The interview
QOTD: "All beginnings are very troublesome things."
My UN interview - after much back-and-forth with a rep - was scheduled for 12:30 MST today. So yeah, I took time off from the first week at my new job to interview for another job. Unscrupulous. BUT, it was authorized. It was all but a condition of my hire, and I framed it as an exam. Which it was. Formally.
I was nervous out of my mind and literally shaking on the drive home, but I had a perfect estimation of time and managed to get my space lit passably well. I was interviewed by a fairly well-diverse 4-person panel and while I definitely had space for improvement and could've used some sharper anecdotes, I think I did well overall. At the outset, I was told I'd be asked no technical questions, so I could relax (that honestly was a bit of a relief) and that the interview was largely just to get to know me and my personality. They also said that only SIX candidates were selected for interview. Aaaand that was terrifying. Six candidates? Globally? Holy shit. I don't even know how to handle that.
Fortunately, the panelists laughed quite a bit, so it seems my humor translated well, which was a concern of mine going in. I appeared to have answered a number of questions before they were asked, which I believe worked strongly in my favor. I did hit maybe three rough patches which required a panelist to ask clarifying questions at least once. I think I mostly pushed through those with sheer force of personality. Sherry helped provide me with a good follow-up question about work group size (omg, thank you, Sherry, I almost froze), which revealed they were looking for a photog to fill a vacancy in NYC. Now, NYC is 4th or 5th on my preferred list, depending on the season. I'd really have preferred Vienna, but I suppose NYC would do. I really wanted to travel abroad and NYC being literally the ONLY domestic location, I was a little bummed about that. But starting at headquarters can't be that bad of a thing, right? And New York is a big place. Maybe I can at least get laid, right? Ha!
I would like to say for the record that Verizon has been epic in their accommodation of my exam scheduling. If folks are looking for a job and a call center is nearby, definitely consider applying. These people are really top-notch.
P.S. The UN really turned their schedule accommodation around, offering to Skype on my phone over my lunch break to avoid conflict with my current employer. I thought that would be a terrible idea, and Verizon was willing to give me the original time. So, despite it being a conflict, I took the unwieldy 12:30 time slot and made myself look nice. Plus, I didn't want to be the only thing standing between panelists and leaving work. One must be tactical. But I just wanted to state for the record that the UN came through on negotiating the schedule. They were very accommodating and creative in their solution-finding.
My UN interview - after much back-and-forth with a rep - was scheduled for 12:30 MST today. So yeah, I took time off from the first week at my new job to interview for another job. Unscrupulous. BUT, it was authorized. It was all but a condition of my hire, and I framed it as an exam. Which it was. Formally.
I was nervous out of my mind and literally shaking on the drive home, but I had a perfect estimation of time and managed to get my space lit passably well. I was interviewed by a fairly well-diverse 4-person panel and while I definitely had space for improvement and could've used some sharper anecdotes, I think I did well overall. At the outset, I was told I'd be asked no technical questions, so I could relax (that honestly was a bit of a relief) and that the interview was largely just to get to know me and my personality. They also said that only SIX candidates were selected for interview. Aaaand that was terrifying. Six candidates? Globally? Holy shit. I don't even know how to handle that.
Fortunately, the panelists laughed quite a bit, so it seems my humor translated well, which was a concern of mine going in. I appeared to have answered a number of questions before they were asked, which I believe worked strongly in my favor. I did hit maybe three rough patches which required a panelist to ask clarifying questions at least once. I think I mostly pushed through those with sheer force of personality. Sherry helped provide me with a good follow-up question about work group size (omg, thank you, Sherry, I almost froze), which revealed they were looking for a photog to fill a vacancy in NYC. Now, NYC is 4th or 5th on my preferred list, depending on the season. I'd really have preferred Vienna, but I suppose NYC would do. I really wanted to travel abroad and NYC being literally the ONLY domestic location, I was a little bummed about that. But starting at headquarters can't be that bad of a thing, right? And New York is a big place. Maybe I can at least get laid, right? Ha!
I would like to say for the record that Verizon has been epic in their accommodation of my exam scheduling. If folks are looking for a job and a call center is nearby, definitely consider applying. These people are really top-notch.
P.S. The UN really turned their schedule accommodation around, offering to Skype on my phone over my lunch break to avoid conflict with my current employer. I thought that would be a terrible idea, and Verizon was willing to give me the original time. So, despite it being a conflict, I took the unwieldy 12:30 time slot and made myself look nice. Plus, I didn't want to be the only thing standing between panelists and leaving work. One must be tactical. But I just wanted to state for the record that the UN came through on negotiating the schedule. They were very accommodating and creative in their solution-finding.