Tuesday, March 07, 2006

Now Hiring?-Post 13

Post 13 from Now Hiring?

Mood:VERY Tired
Music: Destiny's Child "Girl"

Well, I'm back from an on-campus interview I had yesterday. I'll break this up into two important sections...travelling and interview.

TRAVELLING
I have three conjectures on this section...
1. I love flying. I have an aeronautics background, and I'm working on getting my pilot's license. I have to sit next to the window so I can gaze at the clouds like a 5-year old. If I couldn't work in student affairs, I would definitely be a pilot.
2. I love Chicago. It's a wonderful town. Many of my students are from the South Side, and there's a certain pride you'll have there. Plus, my best friend is from Chicago (the letter avenues on the South Side) and is the hugest (make it the only) White Sox fan I know.
3. I hate flying through Chicago. It is the most awful airport in the country. I used to like it, but aviators joke that if a mere cloud forms overhead, the entire place shuts down. Here's a chronolgical order of the past two days...
-Get to Airport in my hometown. Flight to Chicago "on time"
-Get to gate. Flight to Chicago delayed 30 minutes to "weather"
-Flight now delayed an hour to "air traffic control"
-Flight boards 2 hours after it's supposed to. Take off.
-Land in Chicago. I realize I missed my connection. Go to customer service, get seat on next plane. Leaves in 2 hours, is "on time"
-Run to Dunkin Donuts (you know me), pay for 3 donuts and coffee. Run to gate, realize I recieved 2 donuts and coffee.
-Time to board. One problem...no plane. Flight delayed to "aircraft availability"
-Flight finally comes in. People get off, I get on. Sit down...breathe
-Pilot comes on...maintenance problem with rear inflatable slide door. 15 minutes, he tells me.
-30 minutes later, flight is delayed for another 25 minutes. Movie "Aeon Flux" starts showing.
-25 minutes pass...delayed another 15 minutes.
-15 minutes pass...flight cancelled. Go to customer service, try to get on another plane
-No flights available...get a hotel room. I also get $60 voucher for taxi. Go to taxi line, get in cab, realize NO cabs in Chicago take travel voucher.
-I get smart, call hotel. They have a shuttle. Wait 45 minutes, cram on small van to hotel.
-Get to hotel, wait 30 minutes to get a room. Finally get to bed. Wake up 3 hours later to catch early flight.
-Early flight delayed. Got the plane, got the passengers, got the luggage...no pilots.
-Finally get to destination. Start interview on drive to campus.

INTERVIEW
Due to my travel woes (which continued after the interview...that's another blog entry), the interview was very fast paced. What was scheduled for 2 days was compressed into a 4 hour block. Despite my lack of sleep, I still felt very prepared for the interview. I also had to give a presentation on an activity I do for my classes. I also met with some students, and they gave me a great glimpse on what life is truly like at campus. I also talked with the search committee, and they too gave me insight on what I was like to live and work on campus. I felt very at ease with the students and the campus partners, and I felt a very strong vibe when I walked through the dining area of their Union (that "gut" feeling I was talking about).

So, the moral of the story is...when you go to an on-campus interview, keep in mind that the completely implausible scenarios can come up...anything can happen! But, on-campus interviews can say a lot about the job and how interested the school may be in you. I told some colleagues today that no matter how prepared you may be for the questions you may be asked or how many times you've looked at their benefits package, TRUST YOUR GUT!

Back to work...next week is ACPA. I'll definitely let you know how that goes. Peace.

0 Comments:

Post a Comment

<< Home