A few weeks ago I applied for a job. It was to be a part time webmaster and online coordinator for a church. I was excited because my skills were a strong match for the job, I have experience in online content, and I have a lot of demonstrated church related knowledge.
After typing a cover letter and submitting a resume, they said they wanted an interview. I was excited because the person spearheading the project was someone I knew well from other activities with that group.
When I appeared for the interview, I think I did a great job answering their questions. When asked about specific skills I had, I avoided saying no and instead answered by explaining my experiences and skills that were similar and could easily be related to the skills they wanted. They said they would let me know if they wanted me to interview for the second round in a week. I sent the three people who interviewed me emails the next day thanking them for interviewing me and giving them a four step plan to use the website to reach out to people and connect them to the church.
Then I got an email yesterday saying I was no longer in consideration for the position.
The bad things: I had experience dealing with that type of organization, I had many skills they wanted, I had a good pre-existing relationship to one of the people who made the decision, and I gave a good (if not great) interview. I did everything on my end correct and was lucky to have a few factors I could not control turn out well. However, it could not even get me to the second round.
Earlier this week I said "I will be devastated if they do not want to interview me a second time." Despite all of the reasons listed above, I feel OK about it. Maybe it has something to do with the good things.
The good things: I gained experience interviewing and will be better next time. Getting a part time job would have encouraged me to be complacent in my current situation instead of pushing myself to a better place.
Congratulations on going through with the interview process. As we all know, the economy is horrible and even getting a job as a barista or sandwich maker is difficult right now (I'm speaking from personal experience).
ReplyDeleteMy perspective is this: even getting one interview is a good thing because you can at least learn what was good or bad about that particular interview as your observations in your post show. If you can keep up the job hunt then something is bound to come up eventually.
Good luck. I would hire you in a second if I had some awesome business.
*hug* Sorry you didn't get it, Chris.
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