Time for a change?

So, I had an interview at Gymboree tonight. For those who don't know what Gymboree is, in short, Gymboree is an atmosphere for adults and children to take part in interactive classes that build children's cognitive, social and physical skills. It's geared toward children 5 and under (which happens to be what I'm planning on going back to school to teach).

Anyway, I was invited to take part in the group interview tonight at the location in Lincoln Park. The invite included the following points:

THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW FOR THE INTERVIEW!

1. Please come prepared to sing a children's song (a capella). Any song - you do not have to have a great voice.
2. Wear comfortable clothes - this is a very hands on interview.
3. Bring a schedule of availability - days and times that you would be able to work.
4. Bring any requests for time off from work in the next 6 months.
5. Bring socks. We are a shoeless environment.

Singing? I'm not sure anyone should be subjected to my voice, let alone, my singing voice. The "you do not have to have a great voice" was encouraging though, so I didn't think much of it.

I arrive to a room of about 20 people. As I'm filling out the application and other paperwork, roughly 10 more people filter into the room. We're asked to sit in a circle on the mats in the middle of the room. Easy enough. We're asked to state our name and our favorite television show. The key here is to distinguish yourself from others, so the interviewers are able to remember you. Luckily, I have many different favorite shows, so when it was my turn, I didn't have a problem (my favorite "show" ended up being "anything on HGTV" and/or "whatever reality show happened to be on at the time").

After this, we learn that we will sing our song later. We will also learn a song & have to sing it back to the interviewers in another room. Cool. I might be able to do that.

Before songtime, we had to give a quick presentation, mirrored after the one given by one of the instructors. We went to one of the play stations, learned what concept development the children would learn, and then present it back to the group. There was a tambourine involved. In our presentation, we had to pretend as if the group in the room was children and grown-ups. Now, I'm normally pretty outgoing, but in an attempt to do a good job, but not look like a total dufus in front of my peers, I think I did ok. Most going up were nervous, a little repetitive, not that enthusiastic, so that helped. I made sure to use different wording and energy than the ones before me, so I think I did an ok job there.

Now it's time for songs. It started off with 6 people in a row singing the Itsy Bitsy Spider and The Wheels on the Bus. This calmed me down quite a bit, since I planned on singing a song I hadn't heard before doing Teacher for a Day. The song I chose is loosely called "The alligator and monkey song" - here's one version of it on youtube - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0M2rmDe8ASY (she uses crocodile, but essentially, it's the same thing). As I said, I'm a fairly bad singer, so this song afforded me the opportunity to use a fun, interactive song while talking the lyrics. The interviewers seemed a bit refreshed to have a new song.

Finally, one of the interviewers taught the group a song, that we would eventually have to sing to the other interviewer. We sang it 3 times & then had to go sing it to the other interviewer, I assumed in another room. Nope - just right across the room, where everyone could hear you. Now, this song required a little more ability. Yikes.

I decided to be one of the first to go, mostly to get it over with. As I walked up, the owner said, "Amber, right?" That gave me a little bit of confidence, as there were 30 people they needed to remember, obviously I did something memorable prior to the atrocity that was about to happen. The song ended up coming out a little better than planned, so I was able to walk out with some sense of confidence.

Now comes reality. This job will definitely be a significant paycut (assuming I'm offered or asked back for a second interview). I will likely struggle with the decision, and I'm certainly not looking forward to that step in the process. That said, I want more than anything to get out of where I am, and doing something with children would be a good transition & one that I might be willing to take a cut for.

All I can do now is sit and wait.