Author: Nathan Westerberg

Posted in Uncategorized

The Office: Season 4, Episode 3 “Dunder Mifflin Infinity Part 1”

Posted on by Nathan Westerberg

Good morning everyone and welcome back to the Breakroom! I hope we have all been able to rest and enjoy this spooky week as yesterday was Halloween! For any of you in my area, we ended up with snow through most of the day and this certainly impact our trick-or-treaters. This was also the first Halloween in this new house and it does appear we are not in a prime spot for Halloween. That is fine, we are close to a pretty busy road so I think that it is perfect for big outdoor decorations, so I think we might try to go all out for Christmas.

Now I am taking today off from work, have to work on keeping my PTO down so I better get to the Breakdown because I need to get down to do my early voting. Friendly reminder to everyone, go out and vote! With so many rights on the line, it is important that we get out and vote to protect the safety and well-being of ourselves and everyone around us. And it only just dawned on me that next Breakroom will mean we have a new president-elect, so let it be known that the Breakroom Breakdown supports Harris-Walz for 2024.

We started off with a pretty amazing update and it was all courtesy of our own Toby in Human Resources. We got a surprise memo from him reminding us about the company’s PDA rules, that is public displays of affection. As with most companies, we should be mindful of how we show our affection for those we are in a relationship. For the most part, you are in a place of business so it is important to keep your hands to yourself, although perhaps a quick kiss goodbye might be acceptable. This was odd this was brought up because normally these are sent out as reminders when an actual incident occurs. Naturally, everyone assumes it is about them (and we find out Michael and Jan have been doing things in his office) but it turns out it was because Toby caught Jim and Pam. Well this is obviously a huge surprise because they didn’t tell any of us, although now all their extra giddiness certainly makes sense. Pam calls Toby out as being sneaky as using this as a means to congratulate them. I don’t think she has any idea that Toby has actually had a thing for her so I don’t think his actions were so innocent. Overall, everyone seems to have mixed reviews about this match. Phyllis is elated, although she was pretty quick to remind Pam that new customers calling in get sorted randomly to a sales person and not “to whomever she is sleeping with that week.” Angela said she shouldn’t be surprised since the two of them like to use the office as a dating service. Andy was excited but mainly because he sees himself as the most eligible bachelor in the office. And oddly enough, Dwight was surprised with the match because he felt that both of them could do better.

If you thought that was exciting, you’ll be thrilled to know that the other big news of the day was that this was Ryan’s first officially visit back to the branch after getting his promotion to New York. Michael didn’t think this would be any different but it is very clear that Ryan is going to flex his position and remind everyone that he is in charge. He scolds Michael in front of all of us just to make that perfectly clear. And it was in his staff meeting that it becomes apparent that he intends to bring a new era to Dunder Mifflin as a whole. He is trying to bring a sense of youth to the paper industry and is doing so with several changes. His primary focus will be “Dunder Mifflin Infinity” which is an updated site for the company that will allow people to buy paper via the website, rather than through salesman as the practice has always been. Next, he is issuing Blackberry phones to necessary personnel so they can stay on top of the new work because he believes we need to be ready at a moment’s notice. Just my opinion, but I believe Ryan doesn’t actually like his job. I think he wants something flashier than working at Dunder Mifflin, so he is trying to bring a bunch of changes to make it sound like the company is more impressive than it is. Although, I am not necessarily opposed to his changes, just his reasoning behind them. But the last straw for several of them, is his focus on youth. When a nice percentage of the office is employees over 40, you start to see comments like this as an attack.

After Ryan’s presentation I overheard people talking and it became apparent that people took these comments negatively. Phyllis felt threatened, Stanley didn’t seem to care, Creed was very much on the defensive about his job. I even heard Michael and Jan talking about it and Jan (who is still sore at Ryan for taking her job) was relishing the idea that he might get hit by ageism lawsuit. Evidently Michael took these feelings to heart, because he arranged for his own little impromptu meeting dedicated to the topic of ageism.

He reminds us about the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 19671. What this Act does is prohibit discrimination in the workplace for individuals 40 years of age or older for which is the age limit for age discrimination. Simply put, you cannot harass, terminate, or discriminate against someone specifically because they are 40 years old or older. Even today, we hear stories about how people of a certain age cannot find proper employment especially after perhaps they were laid off or are transitioning careers. Should you or someone you know be discriminated against do to your age, then I urge you to follow through with reporting this because I do not tolerate discrimination of any kind and when those in power get away with it, it only encourages them to continue to do so.

