Six signs of a very bad interview

I can’t even being to tell you how terrible the interview was. Honestly, I almost hope they offer me the job just so that I can laugh in their faces. How can you tell if an interview is bad, and I mean really, really bad? Oh, let me count the ways:

1. If the first words out of the interviewers mouth are “Oh, I see you just finished your MLS this month.” that’s usually not a good sign. But if, when you respond “Actually, I finished it five weeks ago. I ended up taking three classes while working full time so that I could finish my degree sooner.” and one interviewer says to the other “Oh, don’t we feel like slackers now?”, that’s a bad sign.
2. If, when asked the question “What would you do in the first month on the job?” you respond “Well, I would review the policies and procedure for the library, try to introduce myself to the community and the people I would be working closely with and maybe make contact with a professional organization” and the interviewer says “Whoa, we’re talking about the first month, not the first year!”, that’s a bad sign.
3. If, when asked about your current library experience, you reply “I found that I really liked cataloging and Technical Services, but I felt like I was still being called back to the public libraries” the interviewer responds “I was wondering why you applied for this job. We always say there are two types of librarians: there are catalogers and then there are the rest of us.” Not a good sign. In fact, I’d say it was a bad sign.
4. A simple question, “You mentioned that you’ve been taking your son to the library. Do you practice literacy based instruction with your son?”. What does that even mean? I asked a friend who is a school librarian what that meant and even she was completely perplexed. You guessed it, it was another bad sign.
5. If, at the end of the interview, the interviewer tells you “Well, we’re still interviewing people this week and then next week so we should have a decision right before or right after Labor Day. But we don’t make phone calls, so you’ll have to call us to ask if you got the position or not.” you can usually take that as a bad sign.
6. If, when you are leaving the interview, you say “I applied for the Program Coordinator position as well and I was told to just ask you about that position when I got here.” the interview says “Oh, we haven’t even started interviewing for that position yet” and you reply “Oh, that’s fine. I was just told to check in with you” and she says “Well, you checked in! Can follow directions, check!” Once again, bad sign.

I could rant and rave for hours about how terrible the whole ordeal was. Never mind the fact that they had an entire 8 by 11 piece of paper with nothing but completely asinine questions, never mind that one of the interviewers did everything in her power to make me remember that I had no experience with children’s literature, and never mind that the organization is known to have deep-rooted problems with the city. There is just no way I’d work for that library now. And as if I really needed another reason to want to run from that building, screaming as if my head was on fire, they made me meet with HR afterwards to review the benefits package. The healthcare for individuals was $56 per month; the healthcare costs for a family was, brace yourself, $438 per month. Add to that the fact that I would have to join the union for another $38 per month, and you’re looking at almost $6,000 per year in additional expenses. Just to put it in perspective, I currently pay $50 per month for healthcare and no union fees. Considering what the starting pay is here and what that job was offering, there is no way they would start me off at a pay level that would make the situation comparable.

So, all in all, my decision was made for me. It’s nice to not have to worry about it now. I’m counting my lucky stars that I’m in the position I am in right now and I just have to do everything I can do to stay proactive and get this promotion at my current position. God, if that falls through I’d be so upset now. Funny how things come into focus when you’re presented with less than desirable options.

All of this also makes me feel a little better knowing what we’re up against with the infertility treatments. At least now my coverage won’t be disrupted and we can keep going with our plans. If I changed jobs I would have to take at least one month off to wait until my coverage kicked in again.

As for this month’s chances, I haven’t thought about it either way. I’m refusing to let myself get so wrapped up in it like last month. Getting that negative test was so devastating that I’m just letting myself coast this time around. I’ve been spending my nights knitting and listening to podcasts instead of surfing the net, freaking myself out again. I’m tired of being disappointed. I’m tired of having my heart broken month after month.