Page 35 of Electric Blue Love
Me: Not unless they’re phone interviews.
Bianca: Boo.
Me: Knock’em dead. See you at eleven.
Bianca: You too.
Bianca: Actually, no – be nice!
Her last demand came as the cab pulled up to the university building where the interviews would take place and I chuckled as I paid and thanked the driver. I found the small conference room I’d been assigned for the day and set up for my first interview.
I wasn’t entirely sure what it was I was looking for in an employee. Obviously, I wanted someone intelligent, well spoken, and I guess if I was being honest I wanted someone with the same sort of work ethic and dedication that I had – or at least as most I could hope for.
At five ‘til eight, a young man in an ill-fitting three-piece suit stood nervously in the door.
“Hi, are you Joseph?” I asked, moving to the door in an attempt to make this kid relax a little. Nothing sounded worse than sitting through an interview while the person across the table stuttered out short answers and avoided eye contact.
When he nodded, I extended a hand and then motioned for him to have a seat.
“Thanks for coming out today, Joseph.” Taking a seat across from him I slid him the packet HR had sent with me. “You can take these with you. It’s a little about the company, the office in New York, and our benefits package.”
“Thank you,” he fumbled with the papers before tucking them into his portfolio.
I leaned back in my chair hoping my relaxed posture would put him at ease. “I took a look at your resume last night and I have to tell you, it looks great. I think you have a lot of the skills and experience we’re looking for in an entry-level analyst.”
Okay, maybe I was stretching the truth a little, but the way his face softened, and his shoulders relaxed, I knew it had been the right thing to say.
“Why don’t I tell you a little about Harrison and Mac and then we can ask each other some questions and see if this is something you might be interested in. Sound good?”
By the end of the interview, I liked Joseph Michael Stronghold way more than I’d anticipated. I’d even forgiven him for using his middle name on his resume – almost. He’d need some confidence behind the scenes before I could take him to a client site, but I put him in the “keep” file and actually meant it when I told him that it had been a pleasure talking to him.
The next two interviews were flops. Edward Stanton III either had no idea what my company did when he signed up for the interview or he’d wanted to waste my time. And Natasha Lamoure had spent more time pushing out her breasts and posing for me than she had thinking about the answers that were coming out of her boldly painted lips.
When I ushered Natasha out of the room, I spotted Bianca making her way across the empty space between the conference rooms. The rooms ran along the far wall, each boasting a magnificent view of the campus. But my view – damn, 8B looked all grown up. The tap of her black heels echoed in the otherwise quiet space and her uneasy smile, aimed right at me, made this whole day – the whole trip seem worth it.
“Hi,” she said when she got within speaking distance.
“Miss Winters,” I said and waved her into the room, closing the door behind her. “You look great.”
She smoothed her hand down her black skirt. “You’re the first interviewer to ever tell me that.”
A deep chuckle escaped from my upturned lips. “Yeah, I think my HR director’s ears are probably ringing.”
I moved toward the chair I’d been using for the interviews and paused. I looked down at my watch. I already knew the time, but I needed something to do with my eyes that didn’t involve mentally undressing the woman in front of me. Being here with her felt all kinds of fucked up. We were playing some twisted mentor/mentee game that looked harmless but felt like it could slice me wide open.
In this small conference room standing behind a thick, oak desk that had been designed for intimidation, I only wanted to make her feel equal. “I’ve got about twenty minutes until the next roman numeral shows up. Do you still want to do a mock interview, or do you want to go grab a cup of coffee or something?”
“Please,” she sat down and slumped into the seat. “I’m really regretting my decision to blow off preparing last night.”
Taking my seat, I ran my hand down my tie. “Alright, Miss Winters, why don’t you start by telling me a little about yourself.”
Her eyes widened in panic, but she took a deep breath and nodded. “Okay, I’m in my last semester and will graduate with a B.S. in Electrical Engineering. My interest is in signal processing, specifically machine learning.”
“Very good and do you have any experience – internships or co-ops?”
“I had an internship with Mollie Engineering last summer where I was able to contribute to their machine learning team.”
“You spent your summers in New York?”
