02:05 - 25.05.07
Question-able
Disconcerting was the theme of the day. As I was preparing to dress, I wanted to use the washer and dryer. Dryer worked fine, but the hose had come off in the barrel of the washer. I didn't have time to try and repair that, so I changed what I had planned to do before leaving the house in terms of chores. The good surprise was that a little black dress I hadn't been able to fit into for a while now zips right up. Yay! I wasn't even sure why I pulled it out to try, but that's what my intuition said to wear for the interview today. Fortunately my iron was working - wrinkled linen isn't all that attractive is it?
As I was preparing for my job interview today I realized I couldn't find my house keys. Oh no! I was running short of time if I catching the last possible bus so that I could be on time. I decided to check the last place I remembered having them. You guessed it, dear diary. They were still sitting in the outside lock on the front door. A snowfall warning had been issued for overnight. We had heavy, wet snow that stuck to everything - including those keys. Good thing that house break-ins plummet when snow is falling, eh? Pulled on my winter outerwear with just enough time to get to the bus stop. Stepped outside and found several very large branches from my poplar tree had landed smack in the middle of the road. Had to pull those off onto the lawn for safety even if it did mean missing that bus. As it turned out the bus was late so I just made it.
The river was running much higher as the train crossed over into the downtown. Rain and snow melt from the mountains mean the farmers south of the city should have enough water for irrigating their crops anyway. Hopped off the train and saw several signs placed near our skyscrapers that read "Danger. Watch for falling ice." Oh yeah. End of May and ice hazards. The annual Children's Festival was still going on in the main pedestrian mall and it seemed that the young ones just saw the snow as an added attraction. Heavy, wet snow makes the best snowballs you know. Add in the rapid melting and it made for some humungous puddles to play in too. It's all in how you interpret what you see, isn't it?
When I met the woman who was part of the interviewing team she said that driving into work was equally as challenging. Huge dollops of snow falling off the traffic lights onto the cars waiting below. Power outages for a chunk of the city too. We headed off for the office of her supervisor for that interview. Her boss was very pleasant and gave a fair amount of information. I was thrown for a loop though when he asked if I had any programming skills. Under someone's direction, yes and I can do some rudimentary html, but not enough that I'd ever claim it as a skill on a resume. The most curious question was what I had been told about the position, as he noted that he didn't think the HR staff really understood what was required. I repeated what I had been told and it seemed that the agency people had understood just fine. A lot of questions about where I saw myself fitting in the team. Hard to respond to since I really didn't have any clear idea how work flow was set up nor the nature of the people already on the job. Last thing I want to do is step on toes by making someone else feel as though I was after their job even before I began. Next up, was I interested in supervising a team. I could see that one make the female who was part of the interview team rather uncomfortable. Since she supervises the team under his direction, I could see her wondering what that meant for her. How is one supposed to respond in such a situation. Next up, what exactly would I like my role to be within the team and what were my long term goals? I know that is a standard question to determine if one is willing to commit to the company and in what capacity, but since the information I had about the position was still very sketchy I just responded I would want to observe the department in action for a bit before making that sort of detrmination. That obviously wasn't the right answer, but I needed to be honest about how I felt. I hadn't even had a chance to walk around the work area to get an idea of size or structure of the department after all. At the end of the session he asked me to send my list of references to him. I noted that the agency had told me all that information had been sent to them the day before, including the letter of reference from my fellow Returning Officer. The woman said she had received all the documents sent, but none of the information I had supplied was part of it. Hmmmm. I think the agency was telling me the truth about what they had forwarded to the client, so I just stated that I would resend what was missing. The one interviewer from the agency had asked me to call her when I finished the interview, so I expected to confirm that then.
Stopped in to buy groceries before heading home. No son to feed this week, but the cats had gone through all their treats. We can't have them going without dinner, can we? Besides I was all out of pantyhose. Have to wear them for interviews, right? Bleagh. Talked to one of my election staff who works at the store in non-election times. He was asking if I could supply a reference for him in the near future. No problem there. I know how hard it is to ask someone to stand as one for myself, so I can empathize with his situation too. He said he likes his job where he is, but that now that he has his degree he feels obligated to work in that field. Peer pressure seems to have him feeling inadequate otherwise. After that we just chatted about who we had seen and talked to from the election office staff as he rang me through. Nice visit and stress reliever after the pressure of the interview.
After I got those groceries put away and the cats settled, I did call the agency to report my perception of the interview. I explained where I had felt I was weak and noted I am finding it hard to think in terms of one job only and permanent full time at that. That was part of the problem I was having when responding to the interview questions asked. It was obvious that the interview was set up to find someone willing to commit long term, you see. One of the first questions out of the senior supervisor was whether I was intending to do any further election work. My mind set is still mired in the past a bit, so the question did remind me that I had to respond differently now to those "commitment" questions. "We fear commitment". Or being committed. Whatever. The agent I spoke with was very busy, but I could hear her entering what I told her in her database. That's fine with me, but it made me hesitant to bring up the negative comments made by the interviewer about the agency. I don't want to create a tempest about it, but if the employer isn't happy with the candidates being sent to interview it should be discussed directly with the agancy. I decided to sleep on it before deciding if or how to tell the agent herself. Don't really know what my place is there. Is it a test of loyalty or a test to see if I can keep confidences or a test to see if I can bring up difficult issues in a diplomatic way. Maybe it isn't a test. "I'll think about that tomorrow", said Ms Scarlett. Good night dear diary.
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