Voted early at a shopping mall

We've got a federal election coming up this month. Yesterday, after work, I voted early.

In the past, my advance poll was either at a community centre or school. I feel that the pandemic has changed things. The former tends to be used as a vaccination centre these days. School just started for many here and it's in-person, so having the auditorium as a poll with students, teachers, and voters was probably not the best idea, either.

My advance poll, which is also my poll on election day, was at a shopping mall. It was different and deadly. There's nothing like shopping and eating after voting!

I'm glad that I voted. Happy weekend, everyone!

My intern and training a new colleague

My intern's work term ends in 1.5 weeks. She has been great helping me with recording training videos as I update my training slides. I let her know that I appreciated her help. I'm glad that I did.

In a few hours, I am training a new member of our team. I am ready. It will be different, but everything I seem to do is different!

Dental appointment

It has been a year since I visited my dentist. I finally go in for my appointment in a few hours.

Things will be different. In the past, the dental office filed my claims on my behalf. With the pandemic, I have to pay upfront and file it myself.

The downside is that paying upfront isn't cheap. However, my insurance does have a quick payment turnaround. Funds from any claim that I file directly goes into my chequing account.

I have to call the office from the parking lot. I also have to wear shoe covers that the dental office will provide.

It's definitely a change going to the dentist's office.

Thoughts about how a newbie learns

It has been nearly two weeks that my students and I have been training the new employee. It has been a challenge for all of us.

I am still trying to figure out how this new employee learns. It's difficult to narrow down, but here are my notes:

• She is an extremely slow learner. She requires tons of repetition doing the same task before she begins to understand it.
• She is not good at recognizing patterns. If there is a clear example on the page, she does not know how to apply that example to solve her current problem.
• She does not read well. It doesn't matter whether she has a checklist or a procedure on how to do a task, she does not read details carefully. She also does not read e-mails well.
• Her comprehension is dismal. She constantly relies on my PowerPoint slides and treats them as the gospel. When she has a checklist to go through, she is still dependent on her slides and doesn't realize that the checklist takes precedence. When I quiz her on how to do something, she goes to her printed slide notes and doesn't get it. So, it's another explanation, but from a different angle. 
• She says thanks too often. Sure, we are all Canadian. However, saying thanks after every other sentence that we say does not register knowledge that we have passed on to her. It is also overkill.
• She is afraid to try anything on her own. When she had a question on how to edit a page the other day, I asked her to give it a try. She gave me a firm, "No!" Um, okay. Odd.

She does have a cartoon character voice. It's squeaky. One of my colleagues called it cute. I find it annoying the more she talks, which is pretty often.

My manager was impressed by how much information and research she did for her second interview. I didn't feel the same way. I realize now that it was all memorization. The comprehension is nonexistent. 

The red flag that I had during her second interview was that she admitted that she was a slow learner. I pointed that out to my boss. He said that the extra work that she does after hours will get her learning faster. I didn't think that it was the case then. I certainly don't see it now.

It is still frustrating dealing with someone who does not get what she is doing. I have even seen my students get frustrated.

Here's hoping that things get better, although things look bleak right now.

Thoughts being an interviewee

At work, I conduct a number of interviews. I tend to make interviews a conversation rather than an interrogation. I want the interviewee to be comfortable, which allows that person to open up. I then get as much information out of the candidate to determine whether that person is a good fit.

It has been ages since I went for an interview. It's strange to be the interviewee.

For a while, ever since this job opportunity was plopped into my inbox, I have been mixed about the position. I like the idea of being in a new work environment, being closer to home, and having the challenge of learning a new field. However, after being interviewed by four different people on Monday, I still don't feel that it's my dream job.

The person who could potentially be my manager reminded me of my current manager. Both have been in the industry for nearly two decades. Both don't have a good command of the English language. Both aren't good at listening.

I respectfully butted heads with this person. I saw the passion that came out of me. I didn't back down. If they didn't like that about me, so be it. I'm actually pleased that I took a stand.

This person basically said that this position would be a drastic change for me. He felt that I was doing more of a management role than a writing role. He went on to say that at my workplace, there are tons of writers. You lose one and you're fine. At this company, it's smaller. You lose a person and you feel the impact.

I completely disagreed with him. I have lost a writer a year on my team for at least the past four years. Thanks goes to my micromanaging manager. My team loses a writer. I feel the pain of picking up the slack and doing the job of two people. It is my current situation.

He completely dismissed the fact that I am in the trenches, writing daily, doing the grunt work. I hammered that point. He didn't get it. He's stubborn, just like my manager.

Is it worth taking a pay cut to be at a different company with a manager exhibiting similar personality traits and deficiencies? I think not.

I did feel good coming out of the interview. I got along with the woman with whom I had my phone interview. It was good getting back into the interview scene again.

As much as it would be nice to escape my current job for another one, this open job opportunity doesn't feel right to me.

Thoughts about a shift in my career

I write for a living. I also train new employees and students who join my department. I like the mix.

The problem for a while is that I tend to do the workload of two people. I am also tired of my boss scaring the main writer on my little team. When that person quits, I end up picking up the slack and doing my old job responsibilities, as well as the current ones on my plate. This scenario is what I am going through. I've been down this road so many times that it's old hat, which it shouldn't be.

Now and again, I get recruiters asking me whether I'm interested in a number of job opportunities. I got one for a technical trainer. I decided to ask more about it. Let's see what happens.

It would be interesting if I did take on a full-time trainer role. It would be a shift in my career, rather than having a foot in two different doorways.