Interview Number Two!

My second interview went better than my first. I enjoyed it a lot more, probably because of the confidence I gained with the first experience. I wasn’t nearly as nervous for this one as my last one. I think it went well because there were a lot less awkward pauses while I tried to gain my thought. I wrote down my follow-up questions and kept everything on point. The only problem I had with this interview was my forgetting to bring a watch. It worked out though because I kept an eye on the time, by glancing at my phone periodically, and the interview ended in twenty-six minutes. Long enough for important ideas to flow, but short enough to avoid awkward silences.
Kate Tracey, a customer service representative at PARL, was who I interviewed today. She was twenty-six years old (ironically the same number as the minutes of our interview?!) and has been with PARL for three years. She grew up without a dog of her own (until her teenaged years) and was always drawn to them, similar to my own experiences.  Kate described it as “instinctive” which I found pretty powerful; I never thought to use that word before, but it makes sense. This identification and connection I made with her was probably one of the factors that led to my increased enjoyment of this interview over my last one.
An interesting point Kate made was one that actually refuted a point that Amy made. In my first interview Amy said that shelters usually don’t hire volunteers because they typically learn procedures wrong, and are allowed to continue without being corrected. This made sense to me, but it was a surprise because I figured experience is experience-apparently not. Kate seemed to think differently than Amy as well. She started out as a dog walker volunteer in college, and after that she worked at the Boston Animal Rescue League. She then came to PARL and started working here. Kate said that volunteering is good because it’s a way to “…try on the position before you really plunge into this world” (Kate). Personally, I agreed with Kate a little more because if you work in a shelter, and realize it’s not for you, quitting is going to be more of a hassle than volunteering a couple times and not coming back.
A last thought about this interview relates to the environment in which my interviews took place. Both of my interviews at PARL have had animals in the room. My first interview had three beings in Amy’s office; Amy, me, and a small dog (possibly a chiwawa mix). The second interview had four beings in the upstairs part of PARL; Kate, me, and two cats. The cats were a little more amusing only because they literally sat in front of my face, on the table, during my interview. They also kept rubbing their faces on my pen…as I was trying to write might I add. There is just something so free-spirited about PARL, and there is just something about animals that I love. I agree with Kate. It really is magnetic.