Another interview. Here we go again…
Hopefully, a job offer will come from this one. Being unemployed for 122 days (but who's counting?) is starting to make me a little crazy and restless. I know I'm getting on everyone's nerves. I'm definitely not used to having so much time on my hands.
I know, too, that the bank would love to get a mortgage payment, as would the electric company, the telephone company and numerous others.
Can a person get disability payments for being “unemployable due to being an interview failure”? I may have to check into that pretty soon and see if that's a legitimate category.
It's been 16 years since I was on a job interview. Things have definitely changed!
Years ago, I remember that you'd be asked standard, direct job related questions like “How fast can you type?”, “Can you work nights and/or weekends?”, “Do you have dependable transportation?” and “How are your math and bookkeeping skills?”
When did all of these new “Get Inside Your Head” questions start?
I'll tell you what I mean.
At an interview I had a couple of months back, I walked into a room where four people were waiting. They each had a copy of a packet that contained the questions that would be asked. No kidding, this packet was at least fifteen pages thick. I could see that there was a big box next to the question for them to record your answer in. Next to that was a box where they would, individually, give you a numeric score based on their opinion of your answer. After the interview, they would total up your scores and the applicant with the overall highest score would get the job.
These four people represented both genders and displayed various personalities. There were two males and two females. There also was quite an age range.
The first was a stern looking woman who appeared to be in her late fifties. She reminded me of my fourth grade teacher that I was always afraid of.
The second woman was young (very young in my eyes), perky and friendly, had hair and clothes in the latest style and seemed to be in her early twenties. She didn't look much older than my son.
The two men both were around my age, forty-one. One was maybe a little older, one a little younger. Again, both carried seemingly different personalities.
The first man had a quiet demeanor and appeared very kind and compassionate with softer features.
The second man, in contrast, had a face that showed stress lines and he had graying hair from years in business. He looked like he was a very serious, no-nonsense person.
Let's start this one by saying that when I walked into the room and saw those four people sitting there, packets in front of them and pens poised, I was a little taken aback. A few twinges of nervousness started to spark. I hadn't expected four people. I hadn't been nervous on the way to the interview, though. Having worked in offices for 23 years, I felt that the experience shown on my resume should automatically make me the perfect person for the job.
In those 23 years, I had typed everything, filed everything, organized thousands of meetings and answered millions of phone calls. My resume, I was sure, had already shown them that I was a seasoned professional who would require very little training. This interview process was probably just a technicality they had to go through. I'll even bet that small box from the office supply company sitting on the receptionists' desk was my new nameplate to put on my new desk.
They started out by asking the normal questions, the ones I expected.
“How fast can you type?” That one was easy.
“Why did you leave your last job?” Another easy one.
“What kind of experience do you have with Microsoft Word and Excel?” Simple.
“Are you comfortable and experienced with the Internet?” Piece of cake.
I think to myself that this isn't so bad after all.
Then, the “Get Inside Your Head” questions started.
“What do you feel have been your greatest accomplishments, both professional and personal?”
I wasn't ready for that one but I think I did OK. I answered honestly. I told about starting my own business and being proud of the amazing growth of it over the years. Good answer, I think.
For the personal part, I told about the fact that my twenty-one year old son and my eighteen year-old daughter had grown into kind, responsible young adults and have never been into trouble. I said that after being a single mom for so many years, I was very proud of the fact that they turned out the way they did. Also, I felt that another great personal accomplishment is the fact that my husband of six years is my total soul mate and best friend. (I left out the part that after being married twice before this truly was a great accomplishment for me.)
