NYC Pulls a Fast One on Me (AGAIN)

Here’s a fun little recruiting story from the archives of 2009...

I was on a conference call with an alum who worked at a CPG company in NYC* (nope, not Colgate). We were having a good conversation and he mentioned that he would be happy to set up a meeting if I was ever in the city. Up until that moment, I had no immediate plans to visit NYC but – how funny is this – all of a sudden I found myself saying “Well fancy that! I was actually planning to visit NYC next week.” And just like that, I had set up an informal interview for myself. Well done me.

Flash forward to that next week. I was suited up and ready to discuss my burning passion for marketing. I threw a map of NYC into my purse and headed out the door. I took the subway without incident and got off at a stop near the office. I walked down the street… and then paused in confusion several blocks later. The building I was looking for apparently did not exist. The building immediately in front of me was #20 and the next building over was #24. Where in the world was #22?

I did another lap around the block and confirmed my suspicion that building #22 indeed did not exist. YOU HAVE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME. Was this part of the interview process? Sure you can interview with us but you have to find us first - only MacGyvers need apply.

Thinking quickly, I called up one of my friends from business school. Bless her sweet little heart, she picked up on the second ring. “Hey, how did your interview go?” she asked brightly. “Um, about that… the address that the recruiter gave me is a figment of his imagination. I do know that the office supposed to be in the [specific building] though. Any idea where that is?” Glory be, she did know! As a matter of fact, she had interned in that building over the summer. Way to call the right person.

Armed with accurate information (the address was #122 – the company had dropped the handle), I made it to my interview on time. It went well but (like every other company) they were on a temporary hiring freeze. Sigh, story of my life.

Key takeaway: Don’t trust the address that a company gives you. Locate it on Google Maps ahead of time.

*For some reason, all of my recruiting stories have been about interviews in the NYC area but I swear, I have actually interviewed elsewhere. Stay tuned for those installments…