Expect the UNexpected | #jobsearch #careers | From Fallout Boy to Houston, Texas | Episode 104

Expect the UNexpected | #jobsearch #careers | From Fallout Boy to Houston, Texas | Episode 104
Imagine flying halfway across the country for a job interview and, during the conversation, the boss takes an unexpected smoke break! Now, that's exactly what happened to me when I took the plunge and applied for a position with Tenaris on my way to job interview success. Join me on this exciting episode as I share the thrilling (and at times, nerve-wracking) journey that led me from a phone interview to an in-person meeting in Houston, Texas. You'll be intrigued to know how Fallout Boy's rendition of 'We Didn't Start the Fire', an Iceland Volcano, and my job interview are all tied together. Plus, I'll let you in on the financial side of things – the costs that come with interviews and the relief of having travel expenses reimbursed even with a job interview success.

But the story doesn't end there. Hear how self-belief and resilience guided me through the unforeseen obstacles of this unfamiliar interviewing process. There's a little something for everyone as I reflect on my work with Voices for Voices and the importance of staying positive in the face of rejection. Stay tuned as I conclude the episode with some heartfelt gratitude for everyone who's supported me in this journey and offer ways you can help further our mission at Voices for Voices. Whether it be attending our events, downloading the replay of the A Brand New Day Gala, or spreading word about this podcast and TV show, every bit of support counts. Get ready for an episode full of inspiration, determination, and life lessons that will leave you feeling pumped and ready to conquer your own job interview or life journey on the way to a job interview success story!

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#Podcast #JobInterview #Resilience #tvshow #UnexpectedJourney #changeup #Inspiration #JobSearch #voicesforvoices #falloutboy #billyjoel #icelandvolano #jobinterviewsuccess #jobs2023 #jobinterviewhelp #jobinterviewskills #jobinterviewsimulation #expecttheunexpected #interviewquestions #Japan #Tokyo #Osaka #Singapore #Malaysia #Australia #Sydney #Melbourne #Brisbane #KualaLumpur

Transcript

Voices for Voices, Justin Alan Hayes: 0:01

Hi everyone. This is another episode of the Voices for Voices TV show and podcast. I'm your host, Justin Alan Hayes, founder and executive director of Voices for Voices. The change up. What's the change up? And what does the band Fallout Boy, the Iceland Volcano and a job interview have in common? Well, we're going to talk about that today. So just a few minutes ago was driving in my car, had the radio turned up and the Fallout Boy we didn't start the fire was on. So for those don't know, that was a classic tune that was written and performed by Billy Joel many years ago, and Fallout Boy took that same song, the same beat, and updated the names and current events from the time that the previous song that Billy Joel put out to current day. And one of the lines in the song talks briefly about the Iceland Volcano. So that's the connection number one and then connection number two of the Iceland Volcano in an interview. What's the change up? How's all this come together?

Voices for Voices, Justin Alan Hayes: 1:43

So early in my career I was working for a steel company called the Timken Company. They also produce roller bearings as well. That's what they're mainly known for. So I've been working there for close to five years, right out of college, right out of Youngstown State and everything was going well, I was learning, I was growing professionally, personally Again decided to head back to school to get my master's of business administration. So once that degree was earned, once I earned that degree and then coming up close to about five years of working at the Timken Company, I decided to start looking for another job. And sometimes in life we decide to start looking for a job. Sometimes it's on our own meaning that we're still employed and we're looking for any position or which has happened to me as well as being involuntarily let go from an organization, otherwise saying you're fired. So Donald Trump is famous for saying you're fired and the apprentice. And either way, you're looking for a new job. You're looking to maybe have a greater title, make more money, move potentially to a new and attractive city that you or the family and loved ones are living, and that excitement takes over and so you start looking for a new job. So that's what I did. I started looking for a new job locally here in Northeast Ohio and also nationally, call it, and the position that we're going to be talking about today in the change up refers to the job that I applied to.

Voices for Voices, Justin Alan Hayes: 4:23

The organization is called Tenaris. They make steel tubing predominantly for the oil and gas market, and so at the time Tenaris was looking to expand their international presence from not only having the headquarters in Buenos Aires, Argentina, but also bringing that brand and presence to North America. So they set up shop in Houston, Texas. Houston, Texas, distance from where I live and lived at the time was just over a thousand miles. So apply to a position it was a step up, title wise, it was a couple steps up salary wise, dollar wise and apply. So I went through the process, logged onto the website, the job profile, set all that up, uploaded my resume, answered a few questions and, like many other job applications, sent that in and a very short time, I would say. I received some feedback and it was very short in that. I applied for the position.

