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.

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