The 5th Floor....

I woke up at 7:45am this morning after a night filled with employment nightmares. Today was my interview for my "dream job." I took a quick shower and managed to get my hair right on the first try. I put on my expensive new suit that I had desperately searched for with the help of every salesperson at the store yesterday and was out the door in less than an hour. The only incident occured when I took a step back in my new high heels and it went right through the vent in the floor. It was stuck and it took me a minute to wrench it out.

The drive was about 40 minutes and I found the building just as "so & so" had described. I headed straight to the bathroom as I was getting more nervous by the minute. I checked my make-up and did my best to gather my wits about me. Ready as I would ever be I went up to the 5th floor.

My interview was at 10:00am. It was 9:50am. I was "on-time." I have heard 10:00am was not considered on time. It was considered late. I checked in with the receptionist and took a seat. I did not wait long before a nice gentleman a few years older than myself with very bright blue eyes came out to greet me. This was "so & so". He held out a hand for me and I shook it firmly and smiled. We then began our tour of the facility. I noted the information center for patients, the fitness facility, the stress testing area and the administrative offices. I was doing well making mental notes, smiling and feeling comfortable. He was very open and friendly.

After the tour, we headed to his office for the most important part which of course is the uncomfortable part for me...the interview itself. It started with questions such as ....

"What does service mean to me?"
"Why do you want to work for us?"
"Tell me about your past experience."
"How do you feel about change?"
"What don't you like about a job?"

Okay, so far so good. I took all that in and answered as honestly as I could. I felt I did well and then the hard part really hit me. He began quizzing me on BP, glucose, cholesterol standards and I only hoped he was satisfied with my answers. He did not seem displeased with any of my answers and then he said, "I want you to take a look at the EKGs for me and tell me everything you can about them."

Oh, God. This was one of those few things in college that I had had to work at and unfortunately not being up on them or having refreshed my memory I was unable to answer them. I was so mad at myself for not reviewing them the night before. I had decided the chances he would ask me would be slim to none. Well, slim showed up. He said it was not a big deal. If you don't continually familiarize yourself with them you forget them. I knew he was trying to make me feel better. I apologized, but he said it was okay. He did inform me that it was necessary for the positon. The interview continued on for about 10 more minutes before wrapping up. He validated my parking and thanked me for coming in. I in turn shook his hand and thanked him for his time. I did ask him when a good time to follow up with him would be, but he informed me that I was the last of his first round interviews and he would be contacting those he wanted back for a second interview. It was done. I had showed him my best hand. I could only hope that he truly believed I was an intelligent and dedicated person underneath that EKG ignorance. I walked out feeling relieved I had made it through, but nervous that those other candidates may be getting "my phone call."