There have been quite many interviews in the past year for me.
One was for a teaching position at a moderately prestigious school. I messed it up by not bringing along my resume. When the headmistress asked for it, I said I'll mail it to you. She didn't give me her e-mail though.
Second was for an administrator position in a film academy. They asked that how did I find out about the job opportunity, I said that I looked at the ad in the newspaper and I google-d the academy (which I had not but I thought it spoke of my non-existent efficiency). They were impressed and asked me what the film academy was about and I faltered and couldn't come with anything and said, dumbfound "It's about film." They asked what favorite movies I liked and I said "the exorcist" (I hated that movie and will never see it again).
Third was for a diploma program in animation (the interview was a formality but one should still make a good impression). I proudly told them how awesome I am in art (drawing, sketching, Not painting though) and how anybody that has seen some of my work, has always praised it. They asked whether I brought it along and I said no, I haven't. Their look said "then why are you babbling on about it when you can not prove it with solid evidence you idiot". They asked if I knew about any of the softwares used in animation. I answered that the only one I knew was photoshop ( I had never used it though) and I've used it plenty of times before. They asked what company software do I use and I hesitated for just a second and one of the interviewer's raised their eyebrows, I thought I covered it up when I answered correct that I used Adobe. One of the interviewer's closed his eyes in, I probably think, relief.
Fourth never happened. A friend recommended me for another teaching position at a different semi-prestigious school, the interview was to be at 9 o'clock in the morning. Great.
I woke up at 8, got dressed half asleep, actually woke up when I slightly burned my scalp with the hair-straightener. Put on some makeup and told Dad to drop me on his way to work. I was told to write an essay on "What makes a good teacher?" and after I finished, I had to wait till I was called. I waited, and waited and waited. I waited for an hour and half, during that time I even met a friend (who had recommended the job) as she was substituting there and got me some juice. After all that waiting, a lady came and told me to come tomorrow as the principal was busy. I took it as a sign that I was never meant to be a teacher. Always knew it but no reason not to explore all aspects to earn some cash in my free time.
The fifth and the most important interview was the admission interview to S university. This interview was just plain ol' weird. This interview was for my academic career, the most important aspect of my life was at stake here. And my interviewer's and I talked about Anime.
(Note: For those who do not know what Anime is, it is "A Japanese style/genre of animation. Movies and shows such as Akira, Princess Mononoke,Ghost in the Shell, Fullmetal Alchemist and Dragon Ball Z are all examples of anime. This style of animation used to be called "Japanimation" for a few years. The comic book equivalent is called manga."
Source: http://alankistler.squarespace.com/journal/2007/11/21/comicsci-fi-glossary.html)
So anyway, before the interview we were given a paper and pencil and were told to draw whatever. Great. As I looked around at what most of the interviewees were doing, they weren't really using their imagination. They drew whatever was in front of them, such as the window or a plant or a wall. There were some who were drawing from their imagination, I was one of them. I drew five expressions such as happy, sad, angry, bored (which actually looked drunk to me) and naughty. I gave it some personal as to how all these expressions would look like, such a happy face would have a bow tie and a balloon from its hand, the angry expression would have devil-like ears and horns and so on. As I went in and gave my drawing, the four interviewers were quite impressed. There were two that were talkers and there were two that were observers. The talkers kept on talking and asking questions without letting me complete any answer. It was frustrating and I wanted to scream out that "let me bloody speak!" But I didn't. I knew that it was a strategy to get me irritated and I just gave a serene smile while I half answered them. One talker wanted to know the story behind the expressions, I thought "Dude, there are no stories, it was just a top of mind thing" but I made them up and well, they were quite amused and laughed. They did get serious and asked that why was I trying for S when I got great skills to get into an art school. I told them my sob story of how I wanted to be a doctor and since that didn't happen, I looked within myself and then said that I found my niche (again). They were satisfied and I left. This all took place within three minutes. My future was decided within three minutes.
I got accepted to S university and I'm lovin' it. Post about that coming soon :)
So the conclusion of this post is quite simple, every interview teaches you something. Whether it's an interview that is just to kill time, an interview that would make or break you, or an interview that would change the way you see the world. Everything in your life teaches you SOMEthing. Open your eyes and accept the unexpected in a stride.
