1
THE INTERVIEW

I got rerouted on 12 hours' notice to China to close a deal. I arrived at the client's office and it was utter mayhem. They had auditors in, supplier meetings occurring, and quarter-end reporting as a few of the ongoing items when I arrived at their office with my local colleague.

​

The bustling office was so busy that I kept getting shuffled from conference room to conference room. At one point, I was sitting with the Finance department and the auditors. My coworker left me alone to attend to other urgent phone calls while I awaited "the legal team".

​

Finally, a group of about 10 people entered the room. Half with clipboards, half with notebooks, all of them staring at me in awe. They sat around me and continued to gape at me. In an attempt to relieve the awkwardness, I introduced myself, shook hands with those sitting around me and even handed out a couple of business cards.

My coworker then appeared out of nowhere laughing that I was in an HR panel interview. I'm still unsure if I was an interviewee or interviewer, but needless to say, I did not get the job!