We'll Contact You (Maybe)

I enjoy doing my independent consulting jobs.  However, sometimes the available jobs are few and far between and at the end of the month my bank account isn't as large as I'd like it to be. Last night I saw an ad for a grocery delivery service that's getting ready to start operations here. They were looking for people to apply ahead of time so they'd have a pool of applicants to choose from when they launch.  I did a little research and decided it wouldn't hurt to put in an application.

The application process was all done online. They wanted to know my name, address, phone number, and which part of the area I wanted to work in. Thirty seconds after I submitted the application I got a text inviting me to participate in a virtual interview.

Yikes!   In 2009 I had a job interview that was videoed, but for that one I had a real person to talk to.  This time it would just be me and my tablet's camera.

When I received the email my hair was still damp from the shower. I went upstairs and tried to tame it with the blow dryer, then put on a dab of makeup and mascara'd my lashes. Since I would only be seen from the waist up I figured I could leave my shorts on, but I traded in my tank top for a more professional-looking shirt. 

Semi-satisfied with the way I looked, I came downstairs and sat at the kitchen table.  The first step was to do a practice interview, in which I had to answer generic questions (What would my ideal job look like?  What activities do I do for fun?)  I thought the results were cringe-worthy.  Despite my best efforts my hair was frizzy, and without an obvious person to look at I felt like my gaze was all over the place.  However, in the interest of moving on I went ahead and started the real interview. 

I was surprised to find out that it wasn't all video questions; there were also multiple choice and short answers too.  For questions that required an oral response I had thirty seconds to compose my thoughts and three minutes to answer.  The other questions were timed, with a counter ticking down at the top of the screen.

When I finished all the questions I got a message that the company had received my answers and my submission was on file  The company did not say when they would be starting their operations, so I have no idea when they would contact me even if I was selected.  I'm not stressing out over it, though.  They'll either want me or they won't.