Growing EPP

How to Ace Your Job Interview

errantremark — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 15:27:05 +0000

With the economy so uncertain it is more important than ever to have strong job interview skills. With jobs harder to come by – and so many more people looking for work – you need to have the skills to stand out.

For some, that might mean building up a strong resume. That’s important, but only to get in the door – a resume can make anyone sound good. Where you really need to set yourself apart is in your interview – it’s not only a chance to meet your (future) employer face to face, but to really show off your best.

As a job interviewee, I’ve had a good deal of practice, especially over the past few months. I’ve had interviews go incredibly well, and some that, well, could have been better. I’ve gotten offers (since rescinded for a variety of reasons), gotten immediate rejections (for reasons I’ll explain below), and gotten all the way to the final two of my own little “Survivor: Job Application,” only to be kicked out of the tribe at the last second.

It’s been a long, frustrating ride, but I’ve learned some tips along the way I think can help anyone in their own job search:

Just Be Yourself: Everyone wants to impress during their interview, but don’t be someone you’re not. Putting pressure on yourself to flash or impress, whether it be with your dress or attitude, more often than not backfires. Overselling yourself might sound good, but most employers can smell the BS a mile away. Besides, if you somehow get the job on your inflated interview, how can you back it up?
Don’t Hide Your Flaws - Now I’m not saying you want to broadcast every mistake or misstep you’ve made, but most (good) employers know, no one is perfect. There’s a reason many interviewers ask questions such as “Name one weakness you have,” or “How have you overcome adversity in the past?” Everyone screws up. What really counts is how you deal with those failures.
Know the job you’re applying for: The only time I’ve ever gotten an outright rejection is when I was interviewing for a position that I didn’t quite understand. When I got to the interview, they started asking questions about topics I simply couldn’t answer well – I had applied for a technical writer position, never having done real technical writing before. I was wholly unaware of the many certifications and requirements that side of the industry requires, and because of my ignorance, I simply didn’t match up. Why am I sharing this? Make sure you know what you’re getting into.
Hi-jack the interview: With this tip, I don’t mean interrupt, over talk or anything like that. What I mean is, it’s OK to break with rigid structure sometimes. I recently had an interview where the interviewer had a set list of questions to move through. If you’re familiar with the type of position, the industry or the company, you probably have a pretty good idea what questions are on that list. It’s okay to anticipate questions and answer them in conversation. It’s one of those things that shows your experience and knowledge, and it allows you to frame your assets in their best light. Assert yourself.

For myself, I’ve found it simply makes sense to fall back on my strengths – my experience working with web content, search engine optimization and persuasive writing. But those are very industry specific. Topics that transcend industry include showing how you are a leader and a team player – and yes, you can be both – and how you can work with a variety of people from clients to vendors.

In a nutshell, the successful job interview should not be a situation beyond your control. By being yourself, being honest and being knowledgeable about what you’re interviewing for, you can present yourself as a great fit for the job you want.

John Lennon Won’t Get Out from Under the Covers

errantremark — Mon, 11 Aug 2008 21:57:32 +0000

John Lennon refused to get out of bed. I wish I could do the same. Just minus the cameras. I have terrible bed head.

A while ago I promised a Beatles Cover mix. It took a while, but I think I got one for you. It’s not all Beatles covers, but it’s something worth checking out – half cover, half original, all good.

My personal fave is the Sonic Youth “Within You Without You,” but that’s only because I love noise.

Let me know if there was anything missing, and start thinking about the songs you do it to for the next mix. (By do it I mean, you know, HAVING SEX.) Leave those dirty thoughts in the comments.

Track List: John Lennon Won’t Get Out of Bed

Eleanor Rigby (Soulwax Remix) – The Beatles
When I’m 25 or 64 – Jonathon Coulton
You Know My Name (Look Up The Number) – The Beatles
A Day in the Life (Brassica Remix) – The Beatles
Hey Jude (Theremin Version) – The Beatles
I’m Only Sleeping – Wilco
I Need You – The Beatles
All You Need Is Love – Rogue Wave
Helter Skelter – The Beatles
Come Together – Prince
Across the Universe – The Smiths
Something – Pavement
Within You Without You – The Beatles
Within You Without You – Sonic Youth

Download

Chasing Bucky Philips

errantremark — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 22:11:49 +0000

For the most part, this story has already faded from the collective consciousness of pop culture, but at the time, Bucky Philips was all the rage. As an intern, I was rarely allowed much access to the story, except one day I was assigned to work with the estimable T.J. Pignataro to track the now frenetic chase for Bucky in Niagara county.

So I followed police – interviewed, pestered, and even exchanged digits with officers who could clue me in on what was going on. Eventually the search was isolated around a group of fields, and locals gathered around the scene, pulling up lawn chairs, coolers of beer and more, to catch a glimpse of the helicopters, the SWAT team, and, hopefully, Bucky himself.

