Tuesday, January 15, 2013

Interview Bag

When I was pregnant, I was constantly reading about how, when it was close to the end, you should pack a bag of necessary supplies--your "hospital bag"--so that when the time came and you were in no position to think, you'd be ready.
 

Having had an interview today, I have decided that I should pack an "interview bag," so that on interview days, when I may be thinking about the company or the person I'm meeting, I don't have to worry about whether I get what I need into a respectable looking bag.
 

How, you might ask, would an interview bag differ from my day-to-day bag?  Well, in my case, it's a bag.  I have, you see, finally perfected the art of traveling around the city bag-less, my important things in my pockets.  After years of carting a backpack just about everywhere, I have realized that I actually don't need a backpack full of stuff (and it becomes full very quickly!) everywhere I go.
 

So, back to the "interview bag."  What would be the necessary supplies that would live there in preparation for "the big day" (or "big days," since interviews, unlike childbirth, generally happen more than once!)?
 

1. A hard copy resume (will need to be checked regularly, so that a resume from three months ago doesn't go to the interview and make people wonder what you have been doing for the last three months).
 

2. A pen.  Yes, you can take notes on a smartphone, but a pen probably makes more sense.
 

3. A small notebook (to go with the above pen).
 

4. A hairbrush. As good as you might look when you leave the house, you never look quite like that once you've taken a series of buses and trains to get there.
 

5. Tissues.  Because when you're rushing from bus to train to interview location, you will likely either sweat or sniffle or both.  Enough said.
 

If I thought a little more, I'm sure my "interview bag" would end up quite full.  But as far as I can tell, these five things will have me (and you) showing up at an interview ready for anything.
 

Now, if only an interview could hand you a fairly definite payoff the way childbirth does...

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