On Monday, I told you about the awkward bar interview I had when I was job searching last year. During that same time, I had other non-office-setting interview and it was the complete opposite of the awkward bar experience.

Just like the bar interview, prior to this one I had had two phone interviews. One with the COO of this tech news start-up and one with the Events Director. Both went really well. Which is saying a lot, y’all know how I feel about using the phone, right?

Unlike the bar interview, I was invited for a lunch interview at a restaurant near the company’s office. I was prepared to eat with my interviewers, the COO and the Managing Editor, and thankfully it was much quieter setting with much better lighting.

I was the first to arrive so I sat down at the table and organized myself. I’m not sure what the proper etiquette is for the lunch interview situation but I highly recommend arriving early in an effort to be the first one at the restaurant. It gave me a moment to take off my coat, take out my portfolio and deal with my hat hair. It was December so that last one was extremely necessary.

When my interviewers arrived I felt prepared and confident. It helped that they were very nice and were they type of people that make you feel at ease. We ordered food and began a conversation about the company, position and my experience. The restaurant setting helped create more of a conversation rather than a question and answer type interview.

I made an effort to show them as much of my portfolio before the food arrived. I didn’t want it to be difficult for them to page through and some of the other pieces I wanted to share were my only copies and I didn’t want them to get ruined.

The position at this company was one I was very interested and it felt like a great fit. Which is one of the main reasons my interview performance was better than the bar interview. By the end of the interview, I felt excited and hopeful. I wanted this job!

After our meal and conversation, we all got up to leave and I will admit I did have one awkward moment but I don’t think my interviewers caught it. As we shook hands and said goodbye, I awkwardly held back to be sure I didn’t have to walk in the same direction as them.

A few days after the interview, they asked for references (usually a good sign!). A few days after that, I was offered a position at the company. I was beyond thrilled. But…I ended up not taking it. A tough decision that I’ll share with you soon.

When I was unemployed around this time last year, I went on 16 interviews. All but two of them were in a typical office setting.

Those were two of the more interesting interviews that I had during my search. One was super awkward and the other was probably one of the best interviews I had.

Let me tell about the awkward one today, because who doesn’t love awkward and bizarre?

My interview was scheduled for the early afternoon at The Lobby Bar at the Ace Hotel in New York. The Ace Hotel is super cool. I am not cool enough for the Ace Hotel.

Prior to my interview, I had had two phone interviews with employees of this company who held the position for which I was interviewing in other cities. Based on my conversations with them I wasn’t 100% sure this job was the right fit for me. The company, a event information and ticketing website that you’ve probably heard of, was looking for a event planner slash promoter to create buzz in New York City. Buzz creator and promoter, I am not. What I was, was unemployed so I was trying to convince myself I could do it.

I arrived at the loud and dark lobby and searched for my interviewer. She’d have a sign with the company name. After several minutes of searching I found her. Her “sign” was a napkin propped up on a glass with the company name in pencil. Hard to see in broad daylight, harder in a dark bar.

Just as I sat down, the lunch she had ordered for herself had arrived. I found this a bit rude. Sometimes, you just don’t have time to eat, I get that but it made for an awkward interview. She’d ask me a question, take a bite of her food, I’d answer and finish before she was done chewing. (She took very big bites.) I would wait in silence as she finished or fill the silence with long-winded answers.

The dark setting didn’t just make it hard to find her, it made it difficult to show her my portfolio and examples of work. I had to hold a candle from the table up to the pieces so she could see. It was so loud it was nearly impossible for me hear most of her questions or comments. I felt like I was saying “what” every two minutes. We would have been better off having the interview in a tourist filled Starbucks in Times Square.

While nothing extremely memorable happened, I will always remember how overall awkward it was. I just wanted it to be over. Thankfully, it didn’t go on for too long. The combination of the unideal interview setting and my lack of genuine interest in the position made for a rather short interview for a job I, obviously, didn’t get.

(image via)

First off, I don’t know how I have avoided reading Penelope Trunk’s blogup until this point in my life. As a WG, this is most certainly a faux pas of some kind since her blog is full of tips for the Working Girl and it’s controversial – both things I love. But somehow up until a few weeks ago, I had never given her site a real read-through.

Penelope Trunk

So a few weeks ago, I’m sitting at my desk (bored of course because it’s Friday and because it’s FRIDAY) and I came across her article entitled Blueprint for a Woman’s Life.

So if you haven’t read the article already (and aren’t going to because it’s too long), let me summarize for you. Basically the article talks about what a woman should be doing with her life – personally and professionally – between the ages of 18 and 45. What comes next is controversial so prepare yourself. The advice starts with not doing well in school because other things are important, getting plastic surgery, and going to business school right after college. Then she talks about how you should homeschool your kids and only start start-up companies with guys.

The part of the article I want to focus on primarily is the part where she says the 20′s are all about finding a husband who you want to parent with and then your late 20′s/30′s are for having kids and that your career should come second.

Before you get your pitchforks out, let me just say that she does make a good point.

Trunk argues that we as women have our whole lives to get a career. We do not, however, have all the time in the world to have children. Trunk says it like it is, “Your career skills will outlast your ovaries.” So focus on your ovaries. Trunk talks more about finding the partner for this, but I think this could pertain just to having children in general.

Let’s face it. The world isn’t fair. As women, we want to have it all. And we want the equality to have it all. But no matter what, if we do have children we have to take time off to do so. And we get a little off track in the process. Meeting a partner early and having children early seems like a really great way to somewhat avoid this issue. Start your career, but don’t focus solely on it. Use your spare time to find a mate and don’t let work get in the way of your relationship.

