The Wandering Monkey

Today I had a phone interview for a job in Beijing with a well-known American company.  Its the job in my specialty field.  The first thing the interviewer said was, "Well, if you are talking to me that's good news already."

 

It was a one-hour interview, during which the expected questions were asked regarding my technical specialty, my approaches to work, and my ability to speak Chinese (which is considered an 'extra' rather than a prerequisite in this case.)  At one point, the interviewer asked a question about the 'highest-level' meeting I have ever had to present.  I gave him an example from my Silicon Valley days, in which I met with the heads of IT from two different merging companies.  Taking into account the sensitive nature of the topic and the personalities of the people involved, I arranged them around the table so that the most quiet member was located in the center.  I ran through the plan for which applications we could keep, and which ones we would replace.  And, I told the interviewer, I arranged to have a pizza delivered about 1 1/2 hours into the meeting.  It was around lunch time, so everyone would be hungry.  Plus, I anticipated that by this point the tensions would have raised pretty high.  I figured the extra blood sugar would help everyone, and when the pizza arrived (which was a surprise to everyone) I said, "OK, no more talk about work.  Lunch time!"

 

In fact, they did continue to talk about work, but at a much relieved pace.  It was during this time that the solutions actually came about.  Everyone sat back a bit and agreed to the general plan.

 

The interviewer said, "That's the best answer I've ever heard to that question.  And I've interviewed thousands of people!"

 

This seems to be a good sign.  Of course, nothing is for certain.  Even if the people like you and you fit the position, schedules and budgets can change at the last minute.  You never really know what will happen for sure.

 

My visa is expiring in 20 days from now.  This has been my personal deadline for stay-or-go.  So in the end, when I was to ask questions, first I asked about the technologies the job would be using.  Then I asked, what is your time frame on making a decision, one way or the other?

 

He said it would be 3-4 days, and I would hear an answer either way.  This is a very imporant courtesy that most interviewers don't do anymore.  When I was out of college, you could expect a rejection letter or an acceptance letter if you have an interview.  But in the past several years, if the news is bad, you don't hear anything at all.  This is of course worse, because you can be waiting around for something which does not happen.

 

So that's the story.  I was very excited after the interview, and I've been chilling out for a few hours.  So now I'm going to get some rest.  I think I will be heading back to Shanghai very soon, because I've done what I came to Beijing for.  Whether I get the job or not, I have to be back in Shanghai because all my stuff is there and my apartment is there.

 

More updates in 3-4 days!

-J