my stories!

• Today = First Regular Season Saints game!!!
• Wed. 9/12 = Glee
• Wed. 9/19 = Up All Night
• Mon. 9/24 = New Girl
• Tues. 9/25 = Modern Family
• Sun. 9/30 = Dexter
• Sun. 10/14 = The Walking Dead
• Wed. 10/17 = American Horror Story: Asylum
• Fri. 11/2 = Last Man Standing

Whew! That is a lot of TV watching--but I love it!! You've got funny, dramatic, suspenseful, and musical all there for viewing enjoyment! Hell on Wheels has already started up, so with that, Dexter, The Walking Dead, AND football--my Sundays are going to be full. Now...if the weather would just start to feel like fall I would be a much happier camper!!