View Full Version : Job Interview
davidmcowan
07-11-07, 09:15 PM
I'm going to be interviewing this Friday with our state bicycle advocacy organization for a job that appears to entail going out to the schools and encouraging a new bicycle/walk to school program. This fits my perfect job is so many ways, I really don't want to blow this interview.
Anyone have any advocacy related advice? Bicycle related? Interview related? Really, any advice would be appreciated, I think I was made for this job!
gharding
07-11-07, 09:33 PM
Drive an H2 to the interview, leave it idling in the parking lot, then complain to the person conducting the interview about some ******* on a bike who was using up your lane (and of course tell him how you squeezed him off the road to show him who's really in control).
I'm just here to help!
Good luck with the interview! Somebody has an objective and a plan, now they're looking for the guy who can execute it.
Let them see your enthusiasm.
good luck! :)
ken cummings
07-12-07, 01:33 AM
Remember, this is a Job Interview, not the job. If you are currently car free, get someone to drive you there, you must look your best. Time to bike is after the job is secure. Find out how they expect you to get your self and supplies to and from the schools. And figure out an answer to what ever they say.
The Historian
07-12-07, 02:55 AM
Remember, this is a Job Interview, not the job. If you are currently car free, get someone to drive you there, you must look your best. Time to bike is after the job is secure. Find out how they expect you to get your self and supplies to and from the schools. And figure out an answer to what ever they say.
An alternate approach from carfree advocate Kent Peterson:
http://kentsbike.blogspot.com/2005/11/bicycle-commuting-is-my-job.html
davidmcowan
07-12-07, 06:42 AM
Remember, this is a Job Interview, not the job. If you are currently car free, get someone to drive you there, you must look your best. Time to bike is after the job is secure. Find out how they expect you to get your self and supplies to and from the schools. And figure out an answer to what ever they say.
I hear what you are saying and I understand why but I'll still be biking to the interview. I clean up pretty well and it is right downtown. I think you should practice what you preach, even in the tougher situations. Besides, it is my resume and enthusiasm that sells not the sweat on my forehead.
I hear what you are saying and I understand why but I'll still be biking to the interview. I clean up pretty well and it is right downtown. I think you should practice what you preach, even in the tougher situations. Besides, it is my resume and enthusiasm that sells not the sweat on my forehead.
Don't be late. And if you are tell the interviewer, a huge SUV caused you to swerve to avoid collission. Make sure you got mud on your shoes to prove.
You should bike to the interview, really. But clean up completely, and be very early. Dress up.
Dress how you would dress if you had to go have lunch at an upscale restaurant to meet with the Superintendent of a major school district with a $50,000,000 annual budget, and tens of thousands of students, and this administrator makes $175,000 per year and drives a Lexus. And you show up on a bike. Aha! How do you feel now? The valet in front of the restaurant is not happy to see you! He will definitely mistake you for the dishwashing help even if you're dressed right and riding a spotless, politically-correct commuter bike (like a Breezer).
How are you going to confidently speak truth to power and not cave? Remember, that's your job, not talking to kids or even teachers. Principals will just be your stepping-stones. Your job is motivating top bureaucrats and board members, because they have all of the power in a school district.
Good luck!
bike2math
07-12-07, 07:31 AM
The best job interview advice I've gotten was to get try to get them in the position of selling the job to you. From my own experience, always have a handful of good questions ready for the inevitable "any questions?" Nothing is worse than saying "nope!"
fuerein
07-12-07, 08:14 AM
The best job interview advice I've gotten was to get try to get them in the position of selling the job to you. From my own experience, always have a handful of good questions ready for the inevitable "any questions?" Nothing is worse than saying "nope!"
While I admit that is true. I hate the fact of that. Sometimes I've been in interviews where before they got to the "Any questions?" point they went through a very thorough detailing of what was expected, etc. They were detailed enough enough that they had answered all my questions. Thus I was forced to scramble for some junk questions that I really didn't really care about the answer, just so I didn't come off as ambivalent, uninterested, whater.
Is this a position as state coordinator for the federal Safe Routes to School program?
davidmcowan
07-12-07, 01:32 PM
Is this a position as state coordinator for the federal Safe Routes to School program?
Perhaps. Why, am I in trouble? Or are you just familiar with the program??
Artkansas
07-12-07, 01:36 PM
I'm going to be interviewing this Friday with our state bicycle advocacy organization for a job that appears to entail going out to the schools and encouraging a new bicycle/walk to school program. This fits my perfect job is so many ways, I really don't want to blow this interview.
Anyone have any advocacy related advice? Bicycle related? Interview related? Really, any advice would be appreciated, I think I was made for this job!
