The interview test

I’ve not had time to sit down and write stuff, although I have a backlog in my mind of different posts I need to write. One of these is an interview exam I had to take last week.

Yes, an exam.

The day started off great. I woke up early and was going to show up early for once in my life, just to get a speeding ticket on my way there. I learned the ticket rates went from $75 to $120 a couple months ago too, which is not something my underemployed self is excited to pay. Apparently I’m cursed in traveling for interviews. Luckily, I still showed up on time.

All I knew was that I had to take an exam for this position at the school I got my master’s degree at. I knew nothing about the test or how to study for it. Once I arrived, I saw that 10 other people were there for the same position. Might I add, this is a position that is quite the stretch from my experience. However, they did list my bachelor’s degree as a prerequisite, so figured I’d go for it anyway.

The exam wasn’t exactly an exam in the typical sense, but an interview in written form on crack.

I had to list every position I’ve held and all the coursework relevant to the job. Following that was 10 pages filled with questions for me to identify the extent of my experience for a given job skill, the jobs/courses in which I gained such experience, and descriptions of my experience. I looked around the room and saw everyone else diligently writing this said information. Many looked like they had at least 10 years on me, which means 10 more years of experience, most likely more relevant. I momentarily started to freak out. This turnout especially surprised me since the position is a limited 6 month appointment that was only posted on the job Web site for 2 days. I guess the economy has hit everyone hard.

Then I remembered something glorious: if I learned anything in grad school, it was the ability to bs my way through my classes. Especially in writing.

So I may have slightly exaggerated the extent of my supervisory duties. I may have drawn examples from the most irrelevant part-time jobs on my resume. I never wrote anything I didn’t have experience doing, but to do well I had to make myself be noticed. Plus, I know I can do this job (and NEED a full-time job!).

It may have taken me longer than most to pull this stuff out of my ass, but it was well worth it. I found out today that I scored well and was in the top half of the applicants. Yes, some scored higher, but if I think that’s the best possible score I could have achieved without flat-out lying about something. All the score is used for is to decide who gets an in-person interview. While I had a score much higher than passing on the exam, hopefully they decide to interview more than the top couple individuals.

Hopefully they decide to interview me 🙂