CLASSES & JOBS

The year before I graduated from college, I began interviewing for jobs. With a solid degree soon to be behind me, and enough excitement and anticipation to last a lifetime, I continued on in the job search. After a series of five interviews with one particular company, I received a call in which they asked me to come out for a final interview at their headquarters. Of the initial candidates, it was down to just four of us vying for that spot. Each of us would be flying out to their offices for the interview. Since my flight was only an hour long, my travel plans were set up so that I would fly out in the morning and go directly from the airport to the interview. I would then have an evening flight and come back home after my interview was over. I liked the idea of not having to pack for a trip. I could focus on my interview and would only be gone for the day. I was so nervous and excited all at the same time.

I chose to wear my brand new Banana Republic suit. To go with the black dress pants and fitted jacket, I picked out some stilettos and a super cute shirt to go underneath. I then headed out to the airport. In my rush to get out there for my early flight, I didn’t have time to stop for food. So, I picked up a drink and a bagel with cream cheese at the terminal. All ready to go, I found my seat on the plane and let out a sigh of relief. I could now relax for an hour or so and finish up my last preparations for the interview. My open bagel and cream cheese looked delicious and I so I picked it up to have my first bite. Yep, you guessed it - the bagel slipped right out of my hand and landed face down on my brand new outfit - jacket and pants together. Cream cheese everywhere! “Are you kidding me?” I thought. I about died. Since stuff like that doesn’t seem to happen to me often, I sat there for a second in complete shock and denial. “Seriously?” I thought. But there I was, with cream cheese smeared all over my new suit - and even worse, a very important interview ahead… and no backup clothing options!

The bad luck continued when I discovered that my suit happened to be made of what could very well be the least cream-cheese-repellent material possible. It would NOT come out. It took me the entire flight to get that stuff off - and it still didn’t come out completely. I could still see the faint evidence of my breakfast on my suit even as I waited in line to meet with my interviewer. I sat there feeling frazzled and nervous - the furthest thing from relaxed.

However, the minute I realized that my interviewer (and potential manager) hadn’t seemed to notice my jacket, I was somehow able to snap into “interview mode” and get through the entire thing. I flew home that afternoon, laughing at myself, my bad luck, and wondering how my interview went. You can imagine my shock when I received a call later that night and learned that I had actually gotten the job. What are the odds? Maybe a bagel and cream cheese is good luck after all.

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