Aliya + 3 weeks – “The Interview”

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 2^nd or 3^rd 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.