interview update

It's amazing how rusty you can get at the whole interview thing when you've not done it in six years. Still, I don't think I made too much of a fool of myself.

My train to Philly was thankfully on time, and it was a short cab ride to the hotel where the interview was conducted, so I arrived with plenty of time to spare. I had a yummy seafood salad and mango iced tea, and the two ladies I interviewed with were quite nice. I'm sure I could easily get along with the one I'd be reporting to.

My train home was late, so I hung out in the train station, which was huge and designed and decorated like an old-time train station. There was a huge and beautiful angel statue at one end, a food court, a couple of restaurants, and announcer people who could easily go on to radio work.

I definitely got a better sense of what the job was, and now I'm not so sure I'd want it. The majority of it is medical research and writing, which is fine. I was given a job description awhile ago that indicated quarterly travel to the home office in NY, but the ladies told me it was monthly travel, and the frequency could increase. While traveling to NY by train isn't all that bad, I have a feeling that kind of frequency would get on my nerves after awhile. Apparently, there's also a 3-day sales meeting every January. I've been through those before, not my cup of tea. There are some other aspects of the job that don't really interest me, so right now, the only thing going for it is familiarity with the content and being able to work from home.

Today's interview seems more promising. It was a referral from a former colleague, and when I contacted the company and sent my resume, I got a near-immediate response. Their office is five minutes from where I live, and they're going to be moving into a bigger office suite in the building because they're growing like gangbusters. They're actually having to turn business away because they've got so much coming in, and they've gotten a decent amount of press as well. (Obviously, stability is an issue with me, given what I just came from.) Their work is patient education, helping to lower out-of-pocket costs, alert patients to drugs showing severe side effects, pointing out treatment gaps. They want a health writer to write patient education materials. I like the sound of that.

I interviewed with four people, one of whom looks and sounds remarkably like my uncle in his younger days. I go back tomorrow to interview with one more person, who would be my boss. If the salary is reasonable and they want me, this could be a good prospect.