A Job Seekers Story

I woke up this morning in a puddle of sweat because my nerves are shot. Why, you ask? Well, I have a job interview. My first one in five years, so to say I am a little rusty is an understatement.

I honestly don’t have a clue what to do with myself. My interview is at 10:45am and it is 4:00 in the morning. No need to get ready yet, but I can’t sleep so why even bother staying in bed. I guess I will get up, sit in my favorite chair, and watch some mindless show on television until it is time for me to get ready to go.

Big mistake…

The sound of the garbage truck woke me up. Startled and half- asleep I looked at the time on the cable box, ten o’ clock, Oh ****! I overslept, how did I oversleep? I jumped out of my chair, took a quick shower, threw on some clothes, and rushed out the door.

It was not until I was half way down the street that I realized a couple of important details to assure success in my job interview:

One, I forgot to shave.

Two, I did not brush my hair.

Three, I forgot to brush my teeth.

Four, I did not dress appropriately…. Jeans and a polo what was I thinking, I have a suit, why didn’t I wear the suit?

And here is the kicker, you ready for this? I forgot the directions to the interview and have no idea where I am going.

I look at the clock on the radio in my car and see the time, 10:20am, I am going to be late. What do I do? I am not going to do well in the interview because of my rough start, so why even bother going.

“I give up!” I turned the car around and drove back home. Fed up with the day and myself, I got back into bed and cried myself to sleep.

The Life of an Unemployed Job Seeker

This is a fictional character in a fictional situation but it isn’t that far fetched. These things happen, but there are many steps to ensure this NEVER happens for you:

• The night before the interview, lay out your interview outfit. Make sure your clothing is pressed, cleaned, and the shoes are polished.
• Place your keys next to the front door or some other obvious place and next to your keys lay the directions to the interview as well as the point of contact to ask for once you arrive. o It is best to do a trial run--drive to the place of the interview before the actual interview day to make sure you know exactly where to go.
• Take a hot bath, drink a soothing cup of tea, and go to bed early.
• If you know that you are a deep sleeper (or are just worried about oversleeping) set as many alarms as you need to so that you get up on time. Ask a friend to call you to make sure that you are up in time to get ready.
• Make sure that you get up in plenty of time to have breakfast, get ready, calm your nerves, and arrive to the interview 10 to 15 minutes early.

However, lets say that you do oversleep or your car breaks down or you get sick. You are either going to be late for the interview or won’t make it at all. What do you do? Call the interviewee. Call as soon as you realize you are not going to make it promptly at the stated time. But what do you say when you call?

Be brief and apologize! Say something like; “I am so sorry but something unavoidable came up and I am unable to make our appointment this morning/afternoon. I am still very interested in the position and it is important to me to work for your company. Is it possible we can reschedule for later today or tomorrow?”

Do you have a funny story to tell? Send it to me and put a little humor in the lives of the unemployed and looking.
Carly Sabato