A Sudden Cloudburst on Your Way to the Interview

Here’s a scenario for you:

When you leave home the weather is sunny and bright and forecast to remain so. It’s a great day for an interview. You are dressed in your best—sharp looking and ready to present yourself as a professional. Your hair looks great; your shoes are polished. You feel confident.

You step off the Metro train a few blocks from your destination, go through the turnstile and ride up the escalator to the street. The sun is completely gone, and it’s pouring cats and dogs! Puddles are everywhere, and you have blocks to walk without an umbrella.

What would you do?
1. Panic
2. Resign yourself to looking (and feeling) awful
3. Use your imagination

If you pick 1 or 2, your interview is probably doomed. If you choose to use your imagination, you can grab a free newspaper or apartment guide from the machines that surround Metro entrances and hold it over your head while you run for cover along your walking route. You could also quickly buy an umbrella in a nearby shop or from a street vendor. If you planned ahead well enough, you might be early enough that you can slip into a coffee shop to wait out the downburst, because in D.C. such storms usually quit as quickly as they start.

And, if you get to your interview a little disheveled, with hair out of place and a few water spots on your shoulders, legs and shoes, who will care? Only you. So, visit the rest room to comb your hair, pat yourself dry and reenergize that confident air you left home with. Approach your interview with hand outstretched to say hello, and smile. It’s your day no matter what the weather is doing.