Interviews

Today I have a second interview for a job I think might finally be a good fit, a veterinary receptionist with the possibility of becoming an office manager. Let’s hope I don’t screw it up.

So here’s the deal, in the past I was a hiring manager for a major retail store that sold mostly stuff made in a large country with major human rights violations and possible child labor law violations. The two are a perfect match. Anyway, let’s just say I got really good at interviewing people, but didn’t quite pick up on how to be interviewed. Let’s just say I wouldn’t try using any of the tactics employed by the people I interviewed… well, except for maybe a couple. But then again, I did hire those people.

One thing I’ve found that takes the nervousness out is to simply be myself, perhaps with a little toning down and much less profanity. For said major retail store I actually did tell the person interviewing me, after she asked me to name three qualities about myself, that I’m a kleptomaniac, a compulsive liar and have 192 personalities and I have a fourth one, I’m black. I was hired on the spot, not because of my answers but because of how I answered the question. She then told me I would be a good fit with her crew, all of whom were quirky and funny, allowing them to work well under stress and deadlines, a good thing to have in a 1-Hour Photo lab.

And today, here in just over an hour, I’m going to probably not use the same tactics, but I am going to be me. I won’t have to act or be nervous being myself. I won’t have to remember to turn on an inflection or ask one of my 192 personalities to take over. All I need to do is be me and show them I am the best fit for them. After all, if I do get hired on, I’m bound to pop out eventually.