I’ve just had the weirdest/shittiest/best/most interesting day I’ve had so far and honestly, I’m extra grateful for it.

You know how it goes, on a weird career funk yada yada yada – so I went on a job interview today that I got invited to after I responded to a recruiter on Linkedin. I checked the role description she sent my way and admittedly, I knew from the get-go that I would need a wider-than-usual learning curve if I ever got this role. There were skills that were needed for the role that I am not particularly skilled in but heck, I learn best by trial by fire. I’ve proven to myself that I’m quite adaptable so I still went for it. And to be frank (I’ve done this my entire career HAHA), I like applying for positions I know are a significant jump from my current position and using it as interview practice. These interviews are my warm-up before I send in my CV to openings that I feel are a better fit. For example, before I applied for my current job, I went ahead and applied for two different management positions (knowing I’d get ask relatively harder questions), before I went in for the interview for this one. I’ve always seen it as a win-win situation – if I get the job, then I get to grow in another role. But if I don’t, it’s totally fine too because I knew I wasn’t ready for it yet.

During the preliminary interview with the recruiter, I made it abundantly clear that I lean more towards the business side of tech rather than technical. I remember having to repeat this because I studied the opening and knew I was reaching. Not gonna lie, I kinda expected never to hear from her again. But I did. So I went.

I left the house 2 hours before the interview. I was initially going to leave earlier than that but I had an issue with my clothes that I had to change just before I left.

And then the car I was in got into a minor accident because another vehicle suddenly cut us off. It wasn’t anything serious but oh man, was I glad that I use the seat belt even when I’m on the backseat.

I still got to the building 51 minutes before the interview (even with all that happening). I needed a drink and hanged out at the Starbucks across the street. I like to arrive to interviews 15 minutes before my appointment. So I left the cafe 20 minutes before my schedule.

While crossing the street, the FUCKING SOLE OF MY RIGHT SHOE FLEW OFF. I only had this thin cloth as a barrier between MY FOOT AND THE CONCRETE ROAD.

So I thought “ok lang to, I can just buy new shoes AFTER the interview” and kept on walking. But then the strap of my LEFT SHOE DROPPED because the sole was also loose.

And I had to sprint to the adjacent mall to get a new pair of shoes while the pair on my feet was falling apart piece by piece. I had to purchase an overpriced pair (it was a posh mall with mostly designer brands) – an unplanned expensive shoe purchase that I still have buyer’s remorse over. At that point, I was just done with this interview. I wanted to get it over with and just wanted to go home HAHA.

On the car ride back, I suddenly realized that I’d never had an eventful day in such a long time. During the interview, I was less focused on selling myself and my skills. I answered all the questions truthfully and asked those “intrusive thought” questions I rarely ask because I kinda took it as a sign from the universe that this job is probably not for me, so what’s the harm in asking. The questions I was asked and I asked during the interview gave me a new perspective on things I still have to learn, on readings I was planning to do when I got home.. and honestly, I’ve never felt more exhilarated in the past few months.

Maybe it’s the outside air. It’s the broken shoes. But this weird blip this year is going to be such a funny story. I feel so much more at ease now and less antsy about my career. And any upcoming interviews headed my way can only be better than what happened today. 🙂