I am CuTRis

Today, I jumped headfirst into substitute teaching. Just to make it more interesting, I did a full day in middle school, in math class--which was my least favorite subject when I was that age. With the Tech industry laying off workers, and needing a job with flexibility, this is currently my solution. -Mr. C

I was laid off last Monday, along with many, other talented people, because the company is in trouble. After buying other companies and other software products, it routinely uses layoffs to temporarily make the finances appear better. While this looks good in the short term, it's misguided. The abandoned workers did nothing wrong, and in fact, they were necessary to maintain quality. When an organization gets too large to provide the wonderful customer experience that they talk so extensively about, cutting staff in favor of AI and offshore solutions, will ultimately lead to more dissatisfied customers and subscription cancellations. There is still no substitute for human talent. I can write better than Claude, and I provide higher quality customer service than Forethought can. I am skilled at writing and effective communications, technology support, customer service and streamlining workflow. If anyone knows of an employer in need of this type of experience, drop me a message. I...

I just had my first preliminary phone interview with an AI "personality." This "ship" just got real...

I lost my job during the covid pandemic. A year ago this month, on the day we buried my father, I found out the software I supported was being sold. In June, I was able to get a job at the company that bought it. I worked really hard to learn the new job. My supervisor thought I was doing well. Today, I was called into a surprise meeting with strangers, to findout my job was being eliminated. I was locked out of my work computer minutes later. My supervisor had no prior knowledge of this, but apparently the company cut other jobs today as well. It's what they do. They acquire other companies and software, and periodically have mass layoffs. It explains a lot about the poor communications and unhappy customers. But none of that makes me feel better about today. When you put forth your best effort to make the changes thrown at you, only to be given the explanation of, "structural changes," before losing access to your job and income, it leaves one feeling lost. But I'l...

The mayor of Minneapolis made a joke the other day about those of us working from home turning into "losers." For the life of me, I am not seeing anything except "win" about my situation of working from home! I don't have to pay parking to work downtown, I don't have to pay extra money for gasoline, which is not only good for my bank account, but it's good for the environment too. I also have more time for my family, more personal time, and that lack of sitting in traffic means my stress level is not as high. If all of these things make me a loser, then so be it! I'm very happy.

My big brother Jim is retiring today. He spent the last 25 years of his career at the MSP Airport, keeping the big trucks and machines running. During bad weather, like the snow storm we just had that dumped 8 inches of snow on the airport, Jim would get called in to live there for the duration of the weather event. This is how he finished his career there. Somehow that seems fitting. Congratulations on your retirement Jim.

Over the weekend having heard the bragging of a hospital financial administrator, it reinforced my belief that it takes more than an MBA to make a good supervisor. Her comments about firing people who didn’t do what she wanted, were nothing short of shocking. If a company, did things right, they probably spent lots of time and money seeking out the best talent to work for them. Terminating an employee may be how a medieval monarch would handle the situation, but firing someone should always be considered a last resort. It is not good to have a manager with such little regard for people and assets. Perhaps she was just bragging about her “power,” but I know from having a long and varied work history, that nothing will send me into a full-on job search, like an immature or mean-spirited supervisor.

I keep hearing about a labor shortage, and it makes me wonder if it is real. When I was growing up, my dad liked to read the want ads for cars and houses. It was his thing. I like looking at employment ads. I’ve always liked to keep apprised of the opportunities available. When I was laid off due to COVID-19, I applied for over 2000 jobs in 10 months. This is what I found during that time.  &nbsp1. Human Resources job descriptions, are designed to eliminate applicants based on what they don’t have; rather than to explore what candidates do have. This is the “easy way” to do it. If they state that you need 7 years’ experience in a certain thing and you don’t have it, you’re out! If you need a particular degree in a particular area and don’t have it, likewise—you’re no longer considered.  &nbsp2. The requirements are stacked pretty high for the good jobs. If a candidate can somehow fulfil them all satisfactorily, the next barrier is compensation. Once you are in the running, i...