With all the hubbub, no one I talked to seemed scared – locals took in the spectacle, and had no fear of Philips possibly nearby. Many were more worried about the police presence, including one guy who told me “Bucky ain’t gonna hurt anyone, ‘less you got a badge.” He then grinned at me with, I kid not, at least 3 missing teeth. IT WAS AWESOME.

Anyway, Philips was not caught this day, though it was a fun and exciting assignment. And TJ let me write the hell out of the story, so it was all and all a good day.

Another day, another (old) clip

errantremark — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 21:40:05 +0000

I once got to go watch hundreds of hot, angry parents suffer through 90 degree heat in a non-air conditioned school while they tried to register their children for elementary school.
That being said, we ended up having a good time. After I completed my interviews, because I wasn’t waiting, I made a water/pop/candy run for some of the parents, and we hung out in the shade. It wasn’t so bad.

Oldies Wednesday, Vol. 1 – No Subtlety

errantremark — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 21:47:55 +0000

This mix is 50% reader contribution, 25% my own library, 25% rediscovery.

Guess what’s what!

Track List:

Watch Out – Abba
Green Tambourine – The Lemon Pipers
Bend Me Shape Me – American Breed
Slip Inside This House – 13th Floor Elevators
Move On Up – Curtis Mayfield
I’ll Be Around – The Spinners
Jeepster – T. Rex
New York Groove – Kiss
Down By the River – Neil Young
Here Comes the Meter Man – The Meters
School – Supertramp
So Happy Together – The Turtles

Oldies Wednesday, Vol. 1 – No Subtlety (YSI)

Why no subtlety? Because of rule number 56.

Tell Me / A little Q&A – Gym Class Heroes

errantremark — Fri, 11 Jul 2008 02:43:02 +0000

Published on April 13, 2007

With a single soaring up the Billboard Hot 100 charts, Geneva-born band Gym Class Heroes is on the cusp of greatness. Last week the band finished its first major headlining tour — the Daryl Hall for President tour — and this summer will be opening for Gwen Stefani on an arena tour of Australia.In between the two tours, the band is playing a few shows on its own, including a stop at 7 tonight in Evolution Entertainment Complex, 2094 George Urban Blvd., Cheektowaga. Drummer and Gym Class Heroes co-founder Matt McGinley checked in from the road before a recent show in New Orleans.

>Is playing in Buffalo a little bit of a homecoming for you and your band?

In a way — when we were first getting scouted, Travis [McCoy] and I went to a Fall Out Boy show in Buffalo, where we got to meet the band. Pete [Wentz] from Fall Out Boy was an integral part of getting us signed to his label.

>Meet anyone interesting now that you’re headlining?

I met this dude, Murs, this MC from California that I’d been into, and now we’re planning some collaborations. He’s always been someone I’ve really been interested in, someone who’s got a similar style. To meet people that you were a fan of, that’s really awesome.

>How has being a headliner and touring larger venues changed the way you perform?

It hasn’t really changed, but we’ve stepped the stage show up a bit. . . . We’ve been a group that puts a lot of emphasis on playing live — that’s part of the reason we signed with our label, because they knew it was important for us to go out there and play live.

>How will the Buffalo show be different now that you’re coming off a tour and preparing for an arena tour?

This tour, with Gwen, will be our first arena tour. Arenas are new to us, even in the states. It’s kind of cool, because at first it’s intimidating, but it’s a good steppingstone. The thing is with GCH is that if it was up to us, we’d never play arenas. We feed off the energy of the kids at the show.

— Evan Parker Pierce, Special to The News

B.B. King reigns over the blues

errantremark — Fri, 11 Jul 2008 02:40:29 +0000

Date: Sunday, May 13, 2007

Section: Local

Edition: Final

Page: C6

By Evan Parker Pierce – CONTRIBUTING REVIEWER

B.B. King’s legend is immune to old age. In fact, getting old might be the greatest move of his career.

The heartache and soul of his blues are all the more relevant as time passes, and the 81-year-old King of the Blues shared a lifetime with the crowd Saturday in Seneca Niagara Events Center in Niagara Falls.

While age has robbed King of some movement — he played his entire set from center stage in a chair — it hasn’t taken anything away from his showmanship. Upon taking a seat after his introduction, King strapped on “Lucille,” his guitar, and strummed out his first licks of the evening, rocking back and forth and scrunching his face with the vivacity of someone a quarter his age. Classics like “You Know I Love You” and “How Blue Can You Get” inspired crowd reactions not only for their recognition, but because King clearly still feels what he’s singing. He yelped and emoted, using his entire body, with each song, either wincing or shaking his jowls with every lamentation. Even relatively recent songs like 1988′s “When Love Comes to Town” were sung with energy that outpaced a crowd with a mean age half of King’s. A breakdown in the middle of “When Love Comes” saw King dancing in his chair, hiking up his pant legs and shimmying the Harlem Shake better than most kids of the day.The sleepy audience didn’t faze King, however, and he pulled them into his set with stories, like a grandfather spinning tales and advice to his grandchildren. His stories weren’t fairy tales for tots, though: “I’ll tell all you young fellows, you 50-year-olds, a lesson. I’m 81 years old and I’ll tell ya: the older you get, the prettier they look.”

