Interviewing Practice

This afternoon I sat down with my interview partner, aka my husband, to practice interviewing for jobs.  I have had some experience with professional interviews before, but not very much.  To put it more succinctly:  I've had two or three formal interviews for jobs, and one or two appointments as a result of those jobs.  When you look at those statistics, I guess you could say that I have been moderately successful with interviews.  However, it really does not feel that way when you sit down for an interview after even a brief vacation from that process.  

My partner and I took turns interviewing each other for about five minutes each, so we asked each other three different questions from a sheet that my course instructor had given everyone.  My partner played the interviewer first.  

The first question, "What led you to choose your major/field of study?," proved a little difficult for me because I started with one major (English literature), switched to another (voice performance and literature), and then switched to yet another for my master's degree (music history/musicology).  I tried to answer the question by pulling all three together and describing what I found interesting in all three, but I think that my answer was probably too long and much too complicated.  I think in the future that I would probably choose to either pick one and describe what's so fascinating to me about it, or identify the common thread in all of these choices that led me to them.  

The second question, "What motivates you to put forth your greatest effort?  Describe a situation in which you did so.," induced a little bit of panic at first, because I always try to give my best effort, but I couldn't think of a specific situation to use.  I panicked for a full thirty seconds, but I eventually settled on one story that I described briefly and then summed up with why it was so important in that situation to do my best work.  I think in the future I would really find it helpful to think about these questions in advance and prepare a few previous experiences that I could use.

By the third question, "What are your long-range goals and objectives?," I had gathered a little bit more confidence in myself.  This question proved much easier to answer because I have thought about it quite a bit, so I answered the question with quite a bit of detail.  However, I think that in the future I would probably choose to focus on organizing my answer a little bit better.  I had two career goals and three personal professional goals for the future, but I mixed them up so much that I confused even myself.  I think that I would probably focus first on my personal professional goals, then relate them to my long-term career goals.  That format, the "I want to get better at this and this so that I can go on to this professional position," might be a little bit easier for the interviewer to understand.   

I learned quite a bit about myself through this interview practice.  I found that I almost always have answers to these questions, and that none of them were impossible to answer.  However, to answer them well, clearly, and quickly, I clearly need to think a lot more about how I will answer these questions.  I also need to practice my answers so that I may say what I mean, not what I think I mean.  I also found that my answers tend to be long and quite complicated, so I think I should focus on clearness and brevity first, then add in more details as I get more comfortable with answering these questions.  

After I finished answering these questions, I then asked him three questions of my own, "What are the most important rewards you expect in your career?," "How do you think a friend or professor who knows you well would describe you?," and "Describe a situation in which you had to work with a difficult person.  How did you handle the situation, and is there anything you would have done differently?"  My partner has had a lot more experience with these interviews, so his answers tended to be much briefer and more polished than my answers.  Still, I found that even though I know him very well, it was fascinating to watch how he answered these questions, because so much of our normal communication is less formal than this type of situation.  While I listened to his answers, I looked for the same things I would look at in someone who I would considering hiring.  What is important to him?  How does he see himself?  Can he communicate well?  How does he handle conflict?  Is this someone I can work with and depend on?  

I guess these questions are the same types of questions the interviewers will be looking for in my interviews.  I also think that if they have taken the time to meet me and talk to me, they do want me to do my best, and at this point they are looking for reasons to keep me.  With that in mind, I will continue to practice these questions and think of ways to answer them better!

My Company Assignment

My fictional company will be centered around a museum.  Called the Women in Modern American Music Museum, the museum will focus on the contributions of women to all types of music, especially in American favorites like jazz, Broadway, popular, and rock music.  Located in downtown New York City near Lincoln Center, this museum will be open to the general public and will feature exhibits centered around important women songwriters, composers, singers, musicians, and their contributions to American culture.  

The supporters and staff of the museum hope to educate people on the importance of women in American music and to inspire future generations of women to make great contributions in music.  

The museum is primarily funded by a trust provided by a single generous donor, but it also draws financial support from national and local arts foundations, women's councils and foundations, and smaller private donors.  These funds keep the museum and its basic work operational, but they do not provide for too many extra expenses.  

As a result, the current museum staff is very small and consists of only ten people:  a general manager, me, a curator/music scholar, a special events/volunteer coordinator, two full-time and five part-time staff members that act as assistants and docents whenever and whereever they are needed.  The museum also gets volunteers from students in local colleges like New York University and the Julliard School of Music.  

Welcome!

Welcome to my new blog!