It was at a big glass building in downtown Toronto.
I went up a long escalator and then an elevator that led up to the xth floor where I met with a receptionist who told me to wait.
And so I waited.
I remember drinking a little too much coffee that day, thinking it would help me wake up but all it did was give me jitters.
Finally someone came and introduced themselves as my interviewer.
In all my jitteriness, I introduced myself and answered all their questions.
It was casual, like a conversation. I could tell we were both testing the waters of each other.
Before I knew it, something like an hour passed and the interview was done.
I went back down the elevator and escalator combo and thought the interview went pretty well.
Turns out, it went well enough that I was invited back for round 2 of interviews.
Only this time, they wanted some work done and a presentation too.
For a week, I did my best and worked on a hypothetical case study to present in front of the hiring crew.
When it was time for the second interview, I went back up the escalator and the elevator that led up to the xth floor again.
I did my presentation. I answered some questions the team had for me. I showed my work. Did everything I could to prepare for this moment.
A few days later, they emailed me back with one of those “we regret to inform you” letters.
It was cool. The competition I was against was good and the team went with someone else.
What I learned from that experience is the following.
When being interviewed for a job, the decision to pick is out of your control. There’s little you can do, but that doesn’t make you helpless. You just have to keep going.
Anna's Blog 