Mock Interviews

Location: San Jose Obrero Mission

Date: Thursday, October 18, 2012; 5:45-7 pm

During my career with my current as well as past company, I have been lucky to interview a lot of candidates for a variety of positions.  This made signing-up for the mock interviews session at San Jose Obrero Mission an easy choice.  This is an interim housing facility that provides temporary housing and a variety of programming to homeless men, women, and children.  Chicago Cares runs a mock interviews program once a month in which volunteers conduct one-on-one interviews with the male residents to assist with their job search. 

San Jose Obrero Mission

The Mission is located in the Pilsen neighborhood, which meant I had to get on the Pink Line CTA train - something that I had never done before.  There was a light rain when I arrived at the 18^th street stop and as is the case usually, promptly set off in the exact opposite direction to where I was supposed to be headed.  After couple of consults with the map on my phone and another wrong turn, I finally arrived at my destination with a minute to spare.  Our volunteer leader Alyson was already there along with some of the other volunteers.  Aly explained the task and the process that we would be following.  We had approximately one hour to conduct mock interviews with some of the men who would be visiting the shelter that evening.  Almost all of them are currently unemployed and some for a long time.  Our assignment was to prepare them for a real-life situation that they may encounter at a job interview.  We were asked to follow a template which consisted of us introducing ourselves and then handing them job descriptions.  There were three ‘fake’ job descriptions and we would ask the ‘candidates’ to choose from one of them or if they wanted, they could describe a type of job that they had in mind and we could improvise.  Once the job had been selected, we would follow the template which consisted of 5-6 General questions and about 2 behavioral questions.  Once the interview was done, both, the candidates and the interviewer would fill out separate feedback forms where we would give our impressions on how the interviewee performed.  Then we would discuss the feedback forms, as well as the overall interview and provide coaching.  The idea was to conduct as many interviews as possible in an hour, but I knew that if had to provide any kind of help that would enable these people to succeed, we would need to spend as much time as possible with them. This meant one interviewer per interviewee.

Reception area where we conducted the interviews

I was paired up with a middle-aged gentleman named Javier.  We settled down at one of the tables and I explained the process to him.  We looked at the job descriptions together and there was a flicker of disappointment in Javier’s eyes when I told him that none of the jobs were real.  These people really wanted to work and I wished that these were actual jobs that they could have applied for.  The first job was for a janitorial position in retail store, the second was for a warehouse assistant and the third was for a managerial role in a grocery store.  Javier wanted to interview for the manager’s job, until we realized that it required a Bachelor’s degree and he did not have one.  We thus settled on the warehouse job and the interview began.  I asked him the questions from the template and also followed-up on some of his answers based on his response and the job requirements.  Through his answers, I was able to learn a lot about Javier.  He had multiple jobs in the past, some that were in a managerial role.  He appeared to be a stand-up guy who was honest, hard-working and believed in doing the right thing.  He provided examples to almost all situations, including the behavioral questions.  At the end we filled out our respective evaluation forms and then proceeded to the feedback session. 

Javier had been slightly hard on himself and for many of the questions had rated himself one grade lower than what I had given him.  I told him to have confidence in his own abilities and to trust himself.  I pointed out some areas of improvement and told him that there was no reason why he could not do the manager’s job for the grocery store, even though he lacked the college degree.  Everything that he had told me about himself had convinced me that he could be an asset to an organization like that and he could definitely supervise the staff.  It was then that I learned that Javier was just a few credits shy of graduation and a long time ago had been accepted to Law school, provided he completed his college.  As is the case with many lower-income families, he had responsibilities that forced him to quit and then life got in the way.  I told him it was never too late and he had to believe that times would change and this too would pass.  We shook hands and he thanked me.  This was my first opportunity in almost an hour to look around and I found that all the volunteers were finishing as well.  We debriefed with Aly and she asked us for feedback on how we could improve the process.  I gave a few pointers, as did others.  I inquired if there was any way that we could use these sessions to do a screening for some employment agency because I would have no hesitation in recommending Javier.  Aly and some of the others said that I should think about being a leader for this program. Maybe, in the future.

I walked back to the train station with another volunteer, Irina, and we spoke about our experience that evening.  One thing was certain, these people may be visiting a shelter, but by no means were they bums.  They are self-respecting, hard-working individuals who have fallen on some tough times; and as clichéd as it sounds, it’s all about taking the punches and getting off the mat for the next round.


