Bombing a Job Interview

The suit did not get me the job.

It wasn’t a horrible job interview.  But it certainly wasn’t great.  My interrogators numbered two – a woman about my age, and a young man who had graduated from Mason just before I started teaching there.  He missed being one of my students by a year.  And now he was interviewing me for a job.  Need I say more?

So, they liked my experience.  And I think I handled myself well.  I sold my skill set and flexibility.  But did I have experience writing for the web?  Uh, no.  But I could write; heck, I could write anything you want me to write!

So how about writing samples?  Well…I’ve got some tapes of my work.  Great!   Let’s watch ‘em!  Only the room didn’t have one of those vintage videotape players.  And they couldn’t get their hands on one at the moment.  Could I leave the tapes for them to watch??  Sure, just watch them.  And burn them when you’re done.

The postscript – I gave them a story idea about my friend Sam Fox.  They used it.  I told them about a friend of mine, Kerry Hannon, who was writing a book on the subject of people re-inventing themselves.  They interviewed her.  It’s on the website. The female interrogator asked if I could put her in touch with Frank Sesno, former CNN bureau chief, now director of the School for Media and Public Affairs at George Washington University.  I did.

P.S.S.  The Today Show segments and the AARP website are up and running.  Your Life Calling.

Me, I was listening to a dial tone.