At Last

Well folks, I got the job.

My prayers were answered.

And now my real life starts.

Yea!

Okay, Exhale Now

After the interview I was really excited and satisfied. It actually went better than I expected, and the managers genuinely seemed as though they liked me and working for HIMSS (the company). And Ande, yes I did ask questions. At first I was a bit intimidated when I arrived at the conference room and saw the setup of the table and chairs. Basically, it was like they were going to tag team me, but it turned out to be the complete opposite. I arrived early so I was able to breathe and center myself (giggle), but seriously I did do some breathing exercises I picked up in Tai Chi to relax myself and it worked. When the managers were seated around me everything seemed very natural and I wasn't tense. After the interview, one of the managers took me upstairs to her desk to show me the software I would be using. During this demonstration, the Senior Director came by and gave me her card before offering me a cookie, which I took. So yeah, this was a good experience and I can't really compliant.

Here are some questions from the interview:

1. How are with keeping deadlines?

2. What type of decisions are most difficult for you?

3. In what type of environment will you be most successful?

4. Where do you see yourself in 10 years?

5.What three things do you think makes for a successful call center? (When I answered this I actually gave four things).

6. What was the best/least thing I like about school?

7. Why shift from film to fiction?

8. What is your greatest strength?

This is what I wrote on the bus after leaving the company. Overall, I felt very confident and assured of myself. Thank you, Jehovah. I believe I made a lasting impression on the managers. Despite the outcome I'm glad I had this experience. Favorite part: asking managers questions. Least favorite part: looking up at the ceiling twice during the interview.

So now I wait. The director told me that they were going to do a background check and let me know within two weeks.

Listening to: House Music

"Ms. Cole, The Managers Will See You Now"

Is there any right way to prepare for a job interview? Should I read all I can about the company on their .org website? Should I practice facial expressions/the proper handshake/my posture in the mirror? Should I get a voice recorder and say "My name is Antoinette Cole, and I am ready to work!" over and over until I'm sure it's the right blend of honesty and professionalism? Should I put on my World Flutes CD and center myself and meditate on getting the job? Should I agonize on what to wear buying going back and forth on the lively color of salmon or New York black? Or should I ...

Okay, tomorrow I'm going on a job interview at a company that contracts IT work for health care facilities, and I'm trying to creatively visualize what will be the outcome. On Saturday at about 1:30p, I was feeling very confident about going and wowing the three managers I have to meet with out of their seats until I spoke with my godfather at 1:31p and he basically laid out the facts for me very bluntly. (Sidebar, this is a guy who always gives it to anybody (and especially me) straight). At 1:33p on Saturday, he told me how I had to live up to the high recommendations that his wife gave to her boss on my behalf, he told me that I have to impress these managers with my charm so they'll like me, he told me that I have to go the extra mile because I don't have any experience in the field I'm applying for so it's important for them to like me enough to want to hire me, he told me that I have to concentrate on being concise and answering the question, that I should bring a writing pad and pen so I can jot down names, that I should not be weird, that I should REALLY sell myself, that I should walk in the door confident, and finally that I should just be me.

After speaking with my GF on Saturday I started thinking differently about the interview and a little worry begin to set in. Yes, I know that I have to sell myself and make these people understand that even though this is a marketing position I can do the job. Sometimes ... well, a lot of times my godfather tells me that I'm not as confident in myself as others are in me. There was a time when I would say that he was on to something with this statement, but now I'm different and know that I have potential and abilities that I haven't even tapped into yet. In a way, I'm glad my GF pointed out some of the things he did on Saturday because in a way I know that I needed to hear (maybe two) of those things.

So in closing, please pray for me. Those of you who know me can attest to the fact that I can go off on tangents when answering a question. Tonight when you all lay down to sleep say, "God, please let Antoinette not fumble and mumble, and Savior please let her just be concise."

Listening to: The hum of library lights

After Four Rejections a Final Yea!

Dear Antoinette K. Cole,

I wanted to let you know your entry "Water Mommies" made it to the final three entries in consideration for this year's Jack Dyer Fiction Prize competition (out of three hundred and eighty-nine entries). Since you were one of our finalists, we would like to offer to publish your entry (if the work is still available for first publication) in CRAB ORCHARD REVIEW, Volume 14, Number 1, which is scheduled to appear in Winter/Spring 2009.

--Hey all, I still can't believe I'm going to be published in this magazine. When I received the call from Mr. Tribble the other day I was very surprised because I had forgotten all about the Jack Dyer submission. Anyway, he made my day when he told me how much Carolyn Alessio (the fiction judge and prose editor for COR) loved the story. This one acceptance makes all the rejections that much sweeter.