It seemed like a good idea at the time...

I will be the first to admit that it was not my best laid plan. I had been invited to interview with a Fortune 500 company at NYC headquarters for a competitive rotational program, and the recruiter suggested flying out the night before. However, I would then miss an entire day of classes (otherwise known as 50% of my 2-day academic week). My decision-making was additionally influenced by the knowledge that the cost of my education broke down to just under $400 per class. (Too bad I hadn’t yet taken Managerial Accounting – my education was a sunk cost by that point.)

I had a “better” idea: fly out the morning of! If I took the first flight of the day, I would have a four hour window between my flight arrival and my interview. That seemed more than sufficient.

I left my house at 3:45AM on the big day and checked in for my flight at zero dark thirty in the morning. I grabbed a copy of the WSJ and a coffee and settled into an airport chair. Shortly before boarding was supposed to begin, airline personnel announced a short delay. The delay soon turned into a flight cancellation. No big deal though: there was another flight scheduled just an hour after my original flight. Unfortunately, the second flight was quickly delayed and at that point, I started to panic. I went up to the airline desk to chat with an employee and as he was pulling up my reservation, the second flight was cancelled. BALLS.

At that point, I had three options:
1) Take the third flight of the day out of that airport and arrive about 15 minutes late to my interview if everything went according to plan. Since that airport was already 0/2 for the day, I didn’t have a lot of confidence in this option.
2) Take a cab to a larger airport an hour away, jump on the hourly shuttle to LGA, and arrive about 20 minutes late if everything ran smoothly.
3) Run to the airport parking lot, get in my car, pray for light traffic, and drive like a mad woman. This was the only option offering me the remotest possibility of arriving in time.

Clearly I was going to go with Option 3.

As I sprinted back to my car, I realized that I should contact the recruiter to update her on the morning’s events. I waited until the clock struck 9 and then I called. She listened in silence as I informed her of my travel plans gone awry. The phone line was quiet and then she flatly stated “I told you to fly out yesterday.” It was really not my day.

I made excellent time with Google Maps as my faithful co-pilot. I was less than 30 minutes outside of NYC when I looked down and realized that I had another problem: I was still wearing my comfortable travel clothes. I pulled over at the next gas station that I saw, changed into my suit in the bathroom, and reloaded my coffee. Mere minutes later, I was back on the road, this time looking the part.

I pulled into a parking garage in Midtown about 10 minutes before the scheduled start of my interview, left my keys in the ignition, and grabbed a ticket from the valet as I ran out. I arrived at the office breathless and fueled by nothing more than two giant cups of coffee and a bunch of nerves. I had missed the entire welcome lunch but I was just in time for my interviews.

The next four hours went by in a Will Ferrell a la Old School haze as I was shuttled around the office to speak with senior managers in various business units. I remained composed and generally articulate throughout the afternoon, but ultimately I did not to receive an offer.

Key takeaway: Out of town interview? Travel there the night before.