I Make It Rain

I had yet another interview earlier this week and let me tell you, it was amazing that I made it there at all. I was having one of those mornings where an entire hour seemed to pass by in seconds, and the next thing I knew I was swearing at the clock as I realized that I should have left for my interview five minutes ago.

I frantically tried to put on my shoes – not an easy task since I had decided to wear espadrilles. If I were a normal person, I would have just looped the ribbon around my ankle, tied it in a knot, and called it a day. Clearly, that's not my style. I had picked up my espadrilles in Madrid a few years back; while I was there I was delighted to discover that Calle Toledo was full of little stores that sold espadrilles for a fraction of the price that they retailed for back in the US, even with the dismal exchange rate. Of course, I went buck wild and picked up about half a dozen pairs of shoes. (Like you wouldn’t have done the same.) While I was stocking up on a lifetime’s worth of espadrilles, the store owner gave me an espadrille tying tutorial that I have never forgotten. His method results in a securely tied shoe that still allows blood circulation; however, his method is also a bit time intensive which is problematic when you’re already running late.

Now you might be wondering why I elected to wear espadrilles to a job interview. Um, because espadrilles completed my outfit. Let me clarify: I had explicitly been told that the office dress code was quite casual, and I had witnessed said casual dress code firsthand the week before at my first round interview. Therefore goodbye black wool suit and hello cute (but professional) summer dress and espadrilles.

As I was driving to my interview, I silently said a prayer of thanks that Chicago motorists seem to view speed limits as a helpful suggestion rather than a legal mandate. Despite massive amounts of construction, traffic continued to move, and I managed to make it to my interview nice and early after all. Once there, I relaxed in my car for a few minutes and then decided to head into the office. I swung by the ladies room to touch up my lip gloss, and when I reached into my purse I made quite an entertaining discovery: a bright blue penis straw. Note to self: when taking the same purse to an interview that you took to a bachelorette party a couple of nights ago, be sure to give the contents a quick rummage before you leave the house. As it turned out, though, my rather inappropriate straw turned out to be my lucky charm.

I interviewed with three different people and at the end of the afternoon I sat down with the president of the company to debrief. Apparently it had gone well because he made me a job offer on the spot. What, you don’t want to meet with the team and debate and get back to me next month or perhaps the month after that? Excellent.

You might think that I’d be jumping for joy, but I’m still too surprised to really react. I have been hearing “no” for the past year and a half so I don’t even know how to respond to “yes”. At this point, I’m relieved more than anything; that being said, I’m not planning any parades just yet. In any other year, there is no way that an MBA would even consider this role. But it is this year and here I am. To be fair, this job is far superior to my BATNA (Best Alternative to a Negotiated Agreement) which is unemployment.

Another bonus? I am now a much more desirable candidate simply because someone else wants me. (Hmm, this sounds a lot like dating.) I had a couple of calls this week and the recruiters were much more responsive when I dropped the “I have another offer” card. All of a sudden, they can’t get me in for interviews quickly enough. To be continued folks...