I had an interview today, as Training Manager with a reputable chain of boutiques that shall remain nameless. I don’t think it went well for me, and I can tell you it didn’t go well for them.

I got there and waited ten minutes at reception. Then I was taken to a shitty, shitty basement where there were shitty, shitty offices with gyproc walls full of holes and I was thinking, “What is this crap organization? Have they no shame?”. I’m made to fill out an application and wait another 15 minutes. Standing there, in the hall, next to the photocopier. Nobody telling me what to do with my application, where to go.

By this time I’m thinking about the number they’d have to offer for me to work there. And it’s increasing every minute.

Then we have the interview. The young person interviewing me is haughty, like they’re the ones doing me a favor I don’t deserve. She says the position isn’t really Training Manager, but she had to put that to “attract people”! In fact, they need someone to assess the displays in their clothing stores, and train people on improving the displays. So it’s “Visual Presentation Manager”. I ask, “uh, seeing as my CV is all training-related, you think I’m qualified for this?”. She says “well, we’ll see now won’t we?”.

Immediately after I mention I have been working in IT for 10 years, she asks “What about computer skills? Do you know Word?”. She asks if I’ve ever managed people, and I say that I’ve managed multidisciplinary project teams made up of people who were on loan from various departments. She writes down “no management experience”.

The only redeeming quality is the salary range of the position, which would be between an 18% and a 34% increase on my current salary. But money isn’t
everything.