Throughout my life I've noticed how bad things can often become good; and how important it is to force yourself to stay positive even when you can't see the light at the end of a long dark tunnel. Being laid off due to COVID-19 was a bad thing. But even when it looked hopeless because of the lack of jobs or the hundreds of applicants per (good) job, I kept trying. Even today, three weeks into my new job, I still get several contacts per day from recruiters wanting me to work for half the salary that I'm accustomed to. Some people told me I would need to compromise and take less. I was prepared to do that if necessary, but I had already decided that if that were to happen, the job would be something I had never done and wasn't already an experienced professional in. Then, just as all of those applications (there were literally a couple thousand) I sent out over the 10+ months that I was out of work began to turn into a steady stream of interviews, a contact from a prev...

It was a long road back, but after applying for hundreds of jobs, often the good ones having hundreds of applicants, a former employer has offered me a job. Today I've accepted it. The mass layoffs due to the pandemic, caused (in my opinion) many IT roles to become underpaid contract jobs; with out-of-state recruiters who don't know St. Paul from Duluth... or even Dallas. It was difficult at times, to stay positive. But I'm not a newbie to these unforeseen circumstances. I'm also looking forward to my first fully remote job. To anyone still looking, don't give up. I ran my job search like a business. Recently, things changed and I was getting more interviews. I think I can even pinpoint the influx of positive energy to the day I donated blood. Good creates more good. God willing, this pandemic won't last forever. The organizations that use this time to recruit good talent with honesty and integrity, will have invested wisely in the future.

Yesterday I had a job interview that was in person. Most are virtual because of the pandemic. I had tried to get more information before going to see if it was really worth it, but they could not even supply me with the original job posting. So I went anyway to see what they had to say. The guy who was interviewing me did not wear a mask and told me I didn't have to if I didn't want to. I told him that I wanted to. I think I decided right then that I didn't want to work there, but when I found out what he intended to pay, which believe me was not easy, as he didn't want to let me know this information either, I excused myself and left. Not only do I not want to work there, the experience gave me a poor opinion of the business in general.

I just received an update on a job I applied for. It said that I'm one of 269 active applicants. Things should improve soon!

Capitalism is not a bad thing. CEO's making 300% more than the other employees is.

Many of us have watched Donald Trump become incensed by people who disagree with him. Many liberals have pointed this out. What many of them have failed to notice, however, is that they often exhibit the same trait. Many years ago, I was a supervisor. While no one likes it when someone disagrees with them constantly, I found it equally annoying when someone agreed with everything no matter what! You will never get any new ideas from those people who just want to agree and be accepted.

I had a cool job and then COVID-19 arrived. I did technical support for the Minnesota Historical Society. Mostly I worked at the History Center, but I worked at several other sites as well. I visited nearly all of the sites with my family in the 3 years I was there. I was hired to support phones (VoIP, Centrex) and the AV media in the conference rooms and classrooms. But soon I was doing desktop support (virtually and in person), and lots of things including toning, and connecting Ethernet ports in switch closets. I was in the middle of a phone upgrade at a historic mansion in St. Paul when COVID-19 shut us down. I was furloughed. Then furlough was extended. Now layoff is imminent. The museums are closed. Half the staff--including the entire help-desk has been cut. The organization is now in survival mode. But I enjoyed it while it lasted. Now, I am displaced by COVID-19 and looking for another cool job...

Is it time to reinvent yourself? I've done that several times before in my life. When I graduated from college, the USA was at war with Iraq and we had a President Bush in office. It was very hard to find a job at that time. Years later, when I left my job at the county chemical health division, I also left the state for a while. I wasn't very happy on the East Coast, so I came back to Minnesota. It was very hard to find a job ... as we were once again at war with Iraq, and there was yet another President Bush in office. Now, I feel bad for the new graduates. Because the job market is not good once again. Each time this happened, I had to reinvent myself. Now, it may be time to do that again. I have moved from horticulture, to library, to office administration, to technology. Each move helped me to navigate my career in the midst of what was happening socially and politically at the time. Perhaps the hardest was when I came back from Providence, and had to literally start over....

So many things remind me of the show "Whose Line is it Anyway?" Because it seems that so often everything is made up and the points don't matter.

His day was both enlightening and challenging. A person who just last week was wrongfully accusing other people of doing something, went ahead and did the same thing herself today. Another person who is high-ranking and has a bad temper, lodged a complaint but as all of the correspondence was documented in email, it pointed to this individual's own abusive nature. It seems that even when he couldn't leave home, it didn't shield him from everything. But it did help to have it all in writing.

If you are in charge and you make a bad decision but won't admit it, it's still a bad decision. Your Authority does not change your bad decision into a good one.