Voices for Voices, Justin Alan Hayes: 5:58

I went and took a shower, finished my shower, went and checked my email and I had already received a message from the recruiter or the human resource representative from Tenaris and they were responding to my job application that I had sent in. So here, let's call it less than an hour time, receive some feedback, and the next step was to have a phone interview, and that's one of the methods and ways organizations can learn more about us and we can learn more about them and their organization, the job, the title, the salary and all that good stuff. So set up a future time to talk, had that conversation and receive feedback that they would like to have a another phone interview, but not with the human resource rep or recruiter but with the hiring manager and a couple of their colleagues. So scheduled that and went through that process, answered dozens of questions and left that phone interview feeling pretty good, feeling like I answered the questions well, that I expressed my intent and willingness to go on with the job process, to, if everything worked out, relocate to Houston, Texas and then a short period of time after that, maybe a week or two, went by and then the job search market at this time you know hearing back in a week or two, especially for a job in a different city, a different area, but it was really a short period of time and back at that time we didn't really have Zoom platforms. Now we had Skype and a couple other platforms and Zoom was out there. But what I mean by not having the Zoom platform, I mean not in totality, in that I could have all my interviews from the confines of my house.

Voices for Voices, Justin Alan Hayes: 8:45

And so the next step, with the interest of Tenaris, the hiring manager and a couple of their colleagues and myself, was to fly down to Houston Texas and meet in person with the team, just as I had done over the phone. This was to be in person, in Houston Texas. So some questions I've received about this are they asked you to fly down and pay for your own ticket and pay for your own hotel and transportation? And in my case, the organization paid for that. So while I made the purchase, picked out the flight, picked out the hotel and the transportation, which ended up being, I believe it was a taxi, like a five minute ride from the hotel to the job location and then I was reimbursed. So reimbursed means that you or I make a purchase. We have the receipts that shows that purchase we fill out a form could be in a Microsoft Excel or another format, concur all kinds of platforms. You can submit that information and then, once all that was submitted, scanned the receipts, sent all that in. Then I was sent a check in the mail for the expenses for the interview. This was before any offer was extended or any acceptance of the offer. So, whether things move forward or they didn't, those expenses I was gonna be reimbursed.

Voices for Voices, Justin Alan Hayes: 10:33

So that was a big question I had. I was like I don't have the money to be able to do this, to just fly all over the place and have these interviews, not sure if the organization's serious and moving forward with me or not. So plan the trip, fly down, stay at a hotel for a night. In the morning I was to meet with the individuals the hiring manager, a few colleagues and hiring manager's boss or manager. So one of the things that was attractive about this position was not only the salary increase, not only the title increase, but that my department led up to management and Milan, italy, and for me, coming out of school, working for a truly international business that has headquarters outside of the United States, and predominantly, in this case, italy, because I had done my international business class at Youngstown State University and we went to Italy and saw a ton of businesses Prada, Augusta Westland, domestic winery, international wineries, d-bull, just to name a few and so that's one of those things that helped guide my decision at the time. So the plan was to have the hiring manager and their manager, who reside at the office of Milan, Italy, to meet in person in Houston, Texas. So that's how I prepared ahead of time, like I did for my phone interview.

Voices for Voices, Justin Alan Hayes: 12:38

But you know we talk about, you know eye contact and taking your time answering questions. You know taking a pause and taking a pause is okay. We don't have to rush into an answer just to try to fill time and, trust me, I've done that many times. So I speak from many experiences of just trying to fill the time and find myself in an answer, in a rabbit hole that I didn't intend to be in. So I have the transportation from the hotel to the Teneresite quarters, north American headquarters in Houston, Texas, right next to Sheridan hotel and next to the Intercontinental Hotel as well.

Voices for Voices, Justin Alan Hayes: 13:33

So open the door, go in, look for where the business is at. And so in our conversations with myself and Tenaris, I was told which floor the building, because there were multiple floors I think there was maybe 10 or 11 floors stories of this particular building. So went in, went to where the elevators were, pressed the up button, go in, go to the floor. I believe it was the seventh floor that this particular business Tenaris was on, and so I went up. Once I arrived, there was a person sitting at a desk and they said Hi, how are you, how can I help you? Hi, my name is Justin Alan Hayes.

