I agree wholeheartedly with the notion that interviews work both ways, and that listening to one’s gut is critical. I’d also urge applicants to include in their resume information that might help that two-way “screening” that is always part of the process. In my pre-professional days, I’d been an elected shop steward in a support staff union in a library I worked for while going to school. Including that fact on my resume clearly cost me some interviews, but I figured that a library that couldn’t interpret that information as “leadership potential” rather than “scary troublemaker” wasn’t somewhere I wanted to work anyway.

It took me almost a year to find the job I ultimately took, and I interviewed for 7-8 others (I don’t remember the number now). I still work for the same institution, and am very happy I didn’t get any of those other jobs.

Don’t despair, and for goodness sake–don’t settle! One’s first professional job is critically important. I, too, got out of school at a time of too many applicants for too few jobs, and despite that, found a great job that lead to other great jobs in a fabulous profession.

To be slightly more serious though: never expect that hiring policies of any educational institution will be sane or reasonable. Always expect to be led through the woods chasing after numerous wild geese. It never sounds good, and it never sounds optimistic, but when it comes to hiring policies and interview policies, expect the worst, but hope for the best. That way you can be pleasantly surprised. I am glad to read you did finally manage to get a sane interview, and I do agree that the first college’s policy is a little loopy, but it’s nothing unexpected. But the best of luck for getting the job you truly want.