Survivor: Ranks of the Unemployed

Blog Soundtrack:



A Note About My Blog Soundtrack: We all have songs we listen to when we feel a bit defeated. Don’t get me wrong; the job interview today, which I SO know you’re all dying to hear about, and that’s why I love you all (Melissa, Brenda, Marcia, Sarah, Suze, Anne, Chris, Georgie, Tomas, Cathy, and Jeff), didn’t defeat me. I just feel a bit defeated every now and then like everyone else. AND, if you have a song you always listen to when you feel a tad defeated, please, share the song with the rest of us.

Anyway, about the song, well, I love it. When I was dealing with my Dad’s estate, specifically the house in Nantucket after he died, I listened to this song over and over again, particularly on one trip to the house. And, I particularly like…

Baby don't cry, I hope you got your head up
Even when the road is hard, never give up.

Anyway, I will not give my whole interview experience away right now; oh, no, you’ll have to the wait to the end of the blog, my pretties!

[insert_evil_Wicked_Witch_of_the_West_cackle_here]

I will say that today I began to feel as if job interviewing in this day and age has become a bit like an episode of Survivor or something like that. In the days of old, it seemed a company interviewed many people in one go around and then made a decision. Today, we have the phone screen, the interview, and now a SECOND interview. Of course, I don’t blame most companies for doing so. There’s a most talented gene pool out there, and I just happen to be one Jean in that pool.

So, here’s me on the island of Unemployment being fierce with my Microsoft Manual of Style.



And here’s me after my unemployment expires, and I can’t afford cat food anymore so I end up eating my Microsoft Manual of Style!



Not to keep you in suspense, but…

I came to the interview, I saw the interviewers, and I conquered. Okay, about that last part, well, who really knows.

I think all my interviews went well. I liked the manager very much and the writers. The most intriguing thing to me about being interviewed is how each person interviews you. Yes, they think they’re interviewing YOU, but little do they know that because of your love of people, well, you get a kick out of how they interview you. But, shhhhh, they don’t know that…yet!

The writing manager was very straightforward and a sweetheart. I liked the fact that he, when explaining to me his management style, told me his strengths as a manager, but then he also told me his weaknesses.

He also asked me, “Are you an introvert or an extrovert?”
So, what do you think was my answer?!

Then I had an interviewer who came in, sat down, and asked me, “What do you want to know?” as opposed to the interviewer who came and said, "I'm going to ask you some questions about networks, and then you can ask me anything you'd like to."

The latter interviewer asked me what a firewall was.
I think I answered well.
He asked me what an IPS was.
Again, I think I answered well.
He then got up and drew a diagram that explained the whole product so very well.

(He reminded me of an engineering manager that was so nice to me when I first arrived at my last job. His name was Vince. And, I remember this busy guy calling me and explaining a complex issue to me, like I was a 5-year-old. It wasn’t in an insulting way, but it was in a “I really want you to understand how this works” way. I always knew that Vince must be a good Dad.)

Finally, he asked me if I could explain what happened when I accessed a web page.
I said, "No. I can't.”
The voice inside my head wanted to respond with, “Well, after I access a web page, usually, a week later, something arrives on my doorstep from Zappos, Amazon, Sephora, or eBay.”
Yes, it wasn’t the answer he was looking for, BUT it was my real life honest experience!

After he left, the writing manager came back. He told me that he would be doing more phone screens, interviewing more people, and by the end of the week, he hoped to have people back for second interviews.

I asked one friend, what happened after the second interview? Would they ask me to write, produce, direct and star in a one-woman play? Again, I know it’s a buyer’s market here; it was nice just that they thought enough of me (even without extensive network experience) to interview me.

Upon exiting, I told the engineering manager how much I admired the fact that when he explained his management style to me that he was very honest about who he was. It's was refreshing to have someone you're interviewing with be so candid about their strengths and weaknesses, especially when you fully expected to reveal yours but were never asked to do so. Indeed, he was a good guy.

So, I will wait patiently until the end of the week to see whether I will be invited back for a second interview. And, yes, I shall inquire whether or not I can write, produce, direct and star in a one-woman play in lieu of the second interview. :-)

And, I thank you Melissa, Brenda, Marcia, Sarah, Georgie, Anne, Suze, Chris, Cathy, Tomas, and Jeff for inquiring and caring so much.
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Tomas, here's your song:



And, here's my favorite Kate Bush song: