My Job Interview Ended as Soon as It Began, Essay Example

In 2005 I applied for medical technician jobs at several hospitals in Richmond, VA. Three weeks later, I got an interview call from Memorial Regional Medical Center in Mechanicville, VA. After ending the call, I literally jumped off the sofa due to excitement at the prospect of transitioning from a salad clerk job at a grocery store to a healthcare career with bright future prospects. I still remember my racing heartbeat and how life suddenly felt more beautiful. Every single second had suddenly become more valuable to me and without any delay, I started preparations for the interview

My first task was to go online and find information on dressing smartly for a job interview. The information was really helpful and boosted my self-confidence because I felt I had grasped the basic idea pretty well. I also did research on hospitals and the interview questions medical technicians are more likely to encounter. Each day leading to the interview was a bag of mixed emotions. I was excited but at the same time nervous, too because I had never been through such an experience before and there was too much at stake. If there is one thing I could not afford, it was failure. Almost every day, I would go to the mall to look for something appropriate for the interview and would spend countless hours before the interview, practicing my answers, style of delivery, and body language. But I didn’t want to be underprepared for arguably the greatest opportunity of my life up to that moment and my preparation reached new levels on the last day before the interview.

By the end of the day before the interview, I was exhausted yet could not sleep because of all the different thoughts racing through my mind. I almost feared panic attack but I quickly resorted to nerve-calming strategies such as reminding myself I had done everything I could do and my passion for new career will increase the probability of a successful interview. The strategy worked and helped me sleep to regain energy for possibly a life-changing day.

When I woke up, I realized I was again feeling nervous so I asked my husband to take me to the interview. Everything was going right on the way to the interview until my husband made a wrong turn and we got lost. It was soon clear I won’t be able to make it to the interview in time and everything I had worked for suddenly felt like a complete waste of time. I did call the office, explaining my situation but actions speak louder than words and by being late to the very first meeting, I had done the damage that no amount of interview preparation could undo.

I arrived to the interview ten minutes late and felt I aced the interview. But I could not shake the feeling during the entire interview that the interviewer had already made up her mind even before I entered the door. I was not the only applicant and by the end of the interview it was clear I was not going to get the job. Losing the job was already depressing enough and now I had to gather the nerve to relay the bad news to my husband. But it seems there was still one person in the world who understood me without saying anything. My husband could tell the outcome from my face expression and before I could say anything, he gave me a comforting hug; the thing I needed most at that very moment.

The experience taught me that success depends upon doing everything right and not just some things really well. I focused too much on the actual interview and not other things equally important such as punctuality and making sure unexpected events do not derail the entire plan.