My Fairy Godmother

Normally, I'm not a superstitious person, and I rarely feel desperate for luck. But my phone interview proved to be a different boat. Having had two unsuccessful phone interviews prior to the one on Thursday, I kicked my rear in gear to prep for it and was totally exhausted by Wednesday night. I was also completely stressed out! So I popped Cinderella into the DVD player and pulled out my Disney Princess Coloring Book and colored pencils. (If you know me well, this is not strange.)

As the movie started, I tried to decide on a picture to color. For some reason my mind immediately told me "You should color the picture of Cinderella trying on the glass slipper with the mice and birds cheering around her, because that slipper is like the job you're interviewing for - it's the perfect fit, you just have to make them see that, too." That's the pictured I colored while singing loudly along to "Cinderelly, Cinderelly, night and day it's Cinderelly..." and all the other songs. :)

Throughout the movie I kept wishing I had my own fairy godmother who could accompany me to my interview. (My cellphone doesn't get great reception in our apartment, so I went to Mr. S's work place and used one of their empty rooms.) Then it occurred to me: I DO have a fairy godmother!! And she can totally come along!

This dear lady usually sits on my bookshelf, but it was terribly important she sit nearby during my phone interview on Thursday. Do I sound like a crazy person yet? I feel a little bit like one. Anyway, my fairy godmother traveled in my purse and perched on the desk in the empty office I was using. And a good thing, too! When my call came, it became clear I had been incorrectly informed about the position for which I was interviewing. To keep things simple: I applied for two jobs in the same department at the same place, but the positions are totally different. They were conducting phone interviews for both this week, and my scheduler had told me my phone interview was for one position when it was actually for the other. Whew! My fairy godmother waved her magic wand, muttered 'Bibbidi-bobbidi-boo!' and helped me change my frame of reference.

Overall, the interview went well. It was nowhere near perfect, and since I'd spent my time preparing answers for a different position, my thoughts weren't quite as concise as I would have liked. Oh well! It is what it is. Hopefully I'll get a call about in-person interviews next week. That would make me feel a lot better.

Since the bathroom is clean and the dishes are done, I think I'm going to find another picture to color. Have you colored any pictures recently? If not, I highly recommend giving it a try.

~ Ms. S

Phone Interviews

I know, I know. Another post seemingly having nothing whatsoever to do with organizing or cleaning. It's just that this is what has been consuming my week, so bear with me because, while it may not involve any cleaning (in fact, it has become a hinderance to it), it does involve organizing.

This is what I have been working on all week in preparation for tomorrow's phone interview for a position I really want. I've had two phone interviews so far for different positions and haven't made it onto the next round. This time I want it to be different. I found a website that lists common questions asked during a phone interview along with links to what they consider to be good answers. To prepare, I have been typing out my responses to nearly every question - even questions of a similar nature. I'm hoping this will help me keep my thoughts sorted out, minimize long pauses and 'um's, etc, as I plan on printing this out keeping it and a copy of my resume in front of me.

Fingers crossed.

Have you ever had a phone interview? What are your best tips?


~Ms. S