Started out with a phone screening with Melanie. This is the Chicago location. She was a very nice and intelligent person. She asked some pretty tough questions. Took about 20 minutes. She was honest in that I wasn't an ideal candidate based on some of the questions. However, she liked my personality and passion for the company and got approval for me to come in for the face to face interview. Was very thankful for this opportunity. She recommended I come in the next morning, despite the fact that it was a short notice. She said it would look good if I did and show I am committed to the company.
Met with Kevin the next morning after rushing to get prepared and get my suit dry cleaned last minute. I actually had to beg the cleaners and pay more money to get this done as it was already 3:00 pm. Anyways, the interview was pretty standard. Mostly just going over my resume and what i Know about PHMG and Audio Branding. Kevin was hard to read. I didn't know how to feel after i left. However, I got a call back later in the day from Candance, another very nice lady, congratulating me on making it to the next and final round of interviews. This time, I was to meet with the head of Sales Ryan, and the CEO Peter. Was scheduled for the following week do to Thanksgiving holiday.
Arrived at 3:30 pm. The odd thing was that I was talking to a guy that just interviewed in the waiting room. I mistaked him for a PHMG employee. He told me he just got hired and starts on Monday the following week. I thought positive about it since I thought maybe they are filling multiple positions. Little did I know the worst, that he just got hired for my job before I even started my interview!
After Candace came and retrieved me in the waiting room, I started out by shadowing one of the team leaders. It felt like I already had the job, and maybe I let my guard down. Even Kevin and said hello so I had a good vibe.
The guy I shadowed was a little intense. He was kind of frustrated I said that because it was the end of the month that he needed to get deals done immediately. To be honest, he wasn't even that good on the phone. Every business he called he was very pushy and they hung up on him. I currently do inside sales so I knew that deep down I was a better salesman than him based on what I seen. It felt even more at that point like I got the job, and envisioned being very successful at PHMG. He was helpful in answering some of my questions and told me what life is like at PHMG. He said it is HARD WORK.
I was relieved about 45 minutes later by Ryan, Head of Sales. He took my upstairs to another floor where I sat in a conference room and began another interview. I thought it went well and stated my case why i would be a good fit. Felt very good about it.
He departed the room and the CEO Peter entered the room 5 minutes later. At this point I felt like we were gonna get into when I would start and my compensation package. Already knew plenty about the job, the company. Also felt that they knew enough about me that we were ready to move forward. Peter was a mild personality. He was also hard to read, but seemed very passionate about the company. This was late in the evening so he appeared to be ready for the day to be over. I'd say this portion of the interview lasted about another 20 minutes. It felt like it was yet another person I needed to win over. I did the best I could and felt like me and Peter were really getting somewhere and that he knew I was a good fit for the company. I used to be a Private Investigator so a lot of my interview was based on some of those stories. They wanted to hear about it and I was happy to share.
At the end of the interview he asked me if I had anymore questions. I asked a few questions I had about the company and how they manufacture the products. He answered my questions and felt reassured that I was applying at the right company. He then went into a speech about how I they have a process they go through, and that he needs to meet with everybody else to decide who they were going to select. He said they were expanding the team after the new year for early January. It was currently late November. I recalled that the guy before me already got the job that day, but wanted to stay positive and never brought that up. It felt like the job was mine and I was confident that I would excel at Media Sales.
Got an email the following morning from Candace saying that my application was unsuccessful. Really? I wondered what it was that made them pull a 180? Was it that guy before me? It would be nice to know. Anyways, whats meant to be is meant to be. Obviously, they didn't believe in me and that I can do the job and do it good. Deep down I know I could. I feel its their loss and that I will soon be earning big money for some other company. I already am for the company I currently work for.