The First Day of the Rest of My Life!

 
It has long been a passion of mine to work in the Wine trade and a few months ago, that dream never felt so far away. I was stuck in a nine to five job in London, working for a large “Professional Services” firm (and the only thing I was professional at was procrastinating.) Then, I found I was being “let go” after failing a couple of exams. Most of my close friends saw this as a “blessing in disguise” and I am sure most of them were just saying that so I wouldn’t cry myself to sleep every night. 

 

But they needn’t have worried! A few days later I saw an advertisement for a wine adviser (i.e. shop assistant) in a window of an independent wine store close to my flat. After sending my CV and stating my passion for the industry etc, I had an interview. 

 

 

Why does no-one want to hug me...?

This was like no other interview I had ever had. I had to meet my female interviewer under the clock at Waterloo station at 6pm one evening. Having met my interviewer, we walked and talked for ten minutes before we reached a bar on the bank of the River Thames. However, something wasn’t right, my mobile kept ringing. So after awkwardly asking if I could check whether is was an emergency, I found I had 5 missed calls from my REAL interviewer , Olivia. After an even more awkward conversation with whom I originally thought was my interviewer, I found out that I accidentally was on a blind date instead of being interviewed.

 

 

I left the poor lady holding two glasses of wine and £10 note I had given her; and ran back to the station where I met Olivia and had to explain myself.  Surely there was not a hope in hell that anyone would believe that story, and if one did; why would they give me a job. So, with the embarrassment of being on an accidental blind date; I had to face the questions which were being fired at me in possibly the hottest bar in London. I was pretty certain I was in Hell (with my lemonade being the only thing keeping me going, and the fact the exit of the bar was on the other side of the room). After spouting complete rubbish for the best part of an hour, it was finally over, we shook hands and Olivia left with a “we’ll contact you.” I immediately went to the bar and ordered a beer. 

Surely there was no hope following one of the most disastrous interviews outside the Dragon’s Den, and my dream had been slashed at the first hurdle….

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Tags: career, career change, comedy, interests, interview, jobs, vintage, waterloo, wine