BB&T- PM

Well, time again for me to interview. About a month ago, I applied for a job in Gastonia as a BSO PM II ( Business Services Officer- Portfolio Manager). I interviewed with a guy named Mark for the position, and to make a long story short, I didn't get the job. A side note on this interview:

After I had applied online, he gave me a call at work and told me that he wanted to have a phone interview with me. I said "ok", figuring that it would be a short and sheet get-to-know-you interview:

"Hey Steve this is Mark _______. I just wanted to call and let you know that I'd like to have you interview for the BSO PM job. This will just be a get to know you phone call where you can tell me a little about yourself and I can tell you about the position>"

"Sounds great! Is there anything I need to do in the mean time?"

"No, just review the job description and let me know if you have any questions about it."

"Wonderful. Thanks Mark! Look forward to talking to you on Friday."

"Me too. Have a good day."

Ok, pretty straight forward stuff. So I went back and started my general prep for interviews- asking tons of questions. Since I was under the assumption that this was just a general phone call/meeting, I focused a lot of my effort on what I had done up to this point in BLA (Business Loan Administration). I must have filled 2 or 3 pages with everything I had done, outlined my resume, made notes to make sure I asked about him, etc.

A co-worker of mine tipped me of to an Intranet site where I could find the standardized question set that BB&T uses when interviewing for certain positions. SHe forwarded me the link to the questions for the BSO PM, and I printed it off, figuring that it would be something good to look at. The BB&T format is a series of 9 behavioral questions designed to identify whether a candidate would perform well in a situation. It require you to call on past experiences in work, school, etc. It's a long process and a big deal and something you really study for.

I studied myself, the position, and wrote down tons of questions for the meeting. I figured that if the phone call went well, then he would invite me down to meet in person.

Well, Mark calls on the Friday that we agreed upon, and I picked up the phone, after staring down the clock for about 45 minutes. We exchange some pleasantries for a few minutes, then he drops the line.

"So, uh, Steven, I have a series of about 9 standardized questions or so that I'd like to ask you. They're designed to help you elaborate on your experiences so far as a Credit Analyst. And, uh, you know just answer to the best of your ability, and if you need a couple seconds to think of an answer, that's completely fine with me."

Oh, shit. I wasn't prepared for this. I immediately started grabbing my papers with the questions wishing that I had spend 1, 2, 5 more minutes just looking at the questions before this "interview." A couple seconds silence is bad enough in person. A couple seconds on the phone is eternity. Why would he want to do this in person????

"Ok, yeah great."

We spent the next 2 hours on the phone. I answered to the best of my ability, and I think that he liked me. I didn't make any faux pas like I normally do, but I wouldn't say I blew it out of the water. I ran him into the end when he had to get off and go to a lunch meeting, which felt good.

I got the call about a week later saying that I didn't get the job, but that he was interested in keeping my information in case another opportunity comes open. I hate that fucking word. It's a good word, for sure, and I wish that BB&T hadn't bastardized it so much to the point that it makes me sick. Even a downgrade in job is an opportunity. It's a nice way of saying that you took a job for more money at a better place to work with better people that aren't you. It's a good, all encompassing word, but I get tired of it, just like the phrase "it is what it is." That one means "you're screwed and have to do a shit job anyways."

I was pissed that he didn't warn me that it was going to be the full interview. Otherwise I would have prepped for the real interview, not some mock "feeler" meeting. I was irritated to be honest. After the end of the interview, I asked him what the next step was and he told me he would think about it and make a decision. I couldn't believe it- who hires someone without meeting them first? I think that was part of the reason I didn't get the job. I say this for 3 reasons:

1. I am attractive (yeah I said it)
2. I am well groomed
3. I am presentable and can speak articulately.

Although these seem like simple things, there are some PM's and some people that I work with that can hardly find their desks and are so obese that any client contact would make the client change their mind. Needless to say, an in person interview is better for me. It's hard to keep a smile when you're talking on the phone. Also hard to say "Ok", "I understand" and "Yeah" 100 times over the phone.

Ok, enough of the short side conversation. The reason behind this was to explain that I received another "opportunity" to interview for a position, another PM job, this time in Mooresville.

Professional interviewer?

Recently thinking that I should just become a professional interviewer- or would that be interviewee? I seem to be having many of them recently- 3 separate ones in the last month, all within BB&T and it's subsidiaries. If you count the two separate ones I had today, it could be more. I'll expand on this later, but suffice it to say that I find myself once again preparing for these interviews like I did several years ago- by drowning them in questions. As I've said before, it's the easiest way to not only find out exactly what you will be doing (so you don't end up taking a crap job) but to also fill the space when you run out of things to talk about (yourself). It also makes people think you are career minded and focused, blah blah. Granted, my success rate is not 100%, otherwise I wouldn't be writing all of these posts. But from my experience..

More to come. Finishing up my second interview of the week tomorrow (Tuesday). I'll have more details and hopefully my timeline of what I have done in search of a new position.

Found a job, still in search

The title says it all. The last time this I posted this was during the summer of 2007, right after I took a job form and quit Career Builder. Clearly it was a telemarketing scheme, and I got fooled. I spent some more time looking and finally found a job with BB&T. Yeah, a bank. I had no experience applying and even interviewing for it, but to be honest I saw that my friend was interviewing and I knew that if he could get an interview, I definitely could.

I interviewed in late October 2007 and dominated it. I came armed by asking as many questions as possible and knew as I was driving back that I probably had the offer. A couple weeks later I got an offer. A decent offer. One catch. Well, two. BB&T has this Leadership Development Program where they have you come live in Winston Salem NC and go through this commercial track to learn all about banking. BEcause they pay for all this training (and pay me a salary at the same time) they put a contract on it so that I don't go jumping ship the moment I graduate. The contract you say? 5 years valued at $46,000, which is amortized down each month. It was a big decision, but if anyone had read my prior posts, you would know I couldn't afford to not take it. So I signed the contract and started in January of 2008.

It's been just over 2 years now (almost 2.5 years) and I am completely miserable. I had a pretty crappy experience in the program, because, God forbid, I wanted to focus on work and not drinking. Clearly that was not a good idea, because I got shitted over with my placement, and I find myself stuck in a job that I dislike in a city that I hate. I don't have many friends that I hang out with here because I am gone every weekend, and am waiting to "roll out" like they told me I would. The problem is that everything they fed to me in the program was complete shit, and I am stuck with almost $27,000 of debt if I choose to leave.

Any future posts will focus on any interviews I have coming up and just general thoughts I have had and conversations with friends that have shaped my opinion of BB&T and what I want to do with my life. Do I know what I want to do? Yeah, but the answer won't impress or astound anyone. Suffice it to say that I am sick and tired of the corporate crap and I've found that socializing and kissing ass does way more for you than working hard and getting your work done. More on that later, but I am back in the game so to say! Hopefully I will have a friend contribute to this blog with some of his ideas about life, etc. If not, then it will just be me.

Careerbuilder.com

Careerbuilder.com


First Interview

I was heading into late July when I made a big decision. Little did I know at the time, but that decision to apply to a position would lead me to my first real job and hopefully end the painful journey that had taken me up to this point. Lets gets started.

I was sitting at my desk downstairs half heartedly looking for jobs. I hadn't found much that day, and was getting discouraged. I was about to give up for the day and go running, and then my dad unexpectedly came home. He had been out on a business trip, and decided to get some more work done at home. His little home office was situated right next to mine, and as he came into the room I decided to go ahead and keep plugging away so he wouldn't get on my case.

I pulled up indeed.com and began my searches of sales, marketings, and managements. I was scrolling down the page when I saw an a job posting from a familiar company. Careerbuilder.com. I found it ironic, that I would apply to the same company where I had been spending most of my days looking for other jobs. It would make for a good joke if I got it right?

