The Big Interview

I remember going to a job interview back in 1980 when I was a starving artist and really needed a good-paying ($18,000/year) job. I posted the resumé on Monday after seeing the job advertised on Sunday. On Wednesday I received a call asking if I could come later that day for the interview. I was almost in shock at how fast things were moving. So I left my temporary job at 4:30 that afternoon, rushed home and showered and dressed in my best clothes (which isn't saying much) and then sat on the edge of my bed just to breathe for a while.

I took the opportunity to do a little visualization. I thought about the voice I had heard on the other end of the line and imagined what he would look like. I could clearly see that he was shorter than me and had a beard. I saw a fairly luxurious office. I didn't try to imagine what questions he would ask or how I should respond. Instead I focused on the two of us reaching out our hands to shake on our future relationship as boss and employee. I filled the visualization with positive images of how we would be able to work together, and how pleased he would be to have hired me, and how happy I was that I had this great new job.

The interview went as if it had been scripted. I found out that he'd received 200 resumés and had thrown out 196 unopened because he didn't like the envelopes. Mine was one of four he had chosen to interview. We hit it off extraordinarily well and two weeks later I started work for him—a job I held for the next two years.

Why am I bringing this all up? I have a big job interview tomorrow afternoon and I'm just rehearsing the ritual.