February 23, 2007

Interview with Michelle

I had my interview with the recruiter on September 11, 2006 at 10:30am. Her name was Michelle Lalonde and we had corresponded briefly by email beforehand. Apparently, the previous PC recruiter for the UT/Austin area had left, and Michelle was just getting settled in. She had only recently returned from Zambia and I was to be her first interviewee.

I got into the room where she was interviewing and she was wearing this heavy-looking shawl. Her explanation for the shawl was that she was used to such high heats in Zambia that being in central Texas' summer felt positively chilly.

She started off the interview with a funny story about how she thought I was another Elliott H, one who had served in Zambia with her. She said that when I first emailed her she thought it was the other Elliott and that he was emailing her to apologize for not showing up to her going away party. Small world huh.

The interview itself was what I expected: around two hours long with lots of personal questions about how I feel about living alone/being far away/being depressed/adapting to various situations. I think I prepared well, since there were good guides online about how the interviews go. I remember I had a problem with questions like, "Tell about a time where you were able to transfer knowledge to someone different from yourself" and "What have you learned about yourself working in an unstructured environment."

Concerning the two essays I wrote, Michelle was concerned that I used the word "hobo" to refer to an indigent person. I didn't give any thought to the fact that they might not want to be called "hobos". Oops. I told her that I didn't really think about it and that there was no malicious intent int he usage. She was worried that, when I returned from my service, I would talk about the HCNs disparagingly.

Oh, and before the whole interview I had a glass of wine so that I would be able to talk without getting the jitters and feel looser. I also wore glasses because I thought that would make me look like I was taking it seriously. Not sure if it worked, but apparently I did something right since I was accepted.