I clicked on the posting and reviewed the position. It was for an inside sales consultant position. They were looking for young people with high motivation, the energy and willingness to learn, and voila- it was an entry level position! Perfect. It seemed interesting, and actually something that I would enjoy. After all, I have had extensive experience over the past few months with Careerbuilder.com, monster.com, Atlantahotjobs.com, and many many other websites like theirs. I applied.

For some reason, I remember looking at the time on my computer when I applied. Maybe it was because I was hoping it was later than it was (i.e. closing time) in the business world, or maybe I was seeing how much more work I could get done before the day ran out (yeah, right). What I do recall is that the time was 3:10 PM.

I went back to my normal search when I was startled by a phone call. I looked down to see a random number calling me, and looked at the computer to see what time it was. It was 3:16 PM. Not sure of what phone number it was, I let my phone continue ringing until it went to voicemail. About half a minute later I get a message. Perfect.

The call was from a woman named Clary Moss. She was from Careerbuilder. Six minutes. She explained who she was in a hurry, asking me to call her back as soon as I can for an initial phone interview. Not wanting to have it in front of my dad, I went into my room, grabbed a pen and paper, and sat down to call her.

I dialed.

Clary picked up after about 1 ring, and after explaining who I was she got right into it. She was beginning her spiel when I noticed several things. First, she talked very, very quickly. Almost too fast to comprehend. Second, she wasn't on this phone call to chit chat. She was here to interview me, get what she needed, and get the hell out of there.

She began by explaining that she was "really on top of it today" and that she had received my application and wanted to talk to me. They were in the process of hiring for a new class at their new Norcross location and she wanted to interview people as quickly as they can. I told her OK, and asked her to explain the position a little better.

Her response could have taken about 10 to 15 minutes to explain thoroughly. She did it in about 5. I sat there almost silent as she raced through the position. It was an inside sales position in Norcross in which I would be selling the services and products of Careerbuilder.com, namely the job posting, the resume database, and the brand builder. I would be calling on customers in a geographic area over the phone, set appointments, and run meetings with them via phone and internet. Clary told me that the first few months "Are going to be really tough. You're going to want to quit, but it's worth it because once you get a client base then it will really just be account management. She mentioned that it would be heavy phone work, and that even though I would not want to pick up the phone at 3:00 in the afternoon each day, I would still have to.

As Clary was explaining all this to me, I was relatively silent over the phone. She spoke so quickly and answered most of the questions I had prepared while she was talking, and the most I could fit in was a grunt of approval, an "OK", or a "yeah, that makes sense, I understand." After about 15 minutes, Clary was what I thought in the middle of the conversation when she stopped abruptly.

"You don't seem interested in this."

I was clearly taken aback

""Excuse me?"

"It jsut seems like you don't seem very excited about this opportunity."

"No no I am, its just a lot of information to take in at the moment, sorry. I'm jsut trying to write down some of the information you're telling me."

"So do you want me to keep going?"

"Yes! Please, sorry, I am very interested."

Looking back, I'm surprised I reacted as well as I did. Truth be told I was mediocre about the position, and was overwhelmed by everything she was telling me. I was also surprised that she told, not asked me, that I wasn't interested in what she had to say.

Clary continued through her rant. The pay was a base salary of $25,000, which was actually broken down into 40 hours a week at $12.02/hr. The bonuses, she said, was the good part. New people coming on would expect to make from $40,000 to the $60,000 their first year, with almost unlimited growth after that. The benefits were outstanding, started almost immediately, and was apparently one of the better medical/dental/health programs available to new hires in this capacity.

The interview was coming to a slower pace now- I had asked some of the questions that I wanted to, and was getting a better feel for the position. Clary must have realized that I was more interested now that she light a fire under my sleeping ass, because she took the initiative.

"Well Steven, it sounds like you would be interested in this position, so would you be available to come in this Friday and interview at our office location?"

"Yes I would, absolutely!"

"Great. I'm going to send you some information about our company including a powerpoint slide with some of our history and an overview of our medical benefits for you. I'm also going to send you directions for you to get here. You shouldn't get lost. Do you have any questions?"

Almost before I could answer, she said great and hung up the phone, and I was left in a whirl of information and confusion. I had an interview, an opportunity, a chance. I went upstairs, feeling like I really accomplished something, and told my parents.



It was at this point in my job searching that my mom made helped me to understand why I may not be getting the responses that I was hoping for with a lot of these companies. After telling her of how Clary put me on the spot, she informed me that I needed to "act like you want the job and stop sounding disinterested." It was true. At this point I had gone on about 25 or so interview with about 20 different companies, and to be honest I was getting desensitized to the whole experience. Each interview was just that- another interview in the process. My mom told me to apply almost with reckless abandon, and as a result I was interviewing with a lot of companies that seemed alright. I knew that I probably wouldn't get my dream job right out of school, so I kept applying for jobs that seemed somewhat interesting.

The issue is that I had no real medium to go through to get solid interviews. I would apply online through the various websites, and I would get scarce call backs. On average, I would get a response from a company once from about every 20 to 25 companies I would apply for. These applications were not for far fetched positions either. I received a lot of emails from my mom with positions that required 5 to 10 years experience, and I tended to stay away from them. Clearly, just applying online wasn't cutting it.


Second Interview

So I was excited about my interview. It was something different, and it didn't seem like the JNL & Associates position. This one was different, it was account management, I would be working with companies, calling on clients, making a difference. My job now was to get ready for my interview.

I started by reviewing the information that Clary had sent me. It all seemed very impressive. Careerbuilder has been growing rapidly since 2004, when they made some strategic acquisitions and had shot ahead of Monster. The numbers spelled out a bright future for CB as I came to call it, and it made me want to be a part of the optimistic future. I gathered some numbers on the company Thursday night and tried to get a good nights rest.

Friday came, and after getting ready I embarked on my journey. I reached the building easily- it was an 80's style 6 story brick building nested among a leafy canopy and a double deck parking garage. I got in the elevator and went up to the second floor. I walk into the office and greet a yougn girl at the receptionists desk. To my right is a large conference room with about 5 people in it conferencing on a 50ish inch television. I sit down and an told to wait.

A few people come walking around, some in jeans, some in suits, and I watch the news as I continue to wait. I keep looking down at my notes, making sure I recall the necessary information- revenues, number of employees, year founded, etc. About 10 minutes after coming in the door opens and a guy in a suit enters. He puts out his hand.

His name is Bill. He's about 5'6", 5'7", thin, with reddish blond hair, generic colored eyes, and a scrunched up face. He gives me a firm handshake and tells me to follow him. He walks out the office door, across the hall and into a stairwell where we start walking up stairs. We walk and share small talk as we ascend. Bill was a nice guy. He spoke quickly, and in small, short bursts. His laughs were quick and rushed, and seemed very topical even for interviewing purposes.

We get to the 3rd floor and open the door. We walk into a big room with a mess of interconnected cubicles in the middle, with some offices lining the window views. The entire place is empty. We're one of the only ones up there, and I can hear the sounds of electricians working on the other side of the office. Bill leads me into what seems like an abandoned office and sits down behind the desk. he leans back in his chair, puts his hand on the back of his head, and looks at me.

"Well..well Steve lets, lets get started here," he says in his thickest Chicago accent. Thats not the only thing I notice.

We start the interview with him asking me some questions- What I've been doing since I graduated, what classes I took, etc.

"So, so Steven tell me this. Why did you apply with Careerbuilder?"

"Well, as I've said before, I've been looking for jobs now for a couple of months, and I was jsut trying to take advantage of any opportunity that came my way."

"Good good, but let me ask you this. What are you passionate about? What really drives you, what do you want to do?"

"Well, actually I interviewed with a company called Solar Energy Marketing, and I'm really interested in the environment and the opportunity available with solar energy. It's something that I've been interested in for a while now and at some point and I'd like to pursue it in the future."