Voices for Voices, Justin Alan Hayes: 14:25

I applied to the marketing specialist role. I'm here to meet with person one and two. So this individual said Okay, I'll be right with you, please take a seat. So I took a seat, come back. The individual comes back and says oh, I'll write this way.

Voices for Voices, Justin Alan Hayes: 14:42

It takes me to this huge conference room and at this point in my career I had only been in a conference room for the interview at the Timken company. And this was this massive room tons of chairs, tv screens, all the audio and visual equipment. What was there? And so here I am. I was told to pick the seat. So I picked the seat where I felt I would be the most comfortable and where, if there were going to be multiple people, I could turn to the left and turn to the right and look to the center or next to me, what have you? And so all these are like maybe my new miniscule things, but these are things that actually happen. And so we get so focused on us and answering the questions that where we sit, how high the chair is, how low the chair is where we are in relation to the other seats and where other individuals Meaning. When I walked in, I had seen two notebooks at two different seats, and so I was able to take that information subconsciously and place myself where I thought that I wanted to sit.

Voices for Voices, Justin Alan Hayes: 16:00

So once all that was through, the time for the interview came and went, a few minutes went by, and so I'm thinking you know what's going on? All the other interviews, all the other conversations, they were very prompt, what's going on? And so little did I know there was a volcano in Iceland that had erupted and that eruption had went up into the sky, so lava and steam and smoke and the remnants of a volcano explosion happened, and there were many airlines and many flights in Europe and across the world that had been canceled and moved to different dates and different times, and so that's really tie-in. You know the fall of a boy, the song we didn't start to fire in the change-up, and so the change-up comes in where the hiring manager says you know, there's this volcano, it erupted, the Barbara, who is the director, she's supposed to fly to Houston to meet with you. She wasn't able to because all the flights were canceled in this period of time. So we're going to meet with you here in person, and then we're going to have you meet with her via a program like Zoom, on these huge 10-foot screens, two 10-foot screens on each side, and then there's a television in the middle, and so that's the change-up.

Voices for Voices, Justin Alan Hayes: 17:50

Flying a thousand miles thinking I was going to meet with people in person, and how a volcano had an impact on somebody in Northeast Ohio myself in the interview process. And so we talk about, you know, being able to be adaptive, adaptable and taking a situation and making the best of it. So I was literally told in the conference room this was happening in a matter of about five minutes. So, in about five minutes time, the TV screen came on, this big screens on the side projector screens came down from the ceiling, and a couple of the individuals the hiring manager and one of their colleagues came into the room where those two notebooks were at. And then, all of a sudden, I see myself on the big screen, which was obviously, you know, from the camera, and then I see the hiring manager's manager, the director Barbara, in Milan, italy, in her office. And so, when I talked about earlier, positioning myself in my seat so I could be able to be comfortable looking people in the eye, answering questions to the left, to the right in front of me, etc.

Voices for Voices, Justin Alan Hayes: 19:14

Here was something different. Here was the change-up. So I was to also have to look to the camera where the camera was at. So Barbara, the director in Milan, Italy, would see that I am speaking to her directly, to her through the camera, you know, through the audio visual program. And so this interview asked it about an hour. They asked me questions. I answered the best I could, I asked a few questions and the other change-up, the interesting part, from where we were, meaning me, the buildings where I had worked. It was non-smoking so you weren't able to smoke inside the building. I had to be so many feet outside the entrances or exits of the building.

Voices for Voices, Justin Alan Hayes: 20:16

And so here I am, flew down to Houston, Texas. I'm having an interview with people in the room, so in person as well as, again, audiovisually through the audiovisual program, looking at the camera. And then Barbara was looking at her camera and speaking to me and smoking was allowed in the offices where Barbara was at in Milan, Italy. So here I am again went through all the details of how I got to where I was at and this individual, the hiring manager's manager, is having a cigarette, just smoking as we're having this conversation, and I'm scared, I'm nervous, I'm fearful. I never had traveled anywhere for an interview in person. I was still abusing alcohol on weekends and so I wasn't at the point where I am today, and so my mindset was just completely thrown for a loop or a change-up, and that here I am, a thousand miles away and I'm interviewing for a position, and this individual's having a cigarette, just like you're at a party or at a club or a bar. So that was the huge change-up for me.

