Update: Job Interview on Monday: "Looking a different direction" :(

[AsburySkinsFan]

This may come as a surprise to some here, but I am interviewing on Monday to be the next Wesley Foundation director at a state university. No, I am not leaving the ministry, in fact all applicants have to be candidates for Elder or Elders within the United Methodist church.

It's been years since I've interviewed before a committee, and I'm as nervous as a long tailed cat in a room full of rocking chairs. Apparently, I'm one of three they are interviewing which seems to me to mean that there were at least three applicants.

I'm just asking for folks to please pray about this, that the Wesley Foundation will find the right person to be their next director, whether it's me or not.

Oh, and any helpful bits of advice will be greatly appreciated; I'll be interviewed by the board for about 45 minutes....:ack:

[chipwhich]

My advice, don't discuss your political beliefs and you might have a chance

Good Luck ASF, under that gruff Fox Hating Interior I know there is a good guy

Saturday is Judgement day, hopefully that doesn't change the interview

[jnhay]

It's been years since I've interviewed before a committee, and I'm as nervous as a long tailed cat in a room full of rocking chairs.

Man, I love country sayings. I have no idea what that means, but good luck to you. I find that it's often good to be nervous because you start thinking of everything that can go wrong and are better prepared for it. But you know that you're qualified or else you wouldn't be going, so don't get too stressed.

[Teller]

I say this with all sincerity. They couldn't pick a better man. And my only advice would be to be yourself, and show them that. They chose to put you in their final three, not because of what they wanted to see from you, but because of what they saw.

FWIW, my opinion of you isn't limited to this board. Or it would, well, suck. Kidding, but I've read some of your blog posts too, and you do a nice job of relating scripture to practical, real-life use. And frankly, our political differences aside, you're one of the first people on this board I'd choose to have a beer with.

Now, you're the clergyman here, but I'm still gonna tweak your prayer suggestion a little bit. Rather than praying that they make the right choice, I'm going to pray that God's will be done for you and your life. If this position is how He best can use your talents, then I'll be the first to offer my congratulations.

Best, bro.

[AsburySkinsFan]

My advice, don't discuss your political beliefs and you might have a chance

Good Luck ASF, under that gruff Fox Hating Interior I know there is a good guy

You mean you'd advise against going off on a Faux rant? Good to know.

Saturday is Judgement day, hopefully that doesn't change the interview

Yeah, I thought about that, but it looks like it's only the rapture, so if I'm still here I'll be ideally placed to direct folks to the church. Although, if I'm still here that might mean something too.

Man, I love country sayings. I have no idea what that means, but good luck to you. I find that it's often good to be nervous because you start thinking of everything that can go wrong and are better prepared for it. But you know that you're qualified or else you wouldn't be going, so don't get too stressed.

I guess I just tend to think of myself as the dorky high school kid who should be flipping burgers, instead of being someone who is qualified. Maybe I need a shrink.

I say this with all sincerity. They couldn't pick a better man. And my only advice would be to be yourself, and show them that. They chose to put you in their final three, not because of what they wanted to see from you, but because of what they saw.

FWIW, my opinion of you isn't limited to this board. Or it would, well, suck. Kidding, but I've read some of your blog posts too, and you do a nice job of relating scripture to practical, real-life use. And frankly, our political differences aside, you're one of the first people on this board I'd choose to have a beer with.

Now, you're the clergyman here, but I'm still gonna tweak your prayer suggestion a little bit. Rather than praying that they make the right choice, I'm going to pray that God's will be done for you and your life. If this position is how He best can use your talents, then I'll be the first to offer my congratulations.

Best, bro.

I really do appreciate that H_H, and I will certainly 2nd that prayer!

[Burgold]

I'm going to give the obvious advice. Learn this Foundation backwards and forwards. Know about its mission, who they've given grants out to and why. Have an idea of how you are going to advance the mission and why you would reject as well as accept proposals. Know what would give you satisfaction and what would fulfill their dream and yours in having this position. How will you enrich these student's lives? How will you take the mission forward in traditional ways and what's unique in your vision that would take it someplace new?

