Part 1 of 2 interviews (this is long)

Lindsey went to an interview. This is how it went.

I had an interview for a front desk receptionist job at a family dentistry. In the back of my mind I knew that I had the job and that I can basically b.s (excuse the language) my way through any interview. Please keep in mind that I have given about 100 interviews in my history with the Inn and I feel that I have a firm grasp as to how to lie your way through an interview. Please do not judge me, for I am an honest person except for when it comes to interviews. We all lie! We are suppose to make ourselves sound good correct? So therefore you have to fudge your way through an interview to get the job that you want and to get the job that you know you are capable of getting. This is a front desk job remember, it is answering phones, telling guests to fill out this insurance form, and calling to tell peeps about their upcoming appointment. This is not a hard job.

With this being said I approached this interview with a happy and not so uneasy heart. I had this. I first started with the application. Behind the application were a few questions. Here are the questions and here are some of my lame answers.

What is the biggest challenge in your life? (Of course they want you to go on and on about the horrors of your life, but no! I will not be caught in this trap, I must keep it professional and business like).

Customer service is always a challenge but I have found that if you always remember to put yourself in your guests shoes you will be able to better serve them and make them feel as if they have received the best service possible. (A fine answer if I do say so myself)

If you could do anything what would you do? (Obviously stating that I would like to own my own bakery so I can stuff my face with all the bom boms and cupcakes all day is not an appropriate answer)

I would love to have a teaching career (this is not the truth)

There were about 6 other questions but at this moment I cannot think of them. I do remember using the word asset at one moment and after writing the word ass I could not for the life of me remember how to correctly spell the darn word! I ended up spelling it assit and knowing in my heart that it was incorrect. It was better than just leaving the i and t off though. That would not have ended well. I am an ass to this company. No, not good at all.

After the paperwork was accomplished I was escorted up to an intimidating office.

This is where it get sticky. Not only was he a full grown adult but he was a full grown adult in a very intimidating office. It was all tan walls with just one big (big meaning maybe 5 feet tall) American flag. No family pictures or anything to help me determine what type of man he was. He sat me down and asked me immediately why I was quitting my current job.

“Oh! I love my job. I love the people I work with and I have had so many wonderful experiences. I’m just ready to start something new.”

He burrows his eyes in my skull and says “Ok, now start over and don’t lie.”

I was flabbergasted! Everyone knows that interviews are bull crap! How dare he ask for a real legitimate answer?! I then said “I really have no problems, I love that it’s a family owned business and I get along with every! Check my references, they will tell you!” He then said “If you loved it so much then why would you leave?”

“Ok Ok, I go home at the end of the day and feel as if I haven’t accomplished anything.” He fortunately accepted this answer. It went on and on like this. Me answering the questions in a professional tone and then him tearing it apart.

He then asked me what my biggest challenge was in life. “But don’t tell me about this customer service side.” I said “I really feel as if I made a huge mistake by not going to college right out of high school. I got married really young and I feel as if I have limited myself to the opportunities that I could have received if I had gotten a higher education.”

He did not like this at all. He went on for a little over 10 minutes about how it was a cop out. Half of all people that get their degrees don’t work in careers that have anything to do with their degree. And anyone can be educated by themselves. He reads all the time and he taught himself to be the I.T guy therefore saving his company 10,000 a year. Yadda yadda yadda. At times he was nice, he told me that he felt as if I made the right decision because obviously I was supporting my husband and that I was an assistant manager. After the question section he handed me a paper.

“Read this form in its entirety and then sign below stating that you are aware of what it is stating.” I began reading. It basically said that he was going to give me a series of test and although they will be a huge part of the interview process they will not actually be the final decision in choosing a candidate. Aptitude, Personality and I.Q. Please for the love of everything holy do not give me the I.Q test. This was all that was going through my mind. “Is this happening today?” I mumbled? “Yes, this is happening right now.” He explained that he was giving me the aptitude test.

He handed me a test and told me to sign my name and then it would start. I stared at the paper and signed my name. He promptly pulled out a stop watch (this is no lie) and said “IT HAS BEGUN.”

I fumbled through that stupid test. It was stressful. Questions such as which line is longer (you know, optical illusion crap, you learn in high school that they are both the same length) and circle the shape that is the same (they all are the same! They all had the same amount of dots in them!). It was so intimidating, him staring at me with his geeky stopwatch.

I finished the test and I giggled and said “phew, that was stressful.” He looked at me and this was all he said “I will contact you within 7 days if you got the job, if you do not hear from me by day 8 you were not qualified for this position. Have a good day.”

I walked away feeling like a fool. Needless to say by day 8 I felt like a loser that I couldn’t even get a simple receptionist position with all of my experience, but I also felt relieved that I would never see that man again.