Michael did more than just talk about the law or show pictures, he had invited a guest to speak to us. None other than Robert Dunder, one of the founders of our company, showed up to speak to us and show that even in his 80s he is still sends a proxy to board meetings. Michael is certainly trying to encourage us how important it is to not disregard people because of their age. For once, Michael is actually on the right side of a practice and actually seems to be going about talking about it. Unfortunately, after only 5 seconds he decides he cannot put up with Mr. Dunder’s stories and sends him out the door so Michael hasn’t really changed that much. But his intent was still a plus.

And that was where we left the day, not much really resolved but we are certainly seeing a lively debate over how companies should grow as well as see the difference between adapt and changing for the sake of change. I feel this is by no means over so I expect a continuation of this topic next week! Until that time, I hope that you have a great weekend and that you make it a point to get and vote. Even better, vote and then remind at least one person to also go ahead and vote. Until next week, I’ll see you around the Breakroom!

  1. (n.d.). Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967. U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Retrieved November 1, 2024, from https://www.eeoc.gov/statutes/age-discrimination-employment-act-1967 ↩︎

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Coffee Break: Upgrade Your Trick-or-Treat Game

Posted on by Nathan Westerberg

Good morning everyone and Happy Monday! I hope you all had a great weekend, especially since we are now only three days away from Halloween! For those who are still preparing for the holiday, let me use this Coffee Break to let you in on some ideas on how to upgrade your trick-or-treat bowl this year! These are some of the things I like to give away and I can guarantee you’ll leave the kids incredibly excited!

Trick-or-Treat Bags

I know lots of people like pull candy from the bowl itself, but I feel that runs the risk of some kids not getting the same value. This requires a bit of prep but I prefer to use little bags. Ahead of time, I fill each bag with what I am planning on giving out so I can ensure everyone gets a little bit of everything. I typically fill out enough that I am confident I can provide enough to everyone we get, but I have some loose goodies just in case we happen to have more than expected

Glow Sticks

When I was a kid I was obsessed with glow sticks; they are fun and if they happen to open them before they are done, they can have extra light while out walking on the sidewalks. I love these with different colors because they offer some variety, and kids always get a level of amazement when they see them!

Full Size Candy

Maybe I’m too generous but our household has always stood by the full size candy rule. It excites the kids plus they definitely remember the house that had the big candy. This is especially great for those who live in neighborhoods where the kids might not get an extreme amount of candy. Additionally, while I like to get an assortment of candy I always like to have second bowl dedicated to those without major allergens (like nuts and gluten) because it is so hard for kids who have allergies that I want to be able to ensure they get candy they an eat.

Pokemon Cards

A few years back they started doing special packs of Halloween Pokemon cards; they only have a few cards in each but they are thematic for the holiday. I would have been overjoyed to get one of these as a kid so while I know not every kid loves Pokemon, I like to imagine those fans who realize someone gifted them with cards. Since then, I always make sure to try to have packs to slip in my gift bags.

Halloween Toys

Want something more generic than Pokemon cards? Things like these cute Halloween plush toys which will be just as memorable; just be careful that you don’t fall in love and want to keep them all! You could even do it like McDonalds where you give them the choice of these or something else like these small Play-Doh containers.

Small Candy

Again, I am pretty generous with my candy but while I do include a full size in each bag, I still throw in a few small ones so I guarantee kids get a really good haul. Of course, I always include candy that I personally like so I do not feel bad if I have too much candy leftover.

I hope these recommendations help! Personally I wish I could do things like homemade rice Krispie bars or caramel apples, but gone are the days that parents are okay with homemade items. I came from a very small town where everyone knew each other so it wasn’t uncommon for those sorts of things, but it just means we get to be creative in other ways.

If anyone has other cool recommendations for things they like to give out, let us know!

I hope you all have an amazing week, and a Happy Halloween!

Posted in The Office

The Office: Season 4, Episode 2 “Fun Run: Part 2”

Posted on by Nathan Westerberg

Good morning everyone and welcome, once again, back to the Breakroom! We have finally made it to the weekend, and I hope you are all prepared for Halloween since we are officially one week away from the big deal!

I don’t really dress up or go to any parties these days, but I do still love the holiday. I have plenty of spooky decor all around the house, I get into the themed movies and television shows, and am all for using Halloween flavors in my cooking. Stay tuned for a special post this next week on what I like to give out to trick-or-treaters. But you didn’t come back today for my party ideas, despite my great recommendations, you came to hear what happened with everything at the office following last week where Michael hit Meredith with his car.

