Chapter 2 - The Interview

I couldn't believe that the hem of my dress and shoes were covered in mud. Then I laid eyes on the car. The driver of that Black Bugatti splashed water mixed with mud over me. 'Couldn't he slow down after the heavy rain?' My thoughts were completely overshadowed by this breathtakingly handsome guy who peeped through the window of the car. I never knew a guy could be this good looking, but my admiration for him ended with the words I heard coming out of his mouth. 

"Hey, watch where you are going next time Bitch..." his voice was coated with arrogance. My jaw dropped open at his words. He was supposed to apologize and look at what he said instead. Before I could even utter a word, he wind up his window and sped off. I watched him till his car disappeared around a corner. How could he be so insensitive? I should have bought a car two years back when Jude advised me to. I didn't want to overspend because I have been saving all the money I made to start up a consultancy firm. This encounter made me think about going over that decision after I am through with this interview.

I wish I could reschedule this interview. How can I face a panel looking like dirt?

"Hello Ma'am," came the voice of the security guard. "Sorry about that. Let me show you the ladies, perhaps you could get some of the dirt off".  He said pitifully.

"Of course," I responded looking at the time. 

"OMG, it's already 15 minutes past my scheduled time for the interview. Hmmm sorry, Sir, may I go in first, to at least register my presence?" I asked sadly.

"Okay. Walk straight and take the first turn on your left. You will see the receptionist there," he said. I thanked him and rushed in the direction he delivered. I located the place easily and I instantly felt out of my niche upon reaching there. 

As soon as the receptionist saw me, her eyes widened.

"Excuse me, Ma'am, how may I help you?" She asked.

"I. I am here for the interview, my name is Maya," I stammered in embarrassment.

"Maya Jacobs," she retorted, looking at her computer. "You are number five, you will meet the panel after the lady in the grey suit," she pointed out.

'Thank you but may I use the ladies first please, I need to freshen up."

"Sure you can and you need to," she said sarcastically, "turn left," she added. I rushed to the washroom without uttering another word.

I stood in the washroom, looking straight in the mirror. I was a total mess. If there was a boutique close by, I would rather prefer buying a new dress as the hem of this one was completely ruined. I picked a tissue and started cleaning my shoe. I did a great job cleaning the shoes. They looked as clean as before. Then the biggest challenge was the hem of the dress. Even though it was black, you could easily see the dirt. 

I searched through my bag to see what I could use since using tissue will only worsen the situation. I found the small face towel I usually kept to wipe my shoes when I had to walk to the junction. What a relief, I turned on the faucet and wet the face towel. Then I began removing the dirt, making sure it didn't spread and even though it took a lot of time, I was glad at the result. Finally, I had to straighten my hair when I heard the receptionist by the door.

"Ma'am, you are next."

'What? have I spent so much time?' I questioned myself. "Okay, I will be out in a minute, I shouted. I straightened my hair as fast as I could and hurried out of the washroom. She directed me to a chair and I sat there nervously, holding my bag. I noticed a few people had come after me but they were not as executively dressed as the batch I met before rushing to the washroom. Perhaps they are here for a different role.

Then my eyes glanced at the glass door in the opposite direction. There were two ladies and a gentleman. I had seen them earlier when I walked in. But if they have finished with their interview, what are they still doing here?. Could it be that they have already qualified for the position? I was getting more and more nervous as these thoughts ran through my mind.

Then, the door opened and seated on the panel were three men and a woman. The men looked friendly but the woman had no smile on her face. "Good morning," I greeted, as confidently as I could.

"Good morning," they chorused in response. 

"Have a seat,"  said the woman, in a slightly friendly tone, as she pointed to the chair in front of her.

"Thank you," I replied courteously. Then began their usual questions.

"Tell me about yourself." I have heard this question in every panel so I was prepared for it but this time, I wanted to add more to suit the role. I used the opportunity to sell my ambition and leadership abilities. I saw nods from the panel from time to time as I glanced at their faces in turns. I seemed to sell myself perfectly. Yes, I know when an interview will go well from experience. It always begins with the first question

I had my first real interview during college. Even though I tried my best, I didn't get the job because they wanted me to work full time but I was a full-time student so I wanted the part-time job. I regretted not taking that opportunity as it was a multinational company. Since then I have worked in local companies till this opportunity came. So here I am, trying my best to make up for my foolishness.

