A Lesson in Humility

Last Tuesday I had an interview with Aflac for an MBA marketing position. I thought everything went great. I wore my most conservative black skirt suit, recited my well-rehearsed answers to behavioral interview questions, avoided my verbal ticks (that I’m now conscious of, thanks to mock interviews). I thought the whole thing went swimmingly. I left feeling exhilarated and confident. I had it in the bag. Or so I thought.

I liken waiting to hear back from Aflac to waiting for a phone call after a seemingly great first date. You thought that the date went great, but apparently he thought otherwise and he never called. I want to be the psycho girl who calls and asks why, but I am trying to accept the fact that maybe they’re just not that into me.

Because I have a healthy self-image, the rejection hasn’t affected me too much. I wanted that internship. I wanted it badly. But you know, if they don’t want me, I don’t want them. No hard feelings. I was so overconfident that last weekend when I was walking around downtown I popped into one of my favorite Athens stores, Helix, just to browse and found these adorable note-cards with ducks on them that were strikingly similar to the Aflac duck. I bought a set of them smugly thinking, “Ooh, I’ll send these as thank-you notes after my second round interviews.” I am going to give them to a good friend who actually made it to the second round.

My search continues. My confidence, while still high, is probably at a more appropriate level. In the long run, it’s a good thing that I wasn’t called back. Aflac was my first interview so if I’d made it to the second round and eventually received an offer, my perception of job hunting would likely be skewed, thus setting me up for disappointment later. Rejection builds character.