{"id":4791,"date":"2021-09-26T08:37:02","date_gmt":"2021-09-26T12:37:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dahlman.online\/?p=4791"},"modified":"2021-09-26T08:59:11","modified_gmt":"2021-09-26T12:59:11","slug":"the-interview","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dahlman.online\/index.php\/2021\/09\/26\/the-interview\/","title":{"rendered":"The Interview"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

So here’s this week’s Sunday Story. It’s about a very recent experience – an “old” dog learning new tricks.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Game Time<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

I had a job interview this week.  It was for a part-time job in the track and field world (not coaching), and it would be exciting to get it. I can\u2019t say more about the job itself, at least not yet. But it was the first full-blown job interview I\u2019ve done from the \u201capplicant\u201d side of the desk in a very, very long time, at least twenty-five years, and the experience has changed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I know my strengths, and one of the biggest is to be \u201cin person\u201d.  But job interviews (generally) aren\u2019t in person anymore.  They\u2019re virtual, \u201cZoom\u201d interviews, with a split screen of the interviewers in different places all asking questions.  To use a very dated analogy, it\u2019s like being a contestant on Hollywood Squares, <\/em>but <\/em>the squares are asking questions instead of giving answers.  One of the things that made me a good teacher was being able to \u201cread\u201d my audience, and adjust my presentation based on their reactions.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Zoom \u201cStudio\u201d<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

But that\u2019s a lot harder on \u201cZoom\u201d.  Is that guy bored, or just looking at something happening off camera?  Is the other one avoiding eye contact, or just staring at his screen, not the camera, so it only seems like he\u2019s dodging you?  Yes, you can see the interviewers, and judge from their voice, but it\u2019s a lot harder to get a \u201cgut\u201d reaction to what\u2019s going on.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So I\u2019m sitting in my own home office, \u201cAll dressed up with nowhere to go\u201d.  I\u2019ve had to dig out all the \u201cformal\u201d clothes; the button down shirt, a sports jacket, and a dark red tie.  And yes, I am wearing khaki pants and even dress shoes.  Sure I could do the interview in shorts or worse, but that\u2019s like coaching in sweats at a track meet (something I did three times in thirty-six years \u2013 each a catastrophe) \u2013 not only is it \u201cbad luck\u201d, but just asking for trouble.  The camera will shift, or my shirt won\u2019t hang right, and for sure I just wouldn\u2019t feel right.  Job interviews are a performance, so \u201cgame on\u201d, in uniform, pre-gamed and prepared.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One thing that a video interview does allow is \u201ccheat sheets\u201d.  They are laying on the desk, right below the computer keyboard.  A list of the possible interviewers and their backgrounds (got that right, by the way) and of the critical points that I wanted to make:  why they should choose me.  But the sheets are there to be viewed \u2013 not touched.  Just a quick glance to make sure I didn\u2019t miss anything.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Zoom Primer <\/h3>\n\n\n\n
  1. Make sure everything works.  Nothing makes you look more unprepared then when the interview starts and you become a frozen, blank, or vanished screen.  Interviewers don\u2019t have time for that. And it would definitely create panic on the interviewee side.<\/li>
  2. If you look at the screen, you\u2019re not looking \u201cat them\u201d.  Look at the camera \u2013 that\u2019s the hardest thing to do.  “Go to the green light\u201d.<\/li>
  3. Just because you are at home, don\u2019t get comfortable.  It\u2019s an interview, adrenalin helps.  And by the way, make sure you look at the image you\u2019re projecting before the actual interview.  Their eyes are going to wander \u2013 what are they seeing in your background.  \u201cRoom Rater\u201d you own place so you know what they\u2019ll talk about when the interview is over.<\/li>
  4. The dogs were cute when I was teaching an online classroom.  The kids loved them, and it broke the tension and got their attention.  The dogs aren\u2019t so good for a job interview.  It\u2019s a beautiful day: everyone outside to the backyard.  Even if they bark a bit, it won\u2019t come through the microphone.<\/li>
  5. Make sure the light is good.  Nothing worse than appearing to be from an \u201cundisclosed cave,\u201d somewhere in Central Asia.    <\/li>
  6. Don\u2019t be distracted.  Put the phone far away.  Ignore what\u2019s going on outside.  Focus on what they are asking.  Organize in your head what points you want to make.<\/li>
  7. You are who you are \u2013 and that\u2019s who they\u2019re going to hire.  You aren\u2019t someone else, so don\u2019t pretend to be.  If they don\u2019t want \u201cthe real\u201d you, then you don\u2019t want the job anyway.<\/li>
  8. Prepare \u2013 know why you want the job, and what you can do to make the job better.  There’s that great candidate interview question that tripped up Teddy Kennedy – “Why do you want to be President?” Better have your answers prepared. Know who\u2019s interviewing you, and try to focus your answer to what they know and relate to.  Don\u2019t interview \u201ccold\u201d, without preparation \u2013 if you want the job. <\/li>
  9. \u201cNerves\u201d are good, not bad.  Like any competition \u2013 once the \u201cgame\u201d begins, the nerves will go away. And like any competition \u2013 when you stop being nervous before the game, then it\u2019s time to find a new game.<\/li>
  10. It\u2019s Friday afternoon \u2013 recognize that they\u2019ve been working all week \u2013 keep their interest.  But don\u2019t offer to pop a beer.<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n

    What Happens Next<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

    So that was my game plan \u2013 I guess it was only  good if it worked.  They did give me a time frame \u2013 they hope to make \u201cthe offer\u201d by the middle of next week.  If I get the job \u2013 great!!  A new and different challenge.  And if I don\u2019t, it was a good experience anyway.  This old dog still needs to learn new tricks, and a solid kick of \u201cnerves\u201d is a good thing.   <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Besides, it was time to air out the sports coat and tie \u2013 it\u2019s been a while!<\/p>\n\n\n\n