A cat forum. CatBanter

If this is your first visit, be sure to check out the FAQ by clicking the link above. You may have to register before you can post: click the register link above to proceed. To start viewing messages, select the forum that you want to visit from the selection below.

Go Back   Home » CatBanter forum » Cat Newsgroups » Cat anecdotes
Site Map Home Register Authors List Search Today's Posts Mark Forums Read Web Partners

Vet Tech Journals: Working interviews (very long sorry)



 
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
  #1  
Old September 1st 06, 12:41 AM posted to rec.pets.cats.anecdotes
Mischief
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 632
Default Vet Tech Journals: Working interviews (very long sorry)

Well so far this one clinic is looking promising. I've had one
interview which led to a working interview, which led to a second
working interview, which i just had today. And i've been asked back
for a third working interveiw next week.

It's a good sized clinic but the building has been around for like 50
years. The moldings and the floors in the back totally show it. My
first reaction when i went back into the treatment room was "This place
looks lik a dump." The cabinets and countertops were peeling, the
floor is totally uneven.

But they seem to practice good medicine. Both days i've worked there
It's been relatively slow, even though i've been told that it can get
really really crazy. I'm interested to see how they manage crazy day,
cause you nenevr really know the whole truth until all hell breaks
loose.

Lemme give ya a relative summary of both days.

Day one: Clocked in and learned about the morning routines, tour of
hte equipment etc. In the isolation room where three 8 week old
kittens that had been fixed the previous day. Two boys and one girl.
Very cute looking, but they were feral. The staff was trying to spend
as much time working with them so they can become accustomed to
hoomins. The cages hadn't been cleaned yet, and i heard two
technicians complaining that they didnt' want do it because the kits
would go nuts. So I said i would give it a shot.

First kitten, a tortie female, started hissing as soon as i opened the
cat door. "I'm MEAN!!!" So i quickly reached in and scruffed her and
picked her up. She struggled a little bit, but i wrapped her in a
towel and after a bit she calmed down and started purring. But as soon
as I put her back she started hissing again.

Second kitten, a tiny male tuxedo, started hissing and spitting as i
reached for him. I had to move fast cause as sson as i grabbed him he
REALLY started struggling. Again wrapped him up in the towel and after
sitting there and scritching him he calmed down and purred until i put
him back.

Third kitten, an all black male, went NUTS when I opened the door. I
half expected him to come flying out at me. This one i had to cover
with a towel first and then brought him out. Same thing, but he took
longer to start purring.

Periodically throughout the day i went back and visited the kits and
tried to pet them. Each of them hissed again and tried to swipe at me,
but some i managed to get out again and pet.

I assisted with a spay surgery and learned the clinic's surgery
protocol. And the rest of the day went decently well.

Day two: Clocked in and started helping with the hospitlized animals
and morning treatments. THis time i actually took teh chart and check
the medications, check with the vet etc. Took me a while since I
didn't know where the drugs were kept, couldn't find the drawer with
the gloves, etc.

The feral kittens were all in one cage but still hissed at me. The all
black male was burrowed WAY underneath the pillow and was even moving
his brother and sister aside so he could burrow further. They've still
got a ways to go.

While i was cleaning a run, I reached up to one of the shelves where
the towels were kept when i noticed there was a CAT meatloafing on one
of the stacks of towels. Her name is Cali and is a beautiful tortie
and also is the hospital cat.

I talked to her and scritched her ears and then asked her "Um, I need
to get a towel now, may i?" I then gently grasped the towel under her
and tugged a little bit.

Cali looked me square in the eye and took a swipe at my hand. HEY!
"Uh, ok, if that's how you're going to be, i'll just use the stack
you're not sitting on." Again she swiped at me and every time my
handcame close to the towel she would bat it away.

Another coworker was there and she started laughing. "She just wants
to play." Nevertheless, I still needed a towel. I finally managed to
get one despite her batting at trying to love bite my hand. Sheesh!

Fortunately during the day Cali lives in a cage and not in that room.
I visited her again later and she let me scritch her head and ears and
then tried to grab my hand so she could bite it. Reminds me of Imp.

