The Interview

I did it! I am exhausted now, but what an exciting day it was. The company that wanted to interview me finally called today and asked if I could go meet with them this afternoon. I was surprised and told them that I would need to go home to change first. It didn't seem like they knew I still worked full time. We settled on the interview time at 2:30 and I made an excuse to leave work early. I was nervous, also very excited. 

I came home and rushed to get my interview outfit on. They looked fine. I was going to show Dave and Jose and seek their opinion, I couldn't now. I ate half of my lunch, visited the bathroom, and off I went. I didn't have time to stop by the ATM for cash (parking in downtown requires cash) so my neighbor lent me $6 and wished me good luck. I felt so blessed. It didn't take long to drive to downtown, no freeway traffic at this time, but because I parked a few blocks away, I had to walk fast in my dressy outfit. 

I made it 10 min before the interview time. There was another lady also coming to see the same person in the company. I immediately thought that she might be my competition. I had to fill out a 6 page job application and sign another page for background check. It felt redundant, but since the other lady got to be interviewed first, I had nothing else to focus on but to completing the forms. When I finally was in the big conference room for my interview, I was lively and engaging. I felt strong and confident. The hiring lady seemed to like me. We then moved to her office to use her computer. Soon she brought in another employee who was working on some of the stuff I would be doing if I was hired. So I was talking and trying to impress them both, as they were pretty much interviewing me at the same time.

After the second lady left, I was invited to meet with the COO of the company. I was feeling nervous again. Fortunately he was more talkative than inquisitive. Still I sat in his office facing him, paying attention, nodding, smiling, and laughing gently when I needed to. He and the hiring lady I talked earlier to were discussing having another person to call into the office so remotely he could interview me as well. I felt nervous and uneasy, but I knew I could do this. So they finally got the 4th person on the phone, who was one of the heads in the company, and he asked me several point-blank questions that sounded simple but I knew I better answer them wisely and energetically (well that's the type of attitude every job applicant needs to have anyway) . The truth is I tried to think fast and impress much, and there were definitely times I don't think I answered them all that well. The COO seemed to like me so he actually was complimenting and almost flattering yours truly to the teleconferencing person on the phone, which helped a lot.

After the remote head person said he would be very glad to agree with whatever decision the COO would be making, he hung up and the first hiring lady came into the office again. So I spent another good 10 - 15 min speaking to both of them. The COO in the end said he assumed I would pass the background check, and I should hear from them mid next week. I shook his hand and the hiring lady's hand, turned in my job application and left.

The walk back to my car was exhilarating. I was hungry, dying to pee, but so happy. I had a good feeling about the company and the people there. 11 weeks ago I received the notification that my Green Card was approved. Exactly 11 weeks later I finally got my first real interview. I feel very gratified and thankful that slowly my life is taking shape, and moving forward. I'm hopeful that from now on things will get better and the steps that I have made prior to today will help me accomplish more goals and overcome more challenges. 

I'm exhausted, but happy.