Tag: job search

Dot Matrix?

I’m shopping for a new printer. Mine has developed a disturbing tendency to have paper jams and it give me error messages even when it’s printing fine. But as I scrolled looking at new models, I had a throwback thought to my first printer – which was dot matrix.

Ah the good old days! My first printer was actually more of a typewriter than what we would call a printer now. It had a full keyboard that I typed my work into and then you could review line by line on a little screen before you hit the print button. I’m not sure it was cutting edge tech when I bought it but I really loved it at the time. It was smaller than a typewriter and I could print as many copies of the last document I typed as I liked. Makes me giggle now!

I think it’s fun to look back at the tech I thought was so cool when it came out. That first printer? My first cell phone? My Palm Pilot? All of them are funny to think about now. And what about software? I’m REALLY glad I’m not using Word Perfect anymore! Or dial up internet!

Do you think the day will come that I’ll be laughing about my HP Envy printer? Because right now, it’s just frustrating! Let me know if you have a recommendation for a good home printer in the comments please?

SO itchy!!!!

Ever had a spot of eczema? MAN does it itch! I thought at first it was an insect bite, but we’re into week 2 with it and it’s still going. Luckily, I have some cream given to me by my dermatologist from the last spot, but I may need to go see him again for more.

In the meantime – what is eczema? Basically, it’s a common skin condition causing patches of dry, itchy skin. This link will give you a great overview of they types, causes and treatments:

https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/9998-eczema

I had an encounter with bed bugs in a 5 star hotel at Universal Theme Park in Florida over 10 years ago – and ever since, I have weird reactions to bug bites. And sometimes that triggers eczema for me. It got me good this time – so pardon me while I run to Walgreens to pick up some Aveeno cream to help tide me over until my dermatologist can see me!

Interview to-dos

I have multiple interviews coming up over the next 10 days so today, my to-do list is all about interview prep. I have some helpful tips to help make sure I’m ready:

  • First, I pull out the job description and make notes about how my experience/skill set fills all the posted requirements for the role. This also helps me put together my answer for the inevitable “tell me about yourself” question.
  • Second, I search LinkedIn for the person/people I’m interviewing with so I know if we know anyone in common or if we have worked in the same place. Good for an icebreaker — and REALLY good to read their job descriptions and get an idea about their skill sets.
  • Next, I generally do a Google search for business news regarding the company/industry. It’s always a good idea to know what’s going on with the company and their business. Google is just a start – you can also search on Glassdoor.com for info on the corporate culture.
  • I have a list of behavioral interview questions I’ve collected from a book about interviewing skills as well as my outplacement coach’s website. These are all questions I know from experience I might be asked – or are questions appropriate to the role I’m interviewing for. I run through my list thinking how I would answer each for the role I’m up for — in some cases, I actually write out an answer and practice it so I can answer smoothly in the moment. Using the STAR method to frame my answers is very helpful here (Situation/Task/Action/Result). This bit of prep work has really allowed me to feel MUCH more comfortable in an interview.
  • Frame up questions I want to ask through the interview. Remember, they aren’t just auditioning you – you’re auditioning them as well. So you should ask questions about culture, the team, processes, systems, etc. so you get an idea about whether this is a place you want to spend the next years of your career. I try to work my questions into the conversation of the interview so asking them feels less “forced.”
  • Last – but sometimes not least – I like to read the last SEC statement or annual report for the company I’m interviewing with. You’d be surprised how much you can learn from those government filings and investor facing communications.

These are my best tips – do you have any good ones? I’d love to hear them in the comments!

On to L.A. 2028

Did you watch the closing ceremonies for the Olympics last night? I have to admit, I bailed after Tom Cruise took the Olympic flag to L.A. in the filmed sequence and the Red Hot Chili Peppers were playing on the beach. But I did love seeing all the athletes at the stadium in Paris. Did you know that medal winners in attendance were required to wear their medals?

And did you know that the first gold medals awarded were solid gold? That’s right – if you won gold in the 1904 or 1908 games, your medal was solid gold. But in 1912, the gold was deemed too expensive so starting with that Olympics and through to today, the “gold medals” are actually silver and then plated in gold. The IOC actually requires that all gold (and silver) medals are at least 92.5% silver. How’s that for a fun fact?

