1st Gen. Lunch Table - General Discussion

Late getting caught up, been buried in family the last couple days. Here's some extra tidbits in case it helps expand your thinking or sheds some insight you may not otherwise get from others.

Only a reference to mentally tuck away for next round, if you need it .... Some things I typically hear candidates ask about:

• "What can you tell me about benefits you offer?" (ex: PTO, sick time, medical, 401k, dental, vision, training/education / tuition assistance / learning discounts, flex hours, paternity/maternity leave and/or daycare, gym memberships, "Friday lunches" or other standard meals, coffee/bevs/snacks for staff, the list goes on and on.
• Quality of life questions:
  • "What's the work culture like?" and/or
  • "What can you tell me about the folks I'll be working with?" and/or => This one can be pretty important, and you won't always get an honest answer.
  • "What would my day-to-day work life be like?" => Always good to get an idea of what you'll be doing.
  • "What can you tell me about work/life balance working here?" => To see if it's normal for them to call after-hours, expected for me to stick around for extra shifts, other things that may encroach on your personal life. Careful here, it's easy to sound negative on this one.
• "What's your favorite part about working here?" and/or "How long have you been working here" => This may be better for interviews where only 1-3 people are on the other side of the table, just to get a feel
• "Can I expect opportunities for advancement and/or training/education down the road?" => Feel free to choose one/other/both on this, at least you'll get an idea if there's any change for upward movement
• "What shift/hours/schedule is expected of me, and are those expected to change at any point?" => Good to set your expectations for the future.
• Closers: When are you expecting to wrap up interviews for this position, What are next steps, When will I hear back, When does the job start and/or When do you expect me to start if I'm selected (to prepare for ending current gig).

There are some edgier questions you can asked based on the state of the company.

Like, if it's established for a long time, you may ask, "What's the average amount of time the people I'll be working with have been here?" (this may give you an idea of how long you'll last) or "What's your average employee lifespan" could be another way to phrase. "Average retention rate, currently" may be a little too deep unless you're interviewing for a mgmt role.

If it's a newer company or startup, you may really want to ask that work-life balance question above, less staff means more work, and bigger interruptions when ppl call-in or quit, etc. With newer companies, getting in at the ground floor you'll really want to be bold and ask about stake in it, "what incentives are there for driving success in the future of this company?" (thinking: Stock options, raises, bonuses, promotions, all perks you may not see in established companies or super-low-level roles)

Former coworkers you've had a good relationship are always great references, assuming you're confident they won't say something stupid. It's best just not to burn bridges anywhere you leave, or leave them hanging, I prefer people to ask me if they want to use me as a reference. Sometimes people take it personal if you put them down as a reference without giving advance notice. Sometimes that's a catch-22, you'd need to tip your hand by asking a current manager or employer, which may not be advisable. Some managers understand. Others will make you hell.

And on pay, you can decline to answer. Alternatives, if you want to answer:
"Actually, before we get into that, I was hoping you could provide some insight into what the expected pay range was for this role..."
"Funny you mention, I'm not currently happy with my current pay and it's part of the reason I'm interviewing right now..."

Puts the ball back in their court. It's not uncommon or problematic to ask what the salary range is on a role up front.

The latter makes it clear you wouldn't accept anything less than what you currently make, and you may follow-up with, "... I feel like, based on XYZ reason, that number should really be x% higher, but there's no opportunity for that in my current role"

The sticky point with that question they're asking is that some hirers will use your answer, slap 5%-10% on it to make things look "better than what you've already got", and expect you to be cool with that. Always better to get the upper-hand and ask what their range is up front.

Again, there's nothing wrong with - when offer is extended - saying, "I'm really excited about this role, but I'm not sure the compensation is enough to cover (risk of jumping / added expense of commute / what value I think I bring to the table / etc.)"

Super validating! GJ.

 

Yeah, Glassdoor also has a little bit of Yelp quality to it: People only go to Yelp when they want to complain about a business. Glassdoor has a bit of a better balance.

 

Yep, this was just after I missed the "go-fast" event to help my buddy with his alternator. The cinders are very unforgiving; the softest of sand has nothing on them.

It took us three or four hours to get it out of there and most of it was done after dark. Below the truck was a huge hole left behind from a fallen tree, so we were focused on keeping the truck from going into that, we even put a line on the B pillar. We had a tree a few feet in front of us, so we were able to put a strap around that and use it to our advantage. My buddy's 22RE and gravity didn't pop it out, but a 5.7 plus lockers and gravity did. Once we got far enough away from the tree hole, we were able to reposition and then I steered downhill.

 

I can imagine it being like driving through the remains of a huge camp fire.

 

Also guessing vac leak. You know how notorious anything over 10yrs old is for VAG, tubing cracks etc.

Funny you mention it, I needed to get away from family for a bit so I went into the shop and rearranged my drawers. I found the 20ft or so of extra vacuum tubing leftover from when I had to re-hose my MKIV VR6. If it'd be any help, happy to ship my leftover tubing on the house.

 

Ahh thank you for the offer man. She lives 3 hours from me so she's going to have her uncle look into the car and see whats what. The stumble seems to only be there at idle, once it gets going all seems fine. I'm going to call him this weekend and tell him what my impressions were.

 

We used the beer bong method.

 

Fair nuff. Capitalized is pretty much always an acronym, i get that. I just wasn’t able to figure it out. On the upside, after googling ‘sow’, I now know that it means female pig or female cop. Scope of work, and of course, sons of whores. Don’t remember where you posted it but it was @bmf4069 that was talking about his ‘Ironman’ hissing from the intake.

 

Yo Charlie Dickens, I thought we talked about these novels

 

That is how a truck should look on Sunday night. Well 'played'.

 

Excited about these.

 

Rear shackle mounts?

 

Correct.

 

I scored a beautiful scrap of 1.75” DOM round tube that just happened to be 2” over what I needed for a cross brace to mount to them.

 

Added directory on virus up to the end of page 4. Will continue after lunch Cheshire.

 

I want to do the hangers + extra crossmember. But I don’t want to lose my spare area

 

Well you can tell it's opening day of rifle here.

I live off a dirt road that doesn't see much traffic but this morning it sounds like a highway through Baghdad.

 

You can do the hangers without the cross member and keep the spare. The OEM hangers flex all by themselves. I removed my OEM hitch, that took away a fair amount of frame bracing. There is a clearance cross member built for some Tacos. They have room to go over the spare like a bridge. Maybe something could be done on a gen 1 but it's tight up there. The frame won't flex more by adding hangers alone, maybe less. The cross tie is an add on that is good in my situation.

 

I know it’s not needed. When I decide to go with new leaf packs the hangers are a given. I just want that extra rigidity too

 

I bet there is a way to do it and keep the spare, just not easy. Would need some mad fab skills to work around the spare and existing cross member that hold it. Taking a huge pry bar to the OEMs, the majority of flex is in the shackle mounts / hangers. If you like, I will send you a video.

 

...

 

Over my head, Noah.

 

this is triggering me close to hitting the report button

 

LOL, then it doesn't apply to you. I was thinking about Cruzer, he fixes things to see if he can break them again. Doesn't apply to him or many others either.

 

@Blueranger501 reminded me that I did some searching for aftermarket tie rods. Seems as though there were some nice options, maybe heim, but I never verified them. Anyone use ones that are built past OEM? Stock lengths, not mid travel stuff.

 

Ive got a video. Post it when i load it.

 

I like.



It’s okay to be jealous of the case bud. It’s really nice.

 

Woo a dot! I have a case on the way with it too. I like that.