The Job Interview

I'm not sure what it is about New York City and the marathon job interview, but I'm getting a little tired of it.

Granted, this is only my second NYC job interview, and it was nowhere near as bad as the first, but still, am I crazy to think that if you have someone in for an interview you should warn them that it make take many, many hours and that there will be no lunch break, so bring a snack or eat a hearty and late breakfast?

The job interview on Monday lasted from 11 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. The first 30-45 minutes was paperwork, which I did not know I'd be filling out, so I had none of the information like previous addresses or starting and ending salaries with me. Then I interviewed with the HR person/recruiter, followed by the director of the communications department. After that, back down stairs to take three writing sample tests (newsletter, flier, letter) and the much more rigorous Microsoft proficiency tests. There was a Word test (fine, I use Word all the time), Excel test (less fine...I only know how to manipulate data, not how to do any of the formulas) and Power Point (what the hell?!!! when do you use Power Point at newspapers!). Each of these tests had 55 questions. I was worn out by the time I got out of there. And hungry. And I needed to pee.

Since then I've heard nothing from them. And so I was just writing the job off, when I got an e-mail this afternoon from my former managing editor who told me the HR Recruiter Lady had called (he's one of my references) and he'd given a rave review of me. It also turned out they had called my immediate supervisor, though he didn't recognize the number and so didn't answer the phone. He called back, but they'd already left for the day, so he expects to talk to them tomorrow.

So now it looks like maybe I will get this job (three weeks of vacation! free healthcare! - though, not sure about the salary yet). Anyway, place your bets now. Will they offer me the job? And if so, will it be before I actually drive ALL my stuff to Mississippi, or before? My money is on Wednesday, as I'm pulling into the driveway of my brother's house.