The Job Interview

The mixup and the fixup

Dimitri Durango entered the reception area at Longstreet & Associates, admiring the clean and bright décor.

Crisp. Professional. Fortune 500 quality.

The receptionist, Tanya, asked if she could help him.

“I sure hope so. My name is Dimitri Durango. I’ve got an interview with Colette, though I’m a bit early.”

Tanya typed a few things into her keyboard and said, “I’ve notified Colette that you’re here. She should be out momentarily. Please make yourself comfortable. Can I get you some coffee or water or something?”

“No. No, I’m good. Thank you, Tanya.”

Durango sat down and straightened his tie. It had been two years since he had worn one, but it’s what all the online experts told him would make a good first impression.

Two months ago, his company let him go because of a contract shrinkage, a phrase he’s still trying to understand. His boss called him on a Wednesday and he was gone by Friday, the last day of the month, to save the company an extra month of health insurance.

He had spent that first week in bed-ridden depression until he snapped out of it and fired off fifty resumes and filled out two dozen applications in five days. Dimitri’s pace slowed after that, but he had positive momentum on his side.

The face to face interview at Longstreet was his first. Most were willing to hire him after two or three online video interviews or even good phone conversations, but Durango never made it past the first interview. He had a dozen of those interviews, dismissing the first five as practice interviews.

Colette appeared, introduced herself, and the two went back to her office.

“So, tell me a little about yourself, Carlos.”

“Carlos?” Dimitri asked, his eyes darting all around “You must be mistaken. My name’s Dimitri, Dimitri Durango. I applied for the Senior Developer position.”

Colette leafed through her paperwork, glancing up at Dimitri twice over the top of her glasses. She rubbed her brow and said, “You’re right. Something’s not right here.”

The hiring manager put up a finger and said, “I’ll be right back, sir. I do apologize.”

As promised, ten minutes later, Colette returned, smiling.

“Dimitri, I just checked with IT and showed them your resume. They’re impressed with your resume and are very interested, so let’s start over. Sorry about the confusion.”

Colette stood and put out her hand again, “Hi, I’m Colette. Pleased to meet you.”

The smile Dimitri had when he first arrived returned. He shook her hand and introduced himself.

And so, Dimitri began his first face-to-face second interview after two long years.

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