Freaky Foray Finally Finished

Oh boy, am I glad that's all over!

At least, I hope it is. If I don't get selected within a year, I'll have to start the whole thing over.

So, from start to finish:

Wardrobe: I have several skirt suits, pants suits, and business-type dresses to choose from. I figured that most everyone else interviewing would be wearing something dark and conservative, trying to "not stand out." I chose a different tactic. I wore a very nice mottled-wool skirt suit in shades of mauve and grey with a pattern of wine-colored appliques on the skirt. I wore a weskit-style wine-colored blouse that snaps up the front with tiny silver snaps, which also gathers at the sides. The front is just long enough to peek out from below the jacket, and with three of the tiny snaps left undone at the bottom made a vest-like pattern. Wine shoes that exactly match the appliques. I saw four other applicants during the day, and every one of them was wearing a black or navy suit. SCORE!!

Day: Mondays are my duty days, and are typically incredibly busy. Since I didn't have the presence of mind to trade duty days with someone else, I was stuck with it. It was a horrifically challenging day, fraught with angry parents, unexpected detentions, clients just wandering in off the street demanding to be seen, and other such nonsense. By 2:45 I was more than ready to leave, but was suffering from my usual Monday malady - sheer exhaustion. I figured I'd be lucky to form a complete, coherent thought, much less a coherent sentence.

Interview: On the way to the interview, I was kicking myself because I didn't bring a copy of my original application to refer to. When I arrived, I waited for a short time in the lobby, then was taken back to the Chief's office (currently vacant), where the Executive Assistant gave me a copy of the four questions for the interview, and - lo! and behold! - a copy of my original application. After quickly offering gratitude to the Powers That Be, I was given 15 minutes to prepare my answers to the questions. And Thank the Lord for that, because there is NO WAY I'd have been able to come up with comprehensive, spur-of-the-moment answers to the questions. I'm sure they give the questions out in advance to benefit the panel as well - I imagine that the interviews go a lot faster and much more smoothly when folks are given a few minutes to prepare.

I felt the questions were fair, and adequately posed. I ran out of room on my notes sheet, and STILL managed to forget to say some of the points I had written down. Which might be a good thing, because as it was, I felt like I talked the poor panel's ears off. There are some things that I would say differently if I were able to do it again... there are some things that I would add... there are some things that I would leave out... and there are some things that I would have explained better. I also found myself using my hands too much, probably out of nervousness. The panel scribbled madly on their interview forms, which I took to be a good thing.

All in all, I feel I did well. I do not think I'll be chosen for this first spot, though. My competition is pretty stiff. Regardless, we should know in a week who is appointed to this first opening. There should be between 6 and 10 more spots opening within the next six months, so I think I have a pretty good chance!!

Yay me.

Now, back to the grind... like it or not, I'm still in this dumb Unit, so I better start practicing what I preach!

I said it before, but I'll say it again... I'm glad it's over.