My UPS Job Interview Misadventure

Back in December of last year, I applied for a job at UPS. It was a part-time job, but the description said that if I worked well enough, it could turn into full-time employment. I was mostly looking to make some extra money, but if I got a full-time job out of it, well, that would be pretty nice, too.

A few days later, I received a call from UPS asking if I wanted the job. I of course said yes and they gave me a time and place for a job interview. As this would be my first job interview ever, I was especially careful to find the exact directions I needed in order to get there. I used Google Maps to find the location of the UPS facility and wrote them down.

Of course, life is never that simple for me, as I have written about before. When I set out for the interview — it was at twelve noon, so I had to leave my place by about eleven to get there, although I made sure to leave half an hour early in case I got lost — I made sure to follow the directions I had written down as best as I could. With extra time and written directions, what could possibly go wrong?

I ended up getting lost. It seemed like I drove around the entire town, searching for the UPS facility. I even stopped and asked for directions a couple of times, but somehow those didn’t help one bit. It was like getting stuck in a hard video game; you know what you have to do, but somehow thought fails to translate into action.

Right now, you’re probably thinking, “Geez, that’s pretty bad, but he had to find the place eventually, right?”

You’re absolutely right. I did find the UPS facility where I was supposed to be interviewed. I was quite late, of course, probably by about an hour or so, but at least I found it. Then I walked inside, apologized profusely to the job interviewer, swore never to be this late again, got the job, and went home with sunshine and rainbows dancing on my car hood.

Of course not. In reality, I didn’t know that was where I needed to be. The front door was locked, so I assumed it was the wrong place. It was only after I got home and called UPS to reschedule the interview that I learned that I had indeed found the right place, but you were supposed to go in through the back, which is why the front door was locked. How I was supposed to know that before, I didn’t know.

All I know is that it still rankles me even now, nearly a year later, whenever I think about it. I don’t obsess over it, but I imagine I’ll always remember this event, as it’s probably the biggest epic fail I have ever done in my life so far.

Have you ever had a tough time finding the place where you were supposed to get interviewed for a job?

-Tim