Bill seemed happy with the response. I think he was just looking to see if I was passionate about something, regardless of whether it was Careerbuilder. Also, he probably wanted to see whether my head was up his ass or not. Apparently it wasn't just yet.

The interview continued with him asking me some scenario questions regarding the experiences I had in college regarding my classes, and whether I took leadership roles in them, etc. He asked if I ever stepped up in a situation, and I had my ready response. He asked a time in which I worked with others, and I had another quick, sharp reply. Things were going well, and after a while he ran out of questions and he asked if I had any.

I did. After telling my mom about the incident with Clary, she told me that I need to act like I wanted the job more. This meant that I needed to "man up" in a sense- to be more forthright about me wanting the job, making them think that I would take the job immediately. I had to be confident, ask more questions, appear poised and ready to get all the information, to interview THEM.

So I made my mind up to be a lot stronger in my interviews, to ask questions boldly and to assert my interest much more than I had previously. For this interview I had written down some more in depth questions, ones that touched on more than just a general over view of the job description. Here is a list of some questions I asked:

What's a typical day like?
Is there a mentoring/training process to get me going?
What type of benchmarks would I be held to over 3/6/9 months?
Whats the typical ramp up period for new hires?
Who would I directly report to?
What type of growth opportunities within the company are there?
Where does Careerbuilder want to be in 1 year? 5 years?
What are CB's largest competitors, and what steps are being taken to stay ahead of the competition?

I could tell I was asking strong questions, because I could see Bill actually working to come up with an answer. It was obvious he was impressed with my questions, and for the first time I felt like I had some real control over the situation. I was interviewing him just as much as he was interviewing me, and we could both feel it. My goal to be confident was working, and the conversation was relaxed and comfortable.

"Wow Steve I, I gotta tell ya I haven't talked this much about Careerbuilder in an interview before."

I beamed proudly.

"But let me ask you this. We've talked about the times you've taken a leadership role and performed. You obviously did well in college, and you've been involved in a lot of different things. This position deals a lot with rejection. I want to know if you can handle constant rejection. Whats something that you've failed at over the course of your life, and how did you respond to it. What made you keep going?"

I was momentarily stumped. I've been asked questions like this before, but not in the context of relating it to a sales position. I don't really fail at things. Especially not school, and not many other parts of my life. This isn't to say that I do everything perfectly, and that I come out on top all the time, but in most areas of my life I perform reasonably well. I could have given him an answer about me failing Accounting 202 (I didn't take the final exam because I had a flight to Europe. I told my teacher this and tried to reschedule, but she told me I couldn't take it at another time. I didn't go, and she failed me. I had a B going into the test. So the next semester, I took the entire class over again, with the same teacher.) but I didn't want to. Didn't fit as well.

Then I had an idea. A slow smile crept over my face as my answer started to formulate inside my head. It was perfect. Bill would never see it coming.

"Well, I'd have to say that I've failed at finding a job so far. I've been applying and interviewing to a lot of companies even before I graduated in May, and I've yet to find anything. It's been a couple of months now, and even though I haven't found anything yet, I still continue to search for jobs and interview, because I know its something that I have to do. I've had a lot of experience looking for jobs now, and I understand what it feels like to be in the job hunt, and I understand the issues associated with it. I might not enjoy it all the time, but I get up each day, put in the time, and know that if I keep plugging away something will come along at some point."

I finish, take in a breath and look across the desk. Bill looks at me, and leans back in his chair.

"Wow, that..thats a really good answer. I didn't expect that at all."

"Thanks. I thought you'd like that" We both laugh.

Bill squares up, looks down at my resume scribbled with incoherent notes, and looks up.

"Well good. Do you have any additional questions?"

I look down at my paper. I asked them all. "Nope," I say.

"Well, normally I like to take a weekend and think about the interview and what not. I make myself go over the interviews I have so I can make a good decision whether this is a good fit for both of us. If you don't have any questions, that will be it for today. I'm going to think it over this weekend, and I will give you a call on Monday either way. How does that sound?"

"Sounds good to me."

Bill makes a motion to stand up and we shake hands. I am feeling confident about this interview. I dominated it. I kicked ass. We walk out of the office, through the empty office, and down the emergency stairs. Once at the second level, we shake hands, and I go on my way. I hold myself until I'm outside before I give a solid fist pump. I hop in my car and head home, eagerly awaiting the phone call on Monday.


Monday comes, and so does my phone call. I notice immediately that it's Bill.

"Hello?"

"Steve? Hi its, its Bill how ya doing?"

"I'm good, how are you?"

"I'm good. Listen, I thought about our conversation we had on Friday, and I would like to go ahead and extend you an offer of employment for the IAG division."

"Great! Thank you very much. When would I start?"

"The position Starts on August 13 at 8:00 AM. I'll send you the offer letter sometime this week. I'll also need to have you let me know your decision by this Friday."

"Will that be the latest I can let you know?"

"Yeah, we're trying to get our class together and we need to know by that date."

"Ok, great. I'll let you know. Thanks again!"

I hung up the phone and was ecstatic. Finally! I found a position that seemed right. There were a lot of factors that made it seem like it would be for me. It was for inside sales, so I wouldn't have to travel around Atlanta (especially in rush hour traffic). Careerbuilder was just opening up the office in Norcross, so by coming on now I would get in on the ground floor and grow with the company. With the growth I was told CB was having, I would be eligible for some type of management position within a year or so, and the opportunities seemed unlimited. The commute was reasonable, the hours were 8-5 M-F, no weekends, and the dress business professional. It all seemed to fit, and I was excited. I spent the rest of the day basking glory.


That Week

When it rains, it pours, and it seemed as though things were all coming together for me at this point. I had just received an offer from Careerbuilder, had some successful interviews with Brinks Home Security, and was in contact with Equifax. I have a friend who works for Equifax, and she managed to drop my name to some of her superiors. There was a business consultant position available with Equifax, and through some connections I was scheduled to have an interview on that Tuesday. I wasn't exactly sure my course of action in regards to accepting or declining the CB offer or where the Equifax interview would lead. Nevertheless, I had to keep all my options open.

Tuesday came, and I received a call from a woman named Rachel Palomba. I was expecting her call, and the purpose of the call was an initial phone interview/phone screen. She wasn't an HR recruiter, she was part of a team that worked on projects. She was someone.

I picked up her call, and we chatted for a minute or so. Rapport building, very important. Soon afterwards we get into the interview- she asks me a series of questions regarding my experiences in school, my jobs, and my role in the fraternity. I tried to answer as best I could, making sure to tie my answers back to the position at hand.

The position seemed confusing at first, but I started to get a better understanding of what it was. Basically, Equifax provides credit services for a lot of companies, medium and big. They provide the user interface, so that a company, when selling something, can determine the credit risk of that individual person, and charge them accordingly. Equifax deals with all the messy equation and numbers, and implements the system and works with the company, consulting them on problems and isues over the course of a several months. It's a position that I could see myself enjoying.

At the current moment, I was enjoying my interview. I was doing well, and I heard positive grunts and approvals from the other end. What I said specifically, I couldn't tell you. What I can say is that the conversation had a good flow, and I wasn't wincing after each statement. I'm much better in person, and sometimes I come off the wrong way over the phone. Soon enough it came to the end of the interview.

"So what would be the next step from here?"

"Well, based on our conversation so far, I think you would be a great candidate. We would love to have you come in on Friday and interview with Jeff if you can."

Uh oh. Now I was in a situation. I had to give Careerbuilder an answer by Friday, and now I was scheduling a second interview with Equifax. I wasn't sure what to tell her, but I decided to just give her the truth."

"Ok, yeah I would love to. I just want to let you know that I am interviewing with some other companies, and have received an offer by one. I told them I would give them an answer by this Friday, just so you know."

