A Job Interview

My very first job interview, I walked into a Deli with a help wanted sign on the door. I spoke with the owner over the counter, and 10 minutes later, I shook his hand and walked back out with instructions to report at 9 o'clock the next morning with my social security card, what clothes to wear, and I was told I would be there for the next 8 hours.  I guess times have changed since then.

Daughter had her first ever job interview last week - at our local library, shelving books.

I drove her to the interview and stayed in the car, because I really didn't think it would look good to have Mommy waiting for her inside while she interviewed.

She came back out 20 minutes later, a little shaken and a lot frustrated.  "Is every interview like that?"  She asked.

"I don't know, honey.  Tell me what happened."

She walked into a room, and was told to sit on one side of the table.  3 people sat on the other side of the table.  She had out her hand to shake hands, and no one even raised their hand, they just stared at her hand until she let it drop. They directed her to sit down while they began asking her a barrage of questions, never once making eye contact with her.  One interviewer was on the laptop the entire time, and daughter told me "now I know why every teacher complains about us on our electronics.  I really couldn't tell if she was listening to me or checking her e-mail."

Twenty minutes later, they thanked her for her time and told her "You'll hear from us within a week."

I mentioned this interview to some friends of mine.  I found out that they had interviewed 30 people for one minimum wage position.  I also heard that they already knew who they were going to hire- a family member of a current employee, but that they went through the public interview process to keep up appearances.  I'm still not sure what to believe since it was a casual conversation, and I'm willing to group it under hearsay or gossip.

Daughter got an email yesterday from the library, 10 days after her interview.  "Another candidate was chosen for this position."

I'm glad she had the learning experience of interviewing.

However, can I just say how upset I am that they subjected her (and a whole lot of other kids) to a 20 minute panel interview to shelve books for 10 hours a week for minimum wage?