The Job Interview I Flew To

Professional Networking

I belong to a couple of social and professional networking sites. One of them is www.linkedin.com on which I have an abbreviated version of my resume posted along with a head shot. One of the wonderful benefits of having a profile on Linked In is that employers and recruiters find you there and start communications with you regarding open jobs that they think, based on your profile, you would be a good candidate for. Even with this tough economy, I get about one request from a recruiter a month asking me if I would be interested in whatever open position that they have that fits my experience level.

The Recruiter Contacted Me

So one day, this recruiter contacted me eager to introduce me to a position that a huge and still growing company is looking to create and hire someone like me for. She asked if I would be interested in interviewing for it. Although the job location would be on the West Coast and I have lived on the East Coast my whole life, the job opportunity was something I could not refuse. They offered me the ability to have a phone interview with the man who would be my direct boss. I said yes and we firmed up the date and time.

The Phone Interview

Although I was nervous, I answered every question that the man asked honestly and with a happy, eager attitude. At the end of the phone call, the man asked me to fly to them for an in person interview. He said that his assistant would make all the arrangements, that his company would cover all expenses, and that I would receive a call in a few days with additional information. Needless to say, I was excited and very happy to get past the first interview.

Getting to the In Person Interview

I got off work at 2PM. I rushed home to finish packing for the interview that was planned for the following morning. I needed to get to the airport by 3′ish for a 4:30 flight that took over 6 hours to get to the destination. I spent the 6 hours plus flight thinking about and preparing for the upcoming interview. As the hours went by on the plane, the more confident I became that I was going to get this job.

The plane lands and as expected, there was a man waiting outside the door with a Land Rover to drive me to the Hotel. He was a sweetheart. Instead of driving me straight to my hotel room, he took me on a car drive showing me the area a bit, showing me the office building of the place I was to interview at the next morning, and even showing me where he and his family lived, and on top of all that, invited me to Summer picnics with his family if I got the job. So needless to say, I found my first local to be very friendly.

I got into the hotel, ordered in a pizza even though it was late at night because I hadn’t eaten dinner and I didn’t want to wake up for my interview starved. So I stuffed myself with what seemed to be foreign pizza and went to bed for one of the best night sleeps I had had in a long time.

When I wake and finish dressing, priming, and propping, I receive a phone call from a gentleman who was a part of the recruiter company that found me for this possible job opportunity. He said that he was on his way to the hotel to sit with me to help prepare me for the interview and then give me a ride to the interview. Although I was thankful that he offered to help me, it was not helpful to get a prep right before the interview. But it was still helpful in some ways…

I show up knowing only the little warnings that the recruiter bestowed me with (like for example, expect a math test) and the itinerary that the original recruiter let me know about.

The In Person Interview

The itinerary that I expected as per the recruiter was as follows…

- 12:00 Lunch with Execs

- 1:00 Interview with Senior VP of Merchandising

- 1:30 Interview with a Buyer for the company

- 2:00 Interview with Director of Merchandising of Operations

- 2:30 Interview with Senior VP of Supply Chain

When I get there, the actual itinerary was a bit different. The lunch with the execs was just a lunch with the man who would be my boss and we were accompanied by someone who would be one of my coworkers.

The lunch went extremely well. We spoke as though I was working there already. They explained what would be my job in extreme detail and gave me lots of insider information about how the company is run. I left lunch feeling very comfortable and confident that they would offer me the position.

When we arrived back at the office, they had me sit in their waiting area for a long, long time. Intead of having a series of other interviews with other execs with the company, two execs brought me into a conference room and interviewed me in what I felt was a stressful experience. I felt so nervous that when they asked me a simple math question (20% of $2,000,000), I choked and said $40,000 (I was mortified!). So from that point during the interview on, my heart was nowhere near the insides of my chest!

I Did Not Get The Job

I arrived home the evening of the interview and needless to say, a few days later, I received an email saying that I was not the perfect fit for the position.

Wow, what an experience!