see more puppies
Friday, February 27, 2009
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
It's Time for Me to Get a Job, Part 3: The Interview and the Aftermath
The weather for today: Insufferable.
The morning of my job interview, I allowed myself just enough time to get ready, eat a sensible breakfast, and make a three-minute drive to the job location, which fortunately is just down the street from my house. Before you chide me for deciding to drive to a location clearly within walking distance of my house, let me invite you to live here for one day and experience the sheer horribleness of the winter weather that has descended upon us as of late. Better yet, if you will let me get on with my story, you will discover that no chiding will be necessary, for as things worked out that day, I did end up walking to my interview, horribleness of weather and all. You see, on this day, my husband accidentally took the car key with him to work, a fact which I discovered three minutes before I was scheduled to be interviewed. After a rather tense, brief phone conversation with my husband, I charged out the door and down the street, half walking, half jogging, in my black loafers and khaki pants. Muddy water splashed around my ankles as I hurried down the street to the neighborhood Youth Center, secretly hoping that a passer-by would pity me in my plight and offer me a ride. No such luck. When I finally arrived at the supervisor's office (in my rush I forgot my watch and did not know exactly how late I was), the backs of my heels were freshly blistered, I was out of breath, and I was sweating profusely beneath my wool sweater and coat. Endeavoring to make a good first impression, I affected an attitude of calm cheerfulness and declared, "I am so sorry I am late. I had some unexpected car trouble and had to walk."
The director took pity on me and did not seem troubled by my lateness. This was a huge relief. I found him to be extremely personable and articulate, which, given my experience with government agencies, took me a bit by surprise. Also surprising was the format: instead of the usual Description of the Job by the interviewer, followed by his asking a few Questions About the Stuff on my Application, this interview ventured into realms of self-reflection and theoreticizing I had only experienced a few other times in my life, in some of the more inventive Facebook questionnaires and whatnot, for instance.
Right off the bat, the director asked me to do that thing where you describe your strengths and weaknesses, but with a twist: "What would your friends and family say were your best features? What about you drives them crazy or gets on their nerves?" Questions like this prove a particularly unique challenge to the interviewee, because you want to highlight strengths that make you sound truly cut out for the job, without divulging weaknesses that would suggest otherwise. Answering the question about what sorts of things you do to get on people's nerves is the harder of the two. For some reason, I answered, "I am a procrastinator," but upon reflection I realized that there are very few people in my life that would be severely affected by my ability to procrastinate. If I had been a bit more introspective at the time, I could have answered truthfully, "I am a nag. I lose things, especially valuable things. Cold weather makes me so grouchy that I lash out at the people I love like a mean drunk." In retrospect, it is probably good that I kept my list of undesirable traits small and vague; I believe that while there are times when brutal honesty is appropriate, a job interview is not one of them.
Next, the interview turned theoretical. "My philosophy is to 'think like a kid,'" the director said. "What do you think that means?" "Well," I began, searching the dark recesses of my brain for some repressed memory of child-ness. "Hmm." Nothing. I thought harder and searched some more. I began to worry that the absurdity of the situation - a person who knew nothing about kids applying for a job that has everything to do with kids - was becoming painfully obvious. I decided it was time for some honesty: "That's - that's really interesting," I mused, "but I have to be honest - I really don't know."
Much to my delight, the director was pleased to be given the opportunity to share his vision of what it means to "think like a kid." "Let me paint you a picture," he began. "Imagine a jungle-gym. Imagine that the jungle-gym is actually a boat, and that on one side, a few kids are rowing. All around, some other kids are pretending to swim - they are fish. Some of them are mermaids. And at the top of the jungle-gym, commandeering the ship, is the Program Assistant, talking like a pirate, taking charge of the situation yet engaging the kids on their level. That is the kind of person we are looking for."
"Ah."
"So, what do you think?" asked the director.
Once more, it was time for some honesty. "Well, I am definitely good at the teacher-stuff. I would love to be able to teach kids how to make various arts and crafts, or help them with their homework. I am particularly good at things pertaining to books. But I have to be honest with you - I have a hard time imagining myself, er, commandeering an imaginary ship."
The director assured me that most people shared my sentiments and I felt considerably relieved. The interview ended, and as I got up to leave I noticed that my pants were splattered with mud. This is probably the only interview where I thought that something like that might actually work to my advantage (see - I'm playful! I splash around in mud puddles when I am in my nice clothes!).
Two weeks passed, during which I did find work as an online writing consultant (which I am enjoying greatly), and I had all but assumed I wasn't in touch with my inner child enough for the Youth Center when, to my surprise, I got a phone call from the Right Person informing me that I had gotten the job. Currently, I am up to my elbows in even more paperwork for more background checks, but I guess that is not an unusual process to undergo when one wants to work in child care.
So stay tuned - I will be finding out more about my job soon while simultaneously trying to get in touch with my inner child. Now, where the heck did I put my crayons?
