h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

It went well I think. Got in 30mins ago. Very tired - straight to bed. Wiil de-brief 2moro.

well done

He's gone to bed with his clothes on!

did you get a with????

Well?

hole in the ground you get water, oil or gas out of!!!!

Sadly no time for as he had to depart off back home after the interview... but if it went as well as we hope, then there may be plenty of time for my chance to introduce local pubs of good beer to the interviewee

Right - it went well, I think.

Becuase I know my own capacity for over-talking, I practised having clipped answers for specific skills I thought they might ask about and that I could elaborate upon.

Nu-uh. The style was more conversational, so my criticism is I may have gone on too much.

The interview was a little weird, it as one-on-one for a start, function I think of it being a small company, with my boss-to-be.

We chatted about antibodies, and the work of the company, she asked how I would time manage a scenario-based problem. We discussed career development which led into a discussion of a role that doesn't exist yet of team leader of hypothetical groups of lab assistants.

Then she went and fetched her boss, both of my interviewers focussed on my first undergraduate degree in philosophy as a kind of curiosity - the boss-of-bosses wanted me to describe my masters thesis which was about the function of desire in Sartrean and Hegelian phenomenology, which was - as I said - an odd thing to be discussing in an interview for a science lab.

I had requested - and was given a tour of the lab by, as it turned out, the person I would be replacing who was also the owners son (!!!) - and I got to see the lab be introduced to various scientists and see the scope of what I would be dealing with.

Many people have remarked on my retelling of this on fact that, it's easy to quash an interview so it is indeed remarkable that the interview went on so long and had these multiple stages to it. I don't know for instance if fetching the boss-of-bosses was a planned elevation or if I'd passed some sort of approval mechanism to be permitted to enter the upper chamber.

Anyway today came big news - I'VE BEEN CALLED BACK FOR A SECOND INTERVIEW!!

Very good news means I'm still in the running on the other hand it means there still some ambiguity or unanswered questions from before.

Having made this deal, I now need to seal it.


There are worse days to have than this!

Yes, fetching the boss is usually a good sign. I do that if the candidate is a star at first interview. We have made offers on the spot if we don't want them to get away.

You've not necessarily landed it at a 2nd interview, remember. Remain focussed and professional, and concentrate on how you would fit in to their organisation. Ask more detailed questions about how they operate. They've shown they're happy with what you've done in the past. Look forward, not back.

Good luck!

Thanks for the advice Icy, much appreciated!

go out get shi*t faced have a good time and dony worry about interview 2 untill a week before, otherwise you will be 2nd guessing yourself

The interview is on this Thing (i.e tomorrow.) Tonight, went out and got a new shirt n tie. Tomorrow gym, then haircut then back to revising.

Come Thing morn, heading out about 10am.

Round 2 is scheduled to begin at 3pm.

Good luck Clive.