Education

I'm wondering... How did my phone interview really go on Monday? I talked to the Director of Marketing for about 30 minutes, the amount of time the recruiter said he would be speaking to me. He called me about 5 minutes late. I felt we had a good rapport, our conversation flowed back and forth, I answered his questions well and with enthusiasm, and he was eager and direct in responding to my questions. The recruiter told me to call her when I finished the phone screen. I left a voicemail because she didn't pick up, and also sent her a quick email. For a woman who's been hounding me since she first talked to me 3 weeks ago about this job prospect...nothing. Silence. So now I'm rewinding and replaying the short conversation in my head that I had with the Director of Marketing. Was I too enthusiastic? I don't think so, that's just the way I am. Did he understand what I meant by when I answered his question about what's important to me in a company? I said, "Leadership, the organizational structure, autonomy in my position..." He asked me to clarify what I meant by "organizational structure." So I did. Then he distilled my answer, "So what you mean by organizational structure is communication." I affirmed but then added a few more comments to explain further what I meant by organizational structure. But the day after the interview, I had the perfect answer to his question. Of course I did! Interviewing is like dating!

If the recruiter calls or emails and gives me the thanks-but-no-thanks spiel, I'm going to tell her I was never interested anyway. It was a pity interview! It's funny how rejection triggers insecurity. Even if you're just checking things out, unsure of the next steps, but well aware of the very high or low levels of attraction that you feel to someone or something, it's interesting how your mind compensates, categorizes, rationalizes. Right now I feel like I'm the Bachelorette that didn't get a rose and is sitting in the limo after the rose ceremony, sighing and staring directly at the camera, "They don't know what they're missing out on. I'm smart, funny, I can kick ass as the Global Product Manager! Besides, I never really wanted the job in the first place. Whatever!" But the true reality of my personal reality show is that perhaps the interview process is still going on, maybe the recruiter hasn't talked to the Director of Marketing yet to get his impressions on me, and/or there are lots of people she has to call back and hasn't gotten to me yet. The list goes on. In the meantime, I'll have to simply be patient and not assume that I'm out of the running yet. Though I don't necessarily know if I want the job, I at least want the option of taking or leaving the job if it's offered to me.

A friend of mine asked me a really good question the other day when I told him I wasn't too interested in the position but I'm willing to move forward and see what happens. He asked, "What if they offered you $300,000 to do the job?" I'm not an idiot. I'd do the job and go on fantastic vacations! I just need to progress in the process so I can see what's behind the curtain, and think about if I want what's behind it or to trade it for what's behind curtain #2. I can't remember the game show, but I recall when people traded great prizes to see what was behind curtain #2 or #3. Sometimes their risk was rewarded with an even better, more expensive prize. Other times, contestants won the live billy goats chomping on hay.

I've also submitted 3 on-line applications to teach at a community college as a part-time faculty instructor: Business Administration, Marketing and Management. I'm applying to two more positions: Speech Communications and Journalism. I have to call the dean or head of the department and express my interest. That's how my friend got her teaching position. She said my application goes into this black box along with other applications, so I have to be proactive. Teaching would be a good transitional, interim gig. Don't you think?

I don't know how many more steps I have to take to cross this bridge that I'm on, which seems infinitely long. However once I get across, turn around and examine the bridge, I'll probably realize that it wasn't as long and as treacherous as I thought it was when I started. Or not.

CLG