In yesterday's newspaper crossword puzzle, the answer to one clue (a use for a resume) was "JOBSEARCH." I did not get this one -- Robert had to help me. I guess I am in denial about the whole fucking thing.
Anyway, I got a very unexpected call on Thursday of last week regarding a data analyst job with a local public school district that I applied for on November 5th and for which I had completed an "exam" (a kind of written up phone interview in most respects) that was due from all selected candidates at the end of November...and they wanted me to come in for an interview. Man, I had totally assumed that ship had sailed, you know? We set that up on the phone and the HR person was supposed to email me the details (e.g., where the interview is taking place). And never did. And when I called her this morning to say that the email "hadn't come through to me" and could she "give me the details again on the phone" (I want to give her the benefit of the doubt, at least to her face) she was just like, Yeah, OK, this is the address and come to this floor. And when I asked whom I'd be meeting with, she said, I don't know who will be in the meeting. (I'm glad that she was at her desk when I rang and I didn't have to wait for a callback, at least.) This whole thing does NOT inspire confidence. It doesn't help at all with my stereotype that people working in school administrative capacities are...well...not the sharpest crayons in the box.
I can't help now but think that this interview is going to be more awful than usual -- not necessarily more stressful, but just, you know, basically badly done. But who knows, maybe my own low expectations and my current feeling of kind of not giving a fuck about the job will translate into such superb interviewing on my part that I will actually have to decide whether I want to work there or not. Or maybe I will telegraph some kind of ambivalence or apathy that will take the decision out of my hands. Either way...it's an interview, and I guess that's a good thing.
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3 comments:
I once got a job from a place with one of the stupidest interviews ever. I would ask for clarification and they would just re-read the question and say that they must ask the question the same way to each candidate. And then I would try not to roll my eyes as I would say that if a) I would do this and if b) I would do that.
It turned out that my disgust and my attempt at reasonable answers to unreasonable questions impressed the people who actually hired me. (An HR rep had to be in the room during the interview but HR had no say in the final hire.)
Anyway, my point is that you never know what can work in your favor.
Interesting, Debbie - thanks for sharing your experience. I'm hoping that the clueless-seeming HR person is not representative of the team I'd be working with directly.
My experience is that like advertisers, HR is rarely representative of the team you'd be working with directly. They are in an alien world!
You also have the advantage than many people who applied in November are probably no longer interested.
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