Murphy’s Law
By: Kelsey McMullan
Murphy’s Law states that if anything can go wrong, it will. This law is just as hard to avoid as gravity, but always seems to have a greater force around important events like a job interview.
When you get struck down, run late, or for some reason you wrote your interview on the wrong day on the calendar, there are a few things you should do to help yourself get out of your hole.
First- CALL! Your first stop is to call the recruiter you have been working with. Call them as soon as you even think you might be late. If you are on your way, tell them that. DO NOT tell them you over slept or anything else that could count against you. You aren’t (usually) required to tell them why you are late.
Depending on how late you are running, you might need to reschedule the interview. Be prepared to be flexible. People are less likely to reschedule you if they have to run through 4 or more dates for availability. Try asking for the next business day if at all possible.
Once you show up, assuming they can still interview you, apologize for showing up late. Please give a sincere apology. Remember to take a deep breath and not let your confidence be rattled. Ladies, I know life can get hard and sometimes the only way to deal with it is to cry. DON’T DO IT!! Just close your eyes, take a few deep breaths, and push all those emotions deep down. If you walk in with puffy red eyes you’ve already lost the position. Save all the emotions for later when you can be in your car, or better yet your bedroom and then let it out.
What if you forgot something important for the interview like extra resumes?
There isn’t much you can do if you forgot something important. Apologize and offer to send it via email as soon as you get home. Make sure you write down the correct email address or get a business card so you can’t make a mistake.
When you go straight home and send that email, make sure to apologize again for not having it with you.
So by now you’ve figured out, if it goes wrong and you can apologize- you should!
Don’t forget the power of a Thank You card. Send a ‘Thank you for being so patient and understanding with me’ message if you need too.
Scenarios:
Now let’s suppose you’ve Google mapped your route and added an extra 10 minutes to your trip. Don’t rely purely on the map. Murphy’s Law states that there will probably be heavy traffic or even a road-blocking accident in front of you. Make sure you allow extra time during your trip over, just in case.
What if you went to Taco Hell or Garlic-Amore for lunch and you brought some with you on your tie or on your breath? Well, it probably wasn’t a great idea to pick that for your meal right before an interview. The night before your big day, make sure to grab a Shout Wipe and breath mints at the store and keep them in your bag or in your car so you can use them in case of emergency.
Even if the day goes horribly awfully wrong, try your best not to forget a notepad. You’ll want to write down names, phone numbers, email address, and details from your interview- or worst case scenario, who you need to apologize too.
Photo Credit:
photo credit: <a href=”http://www.flickr.com/photos/paperpariah/3530726567/”>Adam Foster | Codefor</a> via <a href=”http://photopin.com”>photopin</a> <a href=”http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/2.0/”>cc</a>
photo credit: <a href=”http://www.flickr.com/photos/chrisjongkind/5530787540/”>tokyoform</a> via <a href=”http://photopin.com”>photopin</a> <a href=”http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/2.0/”>cc</a>