"Yeah, I completely understand. I just want to get you in front of Jeff so you have a chance to speak with him. I'm going to send you some information regarding our benefit program and some more details about the position as well. If you have any questions, feel free to call me, but if it's alright with you lets plan on you coming at 1:00 on Friday. Does that work?"

"Yeah, that works for me. I'll see you then. Thanks again, bye!" and I hung up.

I was in a situation now. I had a deadline to adhere to on Friday, and now I had scheduled another interview, which may or may not necessarily result in an offer. I wasn't sure what to do, but I knew that I had options, which is always a good thing.

The next few days passed and the situation was constantly on my mind. I didn't know what I wanted to do about the Careerbuilder offer, and I was nervous about going in for an interview knowing that I would have to make a decision that same day. If I turned down the offer, I ran the risk of not getting an offer form Equifax and basically being shit out of luck. If I took the CB offer, my quest would finally be over, yet I would always be wondering whether I could have made a better decision, what could have been.

I compared the pros and cons a lot over those few days. I ran it over in my head, from the location to the commute to the people to the opportunity and to the job itself. Both had their good qualities, both had their bad. Careerbuilder was closer, i knew the people and atmosphere, I could get in on the ground floor, I had an offer. Equifax paid better, I had some good connections, and the job itself was very appealing. Both presented good opportunities.

I talked it over with my parents. My girlfriend. My sister. My cat, but he didn't seem to care. As Derek Zoolander said "I guess I've got a lot of things to ponder." Thursday afternoon was coming and I knew that I needed to make a decision. If I went in to the interview on Friday, I might be giving off the wrong impression to Equifax if I knew I was going to go with CB. I also knew that I wanted to have a decision in my mind sooner rather than later so I wouldn't be scrambling Friday afternoon. After a lot of thinking, I had made up my mind.

I was going with Careerbuilder. There were a lot of reasons for me making that decision, some of which I had mentioned above. The opportunity for growth seemed very strong with CB, as did the commute, job description, and culture. Also, I felt comfortable at Careerbuilder, and I had met enough people to see myself working there. I knew a few people from Equifax, but I hadn't actually met anyone other than my friend.

So it was done. I mentally accepted that Thursday afternoon, and decided not to wait any longer before making a decision. I knew that I needed to let the people at Equifax know that I won't be interviewing with them.

I called up Rachel and left a message on her voicemail thanking her for the opportunity to come interview, but that I had decided to go ahead and accept the job with Careerbuilder. Not wanting to leave it with a voicemail, I called Jeff, whom I was supposed to interview with on Friday. When he picked, up, I explained my situation as apologetically as I could, and much to my surprise, he completely understood. I tried to leave things on good terms, and I think I did.

Once I got off the phone, I sat down to think about what this meant. I HAD A JOB!!! I wouldn't have to worry about looking for jobs anymore. I had done it. It took me a long time, but my efforts had finally come to fruition. The last step was to call Bill back up and accept personally.

When I told my parents my decision, I was met with mixed emotions. I thought that they would be excited that I had finally found gainful employment, but they seemed angry and disappointed that I hadn't taken the opportunity to interview further with Equifax. They thought I was making a mistake, and every good things they had to say about Careerbuilder before seemed to be a negative now. I was infuriated. As long as I tried, I thought the end would be a grand celebration. Instead, it was disappointment and settlement. I was in a foul mood.

The next day I packed up my things. I had already made plans to go visit my girlfriend in Spartanburg, and I was still angry- at myself, at my parents, at the situation in general. I left, and any chance of calling Equifax back and rescheduling withered away like my gas tank as I headed up 85.

I reached Spartanburg early in the afternoon, knowing that I still had to call Bill. I found a quiet spot and gave Bill a call.

"He- Hello?

"Hey Bill its Steven. I told you I'd give you a decision about the offer by today."

"Oh yeah hey Steven hows it going?"

"It's going well, thanks." My heart was pumping for some reason.

"Well, I've thought it over, and I would be happy to accept the position."

"Great, thats good to hear. I think you're going to be a good addition to our team. Ya know it's going to be a lot of work, and I know we can work on your delivery and phone voice to ge tyou up and running."

"Oh, yeah, I'm looking forward to it." What the hell did he mean by that?

"Well your class will start August 13 at 8:00 AM. Come dressed business professional and be ready to work."

"Ok, sounds good! Thanks again, and I look forward to it!"

"Sounds good Steve, b-bye."

I hang up the phone, and let out a sigh of relief I had been holding ever since I started my search. I did it. I was employed. I was about to walk out of the room and tell my girlfriend, when I started thinking about what he said. Work on my delivery? Did I not have a good delivery? What was wrong with my voice? I went out to share the good news, with his words and several weeks before I knew what it all meant.

Consolidated Graphics

Consolidated Graphics


This was a big week for me. I had three interviews scheduled, starting with Consolidated Graphics. Next was Sherwin Williams (both of which were in Clemson), and then I was to travel to Winston Salem, NC for a two day session with BB&T. As interested I was in all the companies and positions, Consolidated Graphics was first, and on my mind the most.

I found C.G. through the Clemson CareerNet website, and had applied online. I tried to go to their table at the Career Fair earlier in the semester, but I couldn't find their table. Nevertheless, they invited me to come interview with them.

The interview was on a Wednesday at 3:00 PM. I left home and drove up around 1, and got to Clemson with some time to spare. I made sure to overview the company before I left- finding out information about the company' history, its purpose, facts and figures, etc. I knew someone who had interviewed with them before, and he had told me to be weary of some weird characters. I also knew that interviews with graphics companies were somewhat different than regular interviews. My girlfriend is a Graphic Communications major, and she was able to secure a sole position as an intern at a well respected company after a five minute conversation and a follow up email (which I essentially wrote for her). I was ready to find out some more information.

I get to Clemson, put some change in the meter, and head up to the Career Center. After waiting around for about 5 or 10 minutes, the door opens and a young guy invites me in. We walk to a small, empty conference room on the right and sit down. His name is Jason, and he seems like a nice guy. he tells me that he is from Keys Printing, which is owned by Consolidated Graphics, and that he's here hiring for the Leadership Development Program. He goes on to say that he's been with the company for a few months, what kind of company they are, and what type of candidate they're looking for.

I'm listening intently on this description. It's a 3 year rotational program in a printing company where I would spend 1 year on the production/printing floor, 1 year in the business aspect, and then another year in some other area of interest that I find over the first two years. The training would cover all types of printing (web, digital, sheetfed), and the hours would vary. I'm told that I could have a 9-5 one week, and then work 15 10 hour days in a row- it all just depends.

Jason finishes up his initial description, sits back, and asks me if I have any questions. I'm surprised. It hits me that I've been sitting down for maybe a minute and a half. Jason is pretty much done from his end. I don't think he planned on asking any questions. Knowing that I had 30 minutes for this interview, I looked down and tried to compose myself for the questions I wanted to ask. I tried to organize them in my mind so it would take up more time.

I started asking questions, and I could tell the conversation was strained. I always try to make as much eye contact as possible in these interviews. As obvious as it sounds, I feel as though its something that makes a difference. Jason apparently got the same memo. As he talked, he stared right at me without taking a break. I was staring back, and we continued this lock for minutes at a time. I had to momentarily break away because it felt awkward, and then I would feel bad for looking away so I would look back again. This continued several times.

As the "interview" went on, things became more comfortable. We were both smiling and laughing more, and I was getting the information I needed. I noticed an empty seat next to Jason, and he mentioned that his boss was supposed to be here, but wasn't for some reason. I didn't really care.

Towards the end of the interview the door opens. A thin man in his 50's with graying hair walked in with a suitcase. He walked past me, set his briefcase down, looked out the window, and checked his phone. The room is silent. After shuffling with his things, he turns around, introduces himself, and we shake hands. Lets call him Keith.

Keith sits down and asks if I had any questions. Conveniently, I had pretty much just finished up asking all my questions to Jason, so I didn't have much. I asked him what he liked best about working for Consolidated Graphics. He gave me a standard answer, and then turned the conversation towards a different topic.

