In the past week I had four interviews including a followup
interview for a job that I am very interested in. The initial interview was
over the phone but this one was in person, now that we have arrived. Three of
the 4 came through Nefesh B’Nefesh and one was an interview that I managed to
snag myself through my own networking contacts. I am particularly interested in
that one as well.
When I was here back in April-May I had a number of
interviews, professional meetings and other networking get togethers so I got a
chance to familiarize myself with the interview culture, which is quite
different from how it was for me in the US. Back in New York, going for an
interview certainly meant a suit, white shirt and tie; cuff-links would be a
nice touch. Here in Israel, sandals without socks is a nice touch. So I might
have overdone it a bit when I went to one interview in my white shirt with my
initials monogrammed on the sleeve, but I was practically out of clean white shirts
after Tisha B’Av (does anyone know of a good cleaners in the Gush?)
I was taken aback a bit when one interviewer asked me my age
but I should have been prepared for that kind of cultural difference. Many of
the job descriptions say that they are for men or women – not something that
you are likely to see in a job description in the US.
All of the interviews went very well and I would be
delighted to have any of the jobs although they each had their pluses and
minuses. The hiring process at all of the companies is considerably longer than
what I am accustomed to – along the lines of a month, often filled with 4
meetings. Each position has differing requirements for knowledge of Hebrew
ranging from requiring a high level of knowledge, being able to read and write
lengthy reports in Hebrew to requiring practically no Hebrew at all.
Although most of the positions are in the Tel Aviv (Petach
Tikva, Ramat Gan, Hertzelia) area, some positions are in Jerusalem which is a
lot closer for me. Although driving during rush hour to Hertzelia could take me
close to 2 hours during rush hour, I would not eliminate practically any
position from consideration on any one issue. You never know – by the time you
reach your 2nd or 3rd interview, you might hear a
different story.
In the US, I would often find job descriptions that match my
background almost perfectly. I generally do not find that over here. But that
is really not a problem – I would be delighted to share what I have learned
over my professional career while learning new skills here. It is always good
to “stretch” a bit, pick up a few new tricks and learn how they cope with the
unique challenges that they face here.
Of course, certain things are the same as in the States. I
always make sure that I know about the company that I am interviewing with, I
come with a positive attitude and I always find that I have a few questions to
ask about the specific job – is it a new position, what happened to the prior
person who held the position (hopefully he was promoted), what are the biggest
challenges that they face, how large a group I would be working with, etc. And
if it is clear that the one that you are interviewing for is just not right for
you, it does not hurt to ask if they have any contacts that would be more
appropriate.
Most of all, I know that I have to just keep working at it
until that right job comes along and I’m sure that it will soon. Probably when
I finally break down and wear sandals to the interview.
