(Day 98/122 of the experiment)
Last night I slept very poorly. I kept worrying about the interview. How will it go? Who will conduct the interview? What will we be doing for three hours? These thoughts troubled me and haunted my dreams.
I woke up early as always, but I felt exhausted. Tristan decided to keep me company during the morning walk. While I was showering and meditating, the man of my dreams prepared two thermos cups of coffee.
After the walk, my anxieties became less noticeable, replaced by the fear of being late. I needed to iron my suit, have breakfast, do my makeup, post a photo on Instagram, and be at the editorial office exactly at 9:55.
Thanks to ̶t̶h̶e̶ ̶e̶l̶e̶c̶t̶r̶o̶n̶i̶c̶ ̶r̶o̶u̶t̶i̶n̶e̶ m ̶a̶n̶a̶g̶e̶m̶e̶n̶t̶, Tristan dropped me off at the office when the clock showed 9:53 AM. I made it.
A beautiful three-story building made of red brick, located 15 minutes from the city center. There’s a coded lock on the door. I call Julia. All I hear is silence. I wait five minutes and call again.
- Yes!
- Julia, good day! Cinderella here, I’ve come for the interview. The entrance door is locked, and I can't get into the office.
- Okay, I’ll open it for you now.
I was greeted by a young woman with a short haircut. She looked to be about 33-35 years old. She was dressed in a loose-fitting gray suit and high-heeled shoes.
- So, Cinderella, the interview will be conducted by Inga Nickivna - she is our editor-in-chief. She is a straightforward woman, although with some pretensions. But just 20 minutes ago, she called her nail technician, so you’ll have to wait a bit.
- Alright, I'll sit in the hallway.
Julia kindly led me to the reception area, where a large flat-screen TV hung on one side, and a sofa was positioned on the other. I decided not to waste time and started drafting lesson notes for my course on my phone.
After an hour of waiting, a skinny young girl with a small suitcase (I think she carries her manicure tools in it) and tearful eyes came out of Inga Nickivna's office.
Next, a woman around 50 with large earrings in her ears appeared in the doorway.
- Are you here for me? Come in.
- Good day! I’m Cinderella, here for the interview.
The office was quite large - in addition to a big cabinet behind Inga's chair, there was a sofa, a long conference table, and a projector with a screen.
- Hello. Julia, who is this girl? Some sort of Cinderella, she says.
In response, I could only hear a rapid flow of words.
- Got it, thanks.
After my brief introduction, Inga Nickivna asked standard questions - where have I worked, why I chose their company, where I see myself in 10 years.
- Well, okay. You don't seem hopeless. Now.
Then the boss called Julia, and she came to get me.
- I want to tell you that you are the first candidate out of five that has managed to have a conversation with Inga. Usually, it all ends in tears.
- Oh no, she’s indeed a specific woman, but it’s nothing terrible.
- The next stage of our interview is a test task. We give you an hour to write two articles. Topics to choose from: trends in clothing for the upcoming winter; home skincare; how Brad Pitt’s life has changed after the divorce; seven inexpensive but high-quality lipsticks; enviable bachelors in Ukraine; weekend tour to Lviv - what to visit.
I chose the topics about Lviv and home skincare. Exactly one hour later, Julia approached the laptop I was working on and told me to send the finished texts to Inga's email.
- That's it, Cinderella, now please wait while Inga Nickivna reviews the texts, and if they are appropriate, we will proceed to the next stage of the interview - psychological exercises for group work.
The review of my texts took another hour - I think Inga decided to get a pedicure while she had the time. I had the coffee that Julia prepared, chatted with Tristan, and wrote a bit more on my lesson notes.
- Cinderella, Inga called. She approved the texts. Now we’re going to the psychologist.
I naively thought that "Women's Tricks" had a staff psychologist. But it turned out they don't. Julia and I walked for 30 minutes in one direction while talking about work. It turns out Inga Nickivna is not only the editor-in-chief and owner of the magazine but also a misandrist. Three years ago, when her husband was helping with the family business - handling the technical side of the online publication, a young journalist came to the editorial office, who later broke up the director’s family and married her husband. From now on, all job candidates undergo a very strict selection process.
After talking with the psychologist, Julia and I returned to the office, where I waited another 40 minutes for Inga to see me to answer questions about my texts. Why did I use this particular epithet here? Why do I think that visiting the theater in Lviv is a must?
I crawled home at six in the evening - tired and drained. But I still didn’t receive an answer regarding whether I got the job or not.
(Day 99/122 of the experiment)
Yesterday drained all my energy. The endless waiting and conversations with a rather toxic director can wear anyone down to moral and physical exhaustion.
So for the first time in many weeks, I skipped my morning walk and instead ran a hot bath, where I spent two guilt-free hours. I listened to classical music, relaxed, and recharged.
And to make my day completely lazy, Tristan brought a hot croissant and coffee for breakfast. Then we lounged in bed and rested.
As evening approached, my body craved some activity. So I did some pilates, cooked dinner, and held a live session on Instagram where I talked about yesterday's interview.
Some of my followers wrote that they had applied for a job there, but the boss is a very challenging person and one needs to be prepared for constant complaints and criticism.
A light French comedy, popcorn, my beloved husband, and cat by my side – that's my personal recipe for a great evening.
(Day 100/122 of the experiment)
My physical and moral strength has been restored, so an early rise, a run, and morning rituals. At eleven, just as I was recording the first lesson for the course, I received a call.
-"Cinderella, good afternoon! This is Julia, the HR manager from the “Women’s Tricks” editorial team. I congratulate you – you passed the interview and have been hired!"
-"Hooray! Thank you so much!"
-"We are expecting you tomorrow for your first working day. We start at nine, so please try not to be late. And remember about the dress code."
-"Okay, thank you."
Well, I've landed a new job, but completely forgot to resign from the old one. I quickly write to my Jane – the HR manager at Iren Cheery’s company, where I am still officially employed. Two hours later – after printing documents, sending a scanned copy, and dealing with other formalities, I am officially unemployed. This is what I love about our modern technologies – their mobility and speed.
Tristan and the girls congratulated me on my new job, and I decided to speed up my work on the course – to film at least the first lesson today and send it to my assistant for review – I think she’ll have a lot of comments.
After a workout at the gym, I rushed home and sat back at the computer. It turns out that shooting video lessons is quite a complicated task. The light is bad, you forget your words, and the frame composition isn’t quite what you wanted.
Spending the rest of the day at the computer, I finally achieved the goal I was working towards – the first lesson of the course is ready!
Tristan praised me and said that I should consider a career as a TV host, or at least as a video blogger. Because I look great on camera and tell interesting stories.
The last task I tackled was sending the lesson to my assistant.
“Work”