May 13, 2013

That time I interviewed for a job I didn’t want



The common conception is that you need to make a fantastic first impression when you interview because hell, you want to get out of Dodge, right? So what happens when you go to an interview out of curiosity? Well... a LOT happens.

A dozen or so weeks back, I got a random call from a random agency setting up a random interview... My impression was that, heck if they called me, they know what they want because it seems they’re sharp as a tack....................... the reality was a little different to say the least.

Instead of the well organized flowing meeting I knew wasn’t going to happen, I had an awkward 40 minute conversation with an ACD with professional ADD. Don’t get me wrong, the guy who interviewed me was super nice and I’m actually quite clear we could have countless buddy moments and great beer-versations... but during the “interview” we talked about him and what he was doing for more than half the time.

As my brother pointed out, that was all on me because I should have steered the conversation towards getting a higher paying job than what I currently have... but I couldn’t help but let things be and not force anything because it didn’t feel right ever since I arrived.

From the get-go it was awkward because I arrived about twenty minutes early since I wanted to beat traffic and wasn’t 100% sure about where the offices were... When I got there, the guy who was going to interview me was like.... what??? You’re early? It was funny and I was able to fill out paperwork and save time in the long run.

When he was finally able to get back to me, we get to talking and he goes like: “so why are you here?” and I immediately switched things on him and said, I think that’s a great question I think you could answer, because I got a call from you guys and would like to see what you guys need.

That’s when I took my psychology pose and an ACD basically told me all that he’s doing, how he thinks he’s coming off as crazy and that he wants to diversify his skills to be ready for anything... Talk about knowing how to butter up a prospect by telling him you’ve got a PHD and are studying for your JD to be prepared for anything that happens..... and I’m supposed to push to get this job? Interesting.

So there we sat and talked about life, what he’s doing, what I’m doing, why I got out of advertising in the first place, that I just didn’t like having to work late and weekend because people didn’t get their shit together and were irresponsible and that working with a mentally unstable person (the bad crazy not the good crazy) was anything BUT fun. Seriously, by being honest I ended up shooting my foot like twelve times not because I didn’t know what I was doing, but because I was EXTREMELY clear that they didn’t make a great first impression and that I wasn’t interested in what they were selling.

The reason is simple, first impressions are a two way street and if a job doesn’t deliver the goods in the BULLSHIT process where you are being fooled into taking a shit job, then why bother?

Cheers


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