11.02.2007

RevGal Friday Five: Interviewing

From Bishop Laura:
Songbird just had an interview for a "vague and interesting" possibility, and More Cows than People is doing campus visits for doctoral programs. There always seem to be a few RevGals applying for new positions, and I just got my first call for this year's preliminary interviews for college teaching jobs at the American Academy of Religion meeting in San Diego coming up in a few weeks. It's for my dream job among this year's offerings, and I am flipflopping between excitement and nervousness. So please keep your fingers crossed and say a little prayer for everyone facing such conversations, and share your thoughts on the wonderful world of interviews:

1. What was the most memorable interview you ever had?
I think probably my interview for Postulancy, and unfortunately, that was memorable for terrible reasons. I was granted postulancy, but I cried most of the way home. (A spiritual director I no longer work with was on my COM, as well as my rector's wife. Unbelievably uncomfortable, and I didn't feel at all free to be open.)

2. Have you ever been the interviewer rather than the interviewee? If so, are you a tiger, a creampuff, or somewhere in between?
I worked for a staffing company as an employment consultant for a couple of years, so I've done a LOT of interviewing. I'm neither a creampuff nor a tiger. I am very forthright, but I don't think interviewing should involve scare tactics.

3. Do phone interviews make you more or less nervous than in-person ones?
I hate phone interviews. I've done them, and they've been fine, but I much prefer face-to-face to phones. (Just ask the friends I'm doing a crappy job of keeping in touch with!)

4. What was the best advice you ever got to prepare for an interview? How about the worst?
The worst was "trust the process" (hard to do when you know you don't trust some of the people running the process). I'm not sure what the best was, but overall I interview very well.

5. Do you have any pre-interview rituals that give you confidence?
Umm... damn. Well, here it is: I started wearing lucky knickers in college. Red ones, on game days. Now, on "game days," (interviews, stressful stuff, whatever) I still wear red knickers. Oh-- and if I need to feel like I can kick some butt, I listen to "Brothers in Arms," because of that incredible episode of West Wing, "Two Cathedrals."

10 comments:

  1. Oh the red knickers...LOL! Love it totally. Great play Mrs. M.

    ReplyDelete
  2. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Anonymous8:33 AM

    Listening to Dire Straits is probably a good way to prepare for any interview :)

    ReplyDelete
  4. Perhaps it's better said to trust that God will guide your process.

    Red knickers, I love it!

    ReplyDelete
  5. I always wear red lace underwear on Pentecost and Reformation Sundays...but I might have to add interviews to the list. :) Well played!

    ReplyDelete
  6. You've got my favorite pre-interview ritual so far, and it sounds like the popular vote as well!

    Shouldn't those folks on the COM have recused themselves or something? What an ordeal.

    ReplyDelete
  7. I love how you prepare for interviews as well, and I'm sorry to hear about your postulancy interview. sounds unnecessarily stressful.

    ReplyDelete
  8. i'm with you on #3--and how sad about your #1, especially given how important in every way that interview was. thanks for playing...the walk of life!

    ReplyDelete
  9. Hey Mrs. M, I tagged you. You can play if you want to - no pressure. Check for details at my blog if you want to play.

    ReplyDelete

"So keep fightin' for freedom and justice, beloveds, but don't you forget to have fun doin' it. Lord, let your laughter ring forth. Be outrageous, ridicule the fraidy-cats, rejoice in all the oddities that freedom can produce. And when you get through kickin' ass and celebratin' the sheer joy of a good fight, be sure to tell those who come after how much fun it was."
-Saint Molly Ivins