Tuesday, February 22, 2011

Interview-a-rama

After returning home from Rochester on Sunday, I had another e-mail waiting for me from the "They're Not" company.  They had a cancellation and could see me Monday afternoon.  Short notice (remind me to join this decade and get a phone that I can check my e-mail on) and the coarse e-mail exchange had me nervous about exploring this company further, but hey, saying no to interviews is just not something this unemployed lady does.

So I decided I was going to go in skeptical and completely honest about my experience and what I was looking for.


I still can't put on a menswear blazer without reciting lines from Annie Hall.  Thanks, Diane Keaton.


Hey, snow, I just wanted to thank you because I sincerely love showing up at interviews with the bottom of my pants wet and salt stains on my shoes.  Also, a note about those shoes.  I don't have comfortable brown boots.  Normally those pants get worn with a pair of heels.  Although, I also don't have a pair of plain brown heels that I find acceptable (me and brown shoes clearly have a bad history together), so these pants typically get worn with white (faux) snakeskin pumps (oh yeah, I have a pair.  And they're awesome.  Don't judge.).  But I wasn't sure how much this company would appreciate my experimental footwear, so I had to suck it up and wear these boots, AKA: Boots of Agony.


That line embedded in my pale leg is just from the drive to the interview, which was 20 minutes.  Okay, I probably could have just worn taller socks, but I guess I'm just not that forward thinking.

I got to my 4:00pm interview about 20 minutes early:

Hey, there's my nephew!  Hi, Jake!

So, I drove around until I was a more acceptable 10 minutes early.  Contrary to my expectations set from the e-mail, the interviewer was very nice (jovial, even).  And what followed was a record setting interview:  Three hours.  From 4:00-7:00pm.  When I left, I had 5 missed calls and 7 text messages.  Aaron and my friend that I was supposed to be meeting for dinner post interview were watching news reports for car crashes and preparing their routes to drive out there and look for my mangled body on the sides of the roads (not an exaggeration, that was actually their plan.  I'm just thankful no one called the cops.).

But, about this interview.  Definitely the most thorough explanation of a company, position, and expectations that I've experienced.  And it was genuinely appreciated.  It ended up being a position that I am interested  in at a company that I could see myself working at.  After an honest discussion with the interviewer about pretty much every scenario that could come up (remember, THREE HOURS), we concluded with already talking about salary and bringing me in to meet other people in the company that I would be working with.  I should be getting a call or e-mail the end of the week to set up the actual time/date (I'll be sure to set aside a large chunk of time this side to not worry loved ones) for this meeting to take place.  So we'll see what happens there.

I also have a different job interview this Wednesday at a non-profit foundation.  I'm glad that things are starting to happen in this job search, I was starting to take note of the "Help Wanted" signs when I drove by Mighty Taco.

(And I did get my dinner finally at Amy's Place, a diner over in our University Heights District.  You can get 99% of their meals made with seitan or tofu!  And its delicious.  And cheap.  Followed by a much needed glass of wine at Shango.) 

2 comments:

  1. Good luck with the job! Also you are right about the blazer it is so annie hall and I mean that in the best way!

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  2. Glad to hear things are turning around ... and I can all too easily identify with the plight of winter interviews, important meetings, and just about anything requiring you to look put together from about December to May. Good luck!

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