“So nice to meet you, Will.”
“William. Nice to meet you too, Samantha.”
“William, of course. You can call me Sam.”
The pair shook hands and then sat down on their respective sides of the desk. Sam was looking for an assistant for her start up business that helped local small businesses expand online and with regional sales. This was her fifth interview this week, but from the resume (which was typed, contained no spelling errors, and included the requested references while excluding references to past romantic relationships), this candidate was the most promising by far. He had chosen to wear a suit to the interview, which seemed impressive, though slightly intimidating.
“William, it looks like you’ve had some interesting volunteer experiences. You mention that you volunteer with 5th Street Food Bank. How long have you been there?”
William leaned back in his chair slightly and smiled, “How long of an answer do you want?”
Sam blinked, “Oh, well, one minute should be good.”
“Well, when I was in high school, I tried out for the basketball team. It turns out this wasn’t the best idea despite my height…” Several minutes later, William eventually got around to sharing that he’d been volunteering for three years.
“Interesting. Can you tell me what kind of administrative responsibilities you’ve had in your past jobs or volunteer work?”
“I hope you’ll excuse the law school jargon. My primary responsibilities have included…” As William proceeded into a precise list of his duties, Sam felt a little lost. If this was law school jargon, she wondered if there was any kind of legal requirement that lawyers have an interpreter when interacting with clients.
After several more questions, Sam glanced at her watch. She had another meeting in fifteen minutes. “You’ve seen the list of job responsibilities for this position. Did you have any questions for me?”
He looked down at the paper in his hand again. “Yes, this part seems slightly nuanced. Can you outline the difference between when I need to file a report with you and when I would need to simply email you?”
Sam looked at the paper too. Had she meant to be nuanced? She did her best to answer the question without seeming as if she was totally indifferent to the correct filing of reports.
After several more questions from William, Sam glanced at her watch again. Three more minutes before she had to meet with the owner of Double Dutch Donuts. William asked, “Do you require employees to wear a uniform?”
“Yes, I have plans for employees to wear a polo with our logo.”
There was a long silence. “The workspace would potentially be a little drafty in this historic building by the exterior doors. I wonder if I should get a size bigger than usual if I need to wear long sleeves underneath it…”
Sam waited a few more seconds, “Ok. Well, I’ll be making a decision in the next week or so. I’ll be in touch with all the candidates. Thanks for your time! No need to give me a t-shirt size until things have been settled.”
Welcome To The Carriage House 