Startup

I had my first interview two weeks ago. I was nervous, dressed carefully, looked as professional as possible. When I arrived at the cafe where the interview was being held, I looked around for a man with a pink shirt (the fact that he told me previously he would be wearing a pink shirt should have been a clue). Nobody had a pink shirt on. Nervously, I wandered among the tables of the cafe, looking like some overdressed Wall Street bitch among the hipsters lounging in the plush chairs. The only people I spotted in a pink shirt was a dreadlocked lady muttering to herself in the corner, and a dishevled teenager working feverishly on his iBook. Hmmm, I thought. I suppose he's late. I stood idly at the counter (as there was no room to sit in this hipster, crowded cafe), and angled my body to both face the door and simultaneously look comfortable in my high heeled pumps, and sweaty suit. Needless to say, the comfortable part didn't quite work.

Suddenly, I felt a tap on my shoulder. I spun around, to see the teenager speaking to me. What? He spoke again. I started. "Are you NP?" he asked a third time. Oh my god, I am, I thought. And you are my potential boss, a full couple of years younger than me.

The funny thing was this dude was titled a "senior specialist" in the company, having been there a tediously long two years. Oh, startups. Anyway, I didn't get the job, although I did like the company's work-- and who doesn't like working for a startup, especially when you are young and hungry? I think my reactions didn't help. I heard once people judge you within the first 30 seconds of meeting you. Considering my stammering, strangely angled self, I can only imagine what happened. Of course, one can never pre-judge the interviewer themselves.