XXVI - Job Interview

This was the first time that Leonardo had agreed to wear a shirt with buttons on it and wear shoes without the brand Converse stamped on them in a long time. Yet this was no regular day, today was the first job interview in the life of young Leonardo.

            As he shook the hand of the man in front of him, Leonardo felt slightly uneasy, a wet chill sliding down his spine. So I guess this is how you feel when you become an adult.

The man sitting across the table seemed to be well into his forties and had inquisitive dark brow eyes.  If everything went well, he would become Leonardo’s first boss. ‘Hello Leonardo, it’s nice to finally meet you. You seem a little bit nervous, is this your first job interview?’

‘Yes sir’, answered Leonardo sincerely.

As the man smiled benevolently, he revealed a row of yellowish teeth, aligned beneath his hefty black mustache. ‘Don’t worry Leonardo, it’s normal to be a little bit nervous in a job interview, especially if it’s your first, but I assure you that you don’t need to be,’ the man said, reassuringly.

‘Thanks…’

            ‘I remember my first job interview quite well actually. I was terribly nervous but I guess the interviewer liked me anyways because he ended up hiring me. That was when I first became a journalist. Unlike you, I lived in a small town back then and it was a small newspaper. Yet here I am today, so I really can’t complaint. Before asking you any formal questions though, if you don’t mind I would like to ask you something that is slightly more personal. Your father is a good friend of mine and I know that he probably arranged this interview before even speaking to you, so I want you to tell me if you’re here because you really want this job or if you’re here just because he told you to come?’

            Leonardo thought carefully for a moment. ‘Sir, the truth is that I’m not sure… as I told you before, this is my first time applying for a job in my whole life, so I’m not sure what I feel about it at all. If it wasn’t for Manuel I wouldn’t be standing in front of you right now, I’m sure of that. And I know that I’m not sure what I really want to do with my life yet, and that is the truth… but I feel that I could use this opportunity to see if this is what I want to do. So the only thing I can tell you is that if you give me this opportunity I’ll try to learn fast and dedicate myself as much as I can… even if I can’t tell you now, for sure, if this is the job that I want to have for the rest of my life…’

             ‘I appreciate you being honest with me Leonardo… sincerity is not a very common quality in candidates… actually, as you will soon find out, sincerity is one of the rarest quality in people in general…’