Into the Wild...Let the Hunt Begin #8

The Interviews...

TGIF, am I right? This week has been pretty crazy, but in a good way. It started off with a bang with "mock interviews" that my graduate program held for us to give us a taste of the conference placement sessions. Even though we all knew it was fake, most of us were still sweating bullets! We were interviewing with real professionals from around the state, and of course my interviewer had the highest title of them all: VP of Student Affairs. We knew we had to make good impressions because the field is so small. We took these mock interviews seriously and I gained valuable feedback--I apparently enjoy talking with my hands and demonstrating my words visually with such gestures. The feedback my interviewer gave me? Start off with a deep answer to the first question to show your interest in the position and then see how the interviewer reacts. Apparently I gave a great response to my first question (the "what made you apply for this position") that had a lot of depth and really showed who I am and why I'm here and he liked that because he says that answer is "memorable." Too bad I was so nervous I couldn't remember what I said!!

The next day, I had my first phone interview. I was told it was going to last for 30 minutes and it ended up going for an hour. I think that's a good sign... The woman who interviewed me was great because she would tell me what she liked about my responses afterward and really reinforced a lot of what I was saying, relating it to her professional experience and philosophy. We definitely jived and I could already see myself working well with her. But it's a very large staff and the position requires working in a team of 4-5 professionals so who knows who I would work with if I got the position. They'll get back to me in a week to let me know if I receive an invite to campus or not. After learning more about the position from the interviewer and her favorite aspects of the job, the school, the students, and faculty/staff/administration, I really hope I get a chance to visit campus. We'll see!

Then I got sick. My tonsils ended up looking like gross golf balls and I had to trudge through the rest of my week looking fine on the outside but feeling like I had two large protrusions on either side of my neck. Wonderful.

Also this week, I received a voicemail from another institution asking for an on-campus interview. Unfortunately, it was too short notice for me to make the proposed interview day. I had to call them and tell them I could not make it which was difficult because I do want to interview with them. But while they had me on the phone, they made it a point to say they are looking for someone who can start earlier than I am available. I don't know, I just didn't get a good vibe. I said I would like to graciously take my name out of the candidate pool so they can focus on the applicants who are readily available, but they were like "weeeellll...we're not set on the start date yet." I didn't know what else to say. It's like they were not giving me the chance but at the same time they were.... So I gave them possible dates I would be able to interview, and we'll see if they would like to schedule something. I am all for on-campus interviews because I like getting that "vibe" in person, but phone interviews are more convenient sometimes and I just felt bad having to turn down an actual on-campus interview because it didn't work with my schedule!

So I'll keep ya'll posted. If you can learn anything from my experience, it's sticking to your guns and knowing how far you are willing to go for a job. Is it worth it to drop everything you have planned for a last minute request to interview? You answer that for yourself.