We left learning that it was lucky Meredith had been hospitalized because she had been exposed to rabies and would have most likely died if she hadn’t come in. This motivates Michael to make sure that each and every person know that rabies has a cure and has been largely eradicated. As he phrases it, “a woman should not need to be hit by a car to learn she has rabies.” Now this is true but in reality, if you ever feel you could have been exposed to rabies you should seek medical attention right away. There is a treatment that can be done soon after to ensure you do not develop symptoms. As Dwight explained, once symptoms set in it is too late and it is considered fatal. Thankfully, rabies from dogs has been reduced significantly due to routine treatments, although bats are one of the more common carriers1.

Michael decides rabies is in need of a big charity event to spread word that rabies has been cured; this is interesting as typically charities are done for diseases that need to be cured. Michael’s fundraiser is a big 5k run known as “Michael Scott’s Dunder Mifflin Scranton Meredith Palmer Memorial Celebrity Rabies Awareness Pro-Am Fun Run Race for the Cure.” If you would like to show off your support you can still pick up your own t-shirt which was given to those of us participating in the event. We don’t get a ton of money donated, despite Stanley’s best efforts he isn’t able to get sponsors. Phyllis does her best to support by putting together a rabies quilt (of only three squares) which I was very impressed with her attention to detail. I would love to to learn to make blankets or quilts because I routinely see very cool fabrics that would be perfect for such a project. And there are those who are not enthused with the run at all, namely Kevin who thinks it is unfair that he needs to be forced to run for a fake charity. I was really excited to get out of the office early and enjoy the weather, taking a nice run through town.

Michael wishes they had raised more money, as the $700 they raised was mostly from him and Jan, and the rest of the money aspects do not go according to plan. For starters, he was excited to present the money in the form of a giant check which is actually another expenditure ($200). I personally always wondered what you are supposed to do with the giant check, like do you sign the back? I’m assuming the giant check is just symbolic and it is accompanied by a real check, but that would be slightly depressing because I enjoy thinking about someone heading into a bank with one of those giant checks. On top of the check itself, Pam was not able to line up a “rabies doctor” to stop by and pick up the donation. Supposedly the amount of money is too small, although I would imagine most healthcare organizations would have someone who would be willing to come out to collect a check. Luckily, Jim recalled a company where you could hire a nurse for a short period, although that would cost more money. And yet it was Dwight whose idea was the most ridiculous in that he thought the money would be used for bat birth control. I think he still hasn’t forgotten the time the bat got into the office and was able to cause such trouble for him as he tried to catch it.

Finally we got to Michael’s launch of the fun run! He had a very moving speech, with an unfortunate picture of Meredith. He lets us know that as many as four American’s die a year from rabies. I looked into this claim and the interest has various mentions but the main consensus is that there are fewer than 10 deaths every year so his claim is still accurate. That being said, this number is for the United States but there are many third world countries where rabies is still rampant and thousands of people die every year globally. Michael has his giant check and was able to present it to a familiar face, Elizabeth who had been the stripper that was hired for Bob Vance’s bachelor party way back. I don’t think Michael has figured out she wasn’t really a nurse and was simply hired to come in costume, but it cheered Michael up. Of course, the original $700 we raised is now only $340 after the various purchases required to make this moment happen.

And with that, the 5k was officially underway and everyone was off! Having not done a marathon before, it was interesting seeing everyone prepare in their own ways. Toby has done marathons before, so he was busy stretching and getting warmed up which certainly sounded smart. Andy Bernard evidently gets chaffed nipples so he had to apply tape to his nipples to protect them. I suppose this sort of injury shouldn’t surprise me but it certainly does not sound pleasant. Michael’s big idea was to load up of fettuccine Alfredo right before the run but unfortunately he misunderstood what it means to carb load. Per Runner’s World, it actually means to start eating more carbs each day the week of run to have more carbohydrates in your reserves in general. Additionally, rather than eating a ton of food moments before the run they often advise using the different gels or chews throughout the race to replenish your stores2. For those of you who decide to partake in a marathon one day, definitely research to ensure you are preparing for the event properly and safely.

