The Interview

"Hello! I'm Scott and I'm applying for the position of Morning Host for KSUN-FM. This radio station needs me," he announced with a wry smile. Although he had never worked at a radio station before, he was confident that he had a flair for the work.

The General Manager--Cliff Stone and the Program Director-- Jim Watts were not particularly impressed, but agreed to hear him out. Only one other person had shown up for an interview. He called himself "The Mouth," but the only thing that came out of his mouth was arrogant bullshit.

Milt "the mouth" had walked into Cliff's private office without knocking and asked, "When do I start and how much does this job pay?" He wanted to know if someone could bring him a cup of coffee. "After all, I'm the one who is going to save this station," he said, looking straight at Cliff.

With a grin on his face, Cliff approached, put his arm around Milt's shoulders, walked him to the door, pointed to the exit and said, "That's where you can get a cup of coffee for only a buck and a half" and then slammed the door behind him. That was the first time Jim had seen Cliff smile in months.

Amazed at how poorly the interview went, Milt passed Scott outside of the studio entrance, gave him a scowl and said, "You don't stand a chance with this guy. Turn around and leave now."

Inside, Cliff spoke with Jim and made a few unkind comments about Milt's interviewing skills, then went back to his office to make a call. Since Cliff was busy, Scott spent some time with Rusty Holt, the engineer and an old timer at the station. He got a quick introduction to some of the basics and bravely said he was ready to try a dry run.

Rusty could see that Scott was nervous, handed him a cup of water, told him to take his time and suggested that they walk through everything again. Despite spilling some water onto his notes, Scott said he was ready. It can't be that hard, he thought to himself.

As Cliff finished his call and began to listen to the audio, Rusty offered a few final words of advice. "Take a deep breath, concentrate on the first sentence and listen for my instructions. Good luck!"

With the microphone directly in front of him and his earphones hanging from his head, Scott was ready to give it a try. He pretended to interview the editor of the campus newspaper Jennifer McGraw. "Jen, what does the paper cover?" He answered for her. "We cover everything that happens on campus - Students, Faculty, Administration, Greek Life, Clubs and Sports," she said. "Is that all?" Scott asked. "Pretty much," Jennifer replied (Scott speaking for her of course.). "What about student employment issues, drugs, alcohol and sex on campus?" He intended to insert a bit of humor here but lost his place. Scott started laughing at himself. Cliff didn't like that. Rusty tried to help and spoke to Scott in his earphones, but Scott took off the earphones and ignored the instructions. Rusty cut to a commercial but Scott even interrupted the commercial and tried to speak over it. He thought that was funny too.

Neither Cliff nor Jim was happy. The audition ended with Cliff signaling Scott to 'come here' with his index finger, though he probably wished he could have used a different finger.

Things can only get better, Scott thought. However, Cliff thought differently. As he left the booth, all Scott could hear was Cliff's loud voice saying, "That's it. We've heard enough."

As Jim began to usher Scott toward the door, he heard Rusty say, "Sorry kid!" Sorry was not the word Scott wanted to hear. He wanted that job but was out on the street so quickly; he didn't even realize that he was still holding the empty cup.

Out Of The Dumps

Nothing worked out for Scott that day. While peddling his bike back across campus after the interview, he almost ran into a group of students and fell off his bike trying to avoid them. With his mind churning, Scott was not focused on his bleeding knee or the route he took. He didn't even remember how he got back to the dorm. Cliff's words were repeating in his head, "That's it. We've heard enough."

Scott wasn't used to losing out. It has always been difficult for Scott to accept the fact that he may not have been good enough. For about ten minutes, Scott just sat on his unmade bed with thoughts swirling around in his head. He couldn't move. Luckily the phone rang and it was Shirley. From his voice, she knew right away that the interview didn't go well. She rarely heard him sound so down in the dumps.

Shirley was the only person Scott openly trusted with his emotions. She wished that she could be there to lie down with him and hold him close so that he could feel her. Since they attended colleges a few hours apart, she had to use the magic words that would get through to Scott, "I want to be with you. Let's have sex this weekend." Of course it worked! He even smiled a bit when he remembered that old line, "'Sex' is not the answer, it is the question. Yes, is the answer."

Scott was thankful that Shirley was both obvious and generous with every form of affection. "It's been the absolute worst day and I really wish you were here. The weekend can't come soon enough," he told her.

"I'll be right here waiting," she said. "I'll pack a few sandwiches and we can walk around the lake. You know, my favorite place, where we can be alone, down by that old black walnut tree. We'll lay back on a blanket, look up at the sky, enjoy the warmth of the sun, smell the wildflowers and we'll hold each other so close that our bodies melt into each other, just like always. I love that place. I love you." She believed in him and made it easy for Scott to believe in himself.

Shirley always gave Scott a soft place to land when things went wrong. In fact, she was perfect for him, giving, gentle and loving most of the time, while holding her ground and requiring him to bend on other occasions. "If you really want this job, you can't give up. Go after it," Shirley said as she dispensed her wisdom. Shirley is right, Scott thought as they pretended to kiss goodbye.

Scott believed that most things happen for a reason. He realized that he didn't take the time to get prepared for the interview. He had tried to wing it and that didn't work. Now it was time for him to get back in the game. How does someone become a radio personality? He needed a plan. First, he knew that the right person would have the desire, intelligence, personality, wit and...