Breathlessly close (?)
I had a job interview this morning. I was ten minutes late because they were doing some road work on southbound 91.
The position I interviewed for was that of a "researcher" at a business publication in New Haven (for those of you who know the Elm City, the office is across the street from Tandor, above the martial arts studio). The two women who interviewed me did most of the talking. They explained the duties of the position (compiling information for an annual publication that features lists ranking various types of businesses against one another). They described some of the challenges I might face (businesses being reluctant to provide particular pieces of information; not having phone calls returned). I got the obligatory "What are you doing now?" question and I fumbled through my "Well, I've been taking some time off to travel and write..." answer. (For the first time, I heard myself say "I graduated from college about a year ago." It was a mortifying experience.) At one point, one of the women used the word "over-qualified" to describe me, and it was all I could do to keep from forming my hand into the shape of a pistol and pointing it at my temple. I assured them that I was eager to accept the position, and I promised to commit myself for the duration of the project (April and May). I asked when I might hear back from them and if they would tell me either way, and they said I would hear yes-or-no by Friday or Monday. I regaled them with my Food & Wine horror story, and we all shared a hearty chortle. (Did you know that Lewis Carroll coined the term "chortle," and that it is defined as a combination of a chuckle and a snort?) At the end of the interview there was a flurry of handshakes, I had a few copies of past publications thrust into my arms, and I walked out of the office with a spring in my step.
I'd like to think that I'll be offered this job, and that I'll take it. I felt comfortable and confident, I made a strong case for myself, and I think the ladies took a shine to me. On the drive home, I was all smiles. Being in the magazine's office reminded me that my most fulfilling experiences in the past have been with publications (a fact that had all-but-faded from my mind in recent months). Yeah, this job would be part-time (24 hours or so a week), and temporary, and it's not Newsweek or Entertainment Weekly (ha), but I can honestly say I'm excited about it. If nothing else, it's a ground-floor position in print journalism that could be the resume item I need to weasel into something a little more flashy in the (near?) future. And if this works out, I might also continue to pursue the night-and-weekend job at Quinnipiac, in which case I could be working full-time hours and finally be able to turn tail on dad's house in North Haven.
Have you noticed how rosy everything always seems to me after a job interview? Twenty mintues of perfunctory interview banter and I'm suddenly the golden boy on the path to greatness. Watch it all come crashing down tomorrow with an email that says "We're sorry, but we've found someone who is better suited to our needs at this point in time. Best of luck!" Just watch.
P.S. - In yesterday's post I mentioned a tip that I received from a Herald buddy. Late last night, I was struck by a bolt of paranoia--"Is somebody punking me again?" was the question that flashed into my head. It seemed slightly unusual to be getting a job tip in the comments section of a blog post, and it was especially odd to be getting it from this particular person. I wasn't aware that he was a blog reader, and it seemed strange that he had been able to find the link to this webpage but hadn't been able to find my email address. I had already sent him a desperately eager email, so when I woke up this morning I sent a second disclaimer email saying, "So, some people who read my blog have a tendency of jerking me around, and if you had no idea what I was talking about in my email yesterday, I'd like to apologize."
It turns out that it wasn't a hoax. After my second email, my friend writes back saying "Uhhh, that was me. Stop being so paranoid."
Just another day in the life.
The position I interviewed for was that of a "researcher" at a business publication in New Haven (for those of you who know the Elm City, the office is across the street from Tandor, above the martial arts studio). The two women who interviewed me did most of the talking. They explained the duties of the position (compiling information for an annual publication that features lists ranking various types of businesses against one another). They described some of the challenges I might face (businesses being reluctant to provide particular pieces of information; not having phone calls returned). I got the obligatory "What are you doing now?" question and I fumbled through my "Well, I've been taking some time off to travel and write..." answer. (For the first time, I heard myself say "I graduated from college about a year ago." It was a mortifying experience.) At one point, one of the women used the word "over-qualified" to describe me, and it was all I could do to keep from forming my hand into the shape of a pistol and pointing it at my temple. I assured them that I was eager to accept the position, and I promised to commit myself for the duration of the project (April and May). I asked when I might hear back from them and if they would tell me either way, and they said I would hear yes-or-no by Friday or Monday. I regaled them with my Food & Wine horror story, and we all shared a hearty chortle. (Did you know that Lewis Carroll coined the term "chortle," and that it is defined as a combination of a chuckle and a snort?) At the end of the interview there was a flurry of handshakes, I had a few copies of past publications thrust into my arms, and I walked out of the office with a spring in my step.
I'd like to think that I'll be offered this job, and that I'll take it. I felt comfortable and confident, I made a strong case for myself, and I think the ladies took a shine to me. On the drive home, I was all smiles. Being in the magazine's office reminded me that my most fulfilling experiences in the past have been with publications (a fact that had all-but-faded from my mind in recent months). Yeah, this job would be part-time (24 hours or so a week), and temporary, and it's not Newsweek or Entertainment Weekly (ha), but I can honestly say I'm excited about it. If nothing else, it's a ground-floor position in print journalism that could be the resume item I need to weasel into something a little more flashy in the (near?) future. And if this works out, I might also continue to pursue the night-and-weekend job at Quinnipiac, in which case I could be working full-time hours and finally be able to turn tail on dad's house in North Haven.
Have you noticed how rosy everything always seems to me after a job interview? Twenty mintues of perfunctory interview banter and I'm suddenly the golden boy on the path to greatness. Watch it all come crashing down tomorrow with an email that says "We're sorry, but we've found someone who is better suited to our needs at this point in time. Best of luck!" Just watch.
P.S. - In yesterday's post I mentioned a tip that I received from a Herald buddy. Late last night, I was struck by a bolt of paranoia--"Is somebody punking me again?" was the question that flashed into my head. It seemed slightly unusual to be getting a job tip in the comments section of a blog post, and it was especially odd to be getting it from this particular person. I wasn't aware that he was a blog reader, and it seemed strange that he had been able to find the link to this webpage but hadn't been able to find my email address. I had already sent him a desperately eager email, so when I woke up this morning I sent a second disclaimer email saying, "So, some people who read my blog have a tendency of jerking me around, and if you had no idea what I was talking about in my email yesterday, I'd like to apologize."
It turns out that it wasn't a hoax. After my second email, my friend writes back saying "Uhhh, that was me. Stop being so paranoid."
Just another day in the life.
posted by temporarily unemployed at 11:52
1 Comments:
UPDATE!!!! BIGGEST UPDATE EVER!!!!
~C
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