SQL Server

Several months ago I got an email from a friend. It was forwarded from his wife. I can only imagine that she has an email feed. I had to print out the application and send it in via post. I got an email back from them saying stuff that read like I would only be considered for the unpaid internships.

Then a couple weeks later I got a phone call from the agency saying that they wanted to schedule an interview. It was odd because I told them that I had gotten a notice that they were only looking for unpaid and the reply was simply an emphatic statement that they were interviewing for the had paid jobs. The caller then asked about my enrollment status and residence. We talked about an interview on the 6th and they she hung up on me.

Since she said she would get back to me, I didn’t know her name and the mooted day for the interview was coming up soon I decided to call them and they sent me to voice mail. I left a message and then found that persons email and sent them an email. Then after two weekends later I looked for another phone number to address the problem of scheduling the interview. This time I got the person who called me and she acknowledged that we needed to make an appointment.

Two days later I received a phone call from her at ten in the morning for the interview. The other interviewer, a modeler, was new. I don’t enjoy phone interviewers because of the sound quality. Plus the second interviewer had an accent and that made things a bit more difficult.

The lead interviewer told me that they had two paid positions and one or two unpaid. They confirmed that I was a student, which is a requirement. They asked about the distance between my school and the job site. I told them that there would not be much need for me to be at the University and that I would be available to fill the hourly requirement. I told them when I wanted to graduate. I also pointed out that the location of the job was attractive because I had so many friends nearby.

The second interviewer explained the model they were developing for the region. The position involved experience in GIS and database management. They asked me to describe my experience with databases and what type of databases I had been using. They told me about the database they were using and asked what kind of query language experience I had. They also wanted to know about my programming experience. I said that I understood SQL but had not used SQL Server. I also said that I had a lot of experience with ArcMap 10. I talked about my programming experience.

They wanted to know if I had any questions. I asked what the duration of the position was and what the hours and compensation were. They told me it would likely go until June and required a minimum of PT but they were open to FT. They also said that I would qualify for internship pay.