Defending my life

It is my belief that during a phone interview, the kiss of death at the end of the conversation is when the interviewer does not immediately secure an in-person interview with the interviewee.


We have a lot of candidates for this position; we will call you if you make it to the next round, might as well translate to: Sorry your phone interview skills blow. Better luck next time, sucker!


In my humble opinion, anyway.

This afternoon I had a quite unexpected phone interview with the recruiter from Aerospace Company S. Unexpected because I called him back 10 days ago. I had long since written off this job as even a possibility. This trumped up secretary position that I don't even want anyway. Nevertheless, I decided maybe it paid more than I was imagining; maybe I was selling this opportunity short. So when Lester called me today, I called him right back.

So ensued an hour of me defending every professional and personal decision I've made since my junior year of college. Lester wanted to know why I chose the major I chose, why I quit each job I had, how I got hired at my last job (as if I was so grossly under-qualified for the position), and finally, and most insulting to me, he questioned my choice to move to California. I might as well have told him I moved here for the waves and the weed.

Apparently wanting to move somewhere other than one's own home state and enjoying another state's weather is code for something more nefarious than I must be revealing. Lester does not see me as brave, adventurous, or daring for picking up and moving to the coast; he sees me as indecisive, like I'm just floating through my life moving in whichever way the wind blows.

By the time I got off the phone with Lester, I was thoroughly disgusted, offended, and completely put-off. You'd think I was applying for a rocket scientist position instead of an admin position that only requires two years of college, the way this man spoke to me.

I have news for you Lester: I am OVERqualified for this position. You can take your glorified secretary position and your judgments about my personal and professional decisions and shove them both up your @ss!