“OK let’s see.” 

     Paul sat in his car in on the far side of the lot. “20 minutes” he thought checking the time. He noticed he needed gas and hoped he didn’t get any during the interview.

     He had time. He always had time to kill. He’s always early. It’s an obsession with him and one of a number of traits that drove his ex-wife crazy and to the left coast as far away as she could get from him.

     Paul looked at his resume. He groaned over it but it must have something that seems to be of use to someone. He did have 3 interviews scheduled for the next two days.

     It had been some time since he played this gut-wrenching gig of personal salesmanship, about 8 years. He knew he should have left his last job 3 years ago. But, things were going so well – at least for a while. All good things come to an end, though, and his comfort level had reached its end. He got canned.

     “Tell me about yourself” he said softly reading from a list of questions.

     “How in hell do you answer that?”

Paul rehearsed his answer. He rehearsed all his answers, over and over.

     “What do you know about our company?” 

     “Why are you interested in this position?”

     “What is your greatest strength?” (The fact that I have the patience to sit here at listen to you ask all these stupid question from the ’10 things every interviewer should ask list’ without going ballistic.)

     “What is your greatest weakness?” (My taste in women.)

     Paul had a quick wit and warped sense of humor. He worried some day he actually would blurt out an answer like that.

     “Of course, the interviewer just may like it and appreciate that someone had the guts to be real in an interview” he chuckled.

     But job interviews were not the time to be real. He knew that and threw the whoopee cushion in the rear seat. Paul jotted a couple of notes in-cluding one to remember to call Marcy and Tom. It had been weeks since he spoke to or seen his former cohorts from work and he knew he had to give them a call and arrange to get together.

     “5 minutes” he said. “Well, time to go.” He took a shot of breath spray and headed off.

     “Good morning” he said smiling at the receptionist. “I’m Paul Eaton. I have an appointment with... ”