It's All Your Fault I Screen My Phone Calls

So this happened a few weeks ago, but I was still waiting to hear if I got a job from the offending party. Still haven't heard, so I'm guessing not. As you know, I've sent in tons of applications to different think tanks and non-profits over the past few months.

Remember that song, "Spiderwebs" by No Doubt from years ago? "It's all your fault / I screen my phone calls" - that's my new philosophy after this experience. On a Wednesday around 4:30 pm, my cell phone rang. For the previous four hours I had been staring at an Excel spreadsheet updating documents for my research assistant position (Full disclosure: Yes, I've had a part-time research position since October. Still, I'm looking for something more "career-oriented.") So my brain is completely fried and my eyes are burning from little white boxes when I make the mistake of picking up the phone.

Guy: "Is Brett there?"

Me: "This is him. What can I do for you?"

Guy: "This is ***** from the ******. Do you have a few minutes to talk?"

Me: "Sure."

That was my first mistake. I should have responded, "Sorry can you call back later? I'm being attacked by a grizzly bear." Or, "Now's not a great time. I'm rescuing a little old lady from a house fire." Anyhow, I said, "Sure" and he launches into what turns out to be a 25 minute interview about my resume, my goals, my thoughts on this and that, etc.

It honestly took me about 10 minutes to shake the funk that I had been in for the past few hours working on the spreadsheet. So I'm not sure exactly what I said in those first few exchanges. So, suffice to say, it doesn't appear that I received the job.

I'll admit I felt a little taken advantage of by this guy. A little "Pearl Harbor interviewing style" if you ask me. The irony is not lost on me that I've been desperate to get responses from these organizations (see "The Silence is Deafening"), but a sneak attack interview seems a bit unorthodox and unprofessional. Send me an e-mail and we'll set up a time to talk so I can answer the question, "How did you find out about our organization?" without me frantically digging through old e-mails to find out. Alas, the journey continues...