Darned, theres a job interview where you must bicycle to it. Even then I might drive till I was 5-6 blocks from there to be fresh and pedal in the rest of the way. Sweat is a strange thing. Yes, they want you to be committed and authentic, but at the same time professional.
Well, study as much about the program as you can. Then get on the web and research other similar programs. It's time to be an instant expert. Maybe even call a few schools and see what their reaction is.
Sounds promising.
Perhaps. Why, am I in trouble? Or are you just familiar with the program??
No trouble! :eek: Minnesota was one of the first states to implement the program, and I happened to know the state coordinator and be in a position to help schools apply for the funding at the time. http://www.dot.state.mn.us/saferoutes/index.html
If they are implementing it similar to Minnesota's program (which they should be), the toughest part about getting the program going was deciding what the criteria should be for distributing the funds. Most of the day to day work involves educating about the program across the state, soliciting and selecting project applications, and then making sure that schools/communities do what they say they will while following all the federal and state rules. Not nearly enough money to meet all the applications, but it's a start.
And yes, our state coordinator happens to be car free, although she does need a license for driving a Mn/DOT car to meetings around the state.
Best of luck, and as was said above, do you homework. The FHWA site will be very important - they'll want someone who can hit the ground running and maybe has some ideas of how to tackle their biggest problems.
Get a professional-looking haircut, get there on a bike, be presentable, and just be yourself. Tell them what you really think, and what you actually propose to do. If you simply tell them what they want to hear, and it isn't you, you'd end up miserable in that position anyway.
Let them see your enthusiasm.
+1!
davidmcowan
07-14-07, 07:51 AM
So, how did it go?
Well, I hate to jinx it but I think things went really well. Definitely on the same page regarding bicycle advocacy and I think I have a lot of skills that would be an asset to their organization. I'll send off a follow up letter today and hopefully I'll hear back by next week. (leaving for RAGBRAI) I do have to say that a lot of the perspectives that I've developed regarding bicycling have been developed here, so if I do get the job a big kudos to Bikeforums.net!
I do have to say that a lot of the perspectives that I've developed regarding bicycling have been developed here, so if I do get the job a big kudos to Bikeforums.net!
Interesting. Can you give any examples?
davidmcowan
07-18-07, 06:13 AM
Well, one interview question was: What would you tell a mother who is afraid to send her kid to school via bicycle/walking?
1) Identify the reason for her fear.
2) Dispell common myths about bicycling
3) Talk about safety, reducing childhood obesity, costs of driving, building community, and the outright good time of doing it.
Although prior to these forums I held similar beliefs I doubt that I would have been able to formulate or verbalize them easily.
I got a call back. Going in this morning for round two, WISH ME LUCK!
donrhummy
07-18-07, 11:33 AM
If you can, scope the place out early in the morning and watch (from afar) all the employees arrive at work. See if they come on bikes, foot or by car. Also note what they're wearing/carrying. It'll give you a good idea of what the culture there is like. I'd def. recommend bringing nice clothes to change into but I think it'd be a plus if you walk into the interview in nice clothes carrying your bag of bike clothes and your bike shoes (outside the bag) to show you biked there.
Good luck with round two. :)
Good luck. Show them you are the right man for the job.
davidmcowan
07-18-07, 05:31 PM
Houston, we have job offer!
Just got to weigh the plusses and minuses of leaving my current job and not having the time to attend the graduate school for social work. Though in terms of decisions, it appears to be win win.
Houston, we have job offer!
Just got to weigh the plusses and minuses of leaving my current job and not having the time to attend the graduate school for social work. Though in terms of decisions, it appears to be win win.
Hearty congratulations! I don't think they could have found a better person for the job.
Houston, we have job offer!
Congratulations. As I posted earlier, you are the right man for the job. Best of luck to you.
Congratulations! Do great things while you're there. (I grew up in Denver, and think that, given the right set of cirumstances, that city could rival Portand as a biking mecca.)
kjohnnytarr
07-18-07, 11:53 PM
When you clean yourself up, make sure to have a clean bike too. They want to know you're serious about bike advocacy, and that starts with your own bike.
neilfein
07-19-07, 05:50 AM
Houston, we have job offer!
Congratulations!
Congrats! Not only did you give the right answers, but it sounds like they asked the right questions. Sounds like the beginning of a great fit! Good luck with your deliberations and negotiations!
Nycycle
07-19-07, 09:51 PM
Drive an H2 to the interview, leave it idling in the parking lot, then complain to the person conducting the interview about some ******* on a bike who was using up your lane (and of course tell him how you squeezed him off the road to show him who's really in control).
I'm just here to help!
Good one, I am like well never heard of such a job, wish you well.(Try Prayer)
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