Making Time for the Interview
I cannot begin to tell you how many times my clients and friends talk to me and ask my advice about interviewing. Of course you would expect this given what I do for a living. What I mean is, they need guidance about making time to interview; yes, they don’t know where to fit it into their hectic schedules. For those people actively looking that are not presently employed this is not an issue. Many of the people that seek my advice are working; they cannot find time during their hectic workday to get to interview. At some point, we have all been in this quandary – how to conduct the job search when there is seemingly little to no time to actually TRY and get another position.
Of course I have a few of my own ideas regarding the matter; I will share them with you here and hope that you can appreciate the humor. We have all experienced these things to varying degrees so here goes:
The Lunch-Hour Interview. How stressful is this? To interview during lunch you have to be able to go to your regular job, which might be casual dress. So, you bring a change of clothing in a shopping bag (how inconspicuous), which you will need to leave the office with so you can change in the bathroom at the company where the interview is being held. Naturally, you need to leave your office early so that you can get to the interview with enough time to change and wipe your brow of the perspiration that has formed there from the running around that you have done. You want to appear calm, cool, and collected during your meeting, so you will take a few minutes in the reception area to ‘get it together’. The quick change in the phone booth resumes once the interview is over because you have to get back into your ‘regular’ clothing or else the gig will be up when you arrive back at your office – seriously late from your ‘lunch’. Needless to say, lunchtime interviewing is not ideal unless the position you are pursuing is on another floor in the same building where you work. This presents other problems, of course that I won’t even get into here.
FREE Online Resume Builder - Use Templates to Build a Resume in Minutes!
The Day-Off Interview. This situation is much more ideal; but, it also presents its challenges. You decide you are going to arrange for more than one interview to maximize your time. You have successfully coordinated three (yes, three interviews) in one day. You have enough time to make it to all of them. As long as the transportation system is working, there is no foreseeable problem. You are getting ready; the phone rings. It is Sally from the first company you are seeing. They need to push your appointment back 45 minutes due to various business circumstances. This should not be a problem; you left enough time to get to the second interview so you agree and forge ahead. The phone rings again; this time, it’s Jane from the second company. They need to move your appointment to the very end of the day for reasons not explained to you. This is an issue because you already have an appointment for company #3 at the end of the day. Looking at your schedule, you agree; as long as the stars are aligned you will arrive for the third planned interview gasping for your last breath – but hey, at least you will make it. You will deal with the sweat rolling down your back afterwards. As it turns out, you don’t have to worry after all; the third phone call that comes in is from company #3 needing to move the interview to an entirely different day! The moral of the story? You cannot plan for the unexpected. Taking the day off is a great idea; but you need to be prepared to accept (gracefully) changes that might throw a wrench in your plans.
The After-Hours Interview. It’s perfect. You were able to secure an interview at 6:30pm. You figure that the hiring manager must value your work ethic to even suggest such a thing. You are more than prepared (you have your shopping bag ready for action!) 6:00pm is approaching and the office has thinned out a bit. In about 10 minutes you are going to head for the door. The phone booth on the corner will serve as a perfect place to take you from Clark Kent to Superman. But wait, you hear footsteps; your boss approaches. Your heart is beating wildly when she innocently asks you to stay a bit longer to help her with a project. At first blush you think you can quickly accomplish the task. Of course, after further examination, you realize that ‘a bit longer’ is more like an hour longer. What do you do? You either make an excuse about your dog and an early closing at Doggie Haven or you bite the bullet and try to reschedule. Thinking about how you worked like a dog yourself to even get the interview for the job that you have determined is ‘perfect’ for you, you explain the dog situation in a somewhat halted and awkward way. Your boss regards you coolly and walks off; no doubt you think to contemplate your untimely demise, or at least burning you in effigy in the meantime. Shopping bag clutched in hand, you slink for the door.
You know what they say about “The best laid plans of mice and men…” Do what you can; and hope for the best! As my husband always says, “Life isn’t fair.” Certainly the career search process falls squarely into that category! Take it one interview at a time. Humor is a wonderful antidote for even the most perturbing situations.
This blog's author, Debra Wheatman of Careers Done Write, provides executive career services including resume and cover letter preparation, job search / interviewing strategies and professional branding including how to effectively use LinkedIn, Twitter and other social media in your career.
Visit CareersDoneWrite.com to learn more about how we can put your career in gear with interview catching resumes and professionally written career documents.