Interview

I applied for a position at the Snohomish County Assessor’s office, and I passed the written exam last week.

They selected the top five or six candidates for interviews, and mine was this morning at 9:30.  There was a panel of four interviewers, and I was provided with the list of questions they would ask 15 minutes before the interview.

I think that was a great move on their part. It probably saves a lot of their time, eliminating waiting for candidates who are squirming, hemming and hawing, and fumbling for answers.  OK, so I still squirmed, hemmed and hawed, and fumbled for answers, but at least I got the “deer in the headlights” look under control.  I think…

This is the first formal interview I have had in 13 years – the last one was for Qwest Communications when we came to Seattle in 2000.  In that case, I later found out that the only reason the interviewer wanted to interview me in person was because she wanted to see the guy who was moving across the country for love.

This morning, I didn’t feel on top of my game, and I came away feeling like I was too vague or mealy mouthed in my responses.  I guess that is just the way it is with open-ended questions – I never know how far to back up, or how much data to include.

“Tell us how you got into appraising.”

“Ummm, well…  First, Adam met Eve, and, uh…”  Oh, no, wait.  Maybe that’s too much information…