Story time: my first interview

Spoiler: I cried

I will always remember the first time I got to do a job interview. Of course, I had interviews before, but not like this one, the one that could open doors.

So, here is this hilarious and kinda sad story.

Back in 2018 or 2019 ( I don't remember the exact date) I was maybe in my fourth or fifth semester at the university, so my second or third year in college, and I found myself very intrigued by marketing, political marketing to be specific.

While the course had begun, the teacher announced a job proposal from a man who wanted to become Riomar´s Edil ( Riomar is a locality of the city of Barranquilla, and Edil, is a municipality public office) and the job was clearly to be this man communicator advisor, do his marketing, his pr (public relations), etc, etc

For me it was an exciting and adventurous opportunity, so I came to speak to my teacher and said: hey, I want to get an interview for the position, he said: great! I will arrange a meeting.

The day has come, I remember I was supposed to meet this man in his office. He has an ophthalmology, I think, well, he was a doctor, I think. Anyways, so there I was, the interview was going well, and suddenly he asked me if believed in God, and for him was very important this question, you see, this man was a Christian, and he tells me that he has gone through many bullying situations and other bad experiences, which have led him to get very close to God. I am Catholic, and I was at the time of the interview, but I do not practice it nor did I practice it in a way that he could reflect on, so as not to lengthen the story, this gentleman asks me that, and I begin to say: well yes, I have gone through situations in which my faith has been at stake and well, in the end, I believe in him (all this with little teary eyes).

When I was 18-19 years old answering that question, I had no idea what I was saying about my faith, God, or anything. Professionally, now I see that it has nothing to do with the job, and such a deep question had no place for my client in aspects of my professional development.

I remember when I left, I cried too much, I called my mother and my best friends to tell them, I didn't know why I was crying so much, I didn't feel ready or capable, I just wanted to cry. I remember that a week after that interview, I decided to go to the psychologist and start therapy, not because I had to strengthen my faith, far from it, but because I felt dissatisfied with situations of great stress, and I needed to control it. More than anything, not because I didn't allow myself to feel, but because I wanted to be responsible for my emotions and not have them control me in the future.

In the end, I didn't get the job, a guy got it, who now I think was perfect for the spot, as he shared many of the client's qualities and aptitudes. I look back on that experience now, and I'm pleased to say, thanks to the situation, whatever happened, I realized that something was wrong and that I needed to take action on my emotions in the workplace. I am grateful for that experience, and for many others, that has allowed me to be the person I am today.

In today's interviews, I perform phenomenally, as I am, and without fear of expressing myself. I am happy to say that without that experience, I would think that I would not have had the courage to see far beyond my limiting abilities I was putting on myself. In those years I was gathering the foundations of what I have today in personal and professional areas, and it was obvious that something was missing.

Without further ado, I laugh at many of my past experiences, and I thank myself for learning from them, always getting up in bad situations, and thanking my family and friends for the support that accompanies me on my adventure in this world.