"I know Jason told you about the position, but I just wanted to tell you that we're really a performance company. We don't tolerate non performers, and we're looking for someone who can put in the hard work and perform."

I nod and say "ok." What else can I say?

"You know this job requires a lot of hard work and we want to make sure we get someone who is willing to put the time in..."

As Keith continued talking, I kept looking at him. Keith was staring at me as he talked about non performers and how much he hated them. There was no smile, no light heartedness about him, and it felt as though he was associated me with a non performer already. I didn't like this. I wanted to change the conversation.

Up to this point things had been going well. There was a positive vibe in the room, and things were coming together nicely. Now, I had Keith ranting about non performers. He was bringing the current conversation, and the entire interview down with him. It was uncomfortable. As he talked, I contemplated making a joke, a side step of sorts. Something to acknowledge that I understood what he was talking about and that we can move on to something else. I thought about it.

Keith was still going, with his stare and his speech, and I thought twice about the joke. I knew what I would say. I'd make a clever quip about printing, something topical that he'd understand. No, I won't do it. Well, why not. I have to get out of this situation.

I waited for a lull in his sentence, and decided to go for it. My joke was supposed to play off the fact that I was interviewing for a printing company. It made sense, he was supposed to get it. He was talking about non performers, and my joke was "Oh what do you do throw them under the press?" It's not stand up worthy, but I felt it was enough to get out of the situation.

I go for it.

I oepn my mouth, and out comes the joke. Except, it came out low and mumbled. I have a habit of mumbling sometimes, and my hesitation must have added to that. The room falls silent. Jason and Keith look at me.

"I'm sorry, what did you say?"

Damn, I'm thinking. Jokes are only funny the first time. So I go to say it again, because I can't just give up.

So I go to say it again, except this time I mess up the first 5 or 6 words of the joke to the point that they come out as gibberish. It sounded something like this "Oh whsyd uuhd eww joo tghrow them under the press?" Apprently my tounge got in the way, and my nervousness about getting the joke right made me mess it up even more. I was horrified.

Dead silence.

Keith and Jason look at me. Keith speaks.

"What?"

I'm freaking out.

I realize that I royally fucked up. I tried the same joke twice, and messed it up twice. I have one of two options now. I can either say "nevermind," roll up into a ball and leave. Or I can be triumphant, I can say it again and finally get my point across. So I go for it one more time.

This time I get all the words correct. Except I say it much louder than I intended, and I said it with no hint of humor at all. Keith looks at me, gives me a half smile, looks at Jason and says "yeah."

After that the interview was pretty much over. I tried to mend the irrevocable damage I had just inflicted, but it seemed futile. I got some business cards, shook some hands and left very shortly thereafter, knowing that whatever chances I had were ruined by at least the second time I told my joke. I got in my car, left campus, and tried not to reflect on whatever the hell i was trying to say.

I have yet to hear anything back from them, and I doubt I will. I ran myself through the press.

The Home Mag

The Home Mag- some time in late June/early July


As I was searching through some indeed.com search results of "sales and marketing," I came across an interesting opportunity. It was for a company called The Home Mag, a home improvement magazine dedicated to being "all about the home." They were hiring for a sales position, and were looking for a motivated, outgoing individual who wants to earn a lot of money. I can do that. I read over the description, trying to make sure it was something that I wanted. It claimed that I would have either a set territory, or one that I can choose on my own. It sounded alright, and I felt like I wanted to make my "quota" for the day at around 4 or 5 applications, so I applied. No harm, no foul.

The next day around 3:00 PM I get a call from a guy named...lets say Chase. I miss the call, call him back, and we end up playing phone tag for a bit. Finally around 4:00 I get him on the phone. He seems very happy to talk to me, and wanted to just have a quick initial interview before me coming in. So we get o the phone, and he tells me he went to South Carolina. I joke with him a bit, and after a minute or two we start to talk business. His associate, James is on the conference call as well, so I acknowledge him and they start asking me some questions. Let me state that I have since forgotten both of their real names, and as James said his name over the conference call I swear I could see the words fly out my other ear and become lost forever. All I knew was Chase. The interview was nothing big, just what I want to do, if I'm really interested in the job, etc. We chat for about 10 or 15 minutes, and I convince them that they should bring me in for an interview. We set the date for two days later (Wednesday) at 1:00 PM. I get moderately excited.

Wednesday comes and I'm preparing for my interview. I hop onto their website and start looking around. Apparently the company is in several other cities, and they are opening up an office here in Atlanta, and want to start staffing their company. The website is vague, and doesn't really give me a great sense of what the company is and what they do. All I know is that they're looking for outside salespeople who are motivated, and that the magazine is dedicated solely to the home.

I get on the highway and make it to the downtown/Buckhead area with relative ease. I allowed for a lot of time just in case of traffic or if I got lost, none of which happened surprisingly. I reach the building and sit in my car overviewing some of the questions I'm going to ask and reviewing the company information before I forget it. At about 12:40 I get out, put on my jacket (start seating immediately), and head inside the building. I ask one of the security guards what floor The Home mag is one and he tells me. I get on the elevator and head to the top.

The elevator comes to a rest at the 14th floor. I step out, turn right and walk into one of the nicest reception/waiting areas I've ever interviewed at. The floor is a beautiful dark hardwood, with beige colored walls contrasting nicely with the sharp crown molding that seemed to cover every edge and corner perfectly. Black leather covered the futuristic chairs, and a broad receptionists desk sat in the middle. It looked, convincingly and appropriately, like a home.

I approached the secretary and told her who I was. She told me to just have a seat and Chase would be right with me. so I sat. I knew I was early, and figured I could keep refreshing my mind as to the pertinent information that I thought I needed to know. Ten minutes go by. Fifteen minutes go by. Twenty minutes go by and by this time I feel like I've been waiting a lifetime. My hands (although I am not necessarily nervous) are in a state of continual moistness, and I'm read for them to shake something other than my pants to dry them.

At 1:05 Chase comes off the elevator and walks in. He is a big, broad black man with a bald head and a dark colored suit on. He gives me a big grin and introduces himself to me. He tells me that he has to go get his things together and that he'll be ready for me soon. "Good," I'm thinking "I've been ready for you." About 5-10 minutes goes by, and his office door finally opens.

Chase walks out and invites me in, giving me a strong handshake as I cross the doorway and into the conference room. The room is a fairly boxy shape, with the door in front, two walls on the left and right, and a window as the third wall facing me as I walk in. There is a long rectangular conference table with a lot of chairs around it located in the middle. Chase has me sit at the end of the table, facing the window. He sits on my left, and as I look over I see who I can only assume is James sitting on my right. I introduce myself to him, and at the time I completely forgot his name. I was hoping he would mention it again as I shook his hand, but to no avail.

James was a middle aged, balding white man who hunched over the table and took on a look that resembled Dick Cheney. While Chase was thanking me for coming, I noticed that James just looked at his papers and didn't say much. We got to some rapport building (did you find the place alright? It sure is hot outside! No, its not too far of a drive form my house) before we got underway. Chase started in.

"Ok Steven, what we want to do today is just find out more about you and decide if you're going to be a good fit with our company. I'm going to ask you some questions and just give me a response, ok?

"Ok, sounds good" I say.

Chase begins with the usual barrage of questions- how I heard about the job, what attracted me to it, what I did in college, what I wanted out of a job, etc. He asked his questions not in an inquisitive way but as though he was challenging me to say the right thing to him. I was trying to be confident in a room where the most interesting thing was the view form the window. He was especially interested about me selling tiger paws, which I mistakenly tried to sell myself on during the initial phone interview. It was something I did for a few months, and most of the sales I claimed to have made were made by the pledges whom I had delegated my powers to. Still, I made a few.