Try to find out who the Board has a relationship too and see how you can build on that. One of your jobs will be to keep the Foundation's coffers full. How will you raise money for them? Who can you connect them to? How will you make the parties already a part of Wesley happy? How will you utilize your resources and expand on them? How will you work with the Board and what role will you have in working with them?

etc.

Just find out as much as you can about their likes and dislikes and then cobble that together with your vision of what place this institution could serve in making the community a richer place.

[AsburySkinsFan]

I'm going to give the obvious advice. Learn this Foundation backwards and forwards. Know about its mission, who they've given grants out to and why. Have an idea of how you are going to advance the mission and why you would reject as well as accept proposals. Know what would give you satisfaction and what would fulfill their dream and yours in having this position. How will you enrich these student's lives? How will you take the mission forward in traditional ways and what's unique in your vision that would take it someplace new?

Try to find out who the Board has a relationship too and see how you can build on that. One of your jobs will be to keep the Foundation's coffers full. How will you raise money for them? Who can you connect them to? How will you make the parties already a part of Wesley happy? How will you utilize your resources and expand on them? How will you work with the Board and what role will you have in working with them?

etc.

Just find out as much as you can about their likes and dislikes and then cobble that together with your vision of what place this institution could serve in making the community a richer place.

Yeah, I've been researching for the past two weeks, sad part is the current director doesn't seem to use social media or the internet that much, which is kinda frustrating, so I've been researching Wesley Foundations on other campuses to get a feel for the ministry etc. That's one of the things that I believe I would focus on, i.e. the use of social media especially for a campus ministry. I'm trying to look at where the Wesley can go in the future without making it sound like I'm downing what the Wesley is now. The Wesley gets a lot of funding from the Annual Conference of Methodists here but a lot will come from me going out to network with contributing churches in the region, which will mean that for the most part on Sundays I'll be giving what I call mission messages at churches to bring them along side the Wesley; I'm thinking about some other funding source to nurture, but I'm not sure what yet. That seems to be the hardest part.

As for the student ministry I'm looking multi-faceted; 1) local worship/discipleship, through the weekly services, Bible study and service projects (disaster relief collections, local missions, foreign missions), also fun recreational activities and retreats; 2) Regional Outreach i.e. on campus, looking for ways to increase The Wesley's on campus presence (New student orientation and greeting, "move in" party, campus events sports etc, Mid-term/Finals "Time Outs", multicultural outreach; 3) High School seniors, speaking with graduating college bound students in regional youth groups in order to familiarize them with The Wesley before they ever leave home, so even if they don't go to this particular university they'll know what is available when they get on campus also coordinating with the local pastors/youth pastors to get the names of those students who will be going to this university.

Those are some of my initial thoughts.

[China]

Good luck. Interviews by committte suck. While one person is asking a question, everybody else gets time to think up another one so they come at you non-stop. You on the other hand don't have time to catch your breath or think up some good response questions. You have to be on top of your game.

[ixcuincle]

Good luck boss

[Burgold]

Hmmm... do you have any friends on the inside. If so, quietly asking them what they're most proud of and what they're most concerned about might help. Maybe even chatting with students who've worked with the program or in their programs. Might want to also stress that you have experience and comfort working with this population. That you can speak hep to the mod rad cats of today's youts.

[SnyderShrugged]

Just be yourself, speak from the heart, and ask lots of questions of them.

I pray that God lens you clarity of thought and speech today!

[MattFancy]

Best advice from someone who works in HR, just be yourself. Of course, study up on the company and asks questions when unsure. Nothing is worse then having someone come in and not be able to talk about the company or have any idea what the position entails. Good luck!

[AsburySkinsFan]

Good luck. Interviews by committee suck. While one person is asking a question, everybody else gets time to think up another one so they come at you non-stop. You on the other hand don't have time to catch your breath or think up some good response questions. You have to be on top of your game.

Agreed, which is why I'm spending a lot of time preparing and researching so I'm not formulating on the spot.

---------- Post added May-20th-2011 at 10:28 AM ----------

Hmmm... do you have any friends on the inside. If so, quietly asking them what they're most proud of and what they're most concerned about might help. Maybe even chatting with students who've worked with the program or in their programs. Might want to also stress that you have experience and comfort working with this population. That you can speak hep to the mod rad cats of today's youts.

