As you do when looking for work, especially when you know its time to move on, you look for anything and everything that looks remotely interesting. You don’t really put all your eggs in one basket. The thing is, at the time this all played out, I had come some way in defining my purpose and so I knew what I wanted, I wasn’t going to change for the sake of change. My next move was going to be closely aligned with my purpose of growing and contributing. When you know what you want, there’s everything else that simply doesn’t make the cut. And so this time round I had all my physical, mental, psychological, everything, all my eggs riding on this one opportunity.
Isn’t it funny some of the random things we remember…the room where the interview was held was freezing, bone chilling cold. In fact, the interviewers suggested I don’t take my jacket off because I’d freeze to death. I’m pretty sure they were all wearing scarves! It went well. I had prepared. I spoke truthfully and from the heart. I knew I had put my best foot forward. I didn’t give them any reason why (at least at this stage) they shouldn’t invite me back for another go. And so it goes, I got invited back for a second interview. As well as another opportunity to meet and speak with other human beings, there was some homework involved.
The second round was a little warmer (I wore my thermals, no jokes). More insightful and targeted questions some might consider more difficult to answer, others might see it as a better opportunity to convey even more of the meaningful stuff that really goes to heart of what makes us all tick. I suppose there’s a tip #6 in that: where others seek shelter, be brave and see opportunity. It is in fact at the precise moment when most have moved on, when people have given up, when the popular discourse says one thing, is when you consider the obvious and blatant reality that most people are wrong and that opportunity abounds.
Now I can’t recall what was asked in that second round interview but again I left the room quietly confident I had done everything I could to put me in the best position to remain a genuine chance. I laboured over of the written exercise too.
I didn’t get the job.