"So tell me about you selling these tiger paws."

"Well, my fraternity received the rights to paint tiger paws back in 1970, and when I came into the organization it was one of our traditions, but not something we proactively engaged in. I took it upon myself to go around to local businesses and try to sell some of these tiger paws to help get better community relations."

"And did you enjoy going door to door?"

"Yeah it wasn't that bad. It was something that I was interested in, and I wanted to stay as involved as possible within the fraternity and the school as well."

"So how do you think that experience relates to this job?"

"Um, well.." and I proceed to give him a synopsis of how the classes I took gave me an understanding of the business environment and how I feel that I am good with people and that I liked the feeling of a sale. I finished, and the room unfortunately remained silent.

At this point in the interview I was clearly stuck in the middle, in a rut. I was sitting between Chase on my left, and James on my right. Chas asked the questions, and I looked at him first while answering, then I would have to move my body and turn to the right and look at James, who never took his head or eyes away from the desk. In front of me the gorgeous Atlanta landscape sprawled out before me, making me momentarily lose my train of thought almost every time. So I was continually shifting, and each turn of the head required me to look at only one person at a time, in opposite directions.

Chase sat back in his chair and asked if I had any questions for him. I did. I asked him to give me a more detailed overview of the job. He proceeded to tell me that The Home Mag was a purely advertising magazine dedicated to the home, and that my job would be to go door to door and try to get people to advertise with the magazine. There were no articles, nothing special other than it was a magazine filled with advertisements. This was a brand new market, and I would be given a county to canvass, or just a general geographic area. The work was all outside, and it literally required that I work extremely long hours, especially some on the weekends to get the sales. I would get a base salary, and a commissions as a percentage of the cost of the advertisement I was selling. When I heard this job description, I mentally blanked out. I didn't want to be a door to door salesman, even it was door to door business. I especially didn't want to do it in downtown Atlanta, where I had just as much of a chance of being mugged as I was getting a sale.

I asked Chase a few more question regarding the specifics of the position, trying to act interested even though I wasn't as much at this point. He had just answered one when he leaned forward and looked at James. Miraculously James found the strength to pick his head up and look at Chase, and they locked eyes for a moment. Then James put his head back down. I wanted to leave. I wanted to get out and not return. This job could be done by a high school dropout. Then Chase spoke.

"Steven, try to help me out here. I just don't believe you want this job, and you haven't convinced me that I should even consider you for it. I want you to convince me that I should hire you. Go ahead."

I had nothing to say for about a good 10 seconds. What a ballsy way to phrase something. What a douche. Sorry that I haven't gotten on my knees yet, I was saving that for the second interview. I couldn't believe he phrased it in that way, and I really didn't want to muster the mental energy to have to answer it. So I formulated a nice heaping pile of crap to feed him and started my response. He stopped me halfway through it and said "No, I want you to convince me. Don't tell me you're a hard worker and that you're competitive, give me something else." So I fed him my reliable line of how this would be my first job and that I would give it 110% of my effort because I want to put into use the skills that I've learned over the past four years. I waited for his answer.

He either liked the new pile I gave him, or he got tired of hearing me talk. What I do know is that I wanted to leave. Chase sat back again and James continued concentrating on the table, and he asked if I had any more questions for him. Thankfully I didn't care enough to ask any more, and I told him no. Then I asked for their cards, and since they didn't have any, they told me their email addresses. Chase went first, and then I swiveled over to James. Remember that at this point I had no clue of what James' name was. I asked for his email, and he gave it to me, which provided me no clues. We all stood up, and they said they were talking to some other candidates and that they would get back to me. I shook their hands, thanked them for wasting...taking the time to speak with me, and I left.

I got home about 45 minutes later and contemplated whether or not I wanted to send them emails thanking them for speaking with me and to reiterate my interest. I decided not to even send it, because I had absolutely no interest in the position, the company, or the managers. Almost a waste of time if it weren't for the story. I never heard a reply back from them, but if you listen closely, you may still be able to hear the faint knock of a door to door salesperson somewhere in Atlanta.

Cintas

Cintas

Part 1

My mom regularly sends me job postings. It's nothing specific, just jobs that she finds while she's working upstairs. Some of the jobs are interesting, many are not, but all of them are with companies that I have never heard of. It's amazing how many different companies are out there today, and all the different industries and applications there are for products in the marketplace. Normally she'll get them from the big job boards and forward them to me, or she'll just send me a link. Some I could have found on my own, some I couldn't have. Regardless, it helps having her send me job postings on a regular basis.

One fruitful morning, I get an email from my mom about a company named Cintas. I had heard of them before, but didn't know much more than that they were the "uniform people." I read through the job opportunity- management trainee, and thought it would be interesting. I went ahead and applied for the job online by sending in my resume and cover letter. It seemed like a good thing.

I get a call on a Thursday from a woman named Maria. Maria has an accent, a thick Latino one, and it is a little difficult understanding her. She says she is calling from the corporate recruiting office and wanted to have an interview with me. We talk about me putting my application in and if I was still interested in the opportunity. I told her I was and that I would love to set up an interview. I was leaving for the beach for a week the next day, so we scheduled to have an interview the following Monday after my vacation. I was happy that I had set something up. My parents were getting somewhat impatient with the fact that I wasn't getting a ton of interviews at this point, and so was I. This gave me some leeway for a week so I wouldn't have to hear them telling me yet again what I should be doing.

The week at the beach came and went, and I found myself waiting anxiously Monday morning for Maria's call. Finally it comes, and we get to talking. We share some small talk for a few minutes before she starts getting into the meat of the interview. She asks a multitude of questions- name a time that I succeeded and what I did that helped me, a time I failed and why, my greatest accomplishment, my best skills, my worst skills, etc. It was a typical interview in the sense that she asked questions that were tough enough for me to think about my answers but easy enough that it did not leave precious seconds of silence on the other end. I tried to be as outgoing and friendly as possible, and had a few questions of my own about the position.

I was interviewing for a management trainee position. It was a 2 year ordeal in which I would train in four different parts of the business for six months at a time- production, customer service, office work, and sales and marketing. Each stage was designed for me to grasp a better understanding of the company and the business. I had been looking for a steady management trainee position, and this was definitely a company that would provide the training.

After about 30 minutes, we started to wrap the interview up. I asked Maria what the next step was. She said that she was going to froward the results of the interview on to the people at the location I applied for (in this case Lawrenceville,) and we'll go for there. I was to expect a call in the next few days. I said thank you and hung up.

The next day I sent Maria a follow up email saying that I appreciated her speaking with me and that I was very much interested in the position. She sent me an email back saying that if I didn't hear anything by Friday I should contact her to see what the situation was. Ok, I can do that.


Part 2

Friday comes, and I don't hear anything from Maria or anyone else from Cintas. I decide I have to do something other than sit and wait by the phone, so I call up Maria and ask her what is going on with my status. She tells me that she isn't sure, that she forwarded my resume on and that someone should have contacted me. I had been through enough interviews to recognize she was buying some time trying to come up with an answer. I asked her if there was anything I could do, and she told me "no," and "just to wait until Monday." I told her that was fine, and I tried to have a good weekend.

Monday comes and I get a call from a woman who we'll call Rhonda. Rhonda seems like a chipper woman on the phone, and even more excited that I am when I listen to the message. She says that she is from the Decatur facility of Cintas, but will be in the Lawrenceville facility today and wanted to speak with me when I got a chance. I called her back when I got the message, but she wasn't there. We played phone tag for about an hour or so until I got her on the phone. She told me that she wanted to just have a quick interview with me over the phone, and I told her that would be great, and we began talking.

