Refleciton Questions

Were you nervous before your interview? If so, tell us how you overcame your fears. If not, tell us the source of your confidence.

There was level of anxiousness not before the interview, but in the middle of it! – When my profile woman had to leave due to a family emergency. I was worried whether I had all the information, which I didn’t.
I suppose I interviewed a very easy-going, cheerful woman. We seem to have a good chemistry, we connected exceptionally well. I was really happy with the flow of the conversation. I loved learning about her vision and her work – though initially she was a bit shy talking about her work and herself. Five minutes later she was totally immersed into the conversation
Her easy-goingness and my desire to make anyone comfortable with me, was good combination in getting things move smoothly.

What did you do really well during your interview?

That’s a difficult question to answer, I wish someone else was there with me to evaluate.

Well my profile said she absolutely enjoyed talking to me! ;- )

I guess I recorded the interview well, the sound was clear. Writing from someone’s voice record is really effective; you could hear all those pauses, excitement, and sadness in a voice!
You could actually review your performance as well.
Although there were few questions written on my notebook, most of them were on my mind and it came out effortlessly. I was glad I didn’t have to re-check my notes every now and then.
Since she’s really chatty, I just let her speak! Only, occasionally, directing her to few questions.
As my mentor suggested, I avoided presenting her in my version, I strived to present her as she is – that was really something I wanted to achieve.

What do you want to work on improving for next time?

So much!

I took a lot of time in deciding the person to profile. And when I was finally ready, she had to leave in between the interview. The following day she went to a rural place where phone/internet connection was patchy. In no way, I could have made a conversation without line disturbance, and she was busy with her work too. I had to decide what to do! I didn’t know for sure whether she’ll back before the final deadline. I had to keep in mind the ‘what if’ factors and move on writing up a profile with the existing information. Fortunately, I was finally able to get in touch with her via cell. I collected the remaining info with a phone conversation, then incorporate it and re-write the piece. It was difficult, I wish I had more time to proofread and organize the pars.

My profile works in different sectors, education, politics, culture, and sports. And deciding to organize all the themes in a coherent way was extremely difficult, I was always afraid of losing track of what I was trying to convey. But that’s just how she works! She’s trailblazer (as my mentor correctly said!) in every field – overlooking that aspect would have done injustice to her passion and her work.

My mentor and midwife has been incredibly supportive and suggestive! Three of us connect really well, almost obscures the distance, the difference in background, age, experience and everything else !

The wonderful connection kept me motivated and of course, getting everything done before the deadline !