1-3 The Interview
- Travel to Face
- 11月16日
- 読了時間: 2分
更新日：11月17日
— In the Quiet Office —
Stepping into the Dark
When I leapt into the office, everything was pitch black and I couldn’t see anything. Cold air from the air conditioner poured down on me from above.
In the next moment, the office lit up brightly, and when I narrowed my eyes, I saw the president at the back of the room, looking at me and pointing to the sofa in front of me.
“I’ll bring something cold to drink, so have a seat and wait,” he said, disappearing into the back room.
I felt I shouldn’t sit before he returned, so I stood beside the sofa and waited for him.
The office felt very clean and orderly. Right next to the sofa were four desks arranged in a square. A little farther away was another desk, which must have been the president’s.
Cold Tea and Warm Hospitality
“Sit, please, sit,” the president said cheerfully as he returned, carrying two glasses of tea filled with ice.
“Thank you very much for today’s interview,” I said, bowing deeply. My clothes, chilled and heavy with sweat cooled by the air conditioner, clung to my back.
I cautiously looked up at the president. Still holding both glasses, he said:
“I’m so glad you came today. It must have been hot outside. Please, have some cold tea first.”
Then he gently placed the glasses on the sofa table, as if inviting me to sit.
The interview was about to begin.
“Excuse me,” I said softly, bowing again before taking my seat on the sofa.
The President Speaks
“Nice to meet you,” the president said, and began to talk about the company.
He told me that they had three employees, that the average age was in the late thirties, and that he himself was almost sixty.
He described the kinds of travel products they sold, the daily work of the employees, and even admitted that things could be difficult at times because the company was small.
But as he spoke about the three employees— how they could be a bit troublesome but were very interesting, and how working with them meant that every day was full of surprises— he looked genuinely happy.
I wasn’t asked a single question. I simply listened to the president talk.
A Travel He Wants to Create
Then, his gaze drifted into the distance, as if looking at something far away.
“There’s a kind of travel I want to create,” he said. “And for that, I’m trying my best to hire just one more employee.”
A travel he wants to create? I didn’t understand what he meant, and I looked at him with a slightly stiff expression.
Then suddenly:
“Why did you decide to apply for an interview at this company?”
The question came without warning.
I had prepared an answer in advance, but something stopped me from giving it.
The truth was this:
I had no clear goal for my job hunt. I had forced myself to decide, “I like traveling,” and set travel agencies as my target. When I was exhausted from job hunting, I came across the company’s website and saw the president’s photo— his expression looked so genuinely joyful that I wanted to know why. That was why I applied for this interview.
“I like traveling,” I answered quietly, speaking toward the glass on the table.