Dwight and Angela disappeared at one point during the run, evidently they have been arguing because Dwight is responsible for killing her cat, Sprinkles! I guess he thought killing it would be the humane thing to do; just going to mention this, do not euthanize someone’s pet for them. Pam and Jim were also taking their sweet time with the marathon, they spent the entire time at the end of the race, so I didn’t event see them until the end. Again, they are all giggly like they have some sort of secret. Then we had Creed, Oscar, and Stanley take a cab to the finish line, after drinks, so they really were not going to commit to the run. In the end, Toby was the first one to the finish like and Michael was essentially last. Despite his best intentions of supporting those with rabies, by choosing to neglect drinking water he finished the race only to be brought to the hospital for severe dehydration. Always drink your water folks; especially when exercising but just in general you should be staying hydrated!

In the end, this event went about as one would expect a Fun Run hosted by Michael Scott to go. If nothing else, they did raise a bit of money and Meredith ultimately forgave Michael because he tried so hard to show he felt sorry for what happened.

And that, my friends, was the Breakdown of the office events this week! I’ll be sure to invite you to a Coffee Break this next week for some Halloween tips. Until then, has anyone here ever partaken in a marathon? Do you have tips for people who are thinking of joining their first one so they can properly prepare? Let us know in the comments!

Until next time, I’ll see you around the Breakroom!

  1. (2024, June 5). Rabies. World Health Organization. Retrieved October 24, 2024, from https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/rabies#:~:text=Rabies%20is%20a%20vaccine%2Dpreventable,%2C%20cats%2C%20livestock%20and%20wildlife. ↩︎
  2. (2024, May 3). Your guide to carb loading on marathon week. Runner’s World. Retrieved October 24, 2024, from https://www.runnersworld.com/uk/nutrition/diet/a27178213/when-to-start-carb-loading-marathon/ ↩︎
Posted in The Office

The Office: Season 4, Episode 1 “Fun Run: Part 1”

Posted on by Nathan Westerberg

Good morning, happy Friday, and welcome back to The Breakroom! I hope everyone has been able to survive this week as we are almost on to another weekend! I decided to take yesterday off, besides being a good mental health day it also gave me the chance to knock out a doctor’s appointment and eye exam. Our physical health is just as important as our mental health so do not miss out on those appointments. That being said, I truly do think that clinics need to provide healthcare providers in the afternoons. Like many of you, I work Monday through Friday so the only way I can get into appointments is taking time away from work. While I do enjoy having a good excuse to take time off, not everyone wants to do errands on their personal days. So that is a business idea out there to clinics and similar industries; have providers in the afternoons and evenings so people do not need to take time off from work to get in!

Alright, enough about my rants. While I think it is good to be able to get such things out of our system, especially when they have to do with bettering society, I think it is also good for us to talk about good things in our lives too. This allows us to focus on the positive, and not dwelling on the negative. We did another trip to Joann Fabrics, and I do need to give them a shoutout because they have the coolest Halloween supplies this year. They have a very witchy-vibe going on including selling random crystals, candles, and similar items. While the husband was getting more yarn for a new project, I checked out and decided we should splurge and got Woobles. Those are the crochet projects of crafting a small critter that are meant to be meant for beginners. That happens to be me so I grabbed one for ‘Bjorn the Narwhal’ and I’m really excited to start on it. The entire reason I want to learn how to crochet is to be able to make these types of things so I thought I’d give it a try! Additional updates, after trying for half a semester I’ve decided that although I had the best intentions in going back to school, Accounting is just not for me. I am great with reports, numbers, and research but I feel my talents really are better served in Human Resources. Recalibrating, I had originally considered getting my PHR certification (even so far as getting the study material) so that might be my best route. Even then, the Human Resources field is tragically difficult to move ahead in which was why I tried looking elsewhere. If anyone here has their PHR or is also in the field, I would love to get feedback as I’m sure my readers would as well. The job field is incredibly competitive at the moment and despite my years focusing on my education, I have entered that situation where they want me to have a more specific experience. Unfortunately, the jobs that offer that experience expect you to have that experience already. It is like trying to get a job at the mall at an apparel store; I have the skills needed so just give me a try!

I better pivot before I go on another tangent about recruitment; let us focus on what happened at the office this week! When you were last here, we were waiting to see what came from all of the interviews being conducted for the big job at corporate.

