Originally this week's post was going to be complaint about the interview with the limited time options.
(They emailed on Tuesday inviting me to an interview Friday at 12:30. I already had an interview scheduled for 1pm on Friday, so... yeah, awkward. I responded I wasn't available Friday afternoon, but totally open Thursday or Monday. They responded suggesting Friday morning. I knew pushing another day wouldn't bode well, probably boot me from the interview process and possibly negating any future chances with this organization -a mid-sized place with a dozen locations locally, over a hundred staff, with whom I'd interviewed in 2012 and in the last year applied to five times -to the point I was wondering if I should bother. I almost called and asked why I hadn't gotten an interview before?)
But I digress: I took the 10:30 slot. and raced home to prep for the second interview.
About that one: large, national nonprofit organization I had never heard of before. Broad, vague job description. I was excited for the interview, I started prepping immediately after being scheduled, a week in advance.
The first flag was when the scheduler, who spoke with the complete ennui of a lethargic office worker, wanted to schedule the interview two weeks out. That was a little concerning, and I asked if there was any time before that. The scheduler thoroughly combed through the interviewer's calendar, talking through the different days ("she had an appointment until 4 that day... then she has a meeting at 5..."). We settled on today.
Great!
Or not?
The second flag was the muffled speaker phone. Ok, I can work through that, no problem. Then she started asking questions -simple ones that I expected and fired back. Why do you want this job? Why are people poor? Elaborate on your work with Job D (the project I organized that won a Human Rights Award from the United Nations Association.)
Third flag: "That was only for two months?!?". She was unimpressed. I ORGANIZED A PROGRAM THAT PROTECTED PEOPLE FROM HATE CRIMES AFTER 9/11 AND IT WON A HUMAN RIGHTS AWARD, AND YES IT WAS ONLY FOR TWO MONTHS.
Sigh.
Then her phone rang. "Excuse me for a moment," she said. I'm unfazed when an interviewer interrupts an interview to answer a phone call. Being fazed in that situation will never do anyone any good. After a minute she got back to me. "I'm so sorry about that," she said, and went on with a brief segue of her personal life -husband, daughter, dog, dog walker- and that her dog had been attacked and was currently at the vet. "I would only interrupt an interview for something about my kid or my dog".
"No problem. I understand completely," I said. And I did. That was as good reason if there ever was. Let's get back to the interview.
"Well, those are all the questions I have for you," she said. WE'RE AT THE 15 MINUTE MARK OF THE INTERVIEW, and she says she's done. "Do you have any questions for me?"
As I said, the org was new to me and the position vague, so I asked for specifics. She launched into an exasperated summary, which included the phrase "all this is detailed on our website, which I highly encourage you to look at".
Flag Number Four.
I manage to inject, "I have, thoroughly" but don't think that mattered. She's clearly distracted. She's audibly exasperated and really doesn't want to continue this interview. It'd be foolish to think with 100% certainty that I didn't get this job. I shuffle on to asking about the hiring process, and she delivers a line about the third week of March, blah blah blah.
Ugh.
I have no idea how to shine this turd. At my last obviously failed interview three weeks ago, I still managed to send off a thank you email, addressing the reasons why I didn't think I did so well. I still didn't get that job.
Do I even bother now? Do I say, "Sorry about your dog. Was it just me, or was that interview incredibly short? Afterall, I was really excited about the position and had been reading up and preparing for the interview for over a week. Yet 15 minutes in, you're done, and my questions are dismissed with "read our website". Geez? Thanks?
Double uff. Have a nice weekend.
WWF
(They emailed on Tuesday inviting me to an interview Friday at 12:30. I already had an interview scheduled for 1pm on Friday, so... yeah, awkward. I responded I wasn't available Friday afternoon, but totally open Thursday or Monday. They responded suggesting Friday morning. I knew pushing another day wouldn't bode well, probably boot me from the interview process and possibly negating any future chances with this organization -a mid-sized place with a dozen locations locally, over a hundred staff, with whom I'd interviewed in 2012 and in the last year applied to five times -to the point I was wondering if I should bother. I almost called and asked why I hadn't gotten an interview before?)
But I digress: I took the 10:30 slot. and raced home to prep for the second interview.
About that one: large, national nonprofit organization I had never heard of before. Broad, vague job description. I was excited for the interview, I started prepping immediately after being scheduled, a week in advance.
The first flag was when the scheduler, who spoke with the complete ennui of a lethargic office worker, wanted to schedule the interview two weeks out. That was a little concerning, and I asked if there was any time before that. The scheduler thoroughly combed through the interviewer's calendar, talking through the different days ("she had an appointment until 4 that day... then she has a meeting at 5..."). We settled on today.
Great!
Or not?
The second flag was the muffled speaker phone. Ok, I can work through that, no problem. Then she started asking questions -simple ones that I expected and fired back. Why do you want this job? Why are people poor? Elaborate on your work with Job D (the project I organized that won a Human Rights Award from the United Nations Association.)
Third flag: "That was only for two months?!?". She was unimpressed. I ORGANIZED A PROGRAM THAT PROTECTED PEOPLE FROM HATE CRIMES AFTER 9/11 AND IT WON A HUMAN RIGHTS AWARD, AND YES IT WAS ONLY FOR TWO MONTHS.
Sigh.
Then her phone rang. "Excuse me for a moment," she said. I'm unfazed when an interviewer interrupts an interview to answer a phone call. Being fazed in that situation will never do anyone any good. After a minute she got back to me. "I'm so sorry about that," she said, and went on with a brief segue of her personal life -husband, daughter, dog, dog walker- and that her dog had been attacked and was currently at the vet. "I would only interrupt an interview for something about my kid or my dog".
"No problem. I understand completely," I said. And I did. That was as good reason if there ever was. Let's get back to the interview.
"Well, those are all the questions I have for you," she said. WE'RE AT THE 15 MINUTE MARK OF THE INTERVIEW, and she says she's done. "Do you have any questions for me?"
As I said, the org was new to me and the position vague, so I asked for specifics. She launched into an exasperated summary, which included the phrase "all this is detailed on our website, which I highly encourage you to look at".
Flag Number Four.
I manage to inject, "I have, thoroughly" but don't think that mattered. She's clearly distracted. She's audibly exasperated and really doesn't want to continue this interview. It'd be foolish to think with 100% certainty that I didn't get this job. I shuffle on to asking about the hiring process, and she delivers a line about the third week of March, blah blah blah.
Ugh.
I have no idea how to shine this turd. At my last obviously failed interview three weeks ago, I still managed to send off a thank you email, addressing the reasons why I didn't think I did so well. I still didn't get that job.
Do I even bother now? Do I say, "Sorry about your dog. Was it just me, or was that interview incredibly short? Afterall, I was really excited about the position and had been reading up and preparing for the interview for over a week. Yet 15 minutes in, you're done, and my questions are dismissed with "read our website". Geez? Thanks?
Double uff. Have a nice weekend.
WWF
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