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Friday, January 29, 2010

If I don't laugh, I'm gonna cry....

It actually started last night. I was in the Cities, getting ready for my interview, trying on my outfit that I had bought, etc., practicing questions that might be asked, etc., and I called DH.

Me: You're going to have to set your alarm. I will be in the interview at the time when you will need to get DD up for school.

DH: Don't worry....it's already set.

So my interview was at 6:30am. I got up at 4:30am (I was already in the City so I didn't have the 2 hour commute) and started to get ready. Got dressed carefully, made sure my hair was as nice as it was going to get, wrote down some questions for the interviewer, then, it was 5:45, so I decided to head to the interview, so I could be sure I would be on time--didn't want to get stuck in traffic or anything....I got to the company at 6:05, sat in my car until 6:22 and then I went inside. (Remember, this is a big corporate building, with about 7,000 employees....)

I went inside just like usual, but this time I was a non-employee, so I had to stop at the guard's station to let my interviewer know I was there. I presented I.D. and the name of the person who I was meeting, and I was told by the guard to "wait over there in the waiting area." So I did.

At 6:45 I started to get concerned, because nobody had come to get me yet. But I didn't want to be pushy either, so I was kind of unsure if I should ask the guard to call again or not. At 7am I finally decided to check to see if I had been forgotten.

It turns out that the guard apparently didn't contact the guy at 6:22. So as far as the interviewer was concerned, I was already a half hour late. He looked surprised when I told him I had been there since 6:25, and he went to the guard's desk to verify. The guard who was working stated that I must've talked to "the new guy", and "he left at 6:30". So at least my interviewer had that to prove that I was there on time, and hopefully they have some sort of record....but....it was a bad first impression anyways.

And then I was flustered because of that and all my confidence went out the window (not that I had a lot to begin with, but I have never been so prepared for an interview as I was for this one....until then anyhow).

And I was supposed to interview with two men. But one of them, by that time, was in another interview, so I only interviewed with one of them (at first). And his body language said "well, I'll read the questions off to you, just so you can say you had an interview, but I am completely not interested..." I tried. But my mind went relatively blank. I don't think I said anything that was an instant bad thing, but I sure didn't astound him with my brilliance, either....not that I think he cared....

But then, at the end of the interview with that guy, he went and tracked down the other guy, and I interviewed one on one with the second guy. But the first guy didn't stick around to see what I had to say....I was so disappointed. I still am.

I sent thank you emails to each of the two men and expressed my appreciation for the last-minute rescheduling they did, and tried to apologize for the time snafu without accepting responsibility....but I was so embarrassed....and if I get a phone call from them, well....I just don't think I will.

But wait!!!! There's more!!!!!!

I called DH to tell him how bummed I was, and by that time it was 9am. And DD answered the phone. Then DH picked up.

Me: How come DD isn't in school?

DH: I called you!!!! I already told you all this!!!!!

Me: How could you have called and told me all this when I turned my phone off for the interview and there were no messages when I turned it back on???

DH: Well, maybe it was a dream.....

DH: Because I overslept and I don't have enough gas to bring her into town.

Me: I thought you set your alarm.

DH: I did.

Me: Ok, well, I'm still 2 hours away from home, so call the school....

Me: (to myself) For Pete's sake, I have to do EVERYTHING. He had enough gas to go to town last night and see his friend....makes me want to scream.

5 comments:

Elizabeth A. said...

Oh my Lord, that waiting room experience would have given my a panic attack. I can't handle being late.

Sorry about DH. You'd think between the two of them...

Reighnie said...

How awful! The guys that were interviewing you, were they HR people or people you would be working for?

I would be angry to be treated that way and angry that the guard didn't tell them. I'm not sure I'd want to work for such an AH who would treat any interview like that.

Having been on hiring committees myself, I can't believe someone would do that.

I'm sorry you had to go through that.

perphila said...

For goodness sake.

Ok, the worst is over. You rocked but the situation didn't. Nothing you can do about that. Maybe it didn't go as bad as you think. Sending the email was great.

As for DH, well, are you really surprised at this point?

Miz Kizzle said...

I can't believe that they checked to see you were telling the truth about arriving on time while you were there. That is so not cool. It makes it look like they suspected you of lying. IMHO security guards at large corporations are notoriously useless (sorry if your best friends with one, but that's been my experience). I worked at a law firm for 18 months before one particular guy stopped checking who I was every time I walked past his desk. It wasn't flirting. He was just clueless. He said I "looked different" every time he saw me, as if I were some sort of master of disguise. He did the same for several other female attorneys and he was finally let go, over something else.
I hope you get the job if you still want it. Unfortunately, many employers right now act as if they're doing you a favor if they agree to interview you.

Jessa said...

That whole interview experience sucks, but hey, it was interview experience. That means the next one you'll be even better prepared.

As for the DH situation...that's just a total UGH! Having bipolar myself, my children and their education are still top priority and I can count on one hand the number of times they've been tardy...0.