Note to self: when interviewing for a job at a pet store, do not bring up the fact that two of your pets have recently died.
You know how sometimes when you’re talking you just really stick your foot in your mouth and of course you realize it right after or maybe even right as the words are coming out, but by then it is too late? That was me on Tuesday. I had put in an application to work at a pet store near my house over a month ago. There weren’t positions available at the time, but they called me recently and asked if I would like to interview for a position at a new store they are opening up across the street.
I went there Tuesday afternoon and the interview was going really well. The new store is selling higher-end pet related gifts and pet clothing, all for the pampered pet and owner. The woman interviewing me was responding well to my answers and seemed to really like me. She said she thought I would be a great fit, but she still had one more person to interview.
Then when the whole thing was over and I was practically on my way out the door, she asked if I had any pets. I told her about our house rabbit and how we had two bunnies, but one had died of old age not long ago. Then I said we also have a fish. And that we had two fish, but the other one, the one we had bought at the pet store across the street, had just a week ago jumped out of the tank at night and died.
WTF me?! I totally could have left out the whole dead pets thing. I didn’t need to mention it. I think I was trying to explain that up until now we had four pets, not a meager two, but it did not come out right at all. SMH!
I didn’t get that job. And I don’t even think that was the reason. They decided the other person was a better fit for their store, and that is okay. I was let down at first, but I’m over it. They had me come back to interview for a spot at the main pet store because they liked me well enough. So I still have a chance of working there. Not much of one, because they mainly are looking for someone to close, and I want morning shifts, but that is fine.
When was the last time you stuck your foot in your mouth? Has it ever happened to you during a job interview? Are you ready to look back and laugh at it now?
I have been to countless interviews and basically they are a boar.
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cool great read, I am going to follow…I love reading your antics
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Right on, I’m glad to hear it. 😀
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Pingback: job interview success followed by my first day of work | The Honking Goose
At a parent-teacher conference I told a mother “the little bastard is driving me crazy!”
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Ha! She probably felt the same way about “the little bastard”. 🙂
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I suspect you’d relate to my posts, “I wish they’d had ADD when I was a kid”(I,II,III) I apologize in advance if I’ve wronged you.
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I may have mentioned on a Med school interview that I am good at killing things… I meant plants… it was hard to retract.
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LOL
Yeah once it’s out there all you can really do is mentally kick yourself. Which I have done plenty of so now I’m moving on the laugh at myself stage. 🙂
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Thx for the Saturday morning laugh!!! 🙂
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😀
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Goodness… if I tried to speak withOUT my feet in my mouth, I would have precious little to say… 🙂 It is the story of my life. And when I’m under pressure? The chattering need to overload others with superfluous and potentially embarrassing info is really awful. I am amazed I have friends still… and yet I do. Go figure. As one bird to another, can I just say how lovely it is to meet you out here, and thank you for your follow! 🙂 I look forward to keeping up with you… xx Mother Hen
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Cheers! So nice to meet you too. 🙂
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Hello. I wanted to let you know that I just nominated you for the One Lovely Blog award. Please check out my blog http://hannamar.wordpress.com/ for details. Congratulations!
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Just found this comment in my spam folder. I’m not sure why. Thank you for the compliment.
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You want me to send them my silence-of-the-rabbits or some-animals-were-harmed stories? You will seem like a defender of animals by comparison and probably be hired immediately.
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I’ll take my chances. Thanks, though.
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I am the chief of the Stick Your Foot In Your Mouth clan from WAAAAAY back when……..I have too many stories to even think of one to tell right now 😉
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Let me know if a really good one pops into your head.
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Good luck next round! I aced my last job interview, but then again, I work for myself so….
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Lucky!
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If you apply for an airline job don’t tell them you own 6 parachutes.
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Airline jobs aren’t for me, so it shouldn’t be an issue.
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Dead pets? Pshaw…I had, at one time, 25 small finches and canaries. When they died of old age (or being worn out from having babies) they were placed in our garage freezer, aka The Morgue until summer came and the ground softened. I used to send people to the freezer for pork chops or burgers, but the sight of all the little boxes with names and death dates turned them off. I still wonder why…
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That is… interesting. The ground doesn’t freeze here in the winter, so it never occurred to me that that might be an issue.
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Yes, ‘interesting’ is one of the more generous descriptions I’ve had re The Morgue…
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Oh I have put my foot in my mouth far too often to count. Which reminds me of a really embarrassing one…..goes off to write embarrassing blog post, then will hide head in sand for a while.
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Oddly enough, I always feel so much better after writing or talking about an embarrassing moment…
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I worked for a local tourist trap when I was in highschool. I drove horse drawn wagons as part of an “Amish” farm tour. We had a festival every year and they ceased most of the usual activities. Instead of taking those days off, they had me work in one of the food tents.
One of the maintenance men had expressed concern over the health department being on the grounds and they were being real particular at things he thought was dumb.
So, I got sent out to do something and on the way back I saw that a health department employee was nearby so when I got back to our tent I told them that I had seen the health department guy.
Except, there was a health department female standing there with a clip board, looking at me and quite unimpressed.
Oops. Who knew they worked in teams at festivals. lol.
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I had some experiences myself with those health inspector people when I worked for a tiny hippy-dippy health food store. I won’t get into specifics…
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Few years ago when I was applying for several jobs, I typed out several cover letters addressing different job applications all in one Word document – of course I meant to save them as separate documents before emailing but… I sent one company (who will now never hire me) the whole document – containing ALL the cover letters I typed… 😦
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That sounds like something I would do. You should have just told them that you were very versatile and they should appreciate that about you.
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LOL..I should have, yea? I only realised a couple of weeks after I had applied and when I did…I was so embarrassed, I wanted to literally dig up a hole and hide in there…
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Job interviews are like dates…witholding the truth and even lying is the best route for success.
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It is why they say we have to only answer a question without any details. “Do you have any pets?” “Yes, I have a rabbit and a fish” – end of the story 😦 Hope you get a better job.
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Me too, thanks. That’s good advice, I’ll try to remember that. 🙂
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P.S. We had a pet house bunny when my daughter was young. Hopper used to watch tv with us and he was very nice to use a litter box. However, we eventually had to let him go when he became a butthead and tried to tell everyone what to do. He never wrote…he never called…
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Do you have other pets now?
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Our furry kids, Cassie a 9-year-old Yorkie mix and Cheer, a 5 1/2-year-old American Dingo (also referred to as a Carolina Dog). They are a joy in our life. Especially since the grand kids are 2,500 miles away.
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That’s awesome, I love dogs. 😀
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I have found that no matter how soon, or how hard you try to suck the words back into you, it cannot be done. So the next time, will you stutter to keep from saying too much when you shouldn’t? Don’t worry about it. Just be yourself and eventually someone will say, “Hey, I like you for your candor…”
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I sure hope so, thanks. 🙂
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