More of the same

Well still no word, after the high from that great 2nd interview wore off I started to question whether or not I came off as well as I initially thought. I mean there's nothing in particular that I regret or feel negatively about, I guess aside from maybe rambling for a few extra seconds on the "how would you handle this?" questions and the one or two inane ones. But then I started to wonder if "you're most interesting to us and a lot people like you here" are things the manager might say to a lot of people, who knows? What if they weren't as dazzled by me as the first time? What if they choose someone who has more specific experience than I do? What if they don't want to take a chance on me? So today I tried a new tactic, convincing myself that I didn't get the job, that someone else has already been hired and sitting at my...I mean, their desk working hard. Perhaps I'd get a little relief from trying to will the phone to ring or from compulsively checking my email every hour because it sucks. On Friday I asked one of my references if he had been contacted yet and he said no. What are they waiting for? I know, I know that they have other priorities, but I've started to not give a rat's ass about their other priorities, I shouldn't be kept in the dark after a 2nd interview for a position that I was recommended for. The first position that I had initially interviewed for is finally no longer listed on the website, disappeared Friday night sometime. My status is still "not selected" and although I suppose there's a chance that the listing it's self expired and will pop back up any day or they're just scraping it altogether, I can't imagine still having a shot at it, it's just been too long. But that's ok because I'd much prefer the 2nd position. They actually recommended me for this, is there really a chance that I won't get this job? Plus one of them asked me if I have references, why would he ask me that if there was no chance or wasn't really interested? But what makes me nervous is the fact that I inquired a week and a half after the 1st interview about my status and that's when I got that dreaded email "We did fill the position." So it was no longer than a week and a half that someone was chosen for it, but then of course at the 2nd interview I was told that there was still a second position for that same job was still open. This Wednesday will be a week and a half, of course I have no clue as to how much longer the process will go on, I have no clue about any of it obviously or else I wouldn't be ranting and rambling away. I try to stay optimistic and then I catch myself feeling happy when I think about working there, but then I always have bring myself back to reality before I get too far gone.

3 hours and 15 minutes

As of yesterday I have officially spent a total of 3 hours and 15 minutes interviewing at this company for 2 jobs with 8 different staff members and have received nothing but incredibly positive feedback. So at this point it will be pretty hard to take if I don't end up with anything after all of that. After considering this place a joke due to what amounted to miscommunication and then ending up with a second interview at which I was told that "You're most interesting to us and a lot of people really like you here" by my potential supervisor, I feel I now deserve to know where my desk is and when I start and how much I'll be making. I got an even better vibe than after my first interview and the supervisor warmed up to me a lot more, he was the only one I couldn't really read last time and I thought for sure he was the least impressed, but this time we had one-on-one time and he was pretty open and talkative, I like him. He told me that out of the candidates I'm most knowledgeable about the company already (simple website reading is all that took) and asked if I had any ideas about the website...improvements, critiques..yada yada. Well we talked about it for a few minutes and I was flattered that he asked and actually took notes but in the back of my mind I couldn't help but think I was working for free...I mean that in a humorous way of course, but I was almost about to say "anymore ideas and it'll cost ya" but I didn't.

So overall I've been impressed with the interview method employed here, not too many dumb questions, very few in fact, a mixture of conversation and relating my skill set to the position and all that jazz, but one of the staff members that I saw this time asked me probably the 2 most inane meaningless questions I've ever heard. She's my around age and clearly had to think up a few questions on her own in order to justify her presence there along side the head of the department. "What do you think makes up a successful team?" Seriously? After reading my resume you are in doubt as to whether or not I can function productively in a team or that I don't know the difference between a crappy team and a good one? If you've ever held a job outside your house and succeeded at it for a little while, you can work in a team. Luckily for me I have far more experience than that...well, I still had to pretend I understood the value of that question and answer it..."let's see...a good team is definitely made up of lazy ass people who only care about their paychecks, have no ideas or thoughts about what they do all day, and don't give a rat's ass about reaching goals." Yes, that's it, my dream team. Give me a break. Also, I liked "what do you think it means to do a good job? how do you know if you've done the task well?" Again, seriously? Sigh, it's all about playing the game isn't it? I don't even really remember the extent of what I said, I think I threw in words like accuracy and correct and then probably just trailed off and looked to the department head for a new question. Plus I had an extended starer on the panel..he was super happy-go-lucky and pleasant but after a I felt I was done answering the question he just keep looking at me, waiting for more...well, uh, ok I'm done now, next question. I never know if that means I didn't answer to his satisfaction or if he's just an extended starer by nature...who knows right?

Well, other than that it was a solid interview..or 2 interviews I should say, 3 hours 15 minutes worth of interviews...I can't even imagine what it will be like to say "I'm going to work today" instead of "I'm still searching, submitting, and waiting."