Good luck, Matilda!!

The interview went pretty well.

She was stumped on the first question - "What are your assets?" - because she's naturally very modest and hates to brag about herself.

I told her I would teach her some ways to address this question in the future without sounding braggy.

But she did much better when they asked about specific scenarios. (She has, after all, done a lot of camps, and dealt with a fair amount of kids both in babysitting and CIT training.)

They said she could send them an email if she had anything further to say.

And after we talked about it we thought there were three things she would like to address which didn't come up in the interview. So I told her how to do a follow-up email, and we made sure she wrote everything in her own voice, and she sent that in.

I also taught her how to do a subject header that would allow somebody in their department to properly route her response.

Nice, Matilda!

That sounds like an excellent experience

The scenario they asked was: "How would you handle kids at the end of the day to get ready for pickup?"

And she said, "I'd call all the kids together, and I'd have them empty all the sand out of their shoes. Then I'd have them put away what was left of their lunch, or throw away the garbage. Then we'd do a headcount, and then I'd make sure they all went to the bathroom. And then I'd do a second headcount after we lined them all up. If anybody was missing, I'd have one counselor stay with the line and then go find the kid in the bathroom."

And the interviewer said, "Oh, she's good!"

Way better at it than I would be.

Excellent!

My fingers are crossed for Matilda. Those are excellent answers. I've staffed childcare for church events (including teen helpers). I'd absolutely favor a young person who gave answers like that.

Hil, I am sorry for you and your family's loss. It is always difficult, but so much more difficult in these times. I hope you can find a way to grieve. If there's anything I can do from Jerusalem that is faith-related/location based, let me know. (This offer goes to any of you who lost someone and has some kind of spiritual connection to this city).

JenP, congrats on the new home!

And lots and lots of job and wonderful things~ma and awe to Matilda.

Whoever decided that our first general price increase in a decade should officially start the day before a holiday and long weekend is getting the stinkeye from me this morning. Although I expect I will feel even less kindly towards them on Monday when half the department is taking the day off.