I then helped out and learned the clinics dental protocol and was able
to assist with that. I also got to do an ear cytology and got some
helpful learning tips from one of doctors.

So then the end of my shift came around and i got asked to come back
again next week for another working interview (thank goodness i'm
getting paid for these)

Pros: Nice doctors (so far) and the two head techs are nice and have
been willing to help me when needed. I'm also getting a chance to
apply knowelge that i only learned in school and haven't had a chance
to apply yet.

Cons: The rest of the staff, particularly the female technicians seem
a trifle distance. I'm not sure why, but i'm getting some weird vibes.

Examples: On day one, after i was done with the feral kitties I came
back out and noticed one of the technicians was getting food. I said
"Oh, its time for feeding now?" I know a mildly dumb question, but I
didn't see the harm in asking.

She said, "Uh....yeah?" The unsaid "DUH" hung in the air and i saw it
in her face. Um, okaaaaaaay.... I brushed it off and went about the
rest of the day, but kept an eye out for her.

And this morning i was looking for another technician to help me, and I
saw one who just came in, but I couldn't remember her name. So I said,
"Uh, Claudia, right?"

She gave me a somewhat condescending glance and said "No." And kept on
walking by. Didn't even stop to see what I was doing.

WTF?

The two head techs have taken the time to try to get to know me, and
i've had conversations with some of the other males techs but not much.
But each of them took the time to introduce themselves.

NONE of the girls have really said a word to me, even a hello and
haven't even tried to get to know me. And when i do speak to them, I
get this feeling like I'm treading on eggshells.

So on the one hand the clinic shows promise, it bothers me that I've
only worked there two days and already am getting bad vibes. I've been
trying really hard lately to read people's body language and actions,
and what i've seen isn't impressing.

They seem to me to be mid-level technicians, which is wherabouts where
I would start. But I mean, am I THAT threatening to them already? I
mean as far as I know, I'm not acting like I know everything, cause if
I did why would they keep asking back? And I'm almost afraid to
mention it cause I don't want to start any rifts. Of course i'm not
going to mention it NOW, but with the way things are going, I wouldn't
be surprised if in the next week or so they made me an offer. If at
all, THAT is when I would mention it but worded very carefully. Cause
the fit is very important and from the last two places I';ve noticed if
there's ANY kind of bad vibes, it's only a matter of time.

At the last place, 'A' and I clashed early on. And as much as I tried
to work with her, it only got worse and I ended up being blamed for
"always arguing with her" And the place before that, this high school
brat with a major attitude and I clashed a bit as well. For two years
we managed to keep our distance, but the last few months it just got
worse.

And if you've read my latest rant about my unemployment interview, you
can see how frustrating this is.
As much as I like this place so far, the LAST thing i want is to get
hired and have personality conflicts down the road that end up leading
to my termination. Doesn't matter if it's 3 weeks, 3 months or 3
years. That would be THREE jobs in a row where i would have been
discharged for 'not getting along with the staff'

God if that happened I don't know if i could handle that.

I'm trying ot keep my head up, and will see how the next working
interview goes. I have another interview tomorrow at a different
place.

ithinkicanithinkicanithinkican.....



Kristi

  #2  
Old September 1st 06, 04:31 AM posted to rec.pets.cats.anecdotes
Helen Wheels
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 264
Default Vet Tech Journals: Working interviews (very long sorry)

Mischief wrote:

Well so far this one clinic is looking promising. I've had one
interview which led to a working interview, which led to a second
working interview, which i just had today. And i've been asked back
for a third working interveiw next week.

snip long
I'm trying ot keep my head up, and will see how the next working
interview goes. I have another interview tomorrow at a different
place.

ithinkicanithinkicanithinkican.....



