Tell Me About a Time When...

Positions Applied to: 31
Interview Invitations: 1
Direct Rejections: 4
Time Spent Hunting: 26 days

Well, I'm back from my interview in Ft. Lauderdale and things seemed to go well. It wasn't so much of a traditional interview as a time for 2 or 3 HR people to talk about the duties of the position and for me to nod enthusiastically. I literally spent hours formulating answers to every interview question imaginable, yet they didn't ask much in the way of my qualifications or past experiences. I especially focused on the behavioral questions that I hate so much. You know, like "tell me about a time when you overcame a challenge" or "tell me about a time when you didn't perform to the best of your abilities," but they didn't ask anything like that. They seemed more interested in my Japan experience than anything else. The whole thing was much more casual than I expected, which is good I guess. I feel pretty confident about my chances right now, but don't want to assume anything. I've had casual interviews like this in the past, where I was certain I'd got the job, but then didn't. They're supposed to call with a decision tomorrow. Oh please, let me know one way or the other tomorrow! I find the suspense of waiting for a post-interview call unbearable.

None of the other companies I've applied with have contacted me, and I'm a bit surprised, and irritated, by that. I was confident the publishing company that I interned with would have at least emailed me by now. If they blow me off again that's just ridiculous. Another puzzling black hole is the PR agency in Tampa that was seeking a entry-level account executive. Why haven't they contacted me? At the risk of sounding arrogant, I doubt there are many candidates as qualified as me. Do hiring managers even look at all the resumes they receive? Often times it seems they don't. I know this is totally one sided and that HR managers are constantly swamped with resumes, but when I put all this time and effort into crafting a customized cover letter and resume for a position that I know I'm perfectly qualified for, and then hear nothing, it's frustrating. Especially when it happens over and over again. Okay, rant over.

Hopefully, I will have no need of this blog come tomorrow.