I must start today's blog with an apology to my mother - she was not happy that I shared the Avon lady hiding story.  She asked that I clarify to all that she didn't have a lot of money and didn't want to hurt the Avon lady's feelings so hiding was the best solution.  Hopefully, that gets me back in her good graces.

Today, I'd like to share my interview experiences so far in this job search.  I will be candid, (like you didn't know that from from mammogram ideas yesterday!) I did not have to wear suits to work very much at Roche.  So most of my suits were a few years old.  My eating habits have increased in the last few years while my metabolism has decreased.  SOOOOOOOO my suits did not fit.  I had to go and buy two new suits for interviews.  Ouch - first, it is hard to find suits that fit a 5 foot tall teapot shaped woman!  I had to have the pants hemmed with about 7 inches removed because of my height!  And, I don't really like spending money so the cost of these suits that fit right was not a fun experience for my wallet.

My first rounds of interviews has usually been via phone.  I assume that, as long as I don't sound like a complete moron or offend the interviewer, I will likely get to a first round on-site interview.  I have gotten to drive to corporate headquarters in Northern Indiana, Ohio and Southern Indiana.  And, as many of you know, I am directionally impaired so I have gotten to know many gas station workers in all these parts of Indiana and Ohio very well as I stop and ask for help getting to the desired address.  I know, I know, I should use a GPS.  But those things worry me.  What if I get a defective one and it leads me into a lake or banjo country or something?  I'd rather rely on gas station workers.  Everyone knows they are specially selected or trained for their directional knowledge!

The on-site interviews usually begin with some 12 year old Recruiter, (well they looked 12 to me!) interviewing me.  I have to bite my tongue not to let them know that I have more experience in the first quarter of my resume than they have in their educational and work career combined.  I want to ask if they even know who the Bangles are or Devo.  If they answer, "no" I want to say, "Then I don't feel you are qualified to assess my experience and abilities.  I'm old enough to be your mother!"  They always start with the same stupid statement, "Tell me about yourself".  I want to say, I love chips and dip, Bon Jovi and ice cream.  But I don't.  I have gotten better and better at answering the question.  Each time it changes a little.  Hey - I can be a superhero if I want to be.  They don't know me.

And I love the 2nd round and then the 3rd round interviews - same questions, different people.  One woman  was interviewing me via video conference.  When I tried to ask a question, she said, "Um, please hold your questions until the end."  What a sweetheart.  And I really love the HR interviewers who either ask illegal questions, (what does your husband think about you being the primary bread winner) or who tell me how hectic things can get at their company.  They obviously never worked at Roche.  One man said, "Sometimes we are here until 5:30 or 6:00 in the evening."  I tried to give him my shocked face.  I wanted to tell him that I have been at work until 5:30 the next morning!!!!!!

And some companies are heavily into assessments.  At one company I took three 45 minute assessments and then the Wonderlic version A and B when I got to the on-site interviews.  After third round interviews and assessments with this company, they said they wanted me to spend 2 hours with their industrial psychologist.  My husband wanted to call them and let them know that 2 hours was not near enough time for them to figure out what was going on in my head.  And he informed me that the company representatives likely realized I was a bit on the crazy side during the interview process and wanted to confirm it through a trained professional.