My first job interview

After months of searching I finally did get my first job interview for a part time position in Australia. On my way it almost felt like doing it for the first time again. Just to make sure -and probably because of my Dutch roots- I got there way too early. That was not a problem as there was a coffee place just around the corner, where I could sit down, go to the bathroom and warm up my hands on the hot cup of coffee that I treated myself to.

After taking a deep breath, telling myself to just be myself and if that is not good enough then it is not the job for me, I got out of the car and went in for my interview. The first friendly hello from the person in the store give me a positive vibe. That feeling continued when I met the two people I had my interview with.

A bit over an hour I walked back to the car satisfied. I had been myself, got a couple positive nods and liked the people I had been talking to. It almost did not feel like an interview, more like a pleasant conversation.

The opening question was to tell a bit about my travel experience. I was just thinking ‘Uh, how long did you plan for this interview to last?’, but I did not say that out loud. At least I don’t think I did.

I was hoping not to get ‘name three good and three bad qualities’ kind of questions. It didn’t, it involved practical parts. One of the assignments was that I got three adapters, from three different countries and had to tell what country they where from. If there is one thing I always forget it is that. One of them was easy, it was one that I was sure I had not seen before, so my guess of it being an Asian plug was a correct one. So I guess it gave them a good impression of how I deal with a slightly uncomfortable situation. Although I am not sure if that was the aim of the question.

My first interview has been a positive experience. If they invite me for the next round (a written test) I will be very happy, as this job does tick all my boxes. If they do not, well I have done my best and could not have changed anything. At least I know it is possible to get a job interview for a part time position, without Australian working experience.

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