The graduate school/timing issue was handled pretty well, I think. He asked what my career goals were, if I was going to medical school or what. I told him not medical school. I explained that I've worked in a research lab for over a year now, and I really like it so that's what I want to do for now. I realize that the PRA position isn't really a long-term career, so eventually I will need to go to graduate school. He agreed. So I told him I was still exploring my options, thinking about PA school, but if I still really like research maybe get my PhD. So then of course he asked what my time frame was, 0-3 years, 3-7 years.... I told him definitely under 3 years. And just left it at that. He told me he didn't want to hire someone for under a year. In my head I was thinking "well, one year isn't the same as under one year." The whole issue was totally distracting and I felt terrible not being up front about it. But in the end, I don't care that much because it doesn't seem like a good fit anyways. This is a lab with 3 foreign men. If I get hired, I'm 25% of the lab- so if I leave in a year, that means they're losing a whole 25% of their lab. My current lab, and the one I'm interviewing with on Tuesday, is 20-30 people- with lots of 20-something girls just like me. I will fit in better, and if I get hired and leave again, no real loss. They have plenty of people to pick up the slack until they hire someone to replace me.
He (and everyone else I interview with) was very curious about the Schwartz lab. It seems like everybody knows Dr. Schwartz and is curious about what his lab is like. They all think he's this rock star scientist who's publishing papers every week. So I was asked a lot of questions about that. And why I'm leaving. I told him that I've really enjoyed working there, but there aren't any full-time positions open and I'm kind of excited about moving into a different field and learning new techniques. One other thing he said is that he isn't looking for someone who knows all the techniques. He is willing to train so that he doesn't have someone coming in saying "well that's not how I do things." I'm a little confused, because I do have training- I've worked in a lab for almost 18 months. But I am right out of college too. So I'm kind of this weird hybrid.
The whole thing just felt awkward. If I ever hear from him again, it'll be a miracle. The most awkward part was walking out of his office, shaking his hand, and this lady walks by who interviewed me a few months ago. What are the odds that out of 3 10-story buildings, I would have 2 interviews with 2 labs on the same exact floor of the same building? So she walks by and I say hello, nice to see you again. She explained to him that we talked a while ago, and I'm thinking "yeah, so now he knows you interviewed me and didn't hire me." Ugh.
I left feeling pretty discouraged, and confused, and guilty for not being up front about my plans. I drove straight to work and everyone there wanted to know how it went. After de-briefing 4 different people in less than an hour I felt a little better. Everyone had the same reaction: that he was pretty rude for interviewing me without an actual position open. And everyone in my lab is really excited for my interview on Tuesday. The head of our lab, Ivana, actually told me to ask them to call her- she wanted to give me a great recommendation. So I'm trying to focus on that. That's the job I really want anyways. If I can get past the one year thing, I know I'll be at the top of their list. So wish me luck!
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