Speaking of my job hunt, the university brought me in for an onsite interview on Thursday. The format was a one-hour panel interview with four peeps on the communications team followed by a one-on-one meeting with the SVP of Marketing and Communications. For some reason, I was really stressed about the whole ordeal.

And of course the night before, rather than being able to prepare in my usual OCD manner, I was at the vet with Marty who was confirmed to have a bladder infection and kidney infection. The visit was awful. He cried and yelped from the jabbing and poking. More on that later.

In the end, I felt the panel discussion went pretty well. The one-on-one afterwards? Less so. Maybe I’d lost steam. I didn’t feel like I sold myself enough with examples of my big accomplishments. During part of the conversation, I talked about work-life balance (my insiders said that the university culture isn’t cut throat like Stanford and Berkeley… so don’t come across like a workaholic), and he started asking me specifics about what work-life balance means to me. I said having time OUTSIDE work to cultivate relationships, do activities, events, recreation… stay healthy. He said the position is demanding because the new administration has really ambitious goals. Sure…

To be honest, it was really odd, because I felt like he was suggesting I was a slacker!! Was this because I said I had left the fuel cell startup due to the chaotic environment and grueling schedule, getting emails and calls from the CEO at all hours of the night? I probably should have just said, it wasn’t the right fit. Still. I have NEVER had anyone suggest laziness on my part EVER. And then he asked about my time commitment… I dunno, the line of questioning was just strange. I said that I understood the job to be full time, so obviously, I plan on working the hours and relegating my extracurricular activities to evenings, weekends, and days off. Then he asked something like, do you have certain constraints with your hours. It was almost as if he was poking around trying to get answers to questions he’s not legally allowed to ask?? But I wasn’t really sure. Was he wanting to ask about kids? elder care responsibilties? What??? I was confused, but hell, I wasn’t going to offer anything additional that I didn’t have to. I just said, “No, not that I’m aware of…”

Needless to say, that was a really confusing experience, and I’m not sure how much weight he’ll carry on the recruitment. The team is meeting a few other candidates next week, and then hopefully I’ll know.

After I got home, I was so offended that he seemed to question my work ethic. At the same time though, if I value work-life balance, what’s it to you? Want to downgrade me because I refuse to be EXPLOITED? Because I give a shit about my mental and physical health? Because I care about my work environment and maintaining activities that nourish my soul? Hmm, maybe we need to rethink the fit here. My work speaks for itself. Hmph!