Be Yourself. If you don't get it, maybe you will next time.

This morning I woke up at the crack of dawn to catch an interview in San Francisco. I was way less nervous this time, because I knew where to park and where I needed to be. I'll admit driving in the Financial district isn't easy, but you get used to it.

In previous morning drives on a Wednesday, it took me three hours to get to San Francisco from Napa in the morning. Once I left to pick my mom up at SFO and it took me three hours. My interview was scheduled to be at 10am. So I left early at 6:30am because I thought the drive could take me three hours with all things considered, but then it only took me an hour and a half.  I got there at 8:00am.

At first you might think, "Hey, that's a good thing, but wait parking is only three hours maximum for validation, and your interview isn't until 10am". I then accounted for the fact that the interview could be late, give or take 15 minutes. I was in the clear. I would just have to get back by 11am with validation from a local restaurant.

Since I was early I decided to go get some coffee at my second home, STARBUCKS and researched some more about the company I was interviewing. I thought about going to one of the validation restaurants but none of them were open until 10:30am. Great! I planned on rushing to the nearest restaurant right after my interview, spend the minimum $5, and make it on time to drive out of the parking garage. Why does all this matter? Well, parking in the San Francisco Financial District will cost you $3 dollars every 15 minutes, unless you eat there, which will cost you $8 dollars for three hours.

It's 9:30am, ready to go to the interview. How did it go? It was interesting. They wanted someone who can crunch numbers yet they asked me if I really enjoyed my previous experiences accounting. They wanted someone well rounded, yet asked me why I had all these different internships. It seemed like there was no pleasing them. I felt like I was interviewing the accountant type, yet this wasn't an accounting position, nor did it require an accounting background. I really want to work for this firm, and the recruiters told me I would know by Friday. Who knows, maybe I did well. It depends on the other candidates too.

It really gets me thinking about the line between honest answers and giving the answers people want in an interview. Some people have suggested that I "pretend" in order to get my foot in the door of the working world. I've done that before, and it never worked out in the past, so I don't see how it would now. If you "pretend" to be someone else, then you might get turned down for the job even if you could have been a good fit for it. You might get accepted in to the wrong role. Moral of the story, be yourself, but be your best self. If your best self doesn't get the job done, there's nothing else you can do.

It's 10:35 am, the interview is adjourned. I rushed to the nearest restaurant and bought a bubble tea and some egg rolls for $7. The drink was horrible. The egg rolls were good. I preceded to the parking garage, got in my car at 10:55am, and drove out ready to pay. The car attendant said "$24 dollars please". I said "What gives? I have the validation, it's within three hours". He said "only between the hours of 10am and 5pm". Doh! Oh well...I'll get it next time.