Voices for Voices, Justin Alan Hayes: 21:44

And so what's all this mean for you? What does this mean for friends and family or colleagues or students at school or faculty members? It's that you just really have to be ready for anything. And since COVID, you know the audiovisual, the video, the zooms and those types of meetings. Those are more commonplace. So I think more of us are comfortable with those types of interviews, the Zoom interview. So going from the phone interview after the application process to a Zoom interview or whatever that program that you know it could use, teams or other programs that does the same thing. So that's one thing that's different today than when you know, speaking well over 10 years ago when this happened and from that time on, both personally and professionally, that experience made me grow so much so I ended up taking the being off of the position and taking the position, accepting the position and moving down there and work there and was able to do some work in one Italy. So all that kind of came together and it was just very.

Voices for Voices, Justin Alan Hayes: 23:12

As I sit back today or 10 years ago and look at that time Again, I was scared, I was fearful, I was nervous, had all kinds of stress and anxiety for many reasons, and I made it through. And so let the message be today and every day that we're going to be able to make it through that a situation that may happen that we have a little bit control over, or like this for me didn't have much control over the location of the interview, I wasn't able to say oh no, no, no, I've never had an interview audiovisually, so I can't meet with Barbara kind of audiovisually through the screens and the camera. I mean I could have said it. I know that was like a stop in me from saying it, but I just went with the flow, and so there's going to be times in your lives, and in mine many times, where we just have to go with the flow. And we have to and here's the hard part we have to believe in ourselves and we have to be confident in our ability and who we are and what we stand for. And so, whether that's a job that you're applying to, whether that is a presentation, either at an office, in person or through Zoom, or at a class maybe you're in a digital marketing class and you're asked for part of the syllabus for one of the projects is to give a presentation. Go with the flow, practice, try to understand the topic and topics and the flow of what three or five things you want to discuss, and then believe in yourself. That's one of the hardest things I've ever had to do is to believe in myself, and I still struggle with that because I look for making the big bang, for making things happen, doing something that's a little bit outside the norm. So earlier this year, again with our mission trip to the war zone in Ukraine, for many reasons, that was a lot of me going with the flow.

Voices for Voices, Justin Alan Hayes: 25:50

After making the decision to do it, for the organization to take voices for voices 6,000 miles away from where we're based here in Northeast Ohio and Ohio to bring the voices of everybody to the front, to the limelight, to give those individuals a platform, an ability to share who they are, their story, their experiences and the hopes. To connect, to connect with you, to connect with me. I learned so much through the interviews and discussions that we have. I continue to learn and, just like the change up with that interview process, the way it went, I went with the flow. I believe in myself, in my ability and, at the end of the day, that's all we can really do. We can give it the best, because there's a lot of factors, a lot of things that we don't control and we can't influence so much.

Voices for Voices, Justin Alan Hayes: 27:14

That's where The House of you, the brand of the House of You, in the two books that I've written the five workforce tips for a successful career, as well as the mental health story and journey of the House of you prescription for living all those are just believing in myself that I could help somebody. And that's the goal yesterday, today, tomorrow and for the rest of the days that I am on Earth and able to share an experience. So hopefully, this program today has been enlightening at some level. So, whether it's the fall fallout boy, or whether it's the change up, or whether it's the Houston Texas, the traveling you know being paid, paid back for, you know, travel expenses, or the interview itself, and how that went from an in-person interview to an in-person and an audio visual interview, and how I was able to overcome all those, all that anxiety, all that stress, and do the best that I can. And that's what we're doing here, voices for Voices. We're doing the best we can to share and help as many people as possible. We've already shared my goal of three billion people.

Voices for Voices, Justin Alan Hayes: 28:58

Already shared Voices for Voices with three billion people over the course of my lifetime and beyond, just in this past year, by being in a position to sit and to be seen on a television show that is broadcast across the world.

Voices for Voices, Justin Alan Hayes: 29:17

And let that be, hopefully, a message to you can dream, I can dream, we can help people, we can help ourselves, we can help our families. So do what you love, have that passion, believe in yourself and be okay, taking the answer no, because life isn't always a straight line, a straight path, the answers aren't always yes, I've received my first share of no's and continue, but we continue on. We continue on and by you tuning in today and sharing this episode in our podcast and TV show, in attending our events the A Brand New Day Gala in October, or downloading and donating the replay of the A Brand New Day event that we had just the third annual, just a few short weeks ago. I want to thank each and every one of you who has tuned in at any point of this process that we're going through, and this process is Voices for Voices. Thank you and good day.