Kristi


I think you can too, but I'm in no position to offer employment advice.
I guess people can't help but be wary of a new colleague, but then again
they may not even be aware that they're coming across that way.
I think I like this "working" interviews idea. I've often thought the
answers to less-than-an-hour's worth of on the spot questions is a very
superficial way to evaluate whether someone's going to be useful
employee (OK, maybe that's mostly because I'm really bad at interviews
and haven't been successful in years). I'd think that having
interviewees actually do things rather than just talk about them would
be a much better way to evaluate them. I guess it would be hard to do if
you were interviewing people who already had a job somewhere else
though. May I ask, do they pay you for your time while you're on a
"working" interview?
  #3  
Old September 1st 06, 04:54 AM posted to rec.pets.cats.anecdotes
Sam
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 1,226
Default Vet Tech Journals: Working interviews (very long sorry)

Mischief wrote:
Well so far this one clinic is looking promising. I've had one
interview which led to a working interview, which led to a second
working interview, which i just had today. And i've been asked back
for a third working interveiw next week.

It's a good sized clinic but the building has been around for like 50
years. The moldings and the floors in the back totally show it. My
first reaction when i went back into the treatment room was "This place
looks lik a dump." The cabinets and countertops were peeling, the
floor is totally uneven.

But they seem to practice good medicine. Both days i've worked there
It's been relatively slow, even though i've been told that it can get
really really crazy. I'm interested to see how they manage crazy day,
cause you nenevr really know the whole truth until all hell breaks
loose.

Lemme give ya a relative summary of both days.

Day one: Clocked in and learned about the morning routines, tour of
hte equipment etc. In the isolation room where three 8 week old
kittens that had been fixed the previous day. Two boys and one girl.
Very cute looking, but they were feral. The staff was trying to spend
as much time working with them so they can become accustomed to
hoomins. The cages hadn't been cleaned yet, and i heard two
technicians complaining that they didnt' want do it because the kits
would go nuts. So I said i would give it a shot.

First kitten, a tortie female, started hissing as soon as i opened the
cat door. "I'm MEAN!!!" So i quickly reached in and scruffed her and
picked her up. She struggled a little bit, but i wrapped her in a
towel and after a bit she calmed down and started purring. But as soon
as I put her back she started hissing again.

Second kitten, a tiny male tuxedo, started hissing and spitting as i
reached for him. I had to move fast cause as sson as i grabbed him he
REALLY started struggling. Again wrapped him up in the towel and after
sitting there and scritching him he calmed down and purred until i put
him back.

Third kitten, an all black male, went NUTS when I opened the door. I
half expected him to come flying out at me. This one i had to cover
with a towel first and then brought him out. Same thing, but he took
longer to start purring.

Periodically throughout the day i went back and visited the kits and
tried to pet them. Each of them hissed again and tried to swipe at me,
but some i managed to get out again and pet.

I assisted with a spay surgery and learned the clinic's surgery
protocol. And the rest of the day went decently well.

Day two: Clocked in and started helping with the hospitlized animals
and morning treatments. THis time i actually took teh chart and check
the medications, check with the vet etc. Took me a while since I
didn't know where the drugs were kept, couldn't find the drawer with
the gloves, etc.

The feral kittens were all in one cage but still hissed at me. The all
black male was burrowed WAY underneath the pillow and was even moving
his brother and sister aside so he could burrow further. They've still
got a ways to go.

While i was cleaning a run, I reached up to one of the shelves where
the towels were kept when i noticed there was a CAT meatloafing on one
of the stacks of towels. Her name is Cali and is a beautiful tortie
and also is the hospital cat.

I talked to her and scritched her ears and then asked her "Um, I need
to get a towel now, may i?" I then gently grasped the towel under her
and tugged a little bit.

Cali looked me square in the eye and took a swipe at my hand. HEY!
"Uh, ok, if that's how you're going to be, i'll just use the stack
you're not sitting on." Again she swiped at me and every time my
handcame close to the towel she would bat it away.

Another coworker was there and she started laughing. "She just wants
to play." Nevertheless, I still needed a towel. I finally managed to
get one despite her batting at trying to love bite my hand. Sheesh!

Fortunately during the day Cali lives in a cage and not in that room.
I visited her again later and she let me scritch her head and ears and
then tried to grab my hand so she could bite it. Reminds me of Imp.

