Nerd Girl(107)

He was looking for a Marketing Manager to help drive joint Portals 8 marketing launch plans between the hardware PC makers and MS. I knew very little about this area within Megasoft, but was hoping to convince Brett that the operational expertise I brought from my IT job history working with third party partners was a good match.

I knew that I would need to be prepared to answer the very question that Brett had just asked. At this stage in the job search process, Brett wouldn’t know that I had just been hired by CMG only a month ago. If I wanted to move forward and formally interview for the job, I had to assume that HR would tell him a general reason for my short duration at CMG. Ryan and I both agreed that it would be best if I was forthcoming to any potential hiring manager, rather than the other way around.

Here goes. I had rehearsed the answer in my brain all last night; Ryan and I had worked on it together. I knew I had to be as generic as possible about the circumstances, but I didn’t want to blatantly lie.

“Well, I’ve only been in my role in CMG for a little over a month.” I noticed Brett immediately arched an eyebrow, but I pushed on. “I accepted the role because I wanted to work directly on the Portals 8 launch. I knew it would help me achieve my long term career goals of becoming a world class marketing manager. It was everything I was looking for as my next career step.”

Brett looked at me with some suspicion, but his silence signaled that he was waiting to hear the rest of what I had to say, before making any judgment.

“Shortly after I started my new role, my manager and I discovered that we had a, um … personal conflict of interest. Neither of us knew about it prior to me taking the position. HR agreed that it would be best if I were to move to another position. I have my GM’s complete approval and support to do this, as it’s in the best interest of both parties.”

Brett just looked at me quizzically. I expected him to be taken somewhat aback, but his continued silence and scrutiny started to make me nervous.

He finally spoke. “You must know that changing positions a month after you start is highly unusual,” he began, acknowledging my nod of understanding. “This role is a very visible position, working between our partners and product groups. I can’t afford investing the time to hire someone new, get them up to speed, and then having them depart a month later for some unknown reason.” He paused for a moment and I continued to nod. “You don’t have to answer this, but it would help me a great deal if you could provide me a better understanding of what this personal conflict was? If I’m going to take a risk with you, I need to know some more details.”

In translation, what he should’ve said was, I understand that this is a very uncomfortable question, but if you don’t answer it, you likely won’t be considered for the position. Therefore, answering the question isn’t optional.

I hadn’t planned to actually tell anyone what really happened. Crap. A little rattled by his question, I blurted out too quickly, “I’m dating my manager’s ex fiancé.” I didn’t mean to, but my face automatically cringed. Fuck. Just shoot me now. If there was ever a time that I wished myself to disappear from somewhere, it would be now.

“I see.” Brett nodded like this happened every day. “Yes, that is complicated.”

I could tell he was at a loss for words. I tried not to visibly squirm and show him my discomfort, but I’m sure my flushed face was a dead giveaway.

After an awkward silence, Brett decided to end the meeting. My time was up.

“Thanks for coming in today, Julia. Thank you for your interest and I appreciate your honesty, but please know that I’ve also had a lot of people interested in the position.” In translation, this job is in high demand. If I find anyone equal to your qualifications, I’ll likely choose someone that doesn’t have complications coming as part of the package. “I’ll be deciding, hopefully by next week, who I think we’ll be bringing in for a formal interview loop.” In translation, I’m going to hedge my bets and look at all my other candidates before I would consider you for this role.

I’ve been around long enough to know that usually if an informational meeting went well, the invitation for a formal interview was almost immediate. I had just been politely blown off. Could I blame him? If I were in his shoes, would I take the risk? Probably not. MS was competitive; there were plenty of other smart and hungry fish in the ocean to choose from.

“Thanks again for your time, Brett,” I said with as much confidence and dignity as I could muster. I stood up, making sure my chin was raised, and offered my hand for a firm handshake.