After that interview, I did some major kicking myself all of the way home.
Where in the world did all of that come from? How stupid could I be?
I consider myself easy to get along with and I like everyone until they give me a reason not to. I don't know where that deranged personality came from.
What if one of those three women was from that city? What if their boss was from that city? What if one of them had a husband who was an attorney? I didn't know them or where they were from.
Common sense told me that I was not the person they would hire.
I was right.
I didn't even get “The Letter” that thanked me for my time and wished me the best of luck in my job search. I just didn't hear from them again. I actually expected them to send me the business card of a psychiatrist that they'd recommend I should see.
I hung myself on that one and made a mental note to NEVER project personal opinions again! My “Not To Do” list was growing.
Another month goes by. I scour the local newspapers weekly and check the internet job sites daily. Numerous resumes are sent out. An occasional letter is received thanking me for my interest in their company, however they've chosen different applicants to interview. Some even state that the position has already been filled.
Not even an interview? With my years of experience? Is there a private website where past interviewers can post your name and warn future interviewers that you acted like a babbling moron? I'm beginning to think there is.
Maybe I can learn how to make something at home, sell it on the Internet and not have to interact with anyone. It appears that I'm failing these social skills tests I'm being given and possibly should not be allowed in public.
Raising goats in seclusion somewhere is beginning to look like the logical career path I should take.
Early one fall morning, the phone rings. It's the manager of a company that I had sent a resume to a couple of months ago. I hadn't even been called for an interview then. A letter had been received from him, thanking me for my application, however the position had been filled.
He asks if I'm still looking for work and if I'd be interested in coming in for an interview. The person they had hired two months ago was leaving to go back to a prior job.
It's obvious that he doesn't yet have access to the “People Who Bombed Their Interview” website. If he did, he wouldn't have called me. That's a plus for me.
I'm so excited!
My gut response was to say,
“Yes! Oh my God! Yes, I'm still looking for work. I'm going crazy here and need to do something. We are SOOOO broke! I really am an intelligent, kind, caring person and not a moron. Please, please, please hire me! I can start in an hour. Do you want me to pick up donuts? Pick up your dog from the vet? Your dry cleaning too?”
My actual response was to calmly, casually say,
“Well, yes, actually I am still available. Now that school has started, I've decided to start looking a little harder. I've enjoyed spending the summer with my kids but now I'm ready to get back to work.” Sounds like I've been turning down offer after offer and have chosen to be home watching daytime TV and doing word search puzzles for 122 days, doesn't it?
He asks if I can come in for an interview in two hours. I, again calmly, state that won't be a problem at all and that I'm looking forward to it.
I hang up the phone, do a little dance, say a quick prayer to the ceiling and race up the stairs to the shower.
“I will not blow this one. I will not blow this one.”
I say this to myself over and over again.
In the shower, I try to remember everything I can from those previous, disastrous meetings. I recall the questions that I now have awesome answers for and practice reciting those awesome answers to the shampoo bottle. I go over my mental “Not To Do” List. I also make mental notes as to what skills that I need to accentuate to him without appearing too confident or cocky. This will be OK. This will be good this time.
I arrive ten minutes early. The woman at the front desk greets me with a very sweet, sincere smile. She says that the manager had to step out and he hopes to be back in ten minutes. I thank her, take a seat and use this extra time to scope out the office.
