[Fiction Practice] It’s… Just You

“Thanks for joining us today, Jane, was it?”
Jane sat across a small table from a reasonably-dressed hiring manager. She couldn’t help but notice that most of his attention was at the glass wall behind her.
“Yes. Here’s my resume, too.”
The well-dressed professional gave him one resume and placed another on the table in front of the empty seat to her right.
“Thanks. Well, George is running late again… so let’s jump right in.”

“Tell me about yourself.”

“I have a 2-year technical degree from the University of Eville, which covered everything from purchasing to troubleshooting, along with my Scribewise A- and B-level certifications. I’m currently studying for my C-level and anticipate that I will pass within 6 months. I worked a 3-month internship at the University of Eville Library and worked for the Upper Eville Library for 2 years until a company-wide layoff. I’ve been picking up odd-jobs in the meantime and would really like to get back into a full-time technical role.”

“Great. So tell me, how would you troubleshoot a computer?”

“Well, first-” “Ah, great, there’s George now!” A disheveled individual with an Aztec Wanderers concert shirt shuffled in. “Hi.” “Good to meet you, I’m Jane.” “George.” They shook hands, he sat down, and looked over the resume. “How was traffic?” “The secondary Scribewise 88620 is routing traffic correctly again. When they updated the firmware last year, there was an unbeknownst-to-us vulnerability that caused issues when- well, the technicalities are in the ticket. Ticket’s closed. Payroll’s happy.”

“Good. So Jane was just telling us how she’d troubleshoot a computer issue.”

“I see on here that you’re working toward your C. How would you diagnose a network routing issue?” They briefly discussed technical troubleshooting methodologies before shifting into the specifics of the role. “You’d be replacing George. His last day is today, actually.” “Yep! I’m moving to New Wilesland! I’ve agreed to be on retain for 6-months for anything proprietary and outside the norm, although make sure to CC Payroll and Randy, here, to make sure I get paid for my consulting.”

“Wait a minute, I have a concern about all this.”

“It’ll be fine, Jackie.” “No, I applied for a role ‘with a team dynamic.’ That’s specifically what the job description said!” “We changed the nature of the role. Didn’t your recruiter let you know?” George reclined back in his chair. “Besides, the team, well, it’s just you.” “This is too much responsibility for one person.” “George will be available to help. We can also help a little bit, too, here and there, from time to time.” “This role is significantly different than what the recruiter and job description stated.”

This debate over the nature of the work continued for a few minutes.

Jane left the interview disappointed. She called the recruiter, someone out past New Alexandria, and explained the half-baked situation. The recruiter was not aware of the change in duties and promised an update by end of day.

No follow-up, or replies to voice mails or emails.

Quotes: None

Sources: My interviewing experiences.

Inspirations: Somewhat based on a recent interview gone wrong, with amalgamations, changed details, falsehoods, and obscurations.

Related: Somewhere in the Sammohini Arc of “The Story. “Why’d You Leave.” is a similar psychological study.

Photo: Random table and chairs taken specifically for random visual flavor.

My big goal is writing. My most important goal is writing "The Story." All other goals should work toward that central goal. My proudest moment is the most recent time I overcame some fear, which should have been today. I'm a better zombie than I was yesterday. I'm not better than you and you're not better than me. Let's strive to be better every day.