Maggie's Farm

We are a commune of inquiring, skeptical, politically centrist, capitalist, anglophile, traditionalist New England Yankee humans, humanoids, and animals with many interests beyond and above politics. Each of us has had a high-school education (or GED), but all had ADD so didn't pay attention very well, especially the dogs. Each one of us does "try my best to be just like I am," and none of us enjoys working for others, including for Maggie, from whom we receive neither a nickel nor a dime. Freedom from nags, cranks, government, do-gooders, control-freaks and idiots is all that we ask for.

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Friday, November 1. 2013

No Core Curriculum Here


What does a "degree" mean nowadays? Nothing.


That is why we do multiple tough, searching interviews of job applicants. We want to know what they know, what they can do, and we want to know whether we would enjoy and be stimulated by their company around ye olde shoppe.


If you can't discuss Plato, Michelangelo, de Toqueville, and Statistics, and display some witty sense of humor and perfect manners, we lose interest fast unless it's a drudgery job.

Posted by The Barrister in Education, Our Essays at 13:12 | Comments (10) | Trackbacks (0)

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It's not a safety net, it's a hammock.
#1 Brian In NC on 2013-11-01 13:36 (Reply)
Good for you ! This is the best way to search for the highest caliber of employee. Sadly, far too many attorneys and law offices refuse to acknowledge that these older insights are the very foundation of what is needed to sustain a democracy--along with ethical courage and stamina.

Second item:
Please do try to post here an understanding of how a "community" of lawyers works, i.e. all the attorneys in one field in one region. Do they keep a list? How powerful is the legal secretaries group in any particular bar association? We must make it public knowledge--or there is no hope of cleaning up the legal community.
Thank you again,
#2 faculty wife on 2013-11-01 13:49 (Reply)
Okay, would really like some honesty. So if you saw 2 candidates, each 22 years old with basic work background...such as retail or low-level admin work...and one has a 4-year degree and one has a high school diploma, which would you hire? With the idea that both were equally pleasant during an interview.
#3 MissT on 2013-11-01 14:17 (Reply)
Depends on the job.
#3.1 The B. on 2013-11-01 14:23 (Reply)
LOL. Methinks you are trying to hard to find a way to say that the college graduate wouldn't get some points over the high school diploma holder. I'm sorry, but I still think having a college degree says something about the person...if we are talking background only includes basic jobs that a teen/young adult would hold.

FYI, if you are interested in the military as a career, you cannot become an officer without a college degree and an enlisted person will come in at a higher rank with a college degree. So at least in that job scenario, college degree matters and gets you more $$ and better benefits (if you are an officer).
#3.1.1 MissT on 2013-11-01 15:46 (Reply)
The military is always fighting the last war. I know; I am one (retired).
#3.1.1.1 BillH on 2013-11-01 17:17 (Reply)
Depends on what they know.

Do they have people skills? Can they laugh during adversity? Can they keep their wits and mind when overwhelmed?

Do they have tech skills? Can they turn on the PC\laptop, know how networks 'work', or even have web skills (believe it or not, email and FB ARE useful skills...). Exel? Any database work?

Do they have office skills? How to handle a call? Irate customer? Taking notes\messages? Calendar\appointments? Know how to make coffee? Take multiple orders for take-out? (laugh, but these Admin skills are worth their weights...)

Past work experience? Why'd you leave (honesty is rewarded)? What can you bring from your past? What would you leave\omit?

You? Your likes\dislikes? Know a funny joke (you'd be surprised....)? Teamwork? Prior service?

Best questions I got on an interview were:

If you stacked quarters one on top of another, and you had $100 worth, how high would it be?

Here's a list of four things - a frog, Ireland, pinetree, and broccoli - what's the same for them?

You have a 14oz cup of coffee, and 20oz remain - how do you fit it all in the cup? (answer - drink out some from the cup, and fill with the rest of the coffee)

Tech interviews are priceless, and make you think on your toes - had one interviewer put on a red clown nose and ask questions... Meant to distract and be off-balance.
#3.2 fred zeppelin on 2013-11-01 15:53 (Reply)
I would hire the applicant that was a graduate of a "home schooled" program, or take a serious look at the one who graduated from a private, or charter high school--exactly what is their academic program? If I like the reviews and catalog content and comments by teachers--probably go with the home schooled graduate, or maybe a private school (all 12 years preferred, with a serious consideration of those with only 6-12 experience).
#4 facultywife on 2013-11-01 14:54 (Reply)
Anyone can get a degree, many can excel in college, many more can talk a good game. It still comes down to what can they do. That is very difficult to impossible to determine in an interview and from their resume.
#5 GoneWithTheWind on 2013-11-01 18:09 (Reply)
Right on. After retiring from aviation, I worked 20+ years in the white collar world. Must have conducted or sat in on a hundred interviews, mostly of newly minted degree holders. The best newly minted interviewee by far had a good looking transcript, but turned out to know nothing, produced nothing, was never on time, lied... A pleasant enough guy, but totally lacking in work ethic or skills, and unresponsive to our efforts to enlighten him. We had to fire him after less than two months. This guy was a great interviewee, but that was all.
#5.1 BillH on 2013-11-02 11:11 (Reply)

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