Rhonda asked pretty much the same questions that Maria had asked, and I gave her pretty much the same answers. The only difference was that I could understand Rhonda a lot better and was more relaxed knowing she was of original English speaking descent. None of Rhonda's questions were hard, and after about 15 or 20 minutes, she invited me to come to the facility. I was ecstatic. She said that I was going to take an aptitude test and that I should wear a suit because "you never know ho you're going to meet." I thanked her profusely, and we hung up. Great. Two good interviews down and now they want me to come in and take a test! They only give the people they want a test right? Yeah, right.


Part 3

I'm excited for my big break. I did some research on the company and found out that it was actually a solid one. They're what I thought- the uniform people. They also deal in first aid and safety, fire protection, personalized merchandise, and a work in a bunch of smaller similar, but varying industries. I did my homework before the interview- researched the company from it's history to what they're doing currently, and the specifics of the position as well. Ready.

I had made a test run the day before to find out exactly where the facility was. There's nothing I hate more than not being able to find a place when I want to. It really gets me angry. So I knew where I was going. I woke up, did my routine, and headed out the door. I got there in about 15 minutes- which was a very nice commute. I could see myself making this drive every morning. Quiet, through the backwoods of Dacula. Very peaceful. I get to the building about 20 minutes early. It's a new facility, marked by fresh sod, trees staked up with string, and the sound of bulldozers across the street building a neighbor. I park my car and enter the waiting room.

It's a small room with a glass window separating me from a receptionists desk. I tell the woman my name and what time my interview is, and she has me wait in a chair. I sit for about 15 minutes before Rhonda opens the door. "Steven! So nice to meet you, please come in!" She was very nice, and I greeted her back. I walk in and notice the layout- there are cubicles on the left and right of me, and a blob right in front of me. Some high level ofices doted the corners of the building. Rhonda tells me that she has already set up the test for me, and that I can start right away. She leads me to someone's desk, covered with pictures of children, and the pre-Picasso drawings they made. I tell her thanks and she says she'll just be in her office if I need any help. I say thanks again and she leaves.

She told me I was taking a test. What test, I didn't have a clue. I got a bout 5 questions in before I knew what kind. It's a long, comprehensive test that has several aspects. One, is asks about 85 questions regarding my skills as a leader, follower, and employee. Each question is asked about two or three times, with the goal being to trick the test taker into making a mistake when answering and reveal his or her "true" nature. Unfortunately for Cintas, I am not an idiot, and I powered through the first 85 questions or so in relative speed.

Then came question 86. As I suspected, it was the mathematics, or, pain in the ass part of the test. This part, which spans about 30 questions, starts with simple math problems, moves into more complicated fractions, number associations, and that game where you have to figure out what number comes next. I'm about 3 questions into the math section when I realize two things. One, I suck at math. Two, I can't count that high in my head. It had taken me about 5 minutes on the 4th problem and I still couldn't get it. I sit there helpless for a minute before taking action. I got up and walked over to the receptionists desk, where I had calculated Rhonda to be about done with her conversation with the woman. I asked Rhonda if it was alright if I used pen and paper to figure out some of the responses. Her exact response to me was "Oh yeah sure. Go ahead and use a calculator if you need it. I'd rather beg for forgiveness than ask for permission, right?" I nodded in agreement, and went back to my desk, my mind doing flips because now I could figure it out.

The math took me longer than I wanted it to. Several questions dealt with more complex problem solving, the kind that when you get right you're jsut annoyed that it took that long instead of being happy you solved it. Placing people around a table, arranging times for people to "work" on a house, it all was annoying. At least I had seen the problems before when I took a similar test when i interviewed with Target. Overall, I'd say it took me about an hour and fifteen minutes to complete the test, which was well within the time range Rhonda gave me.

After I finish and press Submit, I walk up to Rhonda and tell her I am done. She nods and tells me to wait in the waiting room again for a few minutes while she gets ready to talk to me one on one. I do as I'm told and sit patiently for another 5 minutes or so. The door eventually opens and Rhonda takes me back to her office.

Funny enough, my mom actually knew Rhonda before this interview. As I've mentioned before, my mom is a recruiter, and regularly contacts companies inquiring about them using her services. At some time in the past when my mom worked for another company, she came in contact with Rhonda. Nothing materialized, but they parted ways amicably. So I had an in, sort of. I figured I could slide in the fact that I was Lynn's son. My last name is somewhat unique, and I figured she has some idea up to this point.

We get into her office and start the interview. She was a nice woman- short, small build, with short graying hair spiked in various directions. She opted out of the standard middle aged look apparently. The conversation is relaxed, and I'm feeling good. She asks about my experiences in classes, and I deliver with some better than average examples of times I took over and showed leadership in classes and how I work well with others. We go over college, the courses I took, and how I have tried to apply some of the course concepts I learned into the projects I've worked on. I'm doing well, and Rhonda is nodding more and more as I talk. Our conversation runs about 35 minutes or so, with me asking what exactly the position would entail daily and other general questions.

The position seems interesting. It's two years, with six months in four different areas. It's not rocket science, and Rhonda mentioned that at least once during our interview. It's industrial laundry. We're coming towards the end of the interview when Rhonda makes a surprise move. She asks if I have anything else on my schedule for the day. I tell her no, and she says great. She wants me to interview with Mike, who is one step higher than her and actually works in the management side of the company. She says that he can give me a better idea of what everything is all about. I tell her that'd be great and she walks me into a medium sized conference room with all glass windows on one side. I'm told me wait until Mike is done talking with someone on the phone.

About 5 minutes go by, and I'm still waiting on Mike. I hear him in the back, but I don't see him. Another guy from the back room periodically pops his head out telling me that Mike "is coming." After about 10 minutes, someone realizes that Mike is not coming, and my informant comes out of the back room. He's tall, about 6'4, and lanky. He says hi and I immediately notice an accent not of this country. He's all smiles and introduces himself as Mark. I say hi, and he says that Mike is going to be a while and that he is going to take me on a tour of the facility. Super!

We walk out of the conference room and into the meat and potatoes of the Cintas plant. We walk into what I can basically describe as an oversized, mostly automated dry cleaners. It was huge. He takes me over to the right hand side to show me the process from the beginning to the end. Mark is ducking to avoid hitting low hanging clothes and metal rods, I am comfortably tagging along below him. We get to the beginning and start chatting. I can hardly hear him, probably due to one or more factors that may include: the loud level of noise, the fact that he wasn't facing me when he talked, the fact that there were other people talking around him, the fact that he was almost a foot taller than me. I tried to be as responsive as possible while he showed me what was going on.

The process is very simple: Many trucks are out on routes daily. They are going to about 20 or 30 companies a day that they have accounts with, and picking up their dirty mats, towels, and clothes. These kind people replace the dirty stuff with clean stuff, and haul the dirty crap back to the facility. Here everything is dumped and sorted out into their respective parts. Each item is thrown into an industrial washer and dryer, and then sent to be pressed. Here people place the clothes on hangers and the shirts, pants, etc are pressed and circle around on a huge conveyer belt, much like that of a dry cleaners. There is a tag on each piece of clothing that some computer reads that determines where each piece of clothing goes. It's very interesting, and simplistic in its nature. The fact that a computer just looked at a tag on the clothing and sent it across the entire room to meet its matching pair of pants was really cool. But like I said, glorified laundry.

The entire tour takes about 20 minutes or so. Along the way Mark is introducing me to the workers on the floor. To each person we talk to he says "Hey this is Steven. He's a new management trainee." Everywhere we went he told people that I already had the position. So I had to explain, to every person, that I was still just interviewing and that I hadn't actually gotten the position yet. It did feel kind of good just being led around being told that I was the newest recruit. We made our way through the operating room and back to the meeting room where we began. mark told me that he had to go, but that Matt will be right with me.

