Awkward Interview

The slight shuffling sound of Toby’s pants as he nervously shook his leg up and down barely filled the small conference room he sat in. The room was naturally lit, with large windows on the other side of the room that gave him a scenic yet stereotypical view of the city. He looked out, trying to distract himself from the stress from this upcoming interview.

This had been his fourth interview this week alone, and while his current job was technically paying the bills, he knew some big career change would have to happen before any other big life could change too. He tried going over the basics in his head, but reminded himself that he knew what he was doing. He told himself that he was a great worker and that he deserved better than that run down hardware warehouse he currently worked in. He wasn’t sure if he could handle hearing another one of Mike’s stories about how drunk he can get on the weekends.

This thought was abruptly cut off by the glass door swinging open, revealing a noticeably energetic man wearing a dark blue suit and slicked back, black hair that screamed “my favorite movie is Wolf of Wall Street, but not for the right reasons.” Toby was able to get a few more silent affirmations in before the man locked eyes with him and broke the silence.

“Toby Poole?” The man said with his boisterous and confident voice. The loud man had a smile on his face that made Toby feel like they were already friends, but eyes that were subtly puncturing his head. It made him feel a bit uneasy, but he shook it off.

“That’s me.” Toby replied, not meeting the amount of charisma the other man showed, but still seeming professional.

“Fantastic,” the man said, nodding his head with the confirmation. “Sorry about my tardiness, the fun never really stops here.” The statement was concluded with a quick wink, which gave Toby another small feeling of discomfort.

“I’m Tyler Silvers. I’d be your manager, as well as the manager for the other administrative assistants here.” The interviewer gestured back to the office space where Toby remembered seeing a number of people working at computers, doing whatever office workers do. Tyler shook Toby’s hand and walked to the other side of the table.

Thankfully it was not the opposite end of the table, which happened to Toby a few interviews ago. He just remembers the awkwardness and the strangeness of that interviewer’s choice.

“Well it’s a pleasure to meet you and I’m thankful for setting aside some time to meet with me today” Toby confidently stated. Toby wanted to return to a professional demeanor after being thrown off by the suddenness of Tyler. He met his gaze and got another feeling, but it was different than earlier. This one was familiarity, but with no exact answer. He couldn’t quite place it, but he had definitely seen Tyler’s eyes and heard his voice before.

“Of course!” Tyler exclaimed, still excited despite it being just the two of them. “I appreciated the stuff you wrote about in your cover letter as well as how detailed you got in your resume! I think it’s rare to find someone who is so honest about what they are looking for. Especially in the workforce.”

Toby successfully stifled a laugh with a smile and a thank you, as he knew most places hardly ever read cover letters and resumes anymore. But with the energy Tyler was showing, who knows what the truth was.

“I saw you had a lot of customer service experience these last few years. Working from general stores, a library, coffee places. Did I see that you worked at Frankie’s Coffee?” Tyler was basically just reading the resume in front of him out loud, but that didn’t bother Toby.

Toby was too busy realizing how he knew this loud and energized man.

Toby worked at Frankie’s over a year ago and was only there for a few months. During the time here, he had some abysmal customer experiences, ranging from annoying to rude in every way. However, the one that made him ultimately quit was when a loud man yelled at him and the other co workers for not understanding “how to make a simple coffee” using ingredients they either never served before or have never heard of. The customer with piercing eyes got loud and threw a whole coffee across the shop, leaving them to clean it up.

This man was now in front of Toby again, interviewing him.

“Yah…uh…I…” Toby stammered out as his mind raced with thoughts. Did Tyler recognize him too? Tyler, luckily, cut these thoughts off.

“They have made me some great coffee over the years. I’m sure you’d know, since you worked there.” A polite laugh escaped both of their mouths.

Toby wanted to get up, excuse himself, and walk out the front doors, unprofessional as that might be. He knew he couldn't take this job, even if it went really well. Even if the loud man in front of him didn’t recognize him now, there was always a chance that he could with the right set of circumstances. Toby realized he had to say something to his interviewer.

“The time I had at Frankie’s coffee was filled with eye-opening experiences.” Toby felt like a robot who didn’t understand human speech. He was aware of how unnatural and vague that statement was because Tyler’s face flinched a little with confusion as he continued to stare. It was a brief moment before Tyler’s confusion turned to curiosity.

“Have we met before?” Tyler said, unveiling a shift of energy.

Toby’s panic grew. There was no way he could tell the truth. What if he got mad again? What if he made it incredibly awkward and rushed the interview? What if he made a really weird apology that wasn’t really an apology? Toby had to say something now or the awkwardness would get worse.

“Oh yah,” Toby fumbled out with some laughter, “I get that all the time. I just have one of those faces!” Toby had never heard that said about him before, but he figured it was his best shot of avoiding the truth. Luckily, Tyler agreed immediately.

“You absolutely do. You kind of look like my cousin Mike, who has had some crazy parties over the years.” Tyler started to trail off. If Toby paid closer attention, he may have had the thought that it was the same Mike from his current job. But right now, all Toby could do was sigh internally and feel relieved he dodged this bullet.

Whatever happened next, Toby knew that this was just some cruel prank the world pulled on him. Treating it as practice for future interviews, and a funny story to share with his family, he smiled and nodded.