I then helped out and learned the clinics dental protocol and was able
to assist with that. I also got to do an ear cytology and got some
helpful learning tips from one of doctors.

So then the end of my shift came around and i got asked to come back
again next week for another working interview (thank goodness i'm
getting paid for these)

Pros: Nice doctors (so far) and the two head techs are nice and have
been willing to help me when needed. I'm also getting a chance to
apply knowelge that i only learned in school and haven't had a chance
to apply yet.

Cons: The rest of the staff, particularly the female technicians seem
a trifle distance. I'm not sure why, but i'm getting some weird vibes.

Examples: On day one, after i was done with the feral kitties I came
back out and noticed one of the technicians was getting food. I said
"Oh, its time for feeding now?" I know a mildly dumb question, but I
didn't see the harm in asking.

She said, "Uh....yeah?" The unsaid "DUH" hung in the air and i saw it
in her face. Um, okaaaaaaay.... I brushed it off and went about the
rest of the day, but kept an eye out for her.

And this morning i was looking for another technician to help me, and I
saw one who just came in, but I couldn't remember her name. So I said,
"Uh, Claudia, right?"

She gave me a somewhat condescending glance and said "No." And kept on
walking by. Didn't even stop to see what I was doing.

WTF?

The two head techs have taken the time to try to get to know me, and
i've had conversations with some of the other males techs but not much.
But each of them took the time to introduce themselves.

NONE of the girls have really said a word to me, even a hello and
haven't even tried to get to know me. And when i do speak to them, I
get this feeling like I'm treading on eggshells.

So on the one hand the clinic shows promise, it bothers me that I've
only worked there two days and already am getting bad vibes. I've been
trying really hard lately to read people's body language and actions,
and what i've seen isn't impressing.

They seem to me to be mid-level technicians, which is wherabouts where
I would start. But I mean, am I THAT threatening to them already? I
mean as far as I know, I'm not acting like I know everything, cause if
I did why would they keep asking back? And I'm almost afraid to
mention it cause I don't want to start any rifts. Of course i'm not
going to mention it NOW, but with the way things are going, I wouldn't
be surprised if in the next week or so they made me an offer. If at
all, THAT is when I would mention it but worded very carefully. Cause
the fit is very important and from the last two places I';ve noticed if
there's ANY kind of bad vibes, it's only a matter of time.

At the last place, 'A' and I clashed early on. And as much as I tried
to work with her, it only got worse and I ended up being blamed for
"always arguing with her" And the place before that, this high school
brat with a major attitude and I clashed a bit as well. For two years
we managed to keep our distance, but the last few months it just got
worse.

And if you've read my latest rant about my unemployment interview, you
can see how frustrating this is.
As much as I like this place so far, the LAST thing i want is to get
hired and have personality conflicts down the road that end up leading
to my termination. Doesn't matter if it's 3 weeks, 3 months or 3
years. That would be THREE jobs in a row where i would have been
discharged for 'not getting along with the staff'

God if that happened I don't know if i could handle that.

I'm trying ot keep my head up, and will see how the next working
interview goes. I have another interview tomorrow at a different
place.

ithinkicanithinkicanithinkican.....



Kristi

Many purrs on the way that the right place will turn up for you soon.
Hang in there, even though it's tough.

--
Sam, closely supervised by Mistletoe
  #4  
Old September 1st 06, 05:01 AM posted to rec.pets.cats.anecdotes
Mischief
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 632
Default Vet Tech Journals: Working interviews (very long sorry)

Oh yeah i'm getting paid for all my work. I think about $14 an hour
which is what I asked for and seems to be the going rate for technician
with a few yesrs of experience. I may not have a lot of experience,
but i'm familiar enough with teh knowledge that it gives me an edge.

Kristi

  #5  
Old September 1st 06, 05:42 AM posted to rec.pets.cats.anecdotes
Jo Firey
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 1,579
Default Vet Tech Journals: Working interviews (very long sorry)


"Mischief" wrote in message
ups.com...
Oh yeah i'm getting paid for all my work. I think about $14 an hour
which is what I asked for and seems to be the going rate for technician
with a few yesrs of experience. I may not have a lot of experience,
but i'm familiar enough with teh knowledge that it gives me an edge.