His stories weren’t all jokes, however. Much like his blues, they told of hard times few now experience, but were sweetened with his charm and humor. King told one story of growing up in Mississippi during time of segregation, when his small hometown was divided by railroad tracks into the white part of town and the black part of town, including the notorious separate “white” and “colored” water fountains.

“I snuck over to that part of town to taste the white water,” he said. “But the white water didn’t taste any different than our colored water.”

As his hour-and-a-half-long set drew to a close, King put into words the passion for living he demonstrated his entire show: “I’m just passing along a lesson,” he said, leading into, “I’m a Bluesman.” “Just know I’m glad to be alive,” he said.

Stuff I’ve Written for SPIN.com

errantremark — Thu, 17 Jan 2008 12:26:47 +0000

Here are a few links to articles I’ve written for Spin.com:

The Eagles of Death Metal @ The Showplace Theatre

http://www.spin.com/articles/eagles-death-metal-get-sweaty

The Clientele @ Mohawk Place

http://www.spin.com/articles/clientele-dry-buffalo

Priestess @ Nietzche’s

http://www.spin.com/articles/priestess-frontman-gets-nerve-y-nashville-pussy-show

Lotus @ The Buffalo Icon

http://www.spin.com/articles/lotus-position

The Breeders @ Club Infinity

http://www.spin.com/articles/breeders-brave-blizzard-rock-buffalo

Meatloaf Concert Review for the Buffalo News

errantremark — Tue, 17 Jul 2007 12:24:55 +0000

Meat Loaf Review

This article ran in July of 2007 in the Buffalo News

By EVAN PARKER PIERCE

News Staff Reviewer

Let me get this out of the way to start: Meat Loaf was a rock star years before I was even born. That’s may not be saying a lot, but even with classics like “Paradise by the Dashboard Light” and “Anything for Love,” the Loaf never had the same influence on my generation as, say, Led Zepplin, the Rolling Stones or the Beatles. But after seeing him perform Tuesday at Darien Lake Performing Art Center, I’m struggling with my preconceived notion that Meat Loaf was simply a rock’n’roll novelty.

True, his act was – and still is – an over-the-top operatic epic, but that’s exactly what current pop culture seems to love. Today’s big ticket trends are gigantic fantasies like Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter, while bands like Fall Out Boy and Panic! At The Disco traffic in pop theater; the songs that make up Meat Loaf’s Bat out of Hell albums are of similar stuff. They’re huge, dramatic and more than a little bit campy. And that’s what the Loaf gave his audience Tuesday.

Show opener “Into the Fire” established Meat Loaf’s larger-than-life persona very literally – giant inflatable versions of his entire band exploded onto the stage with the song’s first chords. His band’s sound was as massive as his image, with eight members lending to an almost orchestral-like fullness of sound.

But the trademark of Meat Loaf’s shows is the theatrics, and his band were a big part of that. His back up singers were more than just midriff baring babes, in “I Want My Money Back,” they were both audible and visual representations of temptation, clad in black and white, posing the questions of conscience from opposite sides of the stage. Slightly overwrought, to be sure, but it’s drama that even today’s most serious acts don’t even attempt.

But the Loaf also dodges pretentiousness that comes with heavy theatrics with a self-deprecating sense of humor and an ability to cut loose and simply have fun. In break leading into “Anything for Love,” the Loaf poked fun at his own hefty image (“I was in the shower with all of you, naked, and we all looked beautiful,” he said.). His show also had fun with his long rock star tenure. After an intermission, the band took the stage in garb that would fit in at The World’s Largest Disco, with fringe vests, zebra go-go boots and Meat Loaf reincarnating his younger self – long hair, sloppy tuxedo and red bandanna in his hand to mop his brow.

All the fun had the bittersweet feel of a farewell tour, however. Opening and intermission montages celebrated his career in music and the movies, but seemed like posthumous retrospectives. The Loaf also gave somewhat of a farewell address, saying, “I’ve never said this before, but it is an honor and a privilege to play here in Buffalo.” Lastly, and most disturbingly, it seemed Meat Loaf’s health might be catching up to him. Though laboring through shows is part of his schtick, cracks showed through. His voice cracked where his bellow used to shine, and a clearly out-of-breath Meat Loaf slumping on stools, monitors and microphone stands.

Regardless of whether or not Meat Loaf has another tour in him, the 56-year-old gave himself a send off that removed the tarnish of datedness from his material, refreshing his devotion to drama and theatrics.