*All the client's names have been changed in order to respect their privacy

Library Maintenance

Location: Walt Disney Magnet School

Date: Tuesday, October 9, 2012; 6-8 pm

I returned back to the Walt Disney Magnet School for the next round of library maintenance, two weeks after my first visit.  It was nice to see that some of the volunteers from our earlier session had returned as well.  For the benefit of the new comers, our volunteer leader Laura went through the program and why we had assembled.  As we went up to the library on the second floor, I looked around and saw the familiar Mickey and Minnie stuffed toys resting on a couch.  And even though it was just my second visit, somehow it all felt very familiar.

As soon as Laura announced the two tasks: re-shelving vs. new books maintenance, I volunteered for the shelving part.  Just as before, I started with the non-fiction books, which mean the Dewey system.  It was amazing to see the number of books that had accumulated over the past two weeks.  This meant that a lot of books were being checked out and that lot of kids was reading.  That is good thing. 

Oh Dewey!

Dewey decimal system, while an efficient way of categorizing books, can be very tedious for re-shelving.  As soon as I started getting to multiple decimal points and letters and other additions, I became more determined that each book should be placed precisely.  Uh oh, I knew I was in trouble when I started re-organizing some of the other books (already on shelves) which needed to be a few slots down or up.  Plus there were moments where I was questioning the logic of having a basketball book next to a martial arts one and which sent me looking for other basketball and martial arts books.  “Just trust the system" my brain screamed.  This entire activity appeared to be fun initially, but after a few dozen trips to carry books and squats to find the correct slots, every inch of my body was aching.  But I was not the only person doing this.  Similar to before, a lot of volunteers had shown up and sometimes we had to wait till someone was done with their shelving before moving into that spot in the aisle. 

After all the non-fiction had been done, I turned my attention to the Fiction books.  These were organized by the Author name and once again, my borderline compulsive behavior was making me arrange books not only by the author, but also the sequence of release.  For example, I would not have Harry Potter and The Half-Blood Prince shelved before Harry Potter and The Prisoner Of Azkaban. Even with these petty issues that I had created for myself, it is ennobling to be amongst books – and especially books for children.  Even today there are days when I am drawn to books of my childhood and youth.  They are part of who I am and I can almost remember the place and the feeling when I read all of them for the first time.  As I rearranged these books, I became nostalgic for the all my visits to a library while I was growing up.  I remember my parents dropping me off in the kids section of their library while they went about their business in the main building.  I remember accompanying my dad one evening to open my first library account.  I remember my mom picking me up from school at the end of my 7^th grade final exams and taking me straight to the library for picking up the first of my books for that summer.  I remember the disappointment of not getting a chance to pick up a library book in school because the time for library period had run out. I remember that one corner on the 2^nd floor of the main library at University of Connecticut where I spent many an afternoon sitting on the window seat with a book in my hand and looking out at the beauty that is New England.  And I remember spending hours and hours sitting on the small step ladders in library aisles in almost all of the cities that I have lived in – something that I do to this day.  Libraries are a part of our heritage and something that we pass on to the next generation.  So what if I was inconvenienced because of bending down a few times. 

I finished my shift for the evening by putting bar codes on some of the new arrivals.  I was sad to tell Laura that I would not be able to come for a couple of months due to my classes on Tuesday evenings.  She said that I would be welcome anytime I choose to return.  I was replying to a few text messages and thus was one of the last volunteers to leave, along with another girl.  We promptly got lost in the school and since there was no danger of us not finding the exit, I savored the experience of walking down the halls full of pictures of Disney characters and painted in bright colors that Disney inspires.  It had been a great evening, one that took me to different places in my long-forgotten memory.  “Every part of my body and soul ache”, I had texted to a friend.  But the reasons for each had been different. 

AIDS Run & Walk

Location: Soldier Field

Date: Sunday, September 30, 2012; 9-11 am

Every journey has a first step

I had never done a charity walk before.  There was a 1 mile Cupid Dash for MakeAWay Charities  that I participated while in Plano, Texas back in February.  But that was more as a fun activity and quite honestly, I did not even know about the charity when I signed up.  The AIDS Run and Walk was the first such event where I signed up to support the cause and for a promise made to a friend.  By the time the event day arrived the friend had gone, but the promise remained.

The various categories were a 5K or a 10K run and a 5K walk.  There was no way I was running, so I had registered for the walk.  The walk was scheduled to begin at around 9:15 am from Soldier Field, which is about 2.3 miles from my apartment.  This meant that I had already put in some mileage prior to arriving at the Start line, having rushed the last half a mile or so in the fear that I was going to be late.  When I got there, I realized I need not have worried since thousands had showed up and the line of walkers stretched out as far as the eye could see.  I was never going to be late.

