At this point I get to tell you all a story. It's definitely an embarrassing one, but one that I and my co-workers and supervisors will never forget. After a couple months of job hunting following my initial move down to Salt Lake, I had landed a job interview that I actually felt was getting me somewhere. I had an interview with the HR representative on Monday and she asked me to come back for a follow-up interview with the branch manager and an AutoCAD drafting test the following day. Of course I was thrilled, but I wonder if my excitement ended up being my undoing. I pulled into the parking lot, ready to crush this interview, to march in there and show them that I was the one they wanted for the job. After I parked and threw my keys in my purse I said one more silent prayer before getting out of the car and locking the door. As soon as I stood up and shut the door, though, I noticed that the weight of my purse was not present on my shoulder. It took about half a second for me to realize what I had just done and turn in horror to see my purse containing my keys, phone, and wallet still sitting in the passenger seat of my car.
No...no no NO! How could I do that? How?! Granted, this was not the first time it had happened and you'd think I would have learned, but apparently I'm not quite that smart. But why that day, of all days? I frantically tried to think of a solution before deciding that the best thing to do would be to stay calm and go about my business, do what I came there to do and worry about the keys later. So I did just that. The interview and test went well, and I had almost forgotten about my mistake until it was time for me to leave and my interviewer asked me if I had any more questions for him. "May I borrow your phone to call the police department?" I'm sure he must have thought I was crazy until I said "...I locked my keys in my car." He was very gracious (and amused, I'm sure) in letting me use the phone, but once I made the call I was informed that the SLCPD will not unlock your car unless there is a pet or child inside that can't get out.
So there I was, looking like a complete moron in front of a potential future employer. Lucky for me, everyone in the office was very understanding and soon four of the men were outside, two trying to unlock the doors with wire coat hangers and two holding umbrellas because it also just so happened to be raining that day - of course. After about twenty (somewhat humiliating) minutes we met with success and I was free to go! Oh what a glorious moment that was. I was finally able to leave and wallow in my embarrassment elsewhere, leaving my future co-workers to chuckle at what they had just seen.
Obviously, in the end I was offered the job. Maybe it was because of my awesome skills or maybe it was out of pity for my idiocy...either way I'm here and I will now forever be known as that girl who locked her keys in her car. I suppose there are worse things to be remembered by. :) But a situation that could have ended horribly turned out not being as bad as it could have been. So don't lose hope! Everyone does dumb things every once in a while. All it takes is a clear head and the ability to roll with the punches. Just because you've done something that seems terribly embarrassing to you doesn't mean that it has to drag you down. As one of our beloved Disney movies tells us, "Keep Moving Forward!"
So here's my '(Bad) Tip For Getting The Job': Want to be unforgettable at an interview? Just make yourself look really stupid and you just might land the job!
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