The morning of my job interview, I allowed myself just enough time to get ready, eat a sensible breakfast, and make a three-minute drive to the job location, which fortunately is just down the street from my house. Before you chide me for deciding to drive to a location clearly within walking distance of my house, let me invite you to live here for one day and experience the sheer horribleness of the winter weather that has descended upon us as of late. Better yet, if you will let me get on with my story, you will discover that no chiding will be necessary, for as things worked out that day, I did end up walking to my interview, horribleness of weather and all. You see, on this day, my husband accidentally took the car key with him to work, a fact which I discovered three minutes before I was scheduled to be interviewed. After a rather tense, brief phone conversation with my husband, I charged out the door and down the street, half walking, half jogging, in my black loafers and khaki pants. Muddy water splashed around my ankles as I hurried down the street to the neighborhood Youth Center, secretly hoping that a passer-by would pity me in my plight and offer me a ride. No such luck. When I finally arrived at the supervisor's office (in my rush I forgot my watch and did not know exactly how late I was), the backs of my heels were freshly blistered, I was out of breath, and I was sweating profusely beneath my wool sweater and coat. Endeavoring to make a good first impression, I affected an attitude of calm cheerfulness and declared, "I am so sorry I am late. I had some unexpected car trouble and had to walk."
The director took pity on me and did not seem troubled by my lateness. This was a huge relief. I found him to be extremely personable and articulate, which, given my experience with government agencies, took me a bit by surprise. Also surprising was the format: instead of the usual Description of the Job by the interviewer, followed by his asking a few Questions About the Stuff on my Application, this interview ventured into realms of self-reflection and theoreticizing I had only experienced a few other times in my life, in some of the more inventive Facebook questionnaires and whatnot, for instance.
Right off the bat, the director asked me to do that thing where you describe your strengths and weaknesses, but with a twist: "What would your friends and family say were your best features? What about you drives them crazy or gets on their nerves?" Questions like this prove a particularly unique challenge to the interviewee, because you want to highlight strengths that make you sound truly cut out for the job, without divulging weaknesses that would suggest otherwise. Answering the question about what sorts of things you do to get on people's nerves is the harder of the two. For some reason, I answered, "I am a procrastinator," but upon reflection I realized that there are very few people in my life that would be severely affected by my ability to procrastinate. If I had been a bit more introspective at the time, I could have answered truthfully, "I am a nag. I lose things, especially valuable things. Cold weather makes me so grouchy that I lash out at the people I love like a mean drunk." In retrospect, it is probably good that I kept my list of undesirable traits small and vague; I believe that while there are times when brutal honesty is appropriate, a job interview is not one of them.
Next, the interview turned theoretical. "My philosophy is to 'think like a kid,'" the director said. "What do you think that means?" "Well," I began, searching the dark recesses of my brain for some repressed memory of child-ness. "Hmm." Nothing. I thought harder and searched some more. I began to worry that the absurdity of the situation - a person who knew nothing about kids applying for a job that has everything to do with kids - was becoming painfully obvious. I decided it was time for some honesty: "That's - that's really interesting," I mused, "but I have to be honest - I really don't know."
Much to my delight, the director was pleased to be given the opportunity to share his vision of what it means to "think like a kid." "Let me paint you a picture," he began. "Imagine a jungle-gym. Imagine that the jungle-gym is actually a boat, and that on one side, a few kids are rowing. All around, some other kids are pretending to swim - they are fish. Some of them are mermaids. And at the top of the jungle-gym, commandeering the ship, is the Program Assistant, talking like a pirate, taking charge of the situation yet engaging the kids on their level. That is the kind of person we are looking for."
"Ah."
"So, what do you think?" asked the director.
Once more, it was time for some honesty. "Well, I am definitely good at the teacher-stuff. I would love to be able to teach kids how to make various arts and crafts, or help them with their homework. I am particularly good at things pertaining to books. But I have to be honest with you - I have a hard time imagining myself, er, commandeering an imaginary ship."
The director assured me that most people shared my sentiments and I felt considerably relieved. The interview ended, and as I got up to leave I noticed that my pants were splattered with mud. This is probably the only interview where I thought that something like that might actually work to my advantage (see - I'm playful! I splash around in mud puddles when I am in my nice clothes!).
Two weeks passed, during which I did find work as an online writing consultant (which I am enjoying greatly), and I had all but assumed I wasn't in touch with my inner child enough for the Youth Center when, to my surprise, I got a phone call from the Right Person informing me that I had gotten the job. Currently, I am up to my elbows in even more paperwork for more background checks, but I guess that is not an unusual process to undergo when one wants to work in child care.
So stay tuned - I will be finding out more about my job soon while simultaneously trying to get in touch with my inner child. Now, where the heck did I put my crayons?
Sunday, February 22, 2009
Snow day reads
It's been snowing all weekend. Thus, I've been lounging around the house, reading some Homer and perusing the web for interesting or unusual articles. Here are some of my favorites:
From Slate.com: Why does Hollywood take our favorite novels and turn them into crap?
From Urlesque: That Big Mac of yours is not the only fast-food item that looks nothing like its ad.
From About.com: Everything you need to know about Greek mythology in a nutshell.
From First Things: What ever happened to Susan Pevensie?
And the ROTFL video of the week, also from Urlesque: "Charlie bit my finger." (Ouch!)
From Slate.com: Why does Hollywood take our favorite novels and turn them into crap?
From Urlesque: That Big Mac of yours is not the only fast-food item that looks nothing like its ad.
From About.com: Everything you need to know about Greek mythology in a nutshell.
From First Things: What ever happened to Susan Pevensie?
And the ROTFL video of the week, also from Urlesque: "Charlie bit my finger." (Ouch!)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)