as i breezed through her resume, i focused my attention on the portion labeled, "work experience" since the questions on the interview sheet will be about her previous work or jobs. lo and behold, what i saw in there would throw me off guard in the most unexpected way i never thought possible. she never had any real professional experience, but was (or is, from my own judgement) a model for different commercials and was a binibining pilipinas candidate!!! she noticed that i was starting to show signs of being surprised so she then broke the silence by saying, "well, as you can see, i have no real office experience." i still kept silent as i continued to read her achievements and accolades that were listed. trying to compose myself, i then asked her to tell me something about herself since that's always my first question. she then smiled and started to answer by telling me everything about her experiences as a model, a candidate, and as the country's representative to the miss globe 2004 pageant to which she won the miss friendship award. i looked at her in awe as she was running though everything she's gone through. my hands suddenly became cold, my heart was starting to pump blood faster and my pulse started racing and i thought to myself, "damn, i'm in the company of a beauty queen! mark, settle down, all you have to do now is go on with the interview and don't make her feel awkward and nervous. make her nervous?? are you kidding?? she was a beauty pageant contestant for god's sakes, this interview session is a walk in the park for her!!"
after she was done with telling me about herself, i still kept silent and glanced back and forth at her and her resume. "then why are you even applying here with all your credentials and everything?" i asked with amazement. she then replied that both her parents were in the states and being the eldest of five, she had to take responsibility in taking care of her siblings and also, start somewhere in the corporate world so she decided to apply. "i don't even know what to write down under 'work experience' since i don't really have any real office experience. my friend just told me to write down what i have done, and so there it is!" she added. her answer didn't satisfy my curiosity and i let her know that. i was thinking more on, "once a model, always a model." i also apologized to her for going off-track on the interview and admitted to her about one real thing about me: i get intimidated by women like her. "don't be," she said. "i'm the one who should be feeling uneasy here since i'm applying for a job and going through your selection process," she added. "yeah, right!" i jokingly replied and we both laughed.
the rest of the interview went very smoothly. i followed the interview packet in hand and asked everything that had to be in order for the packet to be filled with information about her negotiation, interpersonal, work performance, and stress tolerance skills to name a few. we would go off-track once in a while to discuss side comments about her answers and i would share my own insights when she had her own questions about the subject at hand. i got to know a lot of stuff about her and found her to be a very interesting person. being used to asked questions, her communication skills were excellent, though with a few noticeable pronunciation errors. the entire interview session lasted an hour and 15 minuites. since her communication skills are excellent, i recommended for her to undergo the final interview on tuesday afternoon. she asked if i'll be doing the final interview with her, well unfortunately not, since i already did her initials. but what i did tell her was that i'll be placing recommendations on the sheet so that the person who will be doing the final interview would know what to expect. i then thanked her for dropping by, that i learned a lot from her, and that it was fun talking to her. "thank you for making it fun for me as well. i had a good time talking to you. it made me feel more comfortable even with the room being so cold," she replied. i apologized again for the temperature. we then shook hands and i opened the door for her and she stepped out thanking me with that sweet smile as she walked off. i slumped back to my seat, smiling and still reeling from what had happened. "damn," that was all i could tell myself for about five minutes. i suddenly had the realization that that interview really defined my week. and what a good week it was.
yeah, i know what you're all thinking: just because she was a beauty queen, she'd automatically pass!! hell, no!! i mean, i have interviewed other equally, if not more beautiful women than her, but have difficulty communicating and/or expressing themselves, so i'd really fail them. will she pass the final interview? i'm really betting on it. by the way, i left out an embarrassing point in the interview process. i intentionally did that because for one, it is embarrassing, and two, it's for me to know and for you to find out! hehehehe! you may be asking, why didn't i get her number or asked her out? for one, well, i was at work, and it was an interview, so i had to maintain a sense of professionalism, etiquette and integrity on my part, so even if i was tempted (and i mean really tempted) to jot down her cellphone number and save it on my phonebook, i didn't. and two, how would a girl like her (an accomplished model, beauty pageant contestant, and a real stunner inside and out) even consider going out with a guy like me?
that was last week for me. one really worth remembering. at least i could go about bragging how i interviewed a beauty queen. one i could also tell my future kids and grandkids about…if i ever have any. one thing's for sure though: i would still get to see her on tuesday. now that's something to look forward to next week.
(for those of you interested on what she looked like, visit http://www.bbpilipinas.com/candidates.html. she's number 21 – Micaela, or Kyla, as she wants to be called)
Markie's Journal 