This is not my first time to talk to people one on one; and this is not my first time to interview. In fact, I have been used to approaching people and asking them about a certain campus issue or we call it "ambush interview" in the pub.
But there was something wrong with me when I learned that I was one of the Panel of Interviewers for this year's hiring of newbies. We usually hire media men and professors to conduct the interview but this time around, due to the lack of financial support from the administration, we have to do it on our own. So the agreement was that the adviser, editor-in-chief, and associate editor will do the interrogation.
I know I have the confidence and the ability to communicate in English but to realize that I was not able to prepare myself for the series of questions that I will be asking later on kept on tormenting me until the moment I asked about Kenneth's (he is our editor-in-chief) queue of questions. He did not mention me the details of his questions but he told me the style he's planning to follow. "Just make sure it's long." I had my brain working after that. I have to be authoritative and firm in whatever I will say later on, avoiding, as much as possible, the occurrence of fillers on the process, and, as what he has said, I have to make it long. It's funny to note that after the interview later that afternoon, I realized I gave the longest series of questions, making one interview last up to almost 30 minutes. Is that what you call "unprepared"?
At the arrival of the interviewees and seeing their enigmatic glances and half smiles made me sweat with steam. What the heck is happening with my senses? It seemed like I am the one to be interviewed, and not the one to interview. I readily gave myself an invisible encouragement because I really think I needed that and no one in the office seemed to notice my anxiety.
I figured out the right questions just moments before the first interviewee approached my table and sat. He was filled with confidence and I can read it in his eyes. I have to act more confident than him so as not to make him feel comfortable. I want him to feel the pressure. I want to mutually tell him that I really know how to conduct an interview.
I was at least successful on that part, though I was not able to totally curtail the manner of placing fillers in between some of my statements. The mention of non-words was almost unnoticeable, I could say, and I am happy I am quite improving on that part.
There was a total of nine interviewees that passed my table. I had my top three best speakers and the top three "waley" applicants. They do not even seem to qualify for college, I must say.
At exactly 5:30, the interview was done. Nada! After I almost lost all my saliva in asking similar questions to various personalities, I have finally thanked God that it was all over.
0 citrus juice/s:
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