The Interview

That's pretty much been the gist of my day. The job that I applied for two days ago has an all day on-site interview event today, so I spent most of last night slightly off because my sleep schedule was completely out of whack. Then I woke up today, kinda took my time, got into my monkey suit, and went for the interview. So I was thinking that they'd be some delay, maybe a bit of waiting time, but no. This other guy and I who went in at the same time got signed in, and whisked away to another room with computers. Introductions were passed around as I practiced my art of "instantly forgetting names as soon as I learn them." I was just born with it.

Anyway, I felt pretty manly for a second because I had already filled out an online application, and the other guy hadn't. So I got whisked away to another room with more computers, and I had to go through a profile program thingy. I didn't worry too terribly much about it, since I've taken them before. They ask you pretty basic questions to weed out the doofuses and whatnot. So I got signed in, and I'm taking the first part of the test.

It's a personality test of sorts. Do you lose your temper? Do you volunteer to help? When was the last time you volunteered to help someone else, etc. I answer the questions somewhat honestly, though I'm pushing the confidence bit a little more than I really am. No one wants to hire a mouse. Especially one who seeks constant approval. So I'm breezing through it, la la la.

The second part was when my edges of my eyes started to throb. It was to do with following policies and rules, but no, it wasn't that simple. It was deductive policing sorting. If a person has Health Plan 1, they can either have Dental 1, but not 2. Optical Plan 1 or 2. So if they had a pet monkey with rabies, what plan must they have to get their shot? That sort of thing. And they threw different situations, not just the health care bit. I struggled a bit through it, having to utilize that peanut that's been dormant in my noggin. There was also a time limit before the program kicked you out, so I couldn't use all my toes to aid with the questions.

The third part I was bleeding from my ears, and I suffered a fair amount of hair loss. It was freakin' problem math. Percentages, fractions, all in story form. I had to quickly remember how the hell to do math, and it's really tough when there's a timer and you have to keep wiping your nosebleeds and tears from your face. I even got kicked out from the last two questions because I had run out of time.

I thought I was done for, and yeah, I was damned surprised when she told me that I had passed. By then I was so happy that it was over that I didn't even care why I was even there. But they lead me to another room and three managers proceeded to mentally rape my fragile mind with THE INTERVIEW.

I stuttered, stumbled, and mumbled my way through the interview, and though they didn't seem overly impressed with me, they didn't hate me either. It's a matter of, if the rest of the day everyone sucked big ass, then I might have a chance. They said they'll keep in contact with me, which means I'm not out of the game, but I'm not in the ball park quite yet.

So I got home, being unable to really focus on anything after that experience, and later tonight, I was reading about the position online. People who have worked for and with claims adjusters. The news was downright depressing. The insurance company I applied for has the worst customer service - bottom of the barrel of insurance companies. They leave their customers unhappy. Even worse, there was even a lawsuit filed by its employees against the employer for failing to pay overtime wages in CA. The turnover rate is high, working overtime is common, and the push is to save the company money.

But you know, I'm trying to take this all in stride. I'm not working for the company as of yet, and damnit, if I had to deal with those things, then I'll deal with it then. We'll see what happens.