Looking Back Series – Part III : Shuffling Back and Forth

“So will you be able to come to the office and meet the interviewer at 6pm on Friday?” my recruiter Holly asked me.

While I was keen for the job and keen to get the interview, this was not something I could just drop everything and attend to.

“Let me check my schedule and confirm with you” was all I could reply as I had to check my calendar to confirm whether I would have any meeting on that particular Friday. Turns out the coast was clear and I informed Holly that I would be able to make it for the interview.

“Oh and please bring along your originals and photocopy of your education qualifications starting from your SPM (GCE equivalent)” she added on.

I gulped. Hmm, now where was my SPM certificate? Did I even still have it. I then spent the entire weekend prior to my Friday interview prepping up my document. As it turned out I had lost my original SPM certificate and as a result I had to pay a visit to the Ministry of Education and get a copy. But before that I would need to lodge a police report. Yes my application was not a smooth sailing journey. I had hurdles right from the onset.

Anyhow I managed to get a copy of the certificate and as a result everything was sorted – from the paperwork angle. Now all I had to do was wait for Friday to come and go for my interview.

No Skill Interview

“You don’t have the skills we are actually looking for” my interviewer quipped halfway through our interview.

I was taken aback and had to regain my composure. Holly had told me before that my interview Jane is very professional and stoic as part of my preparation. Up until Jane’s comment, I myself was feeling slightly nervous. Even though I had met countless clients over the years and have adapted to many situations, I felt talking with Jane scared me initially.

Jane proceeded to tell me more about the role as part of her justification on why she felt I lacked the experience. I listened patiently, nodding my head and making as much eye-contact as I could but in my mind and heart I was racing to figure out how to deal with this. How do you respond when someone throws you the curveball like that?

I was prepared to just surrender and raise up the while flag. In fact as Jane was talking, I was already preparing my “exit speech”

 

Well I guess I am not really suited for the job after hearing what you have to say. I do admit I do not have the experience you are seeking out and perhaps you should look for another candidate. In any case I think this was still a good experience. Thank you for your time and keep in touch.

 

As the conversation was coming to an end (we were 15 minutes into our interview and I was on the cusp of giving my exit speech when I stopped and asked her a question.

 

“Tell me Jane, what is the key success factor for this job?” I asked, not knowing whether this question would lead to but just for my own knowledge I wanted to know and learn. The white flag was already up remember so since I was already here with her, might as well ask her the question.

 

Now it was Jane’s turn to keep quiet and think. She thought for a while.

“Hmm…” she started

“I think the person would have to think outside the box because the nature of this work is not very straightforward – each day we have different types of issues to handle…so I need someone who is also intelligent to be able to think outside the box and is able to solve issues – problem solving skills” she continued on.

I smiled and told her rather assuredly “But Jane, that’s what I do in my job. Consulting is very much about being able to think outside the box and being able to adapt to situations”

“Yes I am aware” Jane said, now appearing a little more relaxed. And for there what was supposed to end at 20 minutes turned out to be more than an hour as Jane and I began to talk more about the role and job and also about the current human capital market situations. I was asking Jane whether she was having a tough time finding the right kind of talent in the current job market pool as we were also facing. I shared with her how I was finding hard during my own interviews to find the right person with the right skills. That sense of commonalities, which we shared, helped me get by the interview.

Towards the end, I was less concerned about the impression I made on her and whether I got the job and more contended with the fact that I just had a stimulating and rewarding conversation with someone who is in the field. I realized as I was driving back how I yearned for this kinda conversations and felt sad I couldn’t get them in my current environment. It was a joy talking and engaging with Jane and I left the interview feeling that she would be really someone interesting to work for, even if it wasn’t me.

The feedback I subsequently got from Jane was surprisingly positive. Jane had given her feedback to Holly and mentioned that while I did indeed lack the experience, I appeared to be intelligent and bright and she was willing to get another rep from the Bank’s Human Captial HR Rep to interview me before proceeding to the next round.

I was somewhat taken aback but very encouraged by that feedback. Me? To be recognized for my intelligence? I thought to myself as I allowed the feedback to slowly sink in.

Subsequently I got called another interview 2 weeks later and for that interview I was more prepared – I actually decided to take some time and reflect on my job and career experience so far and as such I was able to articulate my thoughts better in my second interview.  Once again I had to drive all the way to town to attend my interview. I did ask if I could have my interview over the phone but was told the interviewer preferred to meet face to face (I must learn to also do that with my own interviews with other candidates in the future!)  My second interview was with Irene, the HR rep from the Bank and it went really well.  Towards the end of that interview I left the office feeling proud and confident with myself.  I called up Holly to let her know how it went and she was also happy with the outcome. The next step now was to wrap thing up with the CHRO and within 2 weeks of my meeting up with Irene, I would need to meet Nadia, my final interviewer who was also the CHRO of the Bank, in which once again I had to go to the office for that final interview. Yes all my interviewers were ladies and they were all keen to get me on board.

The shuttling back and forth for all 3 of my interview rounds left me slightly tired in general as a result. It was tough for me to focus on work while keeping one eye on my phone so that I don’t miss the all important call from Holly or Irene. It was slightly distracting as well and it was a real challenge to keep my focus at work and at the same time not discuss my anxieties with anyone in the office. The only 2 people from work who I could talk about were my referees and thankfully they were very supportive of my decision to move on.

2 weeks after meeting Nancy, I finally got the job offer. Because the bank needed me urgently, they were willing to buy me out and this surprised me. In my entire career I have never been bought out before so this would be a new experience for me.  There would be additional hurdles to come as the Consulting firm would not be ready to release me so easily.