interview horror stories

[auntie aubrey]

i just had the toughest job interview i've ever faced. half the time i wasn't sure whether i just sounded like i was talking out of my ass, or whether i actually was talking out of my ass. so of course as my mouth is moving and i'm saying completely inane things, somewhere in the back of my head i'm double-thinking, "what am i saying? am i nuts? can she tell i have no idea what's going on?"

so i thought i would share my worst interview story. two reasons: one, to make myself feel better about today's disaster. and two, to invite others to share their stories.

i graduated from college up in nashville and immediately started the job hunt. i'd come out of school with a somewhat unusual and rarely desired degree, so it took a while to actually find some leads. finally a very large broadcaster/media company down in atlanta called me up and said they wanted to schedule an interview. i agreed to meet with them at 3:00 the next day and immediately went to work printing up maps and directions, etc.

the next day i drove 3.5 hours from nashville to atlanta and arrived around 1:45. Having never been to atlanta, i had no means of passing the time other than wandering around the nearby georga tech campus. at 2:40 i finally walked over to the media company and had the receptionist call the interviewer down.

his face was bemused. he glanced at his watch as i stood to shake his hand. i said, "i know, i know, i'm really early. sorry about that." he cocked his head to one side and said, "early?" i said, "yes, we were scheduled to meet at 3:00." he said, "it's quarter to 4."

here's where i had my most brilliant moment. i looked at my watch and uttered the double syllable, "NUH UH."

i stared at him like he was insane. "it's 2:45!" i protested. "it's 3:45." he replied. "we're on eastern standard time here."



...oh. right. nashville is central time. i forgot to accomodate for the time change.

anyway, i got the job so i must have been better at fasttalking back then than i was today.

anyone else feel like sharing a terrible interview story, so i don't have to feel like a lone putz in the crowd?