New Job

[Jumper]

Just got hired on with a local "Landscaping and Contracting" company, sort of a jack of all trades organization. Not quite sure what all this entails but I suspect line clearance and butcher pruning for the most part. They want to establish a tree care division but finding qualifed climbers seems to be the bottleneck. I did not meet many of the job pre reqs, but fired in a resume anyways and got picked up. Sure beats sitting around doing nothing and it is in the local area where I want to remain, so hope all goes well.

I guess the one great thing about this is that I am to be (re)trained in using all their equipment, and actually get tickets of some kind for it. So I will get to learn how to use a chainsaw and a chipper! I think learning from an arborist would be more interesting in the long run but this promises to be a learning experience as well. Another plus, few removals, thus no 100lb pieces of wood to lug about

As we celebrate Canadian Thanksgiving this weekend, I am going to be thankful for having a job.

 

[MasterBlaster]

Employment is a good thing.

Good luck!

 

[Nickrosis]

Local, as in not in Afghanistan?

 

[topnotchtree]

Good luck!

 

[ROLLACOSTA]

jumper like mb posted work /employment is nice..and may be after you have been re-trained you can do a little training youreself..you know sow a few seeds about how to prune correctly etc..ie download a few isa fact sheets and pass em out , best of luck with you're new job ROLLA

 

[Jumper]

Originally posted by Nickrosis
Local, as in not in Afghanistan?

There were advantages to being there, $$$$$ being one of them.
Belleville is a little more "local" than Kabul.

In retro this interview was a little "different"- being asked how much I can bench press was one of them. Truthfully answered I do not have a clue given I have not worked on weights in many years, and certainly not routinely. "Don't have a clue" was my answer but I stated I am in an arena five days a week. Anyone else find this question a little strange??? Maybe not if you are intent on hiring a pack animal

 

[arboromega]

good luck man,
hope you learn the right way. a landscape?tree place could be a good thing...arboriculture is only a subtext of horticulture, just on a larger scale. you will learn alot about trees by learning about the shrubs.

 

[John Stewart]

Originally posted by arboromega
good luck man,
hope you learn the right way. a landscape?tree place could be a good thing...arboriculture is only a subtext of horticulture, just on a larger scale. you will learn alot about trees by learning about the shrubs.

Ya ditto that!

 

[Jumper]

I think I will learn a lot about utility line clearance, but I may have the wrong first impression. Anyhoo it is a job with the opportunity to learn a few new skills so that is a good thing

 

[John Stewart]

Hey Mitch
That says volumes about what they want!
Brawn is the game at that company and if you want to use your brain look else where!
I had a buddy that applied for a job at a tree company and his test was to get in the tree with out using conventional tools. No ladder, no throw ball and no makin your rope into a monkey's fist. My buddy dug through some junk at the base of the tree and put his rope in with a peice of eavestrough! He got hired and quit about a week later because the reason the guy wanted unconventional techniques was he hardly had any equipment and wouldnt buy any cause there was no need.
So listen to the questions and judge for yourself but I would say you are going to be bustin your balls!
Good Luck
Later
John

 

[SilverBlue]

Mitch we got to get you into some climbing gear! how about next time you down here visiting the parents?

 

[MasterBlaster]

Originally posted by Jumper
There were advantages to being there, $$$$$ being one of them.

As long as you get to keep yur head. :alien:

 

[Jumper]

Originally posted by John Stewart
Hey Mitch
That says volumes about what they want!
Brawn is the game at that company and if you want to use your brain look else where!........
So listen to the questions and judge for yourself but I would say you are going to be bustin your balls!
Good Luck
Later
John

I'll let ya'll know what happens. I just have a gut feeling about this but maybe I will be proven wrong.

Another one, they did not know the difference between a pole pruner and a power pruner! And seemed surprised to learn I had used both???

Blue I will take you up on your offer someday, actually I am in Agincourt right now doing the turkey thing, but am leaving Monday after noontime hockey for points east and to get ready for Tuesday.

 

[Jumper]

Seven days with those people and not a tree in sight so I said bye-bye this morning. What a sweatshop, and some of the employees ..... Anyways a learning experience, and I will be more questioning of what exactly I will be doing in the future, as this is not the first time this has happened. The low was working on a sewer cleaning truck for two days.

 

[Tree Machine]

Sorry that didn't work out, and at the same time, how fortunate. That is how I started in the tree care industry, almost identical; a landscape company put out an ad, I answered it, hired. They'd had a seasonal tree division, but the normal hire went out on his own this particular season.

He sent me out with one saw, one rope, pole pruners and a flatbed truck. Oh, he provided me a couple back issues of Tree Care Industry
.
So what keeps you from doing your own thing (which I unexpectedly had to do the following season). One week into that next year's employment, the previous guy came back. He had a chipper. This was cool, as I spent my first and only time being another climber's groundguy. I gave him a hard time for using spikes on trims and not cutting to the branch collar, leaving stubs. We were OK together, but the boss couldn't afford both of us, so I was let loose. Best thing that ever happened.

There are a lot of us who have upstarted with meager means. You have our collective experience on tap if you with to go this direction. Good luck, Jumper.

 

[Jumper]

As I said, a learning experience so not all was lost! And it is just teeming cats and dogs so today would have been a write off at any rate.

 

[a_lopa]

any new work prospects mitch

 

[Jumper]

Am looking today, off to Toronto shortly for a few days up there. I will give this company one credit, they do pay on time as I dropped in to pickup last week's cheque this morning, and they practically begged me to go back to one of their sites this morning tom work. I was polite but declined!