Monday Meme

Today just seemed like a "meme" kind of day. It's been crazy trying to catch up on everything that didn't get done last week during the ice storm, and I've got a meeting tonight for my Junior League committee, so I'm just working through until I have to leave for that. Thanks to Adventure Guy for picking up the carpool slack once again!

Anyway, I went surfing and found this meme over at Monday's a Bitch. I thought that accurately reflected my outlook today.

1. How accurate is your resume? If a potential employer checked up on every item listed, would they find any exaggerations (or complete falsehoods)?
2. What would you normally wear to a job interview?
3. How well does your current employment or field of study reflect who you are as a person? If it doesn't, would you prefer if it did?
4. Have you ever had your first impression of a job turn out to be significantly different from what really lay ahead?
5. Describe your worst job interview or job experience.

Here are my answers, let's hear yours!

1. My resume is very accurate, probably to a fault. I don't exaggerate or take credit for things I didn't actually do. I also keep it up-to-date at all times, even though I haven't been job hunting for almost ten years.
2. I wear a suit to a job interview. I know things are more casual now, but I'd much rather be over dressed than under dressed for an interview. These days I would make in a pants suit rather than a skirt suit.
3. I really think education suits me. I love learning and always have. I like that in my field I can keep investigating things, learning new stuff, making things better. I also like interacting with young people. With that said, I can't tell you how many people have said things along the lines of, "You sure don't look like the assistant principal I had in high school!" To which I usually just smile noncommittally but think, "You jerk, just because I'm not a fifty-year-old white guy doesn't mean that I'm not good at what I do." That probably reveals some sort of insecurity on my part, but the people who make the first comment are invariably older men.
4. I haven't had a lot of jobs, really. My first teaching job was both what I expected and much more than what I expected. It's hard work, and having absolute, full responsibility for five classes of students a day in two different subjects is something that student teaching can not truly prepare you to do. I felt like it took my first two years of teaching to really get the hang of it. You just get through the first one, you spend the second fixing all the stuff you messed up the first year, and then the third year brings such a sense of relief knowing that you can now just fine tune things.
5. My worst job interview was in Houston, Texas, when I had just finished college. My cousin's wife had just resigned a teaching position in my field at a local high school and told me to call the principal QUICK to let him know I was interested. I did, and we set up an interview. During the interview at one point he said, "So, I don't see your birthday on your resume." I knew this was patently illegal, but, hey, I want a job, so I decide to be a bit dense. I said, smiling, "It's March 16th." He actually had enough nerve to ask me what year. I answered and then mentioned that I gathered he was concerned about my ability to handle students close to my own age. I gave a few key examples of my classroom management skills from student teaching, where several of my students had been only three years younger. I then left, and didn't hear from him again. I accepted a high school position with another district. About a day later, the principal from the junior high next door to the first high school called me and wanted to interview me. He stated that, "Principal A said you'd be a great fit for junior high." I was never so happy to be able to say that I'd already accepted a high school position elsewhere. It takes a special person to teach middle schoolers, and I am not that special person!