Interview 2

“Anything that can go wrong will go wrong.” – Murphy’s Law

I still haven’t heard the verdict form my interview with Wrays. In the meantime I’ve had another interview with an engineering consultant company that specializes in the mining industry. The company is called Mintrex and it is located in the nearby suburb of Subiaco. To avoid having to change into my interview attire in another parking garage or abandoned alleyway, Steph and I decided to scope out public restrooms within the vicinity of Mintrex’s head office. The day before the interview we had a number of potential targets. We were feeling confident that we had successfully established a pre-interview routine. And then Murphy ’s Law nipped us in the butt.

The morning of the interview I had hand washed my white dress shirt and laid it out in the sun, to air dry, on the back of a chair. Thirty minutes before I needed to leave for my interview I gathered my belongings and noticed a giant yellow-brownish stain on the back of my shirt! The chair I had laid my shirt upon was filthy and my damp shirt had soaked up all of the grime. This was more likely a case of my stupidity rather than Murphy’s Law, but it’s always easier to place the blame on someone else. With very little time at my disposal, I called upon Steph for damage control.

Her obvious question for me was: “How did this happen?” When I gave her the honest answer she, not so subtly, rolled her eyes and set off to remove the stain. Her first attempt was to use stain remover which just made the stain larger. It was all or nothing from this point forward. We hand washed the shirt in bleach which was able to remove the stain. It was now up to the sun to dry the shirt. Luckily the sun was intense enough to fry an egg, so it took minutes for my shirt to dry and ready for ironing. We had avoided another wardrobe scare and had made it out the door with time to spare. We had a milkshake and iced coffee (which is becoming a tradition) in Subiaco as we relaxed during the minutes before my interview.

With each interview I am getting more and more comfortable. Before my first interview I had prepared for all of the standard questions. What I’ve noticed is that those questions are not always asked and answered directly. The interview is mainly a conversation that is cleverly constructed to disguise these questions and obtain honest, unrehearsed answers. In this manner, both the interviewer and interviewee gain a better feel for the other’s true character. This technique also makes the prospect of an interview much less intimidating and a much more enjoyable experience. I’ll be sure to update everyone on the result of these interviews and any that follow hereafter.

Queensland flooding.

On a more sombre note, the state of Queensland has recently suffered severe flooding that had taken the lives and homes of many residents in the region. For those humanitarians that would like to contribute to the relief fund, you can find the relevant information at the following website: www.qld.gov.au/flodds/donate.html