The view!

Everyone had a reason

The path which the organizers had chosen for us was fantastic.  It ran right next to the lake, took us past the Shedd Aquarium and gave us spectacular view of the city.  As I admired the view, I looked around me and saw things that were even more fascinating than the skyline.  I may have been the only lone walker that day because people had come in groups to support the cause.  There were families and friends and people whose lives had been touched by AIDS, mostly through a loved one.  Despite the seriousness of the ailment, none of these people looked forlorn.  In fact, the energy was joyous and people were laughing and smiling and everyone was happy be there.  Many were holding banners and some were even wearing flamboyant costumes.  All of this made for one memorable experience and never have I enjoyed walking in Chicago as I did that day. 

Heroes, everywhere

Festivities at the end

As this mass of humanity made their way back towards Soldier Field, we came upon a group of cheerleaders - not your college sports squad, but ordinary people.  They were waving their pompoms, egging us on and really putting on a great show.  I gave them a big smile and waved back.  Yes, there were a lot of heroes there walking the trail, but for some reason this cheering squad was more special.  Who knows why they were doing it, but we were all pleased that they were there.

Why we fight

As we arrived at the Finish line, the post-race party was in full swing.  I went over towards the Soldier Field stadium where some of the AIDS memorial quilts were on display.  Unlike the festivities outside, the mood in here was quite somber and we all contemplated on the significance of what we had been a part of that day.  In our own little way all of us had done something for awareness; and while the victory may be in sight, today was a reminder of how we have reached here. 

Library Maintenance

Location: Walt Disney Magnet School

Date: Tuesday, September 25, 2012; 6-8 pm

When I saw this opportunity on Chicago Cares website, there were two reasons why I signed up.  The first was the name of the school.  Ever since I can remember, Walt Disney has been a part of my life.  From the day my dad bought me the first ‘Mickey & Donald’ comic book to recently seeing ‘Beauty And The Beast’ on stage, I have been indebted to Disney for some of my greatest childhood and adult memories.  This would be one way of paying back.  Secondly, I thought this would be an easy one.  Having spent a lot of time at the library in my long past life as a student, I had seen the library assistants shelving books and it seemed like they hardly ever broke a sweat.  Boy, was I mistaken!

I found myself taking the CTA Red Line to Sheridan and then heading up to Lake Shore Drive, where the school is located.  A very interesting thing happened as I was walking towards the school.  On one of the intersections, I came across a set of keys on the street.  This was a huge bunch with lots of keys and also had a group of discount cards attached to the key-chain   I looked around and saw a lady with a dog.  I stopped her and asked if these were her keys and she said no.  Nobody else was around and I did not feel like taking responsibility.  Hence I moved them to the side and went on my way. 

Walt Disney Magnet School

I arrived at the school, buzzed, went inside and saw that some of the volunteers had already arrived.  Our volunteer leader Laura told us that due to budget challenges, many of the teachers have had to double as librarians.  As teaching is their primary objective, it leaves little time for reshelving books and organizing the library.  That’s where the volunteers come in.  Every couple of weeks during the school semester, volunteers – led by Laura – come in for a couple of hours and do all the odd jobs that are critical to making a library accessible to the students.  As I heard this, the same thought as before crossed my mind, “Well this should be easy.  All we have to do is put a few books in the right place, make sure all is tidy and who knows, we may even have time to read”.  This was before we started the work for that evening. 

As soon as you walk inside the school, you are greeted with giant sized Mickey and Minnie stuffed figures settled in chairs.  In fact, the Disney theme is very prevalent all over the corridors and class rooms, thus giving school a very novel look.  The library itself was a very welcoming place, brightly lit and open spaces.  We were told that there were two main tasks that needed to be done.  First was the reshelving of books by category – Fiction, Non-Fiction or General.  The Fiction books were to be shelved by author while the Non-Fiction had the dreaded Dewey Decimal system.  Second task was to prepare the new incoming books for library by covering them in dust jackets and labeling them with bar codes.  Since my proclivity for any sort of crafts has been non-existent, I volunteered for the shelving job.  This was the first activity for the current school year and as such, there were a lot of books that required attending.  There were books on the incoming shelves, books on carts and some on tables.  I took the non-fiction books and the next 75 minutes or so was a non-stop activity of picking up the books, identifying the right stacks, finding out the precise location and then putting them in their proper place.  This was as physical an activity that I have done - so much for me thinking that shelving books was easy.  There were at least 6-8 other volunteers who were helping with the shelving, 3-4 working on the new books and 1-2 organizing the books at the source, in order to speed up this process.  Even with this efficiency, it took us most of the two hours to finish the task. 

