One Friday in late December,  I received a phone call that I couldn’t pick up at approximately 9:14 in the morning. When I got home in the early afternoon, I checked my messages and realized that someone from Alaska Structures had called me for a job interview.



 I called Alaska Structures back and was told that I had 35 minutes to come in for an interview if I could make it. I said that I wasn’t sure and was told that I could interview the next morning at 6am if I wanted to.

I chose the former option, donned a suit, and hightailed it across the bridge to the little town where Alaska Structures is located. When I entered the office, I noticed that it had been decorated for Christmas and commented on the reindeer, but not on the nativity scene in the doorway.



The receptionist ushered me into an office and told me to sit on one side of a long table. There were three Alaska Structures hiring managers on one side of the table and two job candidates plus me on the other. The interview had already begun; I wasn’t late for my appointment, but early, and they decided to include me with the other interviewees. I hadn’t had a chance to check out the company, so was surprised by the questions that were asked around the table.



“Do you think you would be able to find goats in Pakistan?” “Why did you decide to go to a Christian college?”



My turn came and I was asked why I would be interested in the job; I hadn’t really heard anything about the position, so said something about needing a challenge and wanting to work in an office setting.



I was then told by the hiring manager across from me in no uncertain terms that Alaska Structures was not a social place; when I countered that I just wanted people to say hello to in the morning, the young woman stated that no one ever said hello there at all.



Two seconds later, the CEO came into the office wearing what appeared to be a diaper or bandage on his head. He then took it off and put on an Oregon Duck Santa Claus hat. (I later learned on the net that Alaska Structures records their interviews, so he may have been trying to catch the hiring manager unawares.)



He asked whether I was a Washington Husky or a Washington State Cougar. I told him there was no question. I was absolutely a Washington State Cougar and he made a dumb joke about the Cougs before apologizing. He told me that he was just trying to push my buttons.



I told him that my brother had informed me early on that  had more buttons to push than an elevator, which he liked.



Unceremoniously, he left, and the interview continued. I left without learning what the position was (sales under the job title of administrative assistant), the salary range, or the hours (horrendous--4am-4pm 6 days a week).



When I looked up the company online, I found warnings about a “Wag the Dog” type company that sold many more military tents than tents for humanitarian aid. I think I would have had a chance at the job, but figured that if I was going to overwork myself for a job, I wanted it to be in a healthy environment and for something I believed in.