The Big Day

I had a big interview day yesterday. Then gave blood (bad idea). I'm exhausted!

The interview day was from 8:30am to 3:00pm, we had lots of different tasks during the day. 2 hours of interviews on a circuit kind of set up, where we rotated to each new room to meet with a new interviewer - 4 in total. Some written tests, aptitude tests, group case studies with a presentation to the room, and a couple of talks from current graduates and people from the company. It wasn't at all as scary as I had dreaded, but it was very taxing.

I think I did alright, and they say there are enough roles for all eight of us who were there. My only concern is the mix between technical roles and project roles, and how many of us were interested and suited to which. One of the interviewers thought from my resume that I would be a technical candidate, so I hope I didn't put her off by saying I was more interested in people based work. I can't even remember what I said to each of them, there were so many repeated questions and so much to take in!

We should find out early next week, and I just wish I could switch off my mind until then. I'm so mentally exhausted and the more I think about it the less confident I am. I'm just so glad I've done all the bits where I have to appear confident!

Going to the Vampires (Red Cross) was a bad idea to do at the end of this day. Even my blood pressure was higher than normal, as well as my pulse. They nurse broke my vein the first time and I asked them to do the other arm instead of making another appointment, because it hurt and I was sure I wouldn't come back if I didn't do it straight away. I'm glad I did, because the second arm didn't hurt much at all, and is fine now. The first arm is still sore, so if I had been left with that I wouldn't be giving blood for a while now.

I also didn't handle it as well as I usually do. All the stress and anxiety was definitely the cause. The canteen lady told me I was looking pale and asked me to lie down, they were all asking if I was ok. I was ok, but I didn't feel myself. I wasn't going to feint I don't think. I still never have. I just wanted to be at home. I called my dad and nobody was in the city with a car, so I caught a tram home and got a seat. I was OK. I will know not to schedule a blood donation when I'm in a stressful time.

I am learning a lot of lessons this year!

I'm not sure what to do with my weekend. I want to relax, but I also want to take my mind off yesterday's interviews. I can't decide whether to get a pile of DVDs or go and hang out with some people.

Thanks to the shout-out from Cheryl, if I was the Alex she was talking about! There are so many that it's very likely that there is another Alex who needs to keep their head up...

Thanks to the encouragement from everyone too. It really means a lot. :)