The only thing worse than a regular job interview is a
group job interview. Yuck.
There were more than twenty of us shoved into a little room at the back of the store. We didn't even fit around the table, and I had to break the tense silence in the room first by asking someone to move down so I could squeeze my chair into a place where I would not be completely ignored. It didn't quite work. I was still ignored, for the most part, until I answered my first question. One of the smily people with a name tag asked everyone to explain why they wanted this job. Since I had decided that I didn't really care anymore whether I got it or not, I had some fun with honesty. The eyes turned to me. "Because I'm broke," I said, "and this is the best motivator of all. I will be a good employee because I have no other choice, and I would be a fool to claim otherwise." Silence. A few chuckles. At least I was no longer invisible.
To end the interview they passed around a piece of paper asking us to define ourselves in one word. If there's once thing I hate in the world, it's being defined. Especially by words. So I thought for a minute, smiled, and scribbled "undefineable" onto the paper in front of me. I walked out feeling the limits tumble from my skin, feeling the forces that would pin me down and define me sigh in exasperation. My name is Sarah and I am not a piece of paper.
The funny part is, I got the job.