Kristi


That may be the only problem really. Up until fairly recently, a lot of vet
techs were trained on the job weren't they? I'd guess those techs would be
a little leery of someone who had formal training. I'd be extra careful to
show I respected their experience.

I still remember working with an accountant who had previous worked at a big
eight accounting firm. He sort of thought it made him superior. But mostly
it was just a bad habit that made him start way too many conversations with
"when I worked for so and so". It got to be irritating.

Jo



  #6  
Old September 1st 06, 08:19 AM posted to rec.pets.cats.anecdotes
pmendhall
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 31
Default Vet Tech Journals: Working interviews (very long sorry)

"Mischief" wrote in message
ups.com...
And if you've read my latest rant about my unemployment interview, you
can see how frustrating this is.


Kristi,

It is frustrating, but I feel that you will eventually find the right place
for you. My initial reaction when reading about the reaction of the fellow
techs is that they might be shy or afraid of investing too much time and
energy with someone who may not be around once the job is filled. I used to
go into a situation where I was uncomfortable and would occassionally come
across like a bull in a china shop. After much training and mentoring by a
co-worker, I found one of the magic phrases is "Help me understand..." or
"Could you help me to make sure that I'm doing...right?" It is important to
do this sincerely, but it has been extremely helpful in the past 5 years. I
am now looking for work myself, so I understand some of your frustrations.

I know that you just graduated, is it possible for you to arrange some time
with the college placement services to have some mock interviews conducted?
Sometimes is isn't so much what we say, but the body language that
accompanies the comments. Reflect on the one who gave you the "Duh" look.
The placement center has no real vested interest in you getting a job with
them, so they can be more honest and direct. I know that working interviews
are different than formal interviews, but you may find out something that
would be helpful.

Also, could you contact your friend that helped you understand when you were
too energetic and ask her for some honest feedback. She can probably shed
some light on what makes folks think you are arguing when you are truly
trying to ask a question.

Just a few suggestions, hope they help.

Diane



  #7  
Old September 1st 06, 05:30 PM posted to rec.pets.cats.anecdotes
jmcquown
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 3,482
Default Vet Tech Journals: Working interviews (very long sorry)

Jo Firey wrote:
"Mischief" wrote in message
ups.com...
Oh yeah i'm getting paid for all my work. I think about $14 an hour
which is what I asked for and seems to be the going rate for
technician with a few yesrs of experience. I may not have a lot of
experience,
but i'm familiar enough with teh knowledge that it gives me an edge.

Kristi


That may be the only problem really. Up until fairly recently, a lot
of vet techs were trained on the job weren't they? I'd guess those
techs would be a little leery of someone who had formal training.
I'd be extra careful to show I respected their experience.

I still remember working with an accountant who had previous worked
at a big eight accounting firm. He sort of thought it made him
superior. But mostly it was just a bad habit that made him start way
too many conversations with "when I worked for so and so". It got
to be irritating.

Jo


Oh grrrrr! Jo, I hate that! 20-some years ago when I worked for an
insurance company, the manager hired a new department secretary. She was a
perfectly competent secretary but she constantly said, "When I worked
for..." and wanted to do things the way they were done when she worked for
*them*, rather than adapt herself to the way we did things. It got to be
very irritating and eventually led to some very negative reactions from the
rest of the staff. I remember thinking, if it was so great there, why did
you bother to leave?

Jill


  #8  
Old September 1st 06, 07:51 PM posted to rec.pets.cats.anecdotes
EvelynVogtGamble(Divamanque)
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 3,800
Default Vet Tech Journals: Working interviews (very long sorry)



Mischief wrote:

So then the end of my shift came around and i got asked to come back
again next week for another working interview (thank goodness i'm
getting paid for these)


Yeah, when you mentioned "working" interviews I was going to
ask about that! (I visualized a vet managing to get free
part-time workers indefinitely, under the guise of "working
interviews".)


