The Job Interview

In a day just like this one almost four years ago, I was minding my own business, sending my curriculum to every single LinkedIn job opening I could find. There were days I applied for 10-20 jobs and in the end it was pretty much the same: either ignored or gently declined.

I was going through a hard period of my professional life: I just burnt out in a company I worked for (don’t we all have dealt with a bad boss?) and, although I was already working for a new company my tiredness got the best of me after 4 years without a break/vacation. I wasn’t able to give 100% of my productivity and ideas. This was a tough call asking my current boss to resign my activities. The company was doing great, we were working by ourselves and leaving that place that took me out of a bad situation made me feel like I was giving up. Thank God we find some amazing people that really care about us and for my former boss, he was happy for me when I told him I needed some time off to figure out what would my next steps be.

Well, as you already figured, I didn’t come back to that company. But somehow, they would change my professional life and open a door I will never forget.

In this old company I worked with many clients. One of them, in particular, was a music group. I was in touch with this lady that represented this group and she was very passionate, critical and objective about what she wanted and it was amazing to learn a few things about her work. After I quit, she asked my former boss if he knew anybody who could speak English that was willing to start working with a friend of hers – the CEO of an Educational company who was teaching English for foreigners, living in Philadelphia and was looking for someone in Brazil to help with the students.

This is where Michael and I met. I contacted her, she was happy to talk to me and sent my contact to this American English professor I never heard about. Our first contact was through text – I wasn’t using my cellphone text messages for so long after WhatsApp that made me feel like it was 2008 or something.

As we started talking, I told him about my English background and that I started my studies when I was 2 years old and I’ve already worked with several international clients before and I was very confident I could help him in whatever he needed. I had “mastered” the language and was very willing to learn anything that he needed (and a Youtube video could teach me). My English level was satisfactory enough and I felt confident to exchange ideas, learn processes and contribute the best way I could to make this business grow. I started by encouraging him to use WhatsApp (best decision ever).

We started talking on April 30th 2019, and it was pretty much a “virtual friend” conversation – Michael asked me a lot about my professional experience and my personal life as well. This lasted almost one month. Tough call, right? I know that not every boss has a month to get to know a new employee and not every employee has this time to start making income. I actually almost accepted an internship (with an intern salary) when we started talking. I am very grateful that I was able to stand still during this month so I could get to know him and his company a little better.

This was a game changer – by getting to know each other in a very light, organic way we were able to find what we had in common, when we didn’t think alike and we built a relationship by trusting one another. When he explained Fast Forward to me, I was amazed. This took time. I’m glad we were able to have this opportunity. Through many questions from him and many from my side – we were able to build not only the personal and professional relationship but an actual plan to start our work together. This time was very important and valuable for us.

On June 1st, 2019 we started our professional journey together and that made me think about many things but one of them was pretty clear in my mind: how well do we need to know the people that will work with us? Obviously the professional background will tell how prepared we are for the task and how we can handle daily issues at work. But what about the personal connection? If I had known a few of my previous bosses’ “personal details” I would definitely had taken other actions during my period there.  We will be spending so many hours with that person daily, we will work on projects together,  we will have a social life with them. Once, in a conversation group, the students told me they would absolutely prefer working in a place where they had friends (or at least got along with their work buddies) than a having the most amazing job activity. I share the same opinion – how important is that?

I have to applaud the HR professionals: what they do, so many important things to discuss and to look for in a candidate all within an hour - perhaps even less in a job interview. The amount of details they have to fish for and have the sensibility to perceive in such small interactions to decide if the person is the best (or at least good enough) for the task is crazy! It took a month before Michael and I committed to working together and this time was very precious for us – that's one of the reasons we are still standing. Because we know exactly what to expect from each other and we respect that.

Getting along with the people you work with can go both ways: it can be easy or can be hard. I had both experiences myself –  I even had a job where I liked my cooworkers so much it took a few months before I quit even though I had already made up my mind. But how long does it really take to know the people that work with us? It took Michael and I one month. However, it took my current teammates and I just a few hours to bond, and a few months to consider other teammates from other places I’ve worked as friends, years to know what are some people’s real intentions and a few people that I think I know nothing about. Some situations were saved by this, some of them were influenced in a negative way.

One thing I know for sure: getting along with your coworkers is one of the best things in the world and it’s a huge responsibility to select a person to be part of the team as well as to enter in an already formed one. Being open to what’s new can be a challenge, it can take us out of our comfort zones – but isn’t that exactly what we are looking for? For us to seek diferent results, we have to do things diferently, starting with our own mindset. Embracing the unknown doesn’t mean it won’t  be uncomfortable, it means you have the courage and confidence to go further and ahead. Commitment is the key afterall – with your job, with your coworkers, with your tasks and, always, with yourself and your goals.

Speaking of confidence, Fast Forward can lead you to confidence and comfort in speaking English in the multiple scenarios that can be presented to you – if you want to know more about it, click here!