After that, some of us turned our attention towards the labeling part and I did my best to make sure I did not make a mess of a simple task such as peeling off the bar codes and sticking one of the inside first page and one on the back.  Even then, one of the volunteers pointed out that I was doing it wrong and that the bar code needed to be turned around.  I wanted to argue that a laser scan can pick up the code irrespective of its direction, but somehow that would have been the wrong thing to say.  All of us were exhausted.  But even at the end of this session, this volunteer wanted to make sure I was doing the job correctly.  This small comment said a lot about the commitment that these people had towards the job.  The librarian thanked us profusely for our time and said that people like us help keep schools going.  With those words ringing in my ears, I promised Laura that I would return and walked out into the cool evening air with a greater appreciation for librarians as well as the assistants who make sure every book reaches the right place.  Plus for a short time that evening, I was a part of the Disney family.

Epilogue

There is an epilogue to this story.  As I retraced my steps back to the train station, I came to the same intersection where I had seen the keys more than two hours ago.  Lo and behold, they were still there.  I picked them up and perhaps it was due to what we had just done that evening, but I felt that I owed it to the owner to make an attempt at returning them.  I looked around for cops but none were to be seen.  I picked up the keys and started walking to the station.  I noticed that one of the discount cards was for ‘Jewel’ grocery stores.  My first clue!  I knew there was a Jewel store near the Grand Red station, where I usually disembark in downtown.  Upon arrival I went inside and asked for the store manager.  I explained what had happened and wondered if they could help trace the owner of the keys through their records and return it to them.  They were more than willing and promised to get the keys to the right person.  I was proud of everything that we had accomplished.  Not only had my fellow volunteers and I helped a school in need, but they had inspired me to try and return these keys to their owner. 

Some keys are special

As I walked back home it hit me that perhaps it would have been better for me to have delivered this to a Jewel store near Sheridan rather than downtown, since that’s perhaps where the person resided.  In any case, I hope that they got the keys back.  Maybe, just maybe there was one key in there that was irreplaceable.  Maybe there was one key that meant something special.  Maybe one key, whose return will inspire this person to be a hero.

What’s the Word

Location: Lakeview Nursing and Rehabilitation Center

Date: Wednesday, September 12, 2012; 6:30-8 pm

Lakeview Nursing and Rehabilitation Center

I had limited experience in volunteering, the last instance being 4 years ago when I worked a few evenings in Pittsburgh’s Ten Thousand Villages.  My job there was mostly handling the cash register and occasionally directing people towards certain artifacts.  There were some nights when I was a part of the closing crew, which meant vacuuming and/or cleaning the wash room.  While I did talk with people at the register, it was not a task which required much interaction. 

Thus it was with a slight trepidation that I registered for a volunteer opportunity at a Nursing facility – someplace where interaction was not only inevitable, it was almost mandatory.  I had found Chicago Cares through a Google search for volunteering opportunities.  I was slightly disillusioned at the time and was looking for a reason to believe in our ability as humans to be kind, patient and understanding.  I was looking for heroism.

Community Room

Lakeview Nursing and Rehabilitation Center is a nursing facility for seniors and other residents who need skilled nursing care.  This volunteering opportunity was to help the seniors create their own newsletter.  I arrived there at 6:30 pm after work and was directed towards a community room where many of the seniors spend their evenings either socializing or watching television or just getting away from their rooms.  Gwen, our leader arrived and asked us to assemble around a table where the 3 other volunteers besides us, were joined by 3 seniors – Jim, Jack and Larry. 

Jim requires an oxygen cylinder wherever he goes, but is very active and was pretty sharp in his discussions.  It was his birthday that week and so Gwen had baked him his favorite cookies, also making sure to mix other types that are Jack’s and Larry’s favorites.  Jack is in a wheelchair and not as talkative.  But he is quite alert and I was floored to learn that he is a World War II veteran.  In fact, he recalled a time when he shook General Eisenhower’s hand when stationed in Germany.  Larry is a very interesting character and while he looks as if he is always in a bad mood and would rather stay away, he was very involved in our evening’s activities. 

