The Job Interview

Let me begin by saying this:

I hate job interviews.

Really, they make me a nervous wreck, and I almost never have a feel for how well it went.  This one was no different.

It happened so quickly that I had no time to prepare.  Last summer, I was an interview pro by mid-June, and there are some pretty standard questions that are asked during education interviews, so I had somewhat pat answers.  This time, I saw the open job, my heart stopped, I sent an email, and then I had an interview.

My heart stopped again.



You'd think I'd have some issues from all this heart stopping nonsense.


I was a bit beyond nervous.  See, I'd already interviewed for this job once and been turned down, and in a manner that hurt my feelings a bit.  After last year's interview, the principal and I ended up playing a little phone tag before she could communicate the decision, and to me, her messages made it seem like I had gotten the job when that wasn't the case. I found her very hard to read and I was scared to put myself back out there like that.

There were other reasons to be nervous too.

1. Having recently decided that I wanted to get out of Tuscaloosa and be closer to Mountain Man, I was already looking into other positions within about an hour's drive. This school, though, is roughly a mile from the Little Cabin. A mile! 
2. We have a friend who has been working there for a few years, and I was thinking how nice it would be to know someone at a new-to-me school.  
3. After four years of a long-distance relationship, and talks about the future, I was desperate to be closer to Mountain Man.
4. Did I mention the school is a mile from the Little Cabin?

So I was scared to death. I drove up to Albertville and gave it my best.  Honestly, the details of the interview are a blur.  I remember that there were two other staff members in the office, which was different from the first time when it was just me and the principal.  That made me feel better for some reason.  I remember talking about the management system I had implemented in my classroom in Tuscaloosa, and they seemed pleased with that. I remember talking about a project I had my technology students do, and they also seemed pleased with that. But as I said before, I didn't trust myself because of my previous interview experience and because of how difficult I felt it was to read the principal.

Obviously, we know how it all washed out. I got the job, and now I'm here trying to make the best of it.  I was in agony for a few days that felt like weeks - I'm an over-analyzer and in my mind, everything that could have gone wrong was playing out over and over again - but in the end I was over-the-moon happy and so, so excited. Especially after what happened the evening after the interview.

But that's a story for another post. ;)

See you soon,