about a month ago i applied for a teaching position at a local community college located on the west coast. the job seemed a perfect fit and i was really excited about it all. i got a call back last week to set an appointment for today. 3:15 pacific time/6:15 my time. i asked the hr person if there was anything i needed to know or do to prepare for the 30-min, six-question interview. she said "no," but to call if i had questions...
well, i emailed a good friend who's a professor and asked him for potential questions. got some good ones, reviewed my resume and application and the school's mission statement. i was prepared (probably over-prepared) or so i thought.
well, i had the interview and it went rather strange and i have no idea what they thought of me. they called 15 minutes late, with no apologies. the chairperson of the committee then told me that the interview would only be 15mins instead of a half hour. there were 10 people that introduced themselves to me, but some of the names were muffled since i was on speaker phone. the feeling was a little cold and stand-offish. i tried to loosen up a little with chatter, but because they were behind schedule the session was rushed. they didn't even say goodbye before they hung up. just silence. all in all, it was not a good experience and i didn't get a good vibe.
but before i could i slip into a funk about the whole situation, almost immediately after i hung up from the strange interview experience i received a call from a former co-worker and good friend. i didn't recognize her number so i didn't answer. but her message was to offer up accolades and compliments on a wedding invitation i designed for a mutual friend. she was bubbling with praises and adoration. it was a lovely confidence booster. a little ray of sunshine sprinkled on my cloudy, gloomy encounter.
so, i'm just chucking up the unpleasant experience to just that. and where i would normally mull over the details and lose sleep over this, i don't have the time. i'm moving on because i have two major projects that i have to complete before the end of the semester (two more weeks, 'til summer!). and if i don't proceed to the next round of interviews, it not detrimental to my career. especially since i've gotten clarity on the responsibilities of the position and how that will affect my goal of obtaining my master's. because truth of the matter is i'm still in a very good place right now and there will always be other opportunities and reminders that i'm appreciated.
be mindful that any gloomy situation is opportunity for a learning experience. be blessed.
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