One was for a teaching position at a moderately prestigious school. I messed it up by not bringing along my resume. When the headmistress asked for it, I said I'll mail it to you. She didn't give me her e-mail though.
Second was for an administrator position in a film academy. They asked that how did I find out about the job opportunity, I said that I looked at the ad in the newspaper and I google-d the academy (which I had not but I thought it spoke of my non-existent efficiency). They were impressed and asked me what the film academy was about and I faltered and couldn't come with anything and said, dumbfound "It's about film." They asked what favorite movies I liked and I said "the exorcist" (I hated that movie and will never see it again).
Third was for a diploma program in animation (the interview was a formality but one should still make a good impression). I proudly told them how awesome I am in art (drawing, sketching, Not painting though) and how anybody that has seen some of my work, has always praised it. They asked whether I brought it along and I said no, I haven't. Their look said "then why are you babbling on about it when you can not prove it with solid evidence you idiot". They asked if I knew about any of the softwares used in animation. I answered that the only one I knew was photoshop ( I had never used it though) and I've used it plenty of times before. They asked what company software do I use and I hesitated for just a second and one of the interviewer's raised their eyebrows, I thought I covered it up when I answered correct that I used Adobe. One of the interviewer's closed his eyes in, I probably think, relief.
Fourth never happened. A friend recommended me for another teaching position at a different semi-prestigious school, the interview was to be at 9 o'clock in the morning. Great.
I woke up at 8, got dressed half asleep, actually woke up when I slightly burned my scalp with the hair-straightener. Put on some makeup and told Dad to drop me on his way to work. I was told to write an essay on "What makes a good teacher?" and after I finished, I had to wait till I was called. I waited, and waited and waited. I waited for an hour and half, during that time I even met a friend (who had recommended the job) as she was substituting there and got me some juice. After all that waiting, a lady came and told me to come tomorrow as the principal was busy. I took it as a sign that I was never meant to be a teacher. Always knew it but no reason not to explore all aspects to earn some cash in my free time.
The fifth and the most important interview was the admission interview to S university. This interview was just plain ol' weird. This interview was for my academic career, the most important aspect of my life was at stake here. And my interviewer's and I talked about Anime.
(Note: For those who do not know what Anime is, it is "A Japanese style/genre of animation. Movies and shows such as Akira, Princess Mononoke,Ghost in the Shell, Fullmetal Alchemist and Dragon Ball Z are all examples of anime. This style of animation used to be called "Japanimation" for a few years. The comic book equivalent is called manga."
Source: http://alankistler.squarespace.com/journal/2007/11/21/comicsci-fi-glossary.html)
So anyway, before the interview we were given a paper and pencil and were told to draw whatever. Great. As I looked around at what most of the interviewees were doing, they weren't really using their imagination. They drew whatever was in front of them, such as the window or a plant or a wall. There were some who were drawing from their imagination, I was one of them. I drew five expressions such as happy, sad, angry, bored (which actually looked drunk to me) and naughty. I gave it some personal as to how all these expressions would look like, such a happy face would have a bow tie and a balloon from its hand, the angry expression would have devil-like ears and horns and so on. As I went in and gave my drawing, the four interviewers were quite impressed. There were two that were talkers and there were two that were observers. The talkers kept on talking and asking questions without letting me complete any answer. It was frustrating and I wanted to scream out that "let me bloody speak!" But I didn't. I knew that it was a strategy to get me irritated and I just gave a serene smile while I half answered them. One talker wanted to know the story behind the expressions, I thought "Dude, there are no stories, it was just a top of mind thing" but I made them up and well, they were quite amused and laughed. They did get serious and asked that why was I trying for S when I got great skills to get into an art school. I told them my sob story of how I wanted to be a doctor and since that didn't happen, I looked within myself and then said that I found my niche (again). They were satisfied and I left. This all took place within three minutes. My future was decided within three minutes.
I got accepted to S university and I'm lovin' it. Post about that coming soon :)
So the conclusion of this post is quite simple, every interview teaches you something. Whether it's an interview that is just to kill time, an interview that would make or break you, or an interview that would change the way you see the world. Everything in your life teaches you SOMEthing. Open your eyes and accept the unexpected in a stride.
No comments:
Post a Comment