Applied for POA through an employee referral. Received a call from HR the next day to set up a phone interview. The phone interview was about 20 minutes: what are your professional goals, why do you want to work at MSK, how did you handle a situation when you were under pressure, tell me about a time when you went above and beyond to get a job done. I was then asked to schedule for an in-person interview with the recruiter the next day, but due to my work schedule, I could only do the week after. The recruiter asked basically the same questions + what do you know about MSK? I was then to meet two administrative coordinators 3 hours later that day at the main hospital.
Here's where it went downhill. I was told that a jitney would come by to pick up employees at the corner of Tunnel Exit Street and 40th to transport them to the hospital. The jitney comes at the :10 and :40. I set out to meet the jitney at the :10. Saw that it was a white van with a paper sign that says MSKCC Employees. But it never stopped on the corner. What I should have done at that point was to take the train since I noticed it didn't stop for me. So, that was my fault. However, I proceeded to wait around the area for the :40. I didn't see the jitney until :41 and it completely went by me. I tried to chase it down in my one inch heels but to no avail. Regardless of the method of transportation, I will be late to the :00 interview. I called my recruiter and explained to her what happened and if she can inform the administrative coordinators that I will be late. I ended up taking a cab to the hospital and was 11 minutes late to the interview.
I honestly repressed the interview I had with the two administrative coordinators so well that I don't remember what questions they asked. They explained to me the format of the interview at the beginning, told me to use the STAR technique. It was a lot of behavioral questions. I didn't use the STAR technique at all, and at one point, didn't even answer one of the questions properly because it just didn't make sense to me (I unfortunately cannot remember what that question was). At the end, they said either they or my recruiter would keep in contact with me.
TL;DR: I advise everyone to take the train or a cab to the hospital and avoid relying on the jitney at all costs. I also advise e-mailing the recruiter back regarding why you didn't get the job and what you could have done better. I have an idea of why I didn't get the job (besides failing to answer questions properly and the obvious lateness), but I should have asked. Also, you'll need to thank everyone you met for their time, which I didn't do either. So, yeah, I'm pretty terrible. But despite how much I bombed this interview, everyone I spoke with and met were all super nice and super professional. They did make me feel welcome and relaxed and my nerves were gone as soon as I spoke with them.
FYI, completely unrelated: I'm currently on a one-woman mission to propose a new standard on the hiring process of this nation. This whole interview process and these BS interview questions are getting ridiculous. For people like me who are honest, hard working, but with no creative gene to make up answers on the spot, I'm getting turned down for jobs I know I will excel at, to people who are perhaps less hardworking than me but good at bullshitting. #downwithSTAR /End rant, good luck to all : )
