First Interview
Weekly Update #228 6/2/2024 to 6/8/2024
Do you remember your first job interview? First, let me share some of my week serving as mayor of the best small town in America.
This week kicked off another year of School Resource Officer Camp with the Seymour Police Department. Like most things do over time it has evolved since it began a few years ago. The camp gives kids a chance to learn from, and interact with, public safety officials from several departments. I participated again this year by sharing some bicycle safety knowledge as well as some of what my role as mayor looks like. I encouraged the kids to realize that over the course of the camp they would meet many people who have dedicated their lives to serving the community in various ways in their professional lives. I reminded them that they could volunteer and give of their time to help make our area a better place for the future. Thank you to everyone from the school resource officers to the Fraternal Order of Police for hosting camp again in 2024. I am sure the campers enjoyed it.
This week, I had a chance to sit down with our Administrative Resources association connection to update current and future grant opportunities. A couple of grants that we have received in the past have been the Owner Occupied Rehab, where we were able to help several area residents with home improvements that allow them to stay in their homes as they age, and Community Development Block Grants, like were used to help redevelop Burkart Plaza in downtown Seymour. We also had a chance to discuss new areas like sober living and blight elimination. Thank you, Whitney, for the update. I look forward to seeing what funding chances the future holds.
The year was 1994, and I needed some extra running money to keep gas in the tank of my ‘65 Dodge Coronet. Even though gas was about a third of today’s cost, big block Chryslers used plenty of it. I was a nervous wreck as I drove up to that pizza joint in my button-up shirt and the nicest pair of jeans I owned. Looking back on it now I have to chuckle because I had no business trying to deliver pizzas in my old Dodge, but it was still my first job interview outside of family members or those jobs where you turned in an application and they hired you on the spot. While I didn’t get the job I did get a little bit of experience at an interview. Last year, when one of our Mayor’s Youth Council members suggested interviewing the applicants before we make our announcements, I wasn’t sure until I thought of this experience. We learn a lot about our prospective members by the application and could make the selection based on it. For the last two years now though, we have brought in our applicants so they have a chance to get through the butterflies, so they have a chance to learn to stay calm and that it is ok to pause before you answer the questions being presented. This week, we held our first interview, and as we did last year, we are giving our interns a chance to be a part of the interview process for a chance for them to grow and learn as well. If you are still one of the remaining interviews, don’t worry; it really is a pretty painless process that we hope will help you develop your interview skills for the future. Today, I will leave you with a short quote from Yogi Berra, "Life is a learning experience, only if you learn."