Page 34 of Another Lucky Number

‘Wrong attitude.’ Amber points a disapproving finger at me.

‘I’ve got to be realistic, Amber. This interview is going to be tough, and if I get my hopes up too much, it’ll be harder to take the knock if I’m unsuccessful.’

‘You need to visualise getting it, without becoming emotionally invested.’

‘OK… sure.’ I have no clue what she means, but I don’t want to get into it right now.

‘How are you doing with your menu choices?’ A buoyant waiter has appeared at our table, standing tall, arms behind his back.

‘Have we decided?’ I look to my friends who nod. ‘OK, I’ll go first. The conch fritters followed by the lobster hollandaise, please.’

‘Yes, ma’am. Excellent choice.’ He turns to Amber and Cat, who then relay their own orders.

‘So, interview prep…’ says Amber, the moment the waiter is out of earshot.

‘You don’t waste any time, do you?’ I gaze longingly at the other diners who are chatting and laughing together, feeling thestark contrast between the kind of evening this should be, and the kind of evening it’s going to be.

‘Sooner we start, the sooner we’re done.’

‘That is true.’ I pull the interview brief from my clutch and unfold it.

‘OK, read out the company values,’ she instructs me. ‘That will help us decide what angle to take.’

‘Good plan.’ I scan the page and read aloud. ‘Here goes… “Passion– we love what we do and we provide an unmatched experience to our customers;Empowerment– we trust our people to wow our customers in the way that they know best;Creativity– we thrive on fresh and exciting ideas;Responsibility– we love our planet, we use biodegradable and sustainable produce and processes wherever possible”.’

We allow these words to wash over us, while sipping at our drinks.

‘You’ll need to demonstrate that your own values align with those.’ says Amber. ‘What stands out most for you on that list?’

I purse my lips, reading them once again. ‘Probably the first two. I’m passionate about my career and I always go above and beyond – even worked my backside off on stuff I knew I’d never get any credit for.’

‘And you’d be able to give solid examples of this?’

‘Yeah, I can think of loads where I did the hard graft, I just never got to present to the board and no one knew it was my work.’

‘Great, well use them. Structure your answers so they showcase your contribution without lying about any part you didn’t get to play. How important is it really that you weren’t the one doing the schmoozing with the big wigs? You made these things happen.’

‘I did. OK, let me chew that over…’ I take the iPad Cat’s offering me and tap my finger against the side of it while my mind whirs through my options. ‘I think… Yes,I know what I can use for this one. I can also talk enthusiastically about not wanting to work for a glory stealing, micromanaging boss who sucks the life out of me. Though I wouldn’t put it quite like that.’ I type some notes on the screen.

‘You’re at your best when given the freedom to decide how to do your job might be a way of putting it, which aligns well with their Empowerment value,’ says Cat and I give her a thumbs up as I continue tapping away.

‘OK good, what about theCreativityone?’ says Amber. ‘That’s a bit more difficult. People like to say they’re creative, but it’s a tough one to demonstrate. What have you got?’

‘I’ve got loads of examples of continuous improvement projects.’

‘Yawn.’ She rolls her eyes at my predictability.

‘So, what then? I haven’t done anything huge because I’ve never had ahugejob – unlike the picture you unhelpfully painted to Sébastien.’

‘You really want to go there?’

‘No. I’m just saying this is harder because—’

The waiter arrives with our starters and I stop short, temporarily distracted from my frustration.

‘This looks delicious, thank you.’ I give him an appreciative smile, and he seems pleased with this feedback.

‘Enjoy yourselves, ladies.’

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