More adventures in job hunting

I actually had an interview last Wednesday. I have already updated my online job profiles, so while browsing through the list of jobs, I applied to one. It sounded like something I could do, so why not?

I'm not kidding when I say that I had an email from the HR person in my inbox within two hours. Wow, I thought, that's a first. Usually you apply to these things and it's like shouting into a black hole. I never expect a response. Yeah, maybe someone got your resume, but there are many others like it and no one really cares if that one is yours. I took it as a positive sign and I contacted the guy to set up a time and date.

I set it up to coincide with a career conference. Have I shared how much I detest job fairs? I really do. I think I have scored two interviews from job fairs and one was a pyramid scheme, I mean "multilevel marketing" career. The big, well known companies usually have a giant crowd around their booth, while the little companies are so specialized that when you talk to them, you can already see their head starting to shake no. It's frustrating.

I printed directions to the interview from my job address (I know, what is this, the 1990's? Our GPS is currently being borrowed and I am too cheap to pay for the iPhone GPS application). But anyway--the directions seemed simple enough. It wasn't too far away, and it should not have taken more than 30 minutes to get there.

45 minutes later...

Yes, I know. Of course I got lost. You didn't think I was actually going to make it there, did you? Anyway--45 minutes later, I was frantically searching my phone's web browser for a phone number for these people. I called and admitted I was lost. Without knowing where I was, I promised I would be there by 10:30 (30 minutes after the scheduled time). I then turned on Google maps on my phone (aka the great battery drainer) and found my way to the office.

The interview was not one of my finer performances. The good news was that this was not a job I wanted anyway. The interviewer was the person I would have been replacing. It started out well enough, but the more I heard about the position, the less interested I felt towards getting it. The title included the word "assistant." What does that tell you? Well, the way the job was described, you were some director's assistant and your job was to do the things she could not handle, simply because her plate was overflowing and there are only a limited number of hours in a day. In the interviewer's words, you were expected to "take" work from your boss. she also mentioned that personality was going to be a big factor in determining the right person for the job. Red flag alert. Personality? Is this code that the boss is some kind of fire-breather? She went on to describe some other "quirks" of the leadership while insisting it was a fun place to work. Nothing she described sounded "fun" to me. I was still frazzled from getting lost finding the place, but I didn't feel too terrible that I was bombing. Before I left, I made sure to say "You know, this is the first thing I applied to on Monster where I actually got a response and an interview." The interviewer replied, "I know! That's how desperate we are!"

OUCH.

The job fair--well--I didn't need to be there at a certain time so of course I was able to find it no problemo.

Getting back to my office--I could either take the toll road (easy, but I didn't know if I had enough quarters and the same person who borrowed the GPS borrowed the EZ pass) or I could take the back roads of Fairfax county. I turned on Google maps and went through the back roads. Why did it take me an hour to travel about 15 miles? Some of the little windy roads were enjoyable but there were also many wrong turns and many suspicions of weird engine noises coming from under the hood.

I have a feeling this is just the start of something "fun."