Our task was to work on the Bi-monthly newsletter, ‘As We See It’, along with some of the residents.  Every two weeks Gwen gets together with them to design the upcoming issue and then there is a final read through before distributing to the other residents.  Today was our first look at the final draft of September/October issue.  The issue is a fun read and full of random information and trivia, such as various holidays and upcoming events in Chicagoland.  Since this has been ongoing for a few years, they had to stretch their imagination to find out novel days, for example, I did not know that October 20^th is also known as ‘Sweetest Day’, which is Fall’s version of Valentine’s Day.  Some of the other things that are usually in the issue are an interview with a staff member at Lakeview, a book review on something that Gwen and some of the residents have been reading and a restaurant review. 

This issue's restaurant review was on ‘Panera Cares’, one of the four Panera Bread locations in the US to implement a unique program.  The following is an excerpt from the issue: “The purpose of this place is to feed anyone who comes in, regardless of economic status.  You pay what you want.  You either make a monetary donation for your food or you volunteer for one hour.  The point is to address the issue of hunger in our neighborhood.”  Panera Cares website says “What do we do at Panera Cares® community cafes?  We feed people.  We uplift.  We restore dignity.  We make you feel welcome.  We fill bellies AND self-esteem.  We care.  Why do we do this?  Because we believe that everyone deserves a dignified dining experience in an uplifting environment regardless of the means.  It’s as simple as that.  This is our way of sharing in the responsibility and making a difference in the world we all share.”

Like I said... heroism is everywhere. 

All done!

The final activity of the evening was solving a word search puzzle together.  This was quite exciting and to some extent a bit competitive.  The idea was to search for words on your copy and then yell out the location once you found it.  Then all of us would mark it on the page and search for another one.  Everyone wanted to ensure that they got as many words as possible and thus were concentrating hard.  All of us were totally engaged and I had a great time.  Only at the end, after we had finished it, did I realize how the time had flown by.  It was one of the most entertaining evenings that I have had in a long time and I was extremely pleased to have come.  I promised the others that I would return soon and as Gwen handed out the remaining cookies to them, it became apparent how much she meant to these people.  I never heard anyone thank her, but they didn't need to.  She has become a part of their family, and while being taken for granted is usually considered to be a bad thing, in her case she has earned that right. 

*All the client's names have been changed in order to respect their privacy

On Every Street

Let me preface by saying that it has never been my fervent desire to be considered a nice person and I may not even be one.  I mean, I do try to respect people, attempt to help out where I can and have been known to extend a sympathetic ear every now and then.  But I also avoid eye contact with strangers when they approach me on the streets, either asking for change or to fill out a survey; have glared at the occasional barista who is either rude or too friendly, and would probably make a sympathetic noise - but keep walking - if I see a bird with a broken wing on the curbside.  So this is not about me trying to promote myself as the second coming of a saint, neither is it about any specific individual.  What it is, started off as a mission to find heroes, observe them, and also understand why they do what they do.  I have often considered it improbable; almost miraculous that majority of people would do something unselfish for others; and I never did believe in miracles.  But such people do exist, they are the volunteers - men and women who give their time for causes, without expecting anything in return, except perhaps the unsaid gratitude in the eyes of the people whose lives they touch.

On every street

Through these diaries I will share my experiences as a volunteer for Chicago Cares and Make-A-Wish Foundation; as well as some of the other enriching events that I hope have made me a better person.  And the title – it is one of my favorite songs by the group 'Dire Straits', where Mark Knopfler writes about his attempt to search for that special person on every street.  When I said that this started as a mission to find heroes, I was not looking for someone wearing a mask and a cape.  Now don’t get me wrong, these people do important work as well.  These are your men and women in uniform, the fire fighters, the doctors and even the philanthropists.  Why, even I have sent donations for disaster relief and for medical research and while that makes me an empathetic, even a kind person, I am averse to calling myself a hero.  Heroes are people who usually prefer to stay in the shadows.  They would walk by us and we wouldn't give them a second glance.  Some of them even look socially awkward and I myself have been guilty of stereotyping such people in the past.  Many of them will probably go through life without any recognition and some, like Eleanor Rigby, will probably pass into oblivion.  But to me, these are special people whose higher ideals are to be aspired for, and while there have been only a select few that I have had the privilege to meet, heroism is truly all around us… on every street.

What started as a mission to find heroes is now a life-affirming journey.  What started as a curiosity to observe has now become an immersive experience.  And what started as a question to understand why they do what they do, is now so irrelevant that it would be almost be insensitive to ask that.  It’s like what Chris-in-the-morning says in my favorite show 'Northern Exposure': “It’s not the thing you fling.  It’s the fling itself”.

The other day we went around the room introducing ourselves and I said the usual plain things that corporate life prepares us for.  What I really should have said is something that I have truly come to accept:

“Hi.  I am Ritesh…and I believe in miracles.”