The interview for the interview

At lunchtime I went for an interview – actually it was a preliminary interview (the interview for the interview). The vacancy is with a subsidiary of a big Danish healthcare products company. The post is for a Marketing Manager, with fourteen staff reporting. The salary is fifty per cent higher than my present job, so I suppose it has to be regarded as a long shot. Last time I was looking for a job (four years ago) I made an average of ten applications to get one interview, and went through five distinct interview processes (first and second sessions, plus psychometrics) to get one job offer. My ideal is to hold two job offers and then make a choice between the two alternatives, therefore I am resigned to making a hundred separate applications.

The preliminary interview was with an HR consultant working for the Danish company (she had on a black shirt and grey pin-striped trousers, with wavy black hair, black rimmed glasses, no make-up – despite her severe appearance her curvaceous figure made her appear very feminine). The meeting was held in an upstairs room at a city centre location. The windows were open, temperatures being above eighty degrees Fahrenheit, a fan in the corner blowing the hot air around the room.

She talked far more than I did, and seemed to be selling the job to me (or perhaps she just liked the sound of her own voice). The interview went on for over an hour. I left thinking: it’s not likely that I’ll get the first job I apply for.