The interview: Eh.

I'm sure everyone is waiting with baited breath to hear how the interview went. Bottom line: I was relaxed and well-spoken, but I think I lack experience in the areas they are looking for. Whoever wrote the ad for Monster needs a reality check. It is very generic, when in fact the company is looking for someone with a background in sales or training others in sales. I have neither. Nor have I actually done any adult training. I taught junior highers and I designed training materials for adults. And I mentored a trainee at the insurance company. But really, no hands-on corporate training experience. Which you'd think they would know if they read my stinkin' resume. So much for the screening process. Of course, I know I would be awesome at it--showing people how to do things and helping them learn just come naturally to me and I derive great satisfaction from it. But the issue is getting someone to hire me based on my firm belief alone.

Well, my firm belief and my 15-minute demo presentation. After much hand-wringing I chose the topic of recycling. It's something I have enthusiasm for, and yet is not totally lame (such as coin collecting or digital cameras). I think it came off well. They appeared attentive and engaged at least. The length was fine, the pace was fine, the amount of information was fine (all of which were things I had to work on during rehearsals last night). Here are a couple screenshots of the slides:



I am very pleased with out they turned out. I created the template myself, from the speckled green background to the photo sidebars (which are all pictures I took). Maybe I should think about graphic design again. The time I spent messing with the template was very enjoyable. Or photography. Damn those look good.

So this morning, I awoke three minutes before my alarm clock went off, after a decent night's sleep (no anxiety-ridden tossing and turning as I would have expected). I had already picked out what to wear (and tried it on to make sure it looked okay), and had gotten everything ready to go: application filled out, handouts printed, presentation burned to CD, directions to the office Googled, lint roller set aside (to remove evidence of Comet from my black clothes). It took only 20 minutes to get there. Being right near the airport, the building is tucked behind a ton of hotels. Funny, since my last job was also adjacent to the airport near a plethora of lodgings. There was no place to park, so I had to hike a bit. Good to get the blood pumping.

In the end, I feel I did my best at the interview, and we'll just have to see what they decide. They said they'll have a decision in two weeks. They've intereviewed seven people so far. That's a lot of competition. One thing that caused me to wince a little: the job requires 60% travel. I would love to travel, but three out of every five days? Sheesh! Unless, of course, the travel occurs during business hours and I'm getting paid to read a book on a plane. There are worse ways to spend a workday.

Thank you to everyone for your very kind and generous support and encouragement. I appreciate it so very much and it helps to know so many people are rooting for me and have confidence in me even when I have doubts.