As it turns out, Michael did not get the job. Jim also didn’t get it because he withdrew himself from consideration. Turns out, Ryan the former temp was offered the job by David Wallace. That is right, the recent temp (who hasn’t made an actual sale) was promoted to the corporate job. Evidently David was impressed with his fancy MBA he had (evidently I should have gotten my degree a decade ago when it was still considered impressive). Since all this happened, Jan actually moved in with Michael following her being let go from Dunder Mifflin. She doesn’t really seem to do much; says she goes to yoga and all of these other hobbies but I haven’t actually heard anything about her looking for a job. I do not know her finances but as she is pretty smart, she probably does have some good savings and is able to take time to focus on her mental well health. Not all of us can be so lucky as to simply be unemployed for a period to focus on ourselves, so good for her. Michael, unfortunately, doesn’t seem all too enthused about the situation. I sense she is not great at home and doing a lot more wallowing than she lets on.

So besides Michael, you might be wondering what happened to Jim and Karen; they also interviewed for the job. I’m not sure what prompted this but Jim ended up coming straight back to Scranton after the interview and told Pam he wanted to have dinner with her on an official date. I do not know when he did but obviously he broke up with Karen, and presumably left her behind to find a way back. After all that, the two of them went out a few times but otherwise decided to remain friends. Not exactly the epic love story many of us thought they were going to be, plus they have been pretty insufferably happy lately always laughing at some inside joke. And getting into trouble because just today Pam downloaded a virus to her work computer after clicking some link that offered her a celebrity sex tape. Friendly reminder, do not click on such unknown links on your work computer, nor should you be trying to look up pornography on any sort of work device. Save this for your personal devices, because it is actually very lucky for Pam that she did not get in serious trouble for this.

Aside from the porn, the day was like any other with most of us working when suddenly Michael came in. I had noticed how late he was and he shocked us with the fact that he had to run Meredith over to the hospital after he witnessed her being hit by a car! Thankfully she is alive and the incident simply resulted in a fractured pelvis, but that leaves us wondering who was responsible for this and how we can catch them. It was then that Michael let us know he saw the whole thing because he was in the very vehicle which hit Meredith. I believe you are realizing where this is going and yes, Michael was the one was driving. But do not worry, he was not doing this maliciously because he was simply be negligent. Needless to say, we are all pretty sour towards Michael after this.

While Michael is reporting this all to corporate, Pam takes it upon herself to arrange times for us all to go to the hospital so we can check on Meredith and let her know we are thinking of her. I was really shocked when I overheard her guilt Angela into going, Pam really has attitude these days. She explains to Angela that it should be her job since she is the head of the Party Planning Committee; Angela has been taking care of her cat, Sprinkles, which is why she wasn’t going to go originally. I thought it should be okay for Angela to focus on her cat, as a dog dad I take care of my boys the exact same way. Or I don’t see why Angela couldn’t have gone after tending to her cat, this way she was already out and about. Well, after all of this organizing Michael steps in and decides everyone will just go down at the same time, effectively closing the office down for that period.

We got down there and Meredith was pretty visibly thrown off by having so many people present, so Michael really should have let us split up to not overwhelm her. But she is overall doing okay, so thank goodness she is okay!

For the record, if you are injured at work you should consider looking into Workers’ Compensation. You can speak to your leader or human resources (depending on how your organization) and you can certainly look up benefits eligible to you based on your state. For the state of Minnesota, for instance, this is available at: https://www.dli.mn.gov/business/workers-compensation/work-comp-benefits-general-information.

Just when we thought the day couldn’t get any worse, upon arriving back at the office Angela was told that her cat died while we were out at the hospital. This is Michael’s breaking point and he declares that all of the events of the day were due to a curse the office is under. We know it is a curse because these things happen in threes: Meredith being hit by a car, Pam’s computer getting a virus, and then Sprinkles. This prompts him to try to figure out what caused this such as perhaps one of us disturbed an “Indian Burial Ground.” With no answers here, he proceeds to ask us all about our religions in an attempt to see if our religious beliefs could help or be the cause of this. As Toby pointed out, you really should not be asking someone’s religion during work situations like this.