If you didn’t hear about this summer’s medals, they’re truly unique with a fragment of the Eiffel Tower in each medal. Check out more information about the Paris Games medals here: https://olympics.com/en/paris-2024/the-games/the-brand/medals-design

Gut Health

I think I may have written about the stomach bug that hit my friend and I while we were in Italy – and I seem to have a recurrence going on. So I started taking probiotics and I’ve been reading up on gut health.

Gut health seems to make the news fairly regularly these days, but if you don’t know it refers to the balance of bacteria, viruses, and fungi, known as the microbiome in your digestive system. Studies have shown that when the balance gets off, it can lead to things like constipation, diarrhea, bloating, gas, abdominal pain, acid reflux, headaches, poor sleep, and even joint pain. So keeping that balance is good for your overall health!

Lots of things can contribute to poor gut health – starting with too little sleep and other bad habits like smoking and excessive alcohol consumption. Antibiotics can also be a factor – so if you’ve been prescribed medication for any sort of infection from conditions like acne to sinus issues, the odds are you could get a stomach upset with it (which is why you are told to take the medication with food to try to mitigate that). But diet is definitely the biggest driving factor. Eating too much processed food, sugar, saturated fats, and additives/preservatives will definitely drive up the bad bacteria in your gut.

So how do you get your microbiome back into balance? It all goes back to a healthier lifestyle:

  • Eat less processed food, more fiber, more fresh fruits and vegetables and limit sugary foods. Whole grains and fermented foods like sauerkraut and kimchi are particularly helpful.
  • Take a probiotic supplement. There are lots of them available – like Align or Olly Probiotic gummies. You can also find yogurt with probiotics – try Activia or greek yogurt. You can tell if your favorite yogurt has probiotics by reading the label – you want one that says “live yogurt cultures” or even better “lactobacillus acidophilus.” Need to sneak the probiotic into your diet? You can substitute sour cream with one of the healthy plain yogurts – you won’t notice a difference in flavor and you get the bonus of those cultures!
  • Exercise more! You don’t need even need a gym – you can just walk more. Maybe throw in some weight bearing exercises like squats and lunges. Hit those 10,000 steps a day – but if you can’t do that, try to increase your daily steps every day any way you can. Park farther away from the store or walk around the block. You can work up to the 10,000 steps easily. Need something more fun? Try dancing to 2-3 songs at least once a day! Just get moving! Bonus – it will help relieve stress which also contributes to poor gut health.
  • HYDRATE! Drinking adequate amounts of water helps your overall health in a lot of ways but will contribute to better gut health as well. But remember – boosting your consumption of coffee, tea and soda doesn’t count. Caffeine is a diuretic so drinking it actually takes water out of your system.
  • Get on a good sleep schedule. Planning for 7-8 hours of sleep per night can help get your system sorted out. So put those devices down about an hour before you want to sleep and develop a routine that allows you to get the rest your body needs.

Want more info about your gut health? Check out these links to get started!

Telegraph cables

On this day in 1858, the first trans-Atlantic telegraph cable was linked up allowing messages to be sent from the United States to England. By August 16th, President Buchanan and Queen Victoria had exchanged messages – but by the beginning of September, the cable broke and no more trans-Atlantic messages were possible until 1866.

It’s hard to imagine what life was like in the telegraph age now isn’t it? I’ve only ever seen 1 actual telegraph message. Have you seen one in real life?

I used to tease my Grandma about all the technological advancements she saw in her life. She was born in the horse and buggy days and saw beginning of the automotive age. She saw telephones go from party lines to private lines to cell phones. She saw the dawn of TV and lived to see cable TV. She saw the beginning of commercial air travel – and the son of one of her friends walk on the moon.

In my own lifetime, tech has just continued to accelerate. At my first job in NYC at a Madison Avenue ad agency, there were 40 of us that shared 3 computers! Now, I carry around more computing power in my cell phone than those computers had! I’ve gone from green screens to being able to create my own interfaces. And I’m watching AI unfold now. Crazy isn’t it? Cannot wait to see what comes next!

Want to know more about telegraphs? Check out these links!