Then came another question from the man in the middle, "Why do you want this role?" Another popular interview question. I thought questions for this role will be different from the ones I was used to, especially as officers but it seems interviews are always the same. I responded to that question as well. Then came another one from the man to the extreme left. "What are your corporate objectives?"

Now that seems like a question for this level. I had so many ambitions related to the corporate structure. The policies to put in place to ensure smooth and effective flow of work in the organization. I wanted to tell them about the effective communication structures I have developed and the policies to govern the staff and all but what if I don't get hired and they end up stealing my concepts? I didn't want to take any chances so I gave a general answer without any details and also made them aware that I could give them the details if they employed me.

I guess it worked as the last question popped up. "What is your salary expectation?" This question is kind of tricky even though it is famous because if I mention a figure too high, they might not give me the position and if it's too small, they will doubt my capabilities. So I decided to play safe and said, "why don't you hire me for the first two weeks, then you can decide how much to pay me.

 "Thanks for your time, Maya, this is the first stage of the interview. Do you have any questions for us?" She asked.

"Yes Ma'am, I will like to know who my reporting line will be if I get hired, I asked, trying to hide my nervousness.

"That will be the CEO so he is going to pick who he wants to work with. The second and final stage will be done in his Office. Kindly wait in the room next to the reception."

 As I headed in the direction given, everything started to make sense now. The group I saw were also going through the second stage of the interview. I became more and more panicked seeing that four people had qualified. I didn't know if I would get this job but I needed it so much to prove to myself that I can make it the right way. Jude is a business owner and knows the CEO. He wanted to give me a recommendation but I refused. I wanted to do this on my own.

Upon getting there, I sat on an empty seat next to the lady who was next in line. You guessed right. I was late so I am the last person to interview for this role. The man who had gone before us came out smiling. It made me heartache, thinking he got my dream job. Then the lady who was next in line went in. It wasn't for up to 5 minutes when she also came out with a smile on her face. I got more confused as I headed to the room.

The CEO was a man in his early forties. He looked mature and refined. He turned gracefully in his Executive swivel chair as he beckoned me to sit. I couldn't hide my admiration for his office. It was well organized and classy. He had a leather sofa set on one side, then his desk on the other side. There was a  well-designed cabinet for his documents and the blinds were black zebra stripes that matched his furniture perfectly.

I greeted him again and he responded in a husky and bold voice.

"Yes good morning Maya. I will go straight to the point. I have viewed your interview with the panel from here so I do not need an introduction."

'What? he was watching us the whole time on his CCTV? That's awesome but also illegal. How can he do something like this?'

"Don't worry," he continued, if you didn't qualify, you wouldn't be here," he said with a smile, "I will be frank with you about this. We get numerous qualified candidates each year but none of them progressed to this stage. We did the internal advertisement and nobody passed so we had to go external. None of the candidates I have met today has also qualified so, looking at you right now, I don't know what to think" he said doubtfully.

I was speechless and just listened without uttering a word. 'If all those candidates didn't pass, then wherefrom those huge smiles they had on their faces?'

"Are you ready?" He asked, looking directly into my eyes.

"Yes, I whispered. I couldn't even hear myself. But I think he did.

"Okay, stand up."

"What?" Well, that's all I could say out of the shock I had while got up.

"Turn around," he said again, in his usual bold voice. I just turned around without thinking or asking any questions.

"Sit." He said again. I sat with a confused look on my face.

"Well," he started. "I think figuratively, you look attractive and with a little polishing, you could move from attractive to mesmerizing. You see," he continued talking, "as a company, we sometimes reach our wit's end where we have to take certain drastic decisions even if taking that decision means making a sacrifice. As the Assistant Procurement/Administrative Manager, we will sometimes require your help in the Sales and Marketing department so how far can you go?" He asked with a piercing look.

"I am very sorry Sir, but I don't understand your question," I said, trying to be firm.

"Playing hard to get ha?" He said, looking indifferent. "Well, what I mean is,'' he said harshly. "This job will pay you 150,000k annually. You will also have an official car with a driver or driven by yourself. Whatever you prefer. You are also entitled to a quarterly clothing allowance, 13-month salary and other fringe benefits and bonuses. We just want to know that, if the times comes where we require you to sacrifice your body to convince a client to invest with us, you will not hold back." he finally said, confirming my suspicion.......