I had my first interview yesterday
You know, since I started job hunting. Actually it was my first face-to-face interview (I had phone interviews for my 100 Hats job) and now that I think of it, it was my first corporate interview ever. Three hours, five people — boom boom boom, all in a row. Yikes.
Was I nervous? Of course! But I solved that dilemma: I showed up an hour late! This wasn’t by design, mind you, this was just the combination of a very busy week, several phone appointments all at 2pm last week, and an addled mind who read my 1pm note on the calendar as 2pm even though I checked it twice. So imagine my surprise when — standing in the kitchen, tights in hand — the HR person called to say, “And where are you?” I pulled on my tights, jumped in the car and promptly got lost taking a sure-fire short cut.
Yeah. Well.
The HR person was understandably peeved and frankly, there is no point in making inadequate excuses so I said “sorry sorry sorry” a lot and looked ashamed (that part was easy).
Happily, since I’d blown the interview just by showing up (late), I decided not to feel nervous so the rest of the interviews were lots of fun. I enjoyed talking to the nice corporate people, I enjoyed learning more about their business (I asked questions and didn’t worry about sounding stupid since, you know, I’d already screwed up that first impression), and I really had a great time.
In fact, I had so much fun that I’m totally kicking myself for being incapable of reading my calendar. (It would have been more satisfying to have hated everyone, hated the job description and been able to huff up saying to myself, “Thank god I showed up late for that one! Hmph!” Instead I slunked out to my car and then hit my head on the steering wheel a couple of times.)
Then I raced to meet a writer-person I’d never met before for coffee and then I raced again to go to a networking meeting where I met several nice people, including another writer-person. But by then I was exhausted and thrumming (I couldn’t fall asleep until about 5am — I’m a tad tired today) and sad about the interview all over again.
Still — the first one is down, right? And I did learn a lot and even have a better idea of what my capabilities are just by talking to the several interviewers.
I have another networking meeting on Thursday — much bigger and more formal. Coffee with another writer I’ve never met beforehand, and a quick meeting with my dad (because I’m mining his corporate ties) before that. And this time I’m remembering my watch.
I have no idea what this company is like, but at every office I’ve worked in, if you’re there for 3 hours meeting 5 different people, it means they like you! If you make a really bad first impression, you don’t usually make it past HR.
Good luck!
They would definitely kick you out in less than 3 hours if they weren’t interested. (You know, I know insiders at these kind of thingies). All is not lost there, and it sounds like there are plenty of other irons in the fire (so stock up on spray starch!)
Don’t write them off yet, Dawn. I once got a job as a proofreader after giving them a resume with a glaring typo!
oh man, you must have felt awful! But I like your overall attitude about it, i.e. enjoying the rest of the interview. And I agree with doris day that they wouldn’t have gone through with it if they were ready to write you off due to tardiness. I’m actually surprised that they didn’t reschedule the whole thing after you didn’t show up for an hour!
Anyway, good luck… I have an interview this Thurs. and even though it’s “sort of” a casual, “well, let’s just talk and see what you might have in mind,” kind of interview… I’m really nervous. And already second-guessing whether I even want a J-O-B now. I haven’t applied for a job or been on a real interview in AGES… It’s so much easier to just present yourself in writing sometimes - for me at least
Pfft, I bet they were like, “Dude, she had enough balls to show up and go through with the interview even though she was late? Let’s listen to this ballsy woman!”
Don’t count yourself out. Three hours is not a blow off interview.
I once showed up for an interview 24 hours late. Yep, wrong day.
I was fifteen minutes late for a twenty minute interview in law school…and they hired me. Exactly as Jenna said–they thought I had balls for showing up at all.
So good luck!
Sorry about the time mix-up. That’s exactly something I would do, too…wouldn’t it be funny if after all that, they offered you a job? You’d have to decide, Well do I want to work at a place where showing up an hour late is no big deal…
Best of luck, whatever happens!
Uhh, at an ad agency where I once worked a guy came in for an interview with all of us. Before leaving he went out on the porch for a smoke. His cigarette butt set the mulch in the flowerbed on fire, which spread to the lattice on the side of the porch. I helped the receptionist put it out, but the fire department came. He got the job anyway. He denied it was his fault — I think it was a knee-jerk reaction, and then he couldn’t take it back — haven’t we all done that at some point? But he might be the only job candidate in the history of the world who lieterally set the building on fire and still got the job.
My point? It could have been worse, and it might work out