Interviewing odds n' ends

Some say that I have a very self-deprecating habit... I think that's not totally untrue.  From the very beginning of the application process, I had myself convinced that I would be lucky to just even get one interview, and possibly one shot of getting myself somewhere new.  I never fathom that I would get TWO interviews, both of which were my top choices.  Granted, I can guess at exactly why these two particular institutions invited me to interview, but this still was unexpectedly ... cool.

Without actually experiencing these interview rounds before, one would probably have thought as I did at the beginning:  awesome opportunity to travel to places, see new things, and be wined and dined all on someone else's dime!  Of course this opportunity was only for 1-2 days, but one can wish that it lasts forever, right?  Well, that was my mentality before the interviews, but not even after the first one was over, I seriously did not want to go through another one... ever.  There's always a catch to everything, and my catch was to make myself a most desirable candidate.  That's not such a bad deal if I were someone who has a stellar record with a mile-long list of accolades and accomplishments, or even someone with a gift for gab, someone who had swagger and can smooth-talk... I am not that someone, neither of them, to say the least.  In hindsight, then, 11 hot seats for those 3-4 days of schmoozing probably wasn't all that I cracked it up to be in the beginning.

Lessons learned:

• Interviews are draining on my mental health and physical health.  Overall, interviews are just bad for me.  I got sick after both, separately.
• Better to be overdressed than underdressed.  I may have looked silly in a suit, but I got the job!
• Must work on a firm handshake.
• The higher my anxiety level rises, the further to edge of the seat I get and the colder I become even though my I can feel the blood rushing to my cheeks.  
• Always nod in understanding, even if you don't understand.  Also, furrowed eyebrows are also helpful to convey deep thought.
• Check the weather forecast and recheck the weather forecast.  (If the weatherman predicts snow that day, don't be up a creek without a paddle, or like me, sock-less and in flats...)
• Valet park.... especially when there's a snow forecast. 
• The more windows and square feet of an office, the higher the position, the more nervous you should be.
• Oddly enough, those with the big offices and long titles, at least the ones I came across, were the most humbled and friendly and easy to talk to people of all.
• Read, read, re-read about people ahead of time.  Also, read, read, re-read your resume/CV ahead of time.
• Be prepared to be utterly brain-fried by the end of the interview day.  I was lucky enough to remember my name, and that was it. 

**My bum still has scorch marks. **