I had a job interview yesterday. Why do I write about it today? Because I was exhausted yesterday. It was not because I drove to Missisauga and came back during the rush hour. The interviewer asked many tough questions, and I answered all questions smoothly. Time flew. I thought it was about half an hour, but it was actually nearly one hour. When I left the office building, I found I was exhausted. Luckily I drove home safely.
I can say the interview went well. Can I relax now? No. They just started a hiring process, and will have interviews with some other candidates, and will contact me around the end of this month or the beginning of next month if I can proceed to the next step. I will have a few more anxious weeks. Probably other candidates will feel the same.
Through the interview, I have found some things about me. First of all, I did not know I could talk that much confidently in English during a job interview. When I had an interview to get the current job, I had an interview with a Japanese manager and briefly talked with a Canadian HR manager to show my English speaking skill. Yesterday’s interview was my first “serious” face-to-face job interview in English. I know my confidence comes from my experiences. Whatever question the interviewer asked, I looked for a real example from a wide variety of experiences. My experience at the Faculty of Environmental Design helped me a lot, too. Professors there love to ask harsh questions, and I had been trained by them. The interviewer’s questions were tough but not as harsh as the EVDS professors’ questions. Another contributing factor is this blog. Of course there is a big difference between written expressions and oral communication, but it helps me to organize my thoughts and prepare for expressing them.
I hope I will not need to have a job interview with other companies. But I may need to, and now I should think how I can improve my oral communication skill. Yesterday’s interview was “good”, but could have been better for sure. For now, I hope the few anxious weeks will pass by fast.