Do I believe in curses? I actually do in a sense, I feel that we can attract or be sent negative energy which can effects on us. And I am a big believer in karma, which could be seen as a personal curse, if you will. In this case, no I do not believe the office is under a curse. I believe all of today’s events can be explained by individuals making questionable decisions which lead to their own disastrous endings. Except Angela and poor Sprinkles and I hope she is able find some comfort because losing a pet really can be like losing a member of the family. Now, for your other question on how would someone break a curse if there was one? Technically Michael was on the right path is asking about religions because many different cultures have curses (or similar) and they each have different variations on removing them. These could include calling upon a priest, shaman, or other religious leader to intervene directly. It could also include the use of a charm/talisman, perhaps casting some sort of spell, or even as simple as a cleansing ritual such as smudging. For those interested in smudging, I will mention that I was a huge fan of this when I was younger but I did stop when I found research on it being considered cultural appropriation because it is considered a sacred act for many Indigenous people. Additionally, it even began to result the sage used in smudging to be threatened. There are still mixed reviews online about the use, but I believe if the sage can be purchased and you are educated by someone within the community, it should be okay. Otherwise, what I tend to do is light some incense (currently obsessed with Folkulture but I never pass down some sandalwood) and for a little extra I do enjoy “smokeless smudging” so it is essentially a spray that is charged with crystals, moonlight, maybe some plant. Great for those who a little something extra to the process. Just like any other breakroom, you never know what we talk about here at the Breakroom Breakdown!

And I actually didn’t need to give any of these recommendations to Michael because he decided the curse was broken. Dwight had gone to see Meredith on his own and he was there when it was revealed that Meredith had been exposed to rabies but didn’t get the shot. I guess besides the bat situation that had happened here at the office, there was also something with a rat. Michael’s logic is that Meredith going to the hospital resulted in saving her life so she could get the shot so I guess he is now the hero in his own little world. Not sure about that, but I think we have not heard the end of this.

And that was what happened at the office this week, but I will mention that I heard him throwing around the word “fun run” so I will get back to you next week to let you know how this turned out. In the meantime, I hope no one here has to claim workers’ compensation but if you do, remember to make sure you get everything you are entitled to. Additionally, I would love if anyone else wants to share their own personal rituals for cleansing the house or getting rid of negative energy, or fully getting rid of curses but I certainly am open to them being a thing.

As always, I will see you next week with our next Breakdown but if you see me around the Breakroom, make sure to say hi.

Posted in Uncategorized

The Office: Season 3, Episode 25 “The Job: Part 2”

Posted on by Nathan Westerberg

Good morning everyone and welcome back to the Breakroom! I hope you have had an excellent week. Overall I cannot complain too much as this week has been fairly straightforward in that people had problems and I helped fix them. That being said, I have had a good handful of calls that I felt did result in an abnormally high level of customer service and resolution so I suppose I am feeling pretty good about myself. It is really easy for us to get into a routine and just worry about doing our job day-in, day-out. But it is great when we can have those moments that help remind us that we do have good things associated to our jobs. I even got an Employee Recognition for helping one person so yes, it’s actually been a good week.

You might be wondering about how everyone in the office is doing? Have they had the same sort of good week that I did? I am so glad you asked, because let us cut to where we left them off.

When last we saw them, Jim, Karen, and Michael were all preparing to interview for a big job at corporate. Naturally, Michael firmly believes that he has this job locked down; so much in fact, that he already told Dwight that he could be the Regional Manager for our branch.

To be honest, Dwight’s first few steps as replacement manager haven’t been too bad. He made Andy his Number 2, naturally, and evidently he made Pam the secret Assistant to the Regional Manager. With Jim out of the office, Pam felt compelled to let it slip to someone. Besides these staffing changes, Dwight decides to implement “Schrute Bucks” as a new incentive tool. As we accumulate these “Bucks” we can then exchange them for a slightly longer lunch. While I do love the use of incentives in the workplace, Dwight definitely could’ve done a lot better because how many years does someone have to save up “Bucks” to finally exchange them. What I was appreciative of was how Dwight decided to cancel the using of unnecessary meetings (think the “this could have been an email” sort of meetings) and chose to replace them with a series of lectures centered around the topic of paper. Now I love this sort of thing, mixing up the day with fun lectures rather than a boring meeting that should’ve just been an email in the first place. The main topic of our first lecture was about where paper comes from, going all the way back to trees and soil so this is a pretty comprehensive topic.