Reading Trunk’s article made me feel like I could have it all if I followed this blueprint if you will. But honestly, according to this blueprint I’m already behind. I did really well in school and I have to admit it took me places I wouldn’t have gotten to go if I hadn’t done well in school, so can’t really say I agree with Trunk there. I don’t plan on getting plastic surgery. And I’m 26 (almost 27!) and I don’t have a serious boyfriend (let’s be honest, I haven’t had a serious boyfriend since high school) and while I am putting myself out there (speed dating…yes, I did it…never again), I don’t think Mr. Right is going to just land in my lap because I have a blueprint to follow!

Here’s what I got out of this article and what I think we should all get out of this article. WORK ISN’T THE END ALL TO BE ALL. Yes, having a career is important. Feeling needed and important and getting praise is all important. But it’s not all there is to life. Do you want to have kids? Do you want love in your life? Then you need to make that a priority. Really, instead of seeing the controversy to this article, I choose to see another kind of advice.

What we really need in life is balance. Don’t put all your eggs in one basket. It’s OK to love your career, but it’s also OK to remember that you don’t need to work until 8PM every night and it’s OK to not work at all on the weekends and it’s OK to check your Match.com profile during lunch (what? who me? I would never!).

Because Trunk’s right. Our ovaries don’t last forever. And neither do careers. Balance people! It’s all about balance!

…And visit a different site for real career advice.

Now, I’m not saying there isn’t anything to be learned here on Working Girl. I bet some of you thought twice before wearing a short dress with Spanx after my wardrobe malfunction, but I don’t know that many people would call that career advice.

We love sharing our working stories here, along with a few things we’ve learned along the way, but if you are looking for REAL advice, like how to invest your 401k or how to negotiate for more vacation time, we aren’t exactly expects.

So I wanted to share two of my go-tos for career and financial advice.

One of my personal favorites is Savvy Sugar. It has everything I love about the Internet and blogs: Slideshows, polls, and lots of links to more stories and other blogs. It never ends, which is why I love/hate the Internet.

Anyway, what I love most is that the posts are short, sweet and right to the point. I get distracted very easily, so the sooner I can get my information the better.

Another great one, and friend of Savvy Sugar, is LearnVest. I’ve yet to dive into LearnVest completely and use the budgeting tools, but the finance-focused content helps me to keep my finances on track. With career content thrown in there, it’s a great resource for Working Girls looking for career advice, financial advice or both.

What sites or resources do you use for career and finance?

The middle of the work week. It’s the worst (minus the fact that Happy Endings is on mid-week because otherwise it really is the worst). So to get me all jazzed for work I sometimes need a very peppy, invigorating mix that makes me get out of bed or wakes me up in the middle of the day.

Be warned, this mix is VERY girl power.

1. Run the World (Girls) by Beyonce

This song is just so badass. Beyonce kills it (as always) on this song and even though it wasn’t a huge hit this summer like I thought it would be, I still listen to it on repeat in the mornings and walk hard towards the mirror before I leave. It makes me feel like I run the world. Or at least I run the marketing dept.

2. Jump in the Pool by Friendly Fires

This song is more an escape song for me. It’s fun to sing along to and the lyrics make me want to literally jump in a pool. For some reason this song reminds me of Vegas (no idea why cause I never listened to this song while in Vegas) so it reminds me of vacation and therefore reminds me of the opposite of work.

3. Dancing with the DJ by The Kooks

This song automatically gets me in the mood for Friday…which leads me to my next song.

4. Friday by Glee Cast

Cause you can’t have a Pump Up the James list by WG2 without a song from Glee on it. Thinking about Friday and the weekend gets me through the week so this is an obvious choice.

5. Do It Like a Dude by Jessie J

I love on Jessie J. She is a hard-ass and her song Do It Like a Dude might be more about being a man in your relationship, but I like to think it’s about being more manly in all aspects of life – like at work.

6. I Am Woman by Jordin Sparks

Another power jam by a kick-ass woman who takes names. This song was again very under-appreciated this summer, but take a listen because it makes me want to walk down the street strutting my stuff to take on the office.

7. Rise Above 1 by Reeve Carney

This song is a little slow but the message is a good one. Basically rise above it all.

8. Working for the Weekend by Loverboy

This doesn’t need an explanation.

Remember when you were an assistant? Are you still an assistant?

I blocked several of my assistant memories from my mind and I didn’t even have a terrible assistant job. But all the memories came back as I read Lilit Marcus‘s Save the Assistants.

Most of us went to college thinking we’d graduate and land an amazing job at a well-known company and it would all be fabulous. We thought we had paid our dues during our internships. Then we landed assistant jobs and sure, we might have to get coffee every once and a while, but it was going to be great.

But it wasn’t.

And boy do I wish I had Save the Assistants when I realized that. Save the Assistants walks you through the ins and outs of being an assistant, how to deal with your boss, coworkers and other assistants and most importantly, how to keep your sanity.

Even as a Working Girl who has been in the game for four and half years, I picked up a few reminders. I was reading Save the Assistants during a time when I was getting very lazy at the office. I was unhappy and ready for a change. Save the Assistants reminded me to still do a good job while figuring out the change I needed to make.

I also had some serious flashbacks. When I ran into a portion titled “What Is Stockholm Syndrome?” I had a good giggle on Metro-North. I thought a few of my old coworkers were the first to compare the working world to having Stockholm Syndrome, but they definitely weren’t. There was a time when I had serious Stockholm Syndrome and could have used some help getting out.

Whether you’re a brand-new assistant or a seasoned Working Girl, you’ll certainly benefit from picking up Save the Assistants. Either to guide you through your first job or remind you how far you’ve come.

And did I mention there are quizzes?! Who doesn’t love quizzes?