So I got the job.
The interview went very well but Executive Director said she had to interview that one other person this week and make her decision by Friday. I…went to celebrate with my friend later that evening and had some really good whiskey. She went home and I went to get some chicken enchiladas in mole sauce. While I was waiting for my food to arrive I checked my phone messages:
“Hello …, this is [redacted]. I’ve made a decision and didn’t want to keep you waiting until Friday. I have good news. I was very impressed and I’d like to offer you the position”
I ran outside to call my parents and the tears, they flowed. I can’t recall the last time my dad sounded so happy and my mother was screaming in the background - with joy, of course.
The restaurant gave me a free margarita and I think they must have put ten gallons of tequila in that little glass. Thankfully I know the owners so I could continue to cry all I wanted while one of the nice ladies gave me a little pep talk. I took my food to go and went straight back home to where I stay now in the Bronx so I could share my good news in a more private setting.
Boy oh boy. I have never ever worked so hard to prepare for an interview. The Executive Director really put me through the hoops for this one! Mapping out a campaign in minute detail is no easy feat. I just kept throwing document after document after massive fucking excel sheet document at her, yacking away while she asked me questions, It was definitely no fucking “Where do you see yourself in five years?” bullshit. Having been immersed in the preparatory work for this interview made it that much easier to answer questions.
Interviews should be more like this kind. Instead of the usual format of you telling the interviewer why you’re so perfect for the job, you can just show them. I basically did the work as if I was already hired because she wanted me to prove to her that I could do the job. I like this method better because I am absolute rubbish when it comes to interviewing and talking myself up. It was nice to simply show someone what I can do. Most jobs do require writing samples, and I always submit two - one sample policy brief and one research writing sample. But with this interview, though I wasn’t asked to write anything except a fact sheet, I was asked to explain in as much detail as possible how I plan to move their Coalition forward and I couldn’t do it without organizing my thoughts on paper and then creating a timeline for each activity. I got even more anal than that but I don’t want to bore anyone to tears.
The Saturday before the interview, I was at my friend’s apartment because she was helping me practice what to say for the interview, meaning that I was looking at my notes and talking then looking back up at her as if she were the interviewer. At one point I looked up from my notes and she had fallen asleep and was even snoring a little!
So I’m back here in New York and it feels as though I never left. I’ve missed my friends here tremendously and besides the one I am staying with (in her living room/kitchen), I get to see my friends almost every day.
I’m scared and excited all at once. I miss my family. I miss my cats.
And this just in: The former Director of my last place of employment just spoke with my soon to be new boss and had this to say: “I spoke to [future boss] today and she said she hired [me] and is very excited. She said that [I] did more work preparing for the interview than the first person [future boss] hired/fired did in 2 months of working there. She was very impressed.”
I’m impressive!
/bragging
Depending on my start date I may fly back to Los Angeles to celebrate with my family and friends because I definitely won’t have the chance for a long time.
1 year ago