Besides these antics, everyone is also exchanging opinions on who they think will ultimately get the job. Someone people think Karen is most qualified, Pam is leaning towards Jim, but I loved how Phyllis assumed Michael would get it. Her logic that while he isn’t qualified for it, he wasn’t qualified for the job he currently has. This is actually a great callback to a management concept known as the “Peter Principle.” This was developed by a Dr. Laurence J. Peter where his theory was that in the business world, leaders have a tendency to be promoted until they reach a position they are incompetent for. So while not everyone goes through this, I can certainly explain this and you most likely have encountered this before. The situation is that Peter (for an example) does a good job at his job, he is noticed by leadership and they give him a promotion. If he does well at this job for long enough, he will receive another promotion and so on until he is ultimately promoted so high that he is ill-suited for that job. Michael Scott can be a good example because as a salesman, he was one of the best ones at the company and this was used to justify why he should be promoted to Manager, where many believe he is not suited for. While the corporate world has changed since Dr. Peter first composed this theory, I think we do still the occasional instance of “how did this person get this job?”

Back at the corporate office, interviews are underway. Michael went first and had come out happy, although seemed awkward and then Karen was sent in. This is where the drama evidently started. Turns out the job they are interviewing for is Jan’s because she is ultimately going to be let go. Of course, Michael (who had just fixed things up and got together with Jan again) went and let it slip to her that she was was being let go. Jan came storming into David Wallace’s office started yelling and even threatening to sue if she is being let go. Soon after she is escorted out with Michael saying he will take her home, and I guess he “chose” to withdraw his candidacy. My two cents is, if you are going to let someone go then I say you should just let them go. I feel it is pretty shady to interview people for a position that is still technically occupied and it is amazing that David assumed he could go through this whole process without it being leaked.

After all of this happened we only had one interview left, it was Jim’s turn to go in and although I feel like Michael could’ve helped shake the corporate office up (which I do believe is needed sometime) I think he was the shoo in. But it turns out I was wrong, because it sounds like Jim ultimately left the interview (leaving Karen alone in New York, by the way) and drove back down to Scranton to ask Pam out on a date. I mean I guess that is kind of sweet but, what the hell Jim? Maybe you could have resolved the whole situation with Karen in a nicer way, first?

So besides this recap, I wanted to go over some of my personal tips for conducting yourself in a job interview. Last time I spoke about preparing for the interview so this is more about the interview itself.

Have Stories
First, be prepared to talk about yourself and have some good stories lined up. I like to think of some pretty good stories that can be used as examples for very generic questions like “Tell me about a time you made a mistake” or “Tell me about a time you disagreed with a coworker.” Interviews are where the hiring leader gets to know you, so you need to be ready to talk about yourself.

Don’t be too generic
Try not to be too boring and generic where you give answers which are very stock answers. A great example is when someone asks you what your biggest weakness is and you say “I work too darn hard.” That response is essentially a cliche at this point and needs to be skipped. Leaders do like knowing that you can be honest so you should be prepared with an actual example of a weakness. First instance, I usually bring up that I have problems asking for help. I can recognize when I do not know something, but where I struggle is admitting that I have too big of a workload and could use a hand dealing with things. Just to give you an example.

Remain engaged
Stay engaged with the leader; do your best to pay attention to them and do not let your mind wander. I say this because it can be easy to lose focus, especially when it is a long interview. But I get it, interviews can also be scary and intimidating. One tip I can give is to try to divert your eyes to perhaps their forehead so you are not looking them directly in the eyes; just a tip to help calm your nerves.

Always have an answer
It is possible you may not have an answer for every question but it is really important to have some sort of answer to everything. I have had times where I asked people what they think their greatest weakness is and they flat out said “nothing.” Well, this is not true because everyone has a weakness. Part of that question is to help show that you can take stock of yourself and be able to recognize that you are not perfect. I can even recommend that if you cannot answer a question at that time, feel free to ask if they wouldn’t mind coming back to it at the end so you can have some time to think about it. One tip is if you need a couple second, I often will repeat the question and show that I am deep in thought to buy me some time.

Do you have any questions for us?
Typically, at the very end they will ask if you have any questions for them. They could have done a great job at describing the job and the company ahead of time, but you should absolutely have one or two questions locked and loaded to go. If you can give a question that calls back to someone they mentioned earlier, that helps prove that you have been paying attention and that you are serious. Otherwise my mine question is “Are there any big projects or changes currently going on that this position will be involved with?” If anything it helps give you some additional information into what you would be working on when you start.

Do you have any tips for the interview process? I always like to know ahead of to see if there is anything new to test out so please let us know!

But, otherwise, that was the Breakdown! I hope I have helped give you some insight into your next job interview and that you ace your next one! I also hope you have a great weekend and, like always, I’ll see you all around the Breakroom!

Additionally, that was Season 3! We are officially ready for my personal favorite, Season 4!