It was simple. They reached out to me via email to schedule. This was a couple years ago but I believe there were about 4 people in the interview. I wanted to share my thoughts and feedback overall about my experience and the context behind the impact the interview had on me. Overall, things went fine. However, I will say that there were some unspoken dynamics I felt. One thing about the environmental and conservation world is that it is very small. Then, when you think about programs that focus on providing experiences for youth in the spaces that ACE provides, it’s even smaller. The actually interview itself made me feel like the folks interviewing me were very interested in getting very specific details about some of the places I’ve worked (which is part of an interview). However, this felt invasive. One thing I’ve noticed having interviewed in some of the environmental and conservation education based organizations is that everyone wants to know what happens behind the scenes of other organizations. ACE has several folks who previously worked at SCA- which isn’t illegal but it does tend to show a version of favoritism. I didn’t get the job which was totally fine and I’m sure they brought someone into the role who’s a great fit. Something I’m particularly conscientious about is when employers use interviews to get a sense of what’s happening in other organizations not necessarily for competition reasons but more to learn about controversial issues, private matters, etc. This interview felt that way because of the specific questions geared towards certain bosses and situations I’ve witnessed and couldn’t speak to because of NDAs. There was also a comment that was made specifically bringing up a past supervisor followed by a comment about how they research all their candidates in advance. However, it landed weirdly. I’m not sure I’m communicating this well but long story short, some of their questions were less focused on what I could do for their organization and more on very specific employers I used to work for which made me feel like I was there to provide information on those companies. That isn’t in any way because I wasn’t asked to do a second round of interviews- it’s something that I felt in my gut. Wish them all the best and hope they focus on hiring a more diverse workforce.