So I shouldn't say things like groovy unless I'm impersonating Austin Powers.

As for friends on the inside, not so much I know one person on the board but he's a District Superintendent and I only know him on that basis as such a call from me would be out of the ordinary big time. I am consulting with other clergy and friends though to feel things out.

[Wrong Direction]

Do not get flustered if they appear 100% unmoved by your responses. I don't know how this board works, but many don't want to give any feedback whatsoever. This can be disheartening during the interview, unless you know to expect it going in. It's NOT a reflection on your answers (most likely).

[LadySkinsFan]

Good luck! I hope you get your heart's desire.

[jnhay]

Do not get flustered if they appear 100% unmoved by your responses. I don't know how this board works, but many don't want to give any feedback whatsoever. This can be disheartening during the interview, unless you know to expect it going in. It's NOT a reflection on your answers (most likely).

That's good advice. I've had a few interviews like that. It totally threw me off the first time, but is a lot easier to deal with if you expect it.

[Bang]

Good luck, and remember.. no dirty jokes.

~Bang

[TheDoyler23]

Keep your folio or in front of you and write down every person's name in order they are sitting at the table. That way, when you answer their questions individually, you have a reference. Helps for people like me who cannot remember names, especially when nerves are involved.

[ABQCOWBOY]

Good luck Ashbury.

[The Sisko]

Yeah, I've been researching for the past two weeks, sad part is the current director doesn't seem to use social media or the internet that much, which is kinda frustrating, so I've been researching Wesley Foundations on other campuses to get a feel for the ministry etc. That's one of the things that I believe I would focus on, i.e. the use of social media especially for a campus ministry. I'm trying to look at where the Wesley can go in the future without making it sound like I'm downing what the Wesley is now. The Wesley gets a lot of funding from the Annual Conference of Methodists here but a lot will come from me going out to network with contributing churches in the region, which will mean that for the most part on Sundays I'll be giving what I call mission messages at churches to bring them along side the Wesley; I'm thinking about some other funding source to nurture, but I'm not sure what yet. That seems to be the hardest part.

As for the student ministry I'm looking multi-faceted; 1) local worship/discipleship, through the weekly services, Bible study and service projects (disaster relief collections, local missions, foreign missions), also fun recreational activities and retreats; 2) Regional Outreach i.e. on campus, looking for ways to increase The Wesley's on campus presence (New student orientation and greeting, "move in" party, campus events sports etc, Mid-term/Finals "Time Outs", multicultural outreach; 3) High School seniors, speaking with graduating college bound students in regional youth groups in order to familiarize them with The Wesley before they ever leave home, so even if they don't go to this particular university they'll know what is available when they get on campus also coordinating with the local pastors/youth pastors to get the names of those students who will be going to this university.

Those are some of my initial thoughts.

This along with Burgold's suggestions will take you a long way. One caveat though. Be sure to take the temperature of the room so to speak. In other words being the young guy that understands the interwebs is a great selling point, unless the folks at the top don't trust/value the techie stuff. You can be who you want to be later but for now the idea is to get up in there.

I know you'll do well and wish you the best of luck with it.

[Special K]

I'm sorry that the world is ending tomorrow and you won't be able to attend this interview.

J/K. Good luck friend. Trust in your Lord, He always has a plan for each of us who are willing to listen.

[Skin'Em84]

I wish you good luck, and leave with with a few tidbits of great wisdom from my immense life experiences.

1. Don't show up naked.

2. Don't show up drunk.

3. If you show up drunk, might as well show up naked.

4. On the flip side, if you show up naked, go get drunk.

5. If you show up drunk and naked, turn up the thermostat, and don't sit in a draft. You'll catch a cold.

You are welcome.

[jnhay]

I'm sorry that the world is ending tomorrow and you won't be able to attend this interview.

That gives me an idea. Why don't you just imagine that Tuesday is really the day the world should end? You won't be nervous at all for the interview!

[The Sisko]

**Dupe post**

[AsburySkinsFan]

Well, I just finished an hour long interview, I think it went well, it was pretty much a rapid fire question and answer time so I spent a lot of time under the gun, but I had preplanned and thought through much of what they asked so I was prepared for a lot. Now starts the waiting game.