Interviewing 101
I recently started interviewing for a new job. I still have my day job but there is a fear of layoffs at my company due to some recent acquisitions and the possibility of overlap. This is the first time I have had to interview as a Mommy. I’ve been with my current employer for almost eight years (which is very rare in the software field). So, I’m currently interviewing for a position with a firmware company. Two weeks ago, I had the phone interview. Passed with flying colors. A week ago, I had a face-to-face interview with the Director of Engineering. I received a phone call thirty minutes after leaving requesting that I come back for a third interview with all of the Directors and the General Manager. I agree to the third interview but have to set up a daycare option for my son. My third interview was this morning. I drop my son off at his daycare this morning at 8:10 a.m. I tell her I expect to be back to pick him up by about 11:00. She says she needs to pick up one of her other kids from school at 11:20 so she needs to leave at 11:00. So I say I’ll definitely be back by 11:00. My interview started at 9:00…I didn’t imagine it would take more than an hour and a half. Of course, I was imagining a panel interview…with all the individuals in the same room at the same time. That’s not how it went down. I arrived at 8:50 a.m. I began my interview with the first of five individuals at 9:05 a.m. I began my interview with the second of five individuals at 9:55 a.m. At 10:30, I’m still interviewing with the second person. I inform her that I’m getting concerned about time because I have to leave soon to pick up my son. She immediately halts the interview and begins to set up a time for me to return next Tuesday to continue. I have never in my life had to stop an interview process mid-stream. I was somewhat mortified. I emailed the company within an hour to apologize and let them know I am still interested and I’m looking forward to hearing from them concerning the rescheduled interviews on Tuesday. I’m still waiting to hear back.
The moral of the story: Schedule lots of time for daycare on interview days!
Worry Wart,
-Mommy Sophia
