The Last Frontier?

I was getting ready for work one morning back in February and as I was walking out the door when the phone rang. For a split second I debated if I should even answer the phone, but I did. It was a call from Klondike Gold Rush National Historical Park (KLGO) in Skagway, Alaska (www.nps.gov/klgo).

The park surprised me when they called a week earlier. The earlier call was an inquiry to see if I was still interested in a job I had applied for months before and to be honest at the time of the call I could not remember what type of position I had even applied for. Since I began working for the NPS, I have applied to countless jobs and the jobs I have been lucky enough to land, while amazing gigs, have been seasonal or temporary in nature. The coveted and highly competitive permanent park service jobs always seemed to elude me. So even though I was uncertain about the specific job, I was certain that I had no chance of getting it for that very reason – it was permanent. As I was till struggling to remember the job or even applying for the job, Reed, the administrative officer at KLGO, asked if I would be willing to do an interview right then and there. So I thought, what the hell and went for it.

It was a completely different type of job interview in that I was totally unprepared yet somehow comfortable, at ease, and oddly confident. It was as if my utter lack of faith that I was even remotely competitive for the position released my normal nervous and unsure - though mostly prepared -interview style and instead my loose and confident answers transcended the expected responses. For instance,

"No. I don't have any substantial experience in government requisitions and procurement, but do you know what I do have experience in? Gettin' things done."

and

"No I don't have much to tell you about my experience with PMIS, AFS, IDEAS, FFS, UAA, and those other acronyms that you just said, but I can tell you that I support the use of acronyms and have substantial experience using acronyms on a daily basis such as USA, TV, NBC, GM, UK, DVD, and many others."

Needless to say, after this out of the ordinary "interview" I assumed that I would definitely be blacklisted from ever working at KLGO - maybe even all of Alaska - and never in my wildest dreams did I think that I would get a call back. But that's exactly what happened a week later as I was walking out the door to go to work. Not only did I get a call back, I was offered the job.

My immediate reaction was disbelief and confusion. Is this some kind of joke? What kind of place is this to hire me? I had no answer. I asked for two days to think it over but I only got 24 hours.

After weighing the pros and cons and calling several people for advice - I had still not made up my mind. It was perhaps the most difficult decision that I have ever made. My 24 hours ticked by, but I still could not figure out what I was going to do. Reluctantly, I picked up the phone dialed KLGO to give them my answer and as the phone rang, I finally decided.