The Downside to Drivers

Just a quick rant about drivers here. We definitely need a driver for our time in Chennai. I'm sure I could learn to deal with the hectic traffic, but it'd be tough for me to drive to work and then return the car to our house for my wife to use during the day without a driver. So, we're in the middle of auditioning people to fill the position and we've noticed something... They all want insanely high pay (in relation to local rates). I'm no stranger to trying to get more money at an interview, but I'm getting tired of people asking for 20% more than the highest paid driver working for the consulate or 40% more than the mode (according to the CLO's survey 4 months ago). Heck, we talked to one guy who said he'd finished a full year with his last job and therefore deserved a 15% raise... and then another 15% raise after 1 year. Before you think I'm too cruel, I should point out that most of the drivers working for Americans at the consulate already make 100% more than their counterparts working for other companies or consulates. Part of the problem may be my poor negotiating skills, but I do have excellent "well I just won't hire you" skills. Oh well, the search continues!

Week 3 of Training: How to Commute!

Ostensibly the second week of training (for my quarter of the cohort) was about communication systems. It was taught by DTS-PO, and I'll let you read about what they do, if you so desire. The training was good, albeit a little lengthy for the amount of material being covered. We were learning about a system that none of the six of us have ever used, so it was definitely worth while, but...

For me, week two was a valuable lesson in how awful commuting can make my life. The traini
ng was not held at FSI, but rather at an offsite location even further from my house. Class started at 8, so I was fortunate enough to miss most of the morning traffic, leaving myself only an hour and a half drive. I was not so fortunate on the way home. My best day was just over two hours, and my worst was almost three and a half. Fortunately, the weather did me a favor and provided our THIRD snow day of the year on Monday. I'll be honest though, it was hard to feel too lucky on Wednesday when I was passing the 5 hour mark of 'commute time' for the day. <start rant> I was also a little bitter because they wouldn't give me mileage for the extra drive distance because it should be covered by the per diem that I don't get as a local hire! <end rant>

Pre-Job Paperwork Blues

So... I received my official 'final' offer later (I think) than most. In fact, the offer came in the mail the same day listed as the "last day" to mail it back. I contacted the HR folks, and they said mailing it the next day wouldn't be an issue, but I still found myself in a bit of a rush to complete all of the 'mandatory' paperwork. I don't want to sound too whiny, but here's my short rant on this process.

First off, if you're going to have mandatory paperwork, it's probably better to include that with your offer package. The package I received came with a plethora of optional background information that I could have easily read online, but required that I print out (if you print the entire pdf for each, which includes the instructions) scores of pages to fill out and mail back. Second, if you provide a checklist of everything that has to be sent back... make sure all of the things listed are available from the website you provide. Third, make sure your forms apply to everyone (or at least have a 'not applicable' space, so I can send back a form that doesn't just appear to be blank/neglected). Finally, don't make a note emphasizing the importance of filling out an account number, if the account doesn't exist yet (I'm looking at you, TSP paperwork).

Anyway, all the paperwork was completed, and sent back last week... though I did forget to include a voided check... so that'll be fun. I guess I'll see if I can scan one and send it that way.