“Good,” Valetta said, collecting the photos and sliding them back into the folder. “I realize that this might seem like a silly test, but I assure you that we do it for a reason. There is a method to our madness.”
“I'm happy to do whatever you need,” Sabrina replied. She smiled and tried to ignore the feeling of failure weighing down on her shoulders.
“Now, I have some questions for you.” Valetta tucked the manila folder under her pad of paper and poised her pen to write. “ I know this is probably a very cliché question, but I’d like to hear you talk about your strengths.”
It might have been cliché, but it was the exact question Sabrina needed. She knew how to answer this question, and it gave her confidence after the failure of the images.
“Certainly. I think my biggest strength is my work ethic. I come from humble beginnings, but it has only ever been a motivational tool for me. I’ve always believed that hard work pays off and I’ve approached every job I’ve ever had with a mindset that I’m going to give it my all, no matter what. I also believe that my work ethic naturally translates to being a loyal and dependable employee.”
Valetta nodded and marked something on her pad of paper. “And being a hard worker, have you had any experience doing maid work or acting as someone’s assistant?”
“I have actually,” Sabrina said, recalling a summer many years ago between her junior and senior year of high school. “I worked at a maid service for a few months one summer. We usually cleaned anywhere from three to five different homes a day.” She paused, then added, “But you could pick up extra houses if you finished early, so I did that pretty often as well.”
“Excellent,” Valetta said. Sabrina exhaled softly, as if she’d just made it through the first of nine innings.
One question down, a million to go. Remain calm and speak slowly, she reminded herself.
“Can you tell me about other jobs you’ve had, Sabrina?”
“Of course. My first job was as a dishwasher while I was in high school, but I became a waitress when I graduated.” She paused. Here was where she wished she could say she went to school or had done something with her life, but she hadn't. She'd just worked instead of going to college so that bills were paid and food was on the table. “I still work there, in addition to my retail position.”
“You currently work two positions?” Valetta asked, her pen poised above the paper.
“Yes,” Sabrina said with a nod. “I'm a hard worker and these positions have given me a fair amount of experience dealing with people and have taught me a lot about what it takes to make a customer happy.”
“Quite the handy skill set,” Valetta said, looking up from her notes. “And that’s actually a great segue into my next topic. I’m going to ask you a few questions about hypothetical situations that might arise while on the job. Take a moment to think about it and then tell me how you’d respond.”
Sabrina nodded.
“Picture this scenario,” Valetta said. “Say you are out with my client, a local businessman, in a public place and a stranger approaches the two of you. The stranger claims to know my client, but clearly that is not the case. Also, this man happens to strike you as being slightly suspicious. What would be your response in a situation like this?”
“Regardless of whether or not the stranger seemed suspicious, I’d attempt to consult your client and follow his lead. If he's uncomfortable with the stranger, then that person is not to be trusted,” Sabrina replied. “You said that I'm not a bodyguard, so in this instance, I would try to alert his security or find a way for us to get to a safe place.”
“Good answer,” Valetta said, her lips curling up into a pleased smile. “Let me give you another situation. While sightseeing, my client, a well-known public figure, sees a nice bar and decides he’d like to grab a drink and spend an evening downtown. You join him, but also notice that while enjoying himself he’s become involved with a female who’s had a bit too much to drink and is now drawing unnecessary attention to my client. How would you respond?”
Sabrina paused. This question was a potential minefield, but she felt confident she could answer it. She'd dealt with plenty of women like that as a waitress.
“It depends on what the client wants,” Sabrina replied. “I'd hate to ruin an evening for him, so if he wants the woman to continue with him, I'd find a way to get them to a more private location. If he does not want the woman with him, I'd find a way to separate them. However, it is up to the client.”
Valetta smiled slightly and her eyes flicked toward the mirror. “How would you separate them, if that is what the client wished?”
“First, I would pay the woman's bar tab and then tell the woman that she had something in her teeth and that she should go check the mirror,” Sabrina answered. “While she was away, the client would leave the bar. I would have the bartender tell the woman an emergency came up and he had to leave.”
“That would solve the problem.” Valetta frowned slightly. “But why pay her bar tab?”
“If the goal is to avoid unnecessary attention, a happy customer is always better than one who feels that she has been jilted. In a drunken state, the woman could easily believe that he'd left her with the bill and would come looking for him,” Sabrina explained. “You said he was a public figure, so this way, there would be no public backlash.”
“Excellent answer,” Valetta said with an approving nod. She smiled and turned to face the two-way mirror, obviously anticipating someone to receive her comment from the other side. “I have a few more questions for you-”
Her phone buzzed on the table with an incoming message, cutting her off. Valetta glanced at it and smiled.
“Actually, if you don’t mind, I’m going to leave the room for a moment,” Valetta said, pocketing her phone. “I’ll be back shortly.”
“Of course,” Sabrina said, noticing that her palms were clammy enough that it was uncomfortable. She wiped them on her skirt under the table, but she wasn't sure it did much good.
I blew it, she thought and tried to tame her disappointment before it turned to tears. While she felt she'd answered the questions well, she knew she'd bombed the photo section. Plus, the fact that the interviewer was leaving in the middle of the interview was never a good sign.
What the hell kind of interview is this any