Sample

The Interview.

He knotted his tie. Dark Blue. It was a good thing he had chosen blue rather than black, for his grandfather’s funeral. It had been a difficult decision. But wise, he thought with satisfaction.

He tied his shoelaces. Black shoes. His grandfather had done him quite a favour really. He’d never had black shoes before. He put on the jacket of his suit: grey of course.

Should he wear a mac? It was a bit shabby. Was it raining? He looked out of the window of his flat. No it wasn’t raining. He would risk it without his mac.

The bus stop was near the entrance to the flats and dropped him only a few yards from the huge old rambling building where the interview was to be held.

The receptionist was a comfortable looking woman. A bit like his mother, he thought. She directed him to the boardroom and suggested that he should wait outside.

There were half a dozen chairs in the corridor. He sat next to the boardroom door. No. That would never do. Too pushy by far. He moved to the other end but didn’t quite sit down. He didn’t want to appear too self effacing. He moved again, left two empty chairs between himself and the boardroom and THREE empty spaces on the other side. He didn’t have long to wait.

Three men and two women came along the corridor and entered the boardroom. A few moments later one of the women, the Personal Assistant of the Director, came out to him.

‘Mr. ….?’ She looked down at her paper.

He stood up and shook her hand, which surprised her somewhat.

‘You’ve come about the new post?’

‘Yes.’

‘Our interviewing team are all very busy people. I’m afraid that they haven’t had time to look at your papers. So you may find them a little vague about your past record.’

Inwardly, he heaved a sigh of relief.

‘But it’s the impression you make now that counts, isn’t it? Please come this way.’

She spoke in such a friendly fashion, but in spite of it his spirits fell again. What sort of an impression was he likely to make? He stood modestly inside the room, facing the interview team across a huge circular table, beautifully polished. A heavy curtain was hanging behind the team. It seemed to hide another door.

‘Ah, it’s Mr. .. er, um. Yes. Please sit down. Don’t want to be too formal do we?’ The chairman smiled at the room. ‘Now, tell us about yourself?’

What was there to tell? He paused before answering.

The chairman was the organisation’s Director. He didn’t wait.

‘Come about the new post have we? It’s new to us too. Not many posts like it in the country. Breaking new ground. Fancy that, do you?’

He thought he ought to say something.

‘Any questions for the young man?’ The Director turned to the Deputy Director, who asked, ‘How would you say that his post compares with the things you are doing at present?’

‘At present, I am unemployed and filling in benefit forms,’ thought the young man. There must be forms associated with this job. So he answered, ‘Pretty similar in some ways I should think, sir.’

‘Feel confident that you can cope?’ asked the D.D.

‘If I consult with my seniors and follow their advice, yes sir, I think I shall cope.’

The Director scribbled on his pad, ‘respectful’. The Deputy Director wrote, ‘subservient’. The Personnel Director, the only lady on the team, wrote, ‘crawler’ and added ‘not necessarily a bad thing’. The Accountant wrote nothing and wondered what he was doing there.

The Director asked the Personnel Manager if she had any questions.

‘How do you view women in the work place, Mr … er. I’m thinking in particular of women senior to yourself?’

Help. He felt his whole future depended on the answer. His mind was a complete blank. He tried to look thoughtful. At last inspiration came.

‘Well, I think … that is, well people are people aren’t they?’

The Director wrote, ‘brilliant’. The D.D. wrote ‘safe’. The Personnel Manager wrote ‘pratt’. The Accountant was busy playing games on his pad with numbers. Then he realised it was his turn to ask questions.

‘You realise, Mr. ….um, that the authority works within very tight budgetary constraints,’ (it was a favourite phrase). ‘The new post is advertised at the General grade. You realise that, Mr. …? Yes, of course you do. It carries a shared secretary. Two other heads of department have prior use of the secretary’s services. Are you with me? Good.’

He found he was quite enjoying this. He didn’t often have such an opportunity to speak at meetings. Even his financial statements were always taken as read. No one understood them.

He continued, ‘Travelling expenses are allowed and the post carries its own parking spot.’

He was warming to his theme, but the Director was growing tired and interrupted. ‘You do have a car, Mr. …. er?’ he asked

‘I have…’ Fortunately, he never managed to tell them that he occasionally had the use of his father’s car.

‘A small one, I hope. We can’t afford staff with gas guzzlers you know.’ He thought lovingly of his own Jaguar. ‘Would you say that you are an ambitious man, eager to get on?’

The question threw him. Did the Director want ambitious men or had the question been asked with just a hint of anxiety?

‘I think I would find plenty to occupy my attention in this new post for some time to come,’ he said.

The Director relaxed. ‘You play cricket, of course?’ It was more a statement than a question.

‘Yes. Well, I am …’

‘Good. Good. When would you be able to start? Have to give proper notice to your present employers I suppose. Two weeks on Monday be possible?’

‘Yes, sir.’

‘Good. Good.’

The Personnel Manager leaned across and whispered to him. She wanted to discuss the appointment. He was a trifle surprised and irritated.

‘Perhaps you’d like to wait outside, Mr. … er. I don’t think this will take us very long. We don’t want to keep you in unnecessary suspense, eh!’

As he left the room, he heard the Director ask his P.A. if there were any other applicants for the post. He left the door slightly ajar and listened.

‘No other applicants, sir.’

‘That’s it then. Can’t let him go can we? Man like that could be snapped up, before we go through the process of actually writing to him to tell him that he’s got the job. Are we agreed?’

He looked at the Personnel Manager as if daring her to disagree. She decided to say nothing. He turned to the P.A again.

‘Go and send the man on his way with the good news. He’s to start two weeks on Monday and the Personnel Manager will write confirming the terms of his employment. Any other business? No? Good. Good. Off you go then. Get rid of him and we can all go home.’

The P.A congratulated him and saw him off the premises. He thanked her effusively, but not too effusively, and caught the bus home. He took off his grey suit and hung it up. He took off his blue tie and hung it up. He took off his black shoes with some relief. They were not broken in. He fell back on his bed exhausted. It had been quite a day.

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