Pros: Nice doctors (so far) and the two head techs are nice and have
been willing to help me when needed. I'm also getting a chance to
apply knowelge that i only learned in school and haven't had a chance
to apply yet.

Cons: The rest of the staff, particularly the female technicians seem
a trifle distance. I'm not sure why, but i'm getting some weird vibes.


I think Cheryl's advice on another thread applies here -
just don't read too much into other people's responses.
They may simply be intent upon what they are doing, and look
upon conversational pleasantries as interruptions. Also
they may simply feel it doesn't make sense to get chummy
with someone who is still undergoing the "interview"
process. (You may not be the first - have there been other
applicants to reach that stage?) You had a bad experience
on the last job, but don't let it color your reactions to
new potential fellow-workers.

I get the impression you may be feeling a bit lonely, what
with your roommate moving out, and being out of school so
you don't have your classmates to chat with. Why not wait a
bit - smile when you encounter others, return their
greetings, but let them make the first conversational
overtures? (That's advice my mother gave me, when I first
entered the business world, and I was glad she did.)
I can't exactly explain the difference, but the dynamics of
being an employee are a bit different from those of being a
fellow-student. So long as you have a ready smile, and
respond when others speak to you, no one will consider you
either "stand-offish" or "pushy", and you'll be building a
good working relationship on their terms.

  #9  
Old September 1st 06, 08:01 PM posted to rec.pets.cats.anecdotes
EvelynVogtGamble(Divamanque)
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 3,800
Default Vet Tech Journals: Working interviews (very long sorry)



Jo Firey wrote:


I still remember working with an accountant who had previous worked at a big
eight accounting firm. He sort of thought it made him superior.


From what I've seen of former "big eight" employees, all
that makes them is underpaid! (They need a couple years
auditing experience before they can be certified, the big
eight firms are the best place to get it, and the firms know
it!) You notice, unless a person is on a track to make
partner in a big eight firm, once those magic letters "CPA"
can be tacked onto the name, he/she quickly leaves and gets
into the private sector, where the pay is better and the
work more interesting and varied!

  #10  
Old September 2nd 06, 07:03 AM posted to rec.pets.cats.anecdotes
Tanada
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 666
Default Vet Tech Journals: Working interviews (very long sorry)


"Helen Wheels" wrote in message
...

I think you can too, but I'm in no position to offer employment advice. I
guess people can't help but be wary of a new colleague, but then again
they may not even be aware that they're coming across that way.
I think I like this "working" interviews idea. I've often thought the
answers to less-than-an-hour's worth of on the spot questions is a very
superficial way to evaluate whether someone's going to be useful employee
(OK, maybe that's mostly because I'm really bad at interviews and haven't
been successful in years). I'd think that having interviewees actually do
things rather than just talk about them would be a much better way to
evaluate them. I guess it would be hard to do if you were interviewing
people who already had a job somewhere else though. May I ask, do they pay
you for your time while you're on a "working" interview?


One of the new tools for teachers who are job hunting, I'm told, is a video
tape of them in the classroom. The principal, or others on the hiring team,
can watch the tape and get an idea of how the teacher is in the classroom.
The tape is, of course, of the teaching candidate at their best, but it
still gives an idea of what they are capable of. It is also used as a
critiquing tool so that the candidate can see where they were or weren't
effective. Personally, I like it.

Pam S.


 




Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

vB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Forum Jump

Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
Vet Tech Journals: 48 hours of craziness Mischief Cat anecdotes 7 August 7th 06 02:43 AM
Vet Tech journals 6 Mischief Cat anecdotes 24 August 25th 04 02:02 PM
Vet Tech journals 2 (long) LOL Cat anecdotes 2 August 11th 04 05:17 AM
Vet Tech journals (long) Marina Cat anecdotes 8 August 8th 04 04:02 PM
My two cents as a Vet Tech Student (was Vet Assistants) (Long) Mischief Cat anecdotes 9 June 21st 04 03:31 AM


All times are GMT +1. The time now is 09:19 PM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.6.4
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.
Copyright ©2004-2024 CatBanter.
The comments are property of their posters.