It seems that I over-prepared for this interview. Which, on one hand, made me feel extra confident in my abilities, but on the other, made me feel a bit annoyed.
I have not ever interviewed at a placement agency before. It was a whole new experience ~ one that I don't think I want to repeat.
I arrived in Toronto two hours early. I completely overestimated my time-frame. But that two hours game me time to lunch and read over my notes (a hundred times), so it was great that I was not feeling rushed. It was a beautiful day, I enjoyed the sunshine while sitting in a concrete park surrounded by skyscraping office towers. So different from my environment at home.
Bored of wasting time, I decided I would just head up to the 9th floor and hang out there with hopes they might be ready for me early. The receptionist ~ who was filling her time doing a word jumble* ~ kindly handed me a package to fill out, and she directed me to a quiet room off to the side. While completing this, I overhear in the office next to me a kind, yet slightly annoyed, female voice saying "Yes, I know you are desperate for job....something is going to turn up for you soon. I promise."
Deep breath, Melissa....deep breath. She is not saying this to you.
I try to ignore what I am overhearing and carry on with my package. After handing it back in, I am left to wait until about 2:10 for Jenna to come and fetch me. I'll be the first to admit, I am impatient; punctuality is something I value, and do my best to achieve. So when an appointment is set for a specific time, and the other party does not stick to it...my toes are tapping.
Regardless. Jenna fetches me and brings me around to her cubicle for the 'interview'. All we really discussed was my current position, what I want to do, what my target salary is, and confirmed my contact details. No "Tell me about a time that you had to deal with conflict" or "Where do you see yourself in 5 years". Just strait up details. Which, I guess is good, knowing my own interviewing skills. No room for slipping up on unnecessary information.
Once she has all this information in her computer, she says she'll grab someone to do the interview. Ahhhh, I think. Jenna was just the pre-interview gal.
But no. A lady with a smile that didn't cease the entire 5 five minutes we spoke came into the cubicle. I stood up to greet her, shake her hand and then reach for my purse thinking we are going elsewhere. She says I can sit back down, we'll cover everything here. She pretty much asks me the same questions Jenna did, smiling and nodding vigorously at me. She said my resume looks great, and someone will snap me up in no time.
Her smiling and nodding and encouragement made me feel better about this 'interview' I just came in for. But then it hits me. She smiles and nods and encourages everyone who comes through this door. I felt a slight deflation in my chest. She left the cubicle and Jenna started to ramble on about the procedure of what will happen next, explaining time sheets to me, and saying I should call her about 3 times a week to check up.
There was nothing mentioned about the posting I applied for. Just that there a ton of jobs coming in everyday in all kinds of industries.
Oh heavens above....please let this work out. Please place me somewhere decent with better pay than I am getting now!! I don't want to be the desperate person in that room, being told that something will turn up for me soon.
But. An interview is an interview, right? And like I said before, it's one interview for several jobs. It's a good thing. And I avoided the grilling of a typical interview which should make me happy. I just have to relax....and wait.
*Alas, I should not judge the receptionist for doing a word jumble out in the open. After all, I blog from work. Although I try to be discreet about it. But still...not judging....
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