Different Kinds of Interviews

Recently I had the opportunity to interview with a Boulder, CO based solar company. Having never had an interview before, I didn't know what to expect except for what we were told by the tech comm program director, Matt Livesey and other stories that were told by my peers. So, somewhat nervous, I sliced my hair off, borrowed some clothes from my older brother and headed off toward Denver for the interview.

We met at The Watercourse, an all vegetarian restaurant near downtown Denver, which gave me the impression that they were very earth conscious people and likely of a liberal perspective. This, fortunate enough for me, was perfect because my girlfriend is a staunch vegetarian (which basically makes me one as well) and I myself am of a rather liberal perspective.

I arrived 10 minutes early; they arrived 10 minutes late.

We started things off with a round of freshly squeezed mimosas giving me the impression that it was going to be a rather laid back interview. The interviewing team was comprised of two males and one female, and they were very friendly from the start. The interview itself was more of a personality game more than anything, as we simply talked casually about my interests, made random jokes, spoke a little bit about the company, and briefly touched on the certainty of a "green revolution" (the rapid transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy).

The interview lasted about two hours and four rounds of mimosas, and by the end of it all we really seemed to be hitting it off, joking around and speaking with sarcastic tongues. We hadn't really covered any of the questions that I had prepared myself for ("Why do you feel you'd benefit our company?"; "What are your greatest strengths and weaknesses?"; "Are you a Republican?") but I managed to work a few of my prepared answers into our conversations. I felt as though they were more assessing me with regard to whether or not I would "fit in" with the company attitude, rather than whether I was skilled and/or qualified to fit the open position. In fact, by the end of the interview as we were walking out of the restaurant, they asked me if I was going to be hanging around the area for the evening, and whether or not I wanted to meet them for drinks in the evening. Since I was staying with some friends just outside of Boulder, I agreed to meet them, and suggested the Mountain Sun Brewery (a microbrewery on Pearl Street in Boulder that is run off solar power). They said that they would be there at 8:00.

The evening went well, and my time spent at The Waterfront showed to pay off, as Mountain Sun's beers ranged from 10% Double IPAs to 12% Stouts, and a less experienced microbeer drinker would have been floored in no time. The evening proceeded with typical bar talk, again never really touching on the job itself, and by the end of the night they had offered me the job (well, an internship).

It just goes to show that every interview can be different.