Saturday, January 5, 2013

A New Kind of Interview Process

So, as 2013 rolled in, I got some great news. I was called for an interview at an imaging office. I was so excited because it would be a fantastic opportunity to get another facet under my belt before I start radiology technology school AND this company would work around my school schedule so that I could continue to work.
When I was called, I had a short phone interview and was asked to come in for an interview with a panel....a panel? Yikes! Never had this happen before, but I am open to new things.
The night before the interview, I barely slept. Not only because I did not want to oversleep my alarm, but I was also imagining a panel of 5 or 6 people in suits drilling me with questions. Three hours of sleep later and a giant cup of coffee drained, I put on my interview war-paint and headed in.
I was pleasantly surprised when I found that it was much more low-key and was sat in a small conference room with 3 department managers. It was not as nerve-racking as I had expected, and I found that it was fun to have a few different personalities interviewing me. During the discussion of the workplace environment, the interviewers really drilled into me that the office has a "family like" feeling and that they had some bad-seeds that not only disturbed their dynamic, but also the income for the facility.....ouch. It made me think of my old office when I worked property management. For 4 years my Community Director dug his head in the sand and both treated his employees terribly, but allowed the employees to treat each other terribly. Maybe if I was able to interview with my actual boss at my old job, as well as others there in the office, I would have been able to ascertain from the start how tumultuous that office was before I even set foot in it. That could have drastically changed the last 4 years of my life. Hindsight is always 20/20......
Now having a bit of an idea what these people went though, I totally grasped the idea of interviewing with a panel and getting a consensus before taking a new "family member" on as well as the need to see someone for more than just an hour, one time, one day.
After leaving, I ran some errands and had not even made it home before I got a phone call asking me to come in to interview with the manager of the facility but also with several more of the team members. YES!
The next day, I had an hour long interview with the manager which was great. The best thing was, he offered to give me feedback on my interview. I can honestly say I have NEVER had any feedback on an interview. Everything he said was good, and he told me before hand that he would let me know if he had anything bad to say. The only thing close to being bad that he told me, was that I seemed "too good to be true" and that made him question how genuine I am.
After my interview with him, I was set back in the conference room again, but this time it was with 3 employees chosen to interview me. All 3 of them were very kind, easy to get along with, and I left feeling really good about our hour long interview.
Now the waiting begins. I was told over the next week they would be discussing all the candidates and then giving call backs....for one last interview. Yes, another one. And the last one is with the gentleman who is a step below the CEO. Scary, right? And all for, basically, a front desk receptionist position. I was told if I am called for this interview, I basically have the job and I would REALLY have to blow it big time to not be chosen. My nerves are humming again as I anxiously await the final phone call.
I am hoping, that if they are taking the time to get to know all the candidates, if I am chosen for the team, it's because they know that I have an interest in being their family member, and that they have an interest in being my family. That aspect was sorely lacking in my last job and it would be wonderful to care about my coworkers and have them care back.

Here is to a new year, a better interviewing process, and hopefully (God willing) a better job opportunity!

Jenn

UPDATE: I got the job :) It might not pay as much as the position that I interviewed for at Patient First, but I feel confident I will be treated fairly by the team and that they will work with my school schedule when the time comes. I am so excited to start!

No comments:

Post a Comment