I sit down and wait another five minutes for Matt. Finally, a figure appears from one of the back rooms. Matt is about six feet, in shape, with a face that looks like if he didn't shave every morning he's have a Santa Clause beard by mid afternoon. He greets me and sits down next to me. I turn my chair so that I'm parallel to the table and facing him. We start talking. He says that he has to ask me some tough questions, but that "he doesn't really like this part of he interview." He starts asking, and all the questions seem somewhat similar to the ones that I was asked by Rhonda earlier on. So, naturally, I give somewhat similar answers, figuring that they'll probably compare them, but if I keep my stories in line it shouldn't be a problem. We go through about 6 in depth questions where I am expected to give an in-depth answer, what I learned from it, and what I would have done differently.

Then he starts with some of the more personable questions- he asks if I liked the tour Mark took me on, and I say yes, it was definitely very interesting. I don't know how else to phrase the fact that it was an interesting facility. I've never been to a place like this before, I had no idea what sorts of things went on in the back room, and interesting just seems like the best word to describe it. I'm sure that when i say interesting people think "boring" or even "not interesting." Either way, it wasn't the highlight of my life, but it wasn't that bad either.

After about 25 minutes with Matt, the interview is coming to a close. I feel good about this- I had an answer for every question they threw my way, and every answer seemed to impress or please whoever I was talking with. Matt led me out of the meeting room and I said bye to Rhonda. The agreement was that I would be contacted within a week as to whether I would be invited back for another interview. I felt pretty sure that I would get the invite. I said bye and thanks to Matt one more time and left. I walked to my car and checked my watch. Four hours had gone by. Pretty long interview, and I was hoping that it was one of my last.

I got home and the next day sent out thanks you letters to each person that I interviewed with, minus Mark. I thanked them for taking the time to speak with me...yaddi yaddi yaddah. I felt confident about the interviews, and Cintas as well.


Part 4

At this point in my quest for a career, I had somewhat trailed off in my search for jobs. I had had three successful interviews with Cintas, and I felt as though they really liked me. I liked the company, I could see myself doing the job, and essentially assumed that it would work out. Because of this, I cut back on the number of emails and resumes I sent out on a daily basis. I felt like my search was coming to a close, and that I didn't necessarily need to keep sending out 6 to 7 resumes per day. It normally takes time for companies to find a resume and decide that they want to call me in, so keeping a constant circulation of resumes in the market is essential to finding a job faster.

At this point in time I had been in talks with Cintas for about 2 and a half weeks. About a week or so in I started tapering off the number of resumes I sent out, because I was getting a better feel for the company. I was mentally preparing myself to take the job if it was offered when I got a call from Cintas. It was from Rhonda, the HR lady. She said that they enjoyed having me the other day and that they wanted me back in for ANOTHER interview. Wow. I said great and we scheduled for me to interview in two days. I was pumped.

In the back of my mind, I was thinking that some sort of offer might be extended towards my way. The guy I was meeting with, lets call him John, was the head manager of the Lawrenceville facility and frm what I understood one of the big head honchos that would do the hiring. I had already had several interviews from some of the lower managers and employees, and I figured this would be more informal with even some talks about benefits and salary. I wasn't expecting anything difficult, or what I ended up getting.

On the day of my interview, I woke up early and did my morning routine. I got in my car and ended up at the Cintas plant about 15 minutes early. I waited for the allotted 15 minutes before John saw me. He was one of the people who maintained a corner window office that I mentioned earlier. When he finally came to retrieve me, we shook hands and he led me into his office. There was his desk and a smaller round table with several chairs. We sat down at the small table and started talking.

Immediately I notice that this was not going to be the easy going, offer giving interview I was hoping for. John was, for lack of a better term, an asshole. He had a smug way about him that reeked of superiority over others. We started talking about college and the normal chit chat stuff. It wasn't long before he side stepped the bullshit and got into the meat of the conversation.

"So, Steven, what do you want to be doing in five years?"

I answered as truthfully as I could

"Well, I'd like to be in a sales position where I have entensive knowledge of a company and its products, and be able to apply the products to new industries and find new applications for it in current markets."

It's true. That's what I'd like to do. I can see myself doing that. I can also do management- I like management to an extent. I should have thought of that first.

"Oh, well, what we're really looking for here is a manager, that's why we have the management trainee position."

"Oh"

What am I supposed to say to this? I don't want to be the person who immediately recants their story and says "oh no I like management, I want to do management!" Shit.

The rest of the interview went something like this, where I gave an answer that just didn't seem to fit the mold of what John wanted. I was nervous, and after the initial screw up, I kept fidgeting, which lead to sweating, which led to worse and worse answers. I wanted out. I wanted a do over. I wanted it over.

John and I kept the interview going, and I tried to make up for what had happened earlier. I could feel myself being tense and not as open as I could have. I was on defensive mode. When you give and answer and someone immediately says no, thats not what we're looking for, you tend to try to salvage something. After about twenty minutes or so, it was clear the interview was coming to a close. He asked if I had any questions. I had a few.

"Whats the one thing management trainees say about the training after the two years?"
"They say it's the hardest they've ever worked in their lives."

...ok

"What would be the next step after this interview?"
"Well, if we decided that you would move on, we would have you meet with Frank, our district VP, and then the President of Cintas."

Holy shit, I'm thinking. This is my fourth interview and I would have two more just for an ENTRY LEVEL management trainee? They better be paying the big bucks. I ask a few more unimportant questions before I decide to stop the bleeding and leave. I get his card and exit the building. I don't have a good feeling. I blew the interview, and I didn't really say anything that promoted me as a great candidate for the position. But, I told them what I wanted, and I was honest with myself, so at least I have that going for me, which is nice.

The next day I reluctantly sent John an email thanking him for seeing me. I knew the interview went well, and hoped that he would take the email and add some points to my name. I was assured from my family that he would take that interview into consideration with the other people I spoke with, and that it would all balance out. This was on a Wednesday. I was pretty much banking on Cintas.

Friday came and I heard no word from Cintas. Nothing on that Monday either. On the following Thursday I get a response. I was expecting a phone call from Rhonda, or an email from one of the three people I interviewed with. No. Instead, I get a generic email from the HR department at Cintas saying thanks for your interest, but we've decided to go a different direction. No reason why, nothing. I was stunned. Here is a copy of that rejection letter:


Dear Steven:


We appreciate your interest in the position of Management Trainee -
G&A-10044800. After careful consideration, we regret to inform you that you have
not been selected for this position.

We will retain your candidate file in our database and may inform you of job
openings that match your profile if you selected this option. We also invite you to
revisit the Career Section on our Corporate Web site or click directly on this link
www.cintas.com/careers to access other available opportunities or to update your
profile.

We thank you for your interest in Cintas and wish you all the best in your career.



Sincerely,
Cintas Human Resources


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I couldn't believe it. Denied? I spent hours and hours interviewing with this company, spoke to several people in the organization, and they don't even have the courtesy to send me a personalized email saying no? It infuriated me. I decided to do something.

I sent Rhonda an email- simply saying that I received an email from the HR department saying that I was not selected and if there was anything specific that I did in the interview. I wanted to know what I did wrong so I could fix it next time. I made the email out to be very nice, asking questions in an inquisitive nature. I expected to get a response, any response.

I never got a response. Rhonda never emailed me back, and I never heard anything back from Cintas. Once I received the rejection letter from HR, I was written off as a candidate and as a person looking for some feedback. I was pissed. If they didn't have the decency to respond to my email after the fact, I probably didn't want to work for them. I was angry and defeated. I was back to square one.

Unfortunately, since I had stopped sending out so many resumes, I also had no contacts or interviews lined up in the following week. I was really back to square one. So for the next week I to jobs like a bat out of hell- anything and everything that looked appealing. I had to, I had just spent about two to three weeks thinking about Cintas and their management trainee program, and preparing myself to take the job. Now, I had to start all over. Damn.

Total time spent: Several weeks interviewing and thinking about the company, about 6 plus hours total interviewing, many more preparing for the interviews, and about 30 minutes for a good cry afterwards.

Total lessons learned: Always, ALWAYS keep as many options open as possible.