Stupid Mistakes

Have you ever done something so entirely stupid that you wouldn't want anyone else to find out?

Have you ever wanted to make sure that a potential employer will remember you after your interview?

Today I think I managed to combine both stupidity and and impression when I drove two hours to a 10 AM job interview in Shoshone, ID.

I got a nice rental car using points that had a whopping 3 miles on the odometer.  It was a nice little ride and the drive out to Shoshone was actually pleasant.  Even though the car had XM radio I took advantage of the audio input jack to listen to some podcasts that I had fallen behind.  The time zipped by and I was an hour early for my interview......


Well technically I was 169 hours early for my interview, which was actually scheduled for next Wednesday.  Double-checking my phone I had the interview set up as 10 AM on the 16th....today.  What the heck?  Last week when I was called about the interview I was given a quick description of how to get to the interview and a "See you Wednesday".

I was a little ticked at first because I "wasted" the morning and made a fool of myself, but then I realized that not only did I have a pleasant drive, but I was able to get some much-needed information that I wouldn't have had access to otherwise.  Normally I prefer to take and drive to an interview site before the appointed time because you never know if there are obstructions between home and the site, how long it takes to get there, where it is, etc.

It is generally a good idea to do this scouting because you just never know.  I've been late to an interview because the address is simply messed up (like a numbered road....let's say 127th Street running perpendicular to 23rd Street).

This is the first interview I've been extremely early for.  Normally, well actually every interview I've had in the last 5 years, once the employer arranges the interview time they send me an email confirmation with all the information needed for the interview.  This time I wasn't sent and email and just had my notes to go off of.  Of course when I got home I fished that scrap of paper out of the the recycle bin and saw that right at the top I had scribbled "Wed may 23rd" in a big circle and an arrow pointing to the 10 AM and the street address.

D'oh!