Content
Me vs. A One-Hour Zoom Call I never really learned how to interview or present myself well because I was so afraid of speaking due to my stutter. I'm a graphic designer and for the most part my work speaks for itself, and I’ve lucked into hiring managers who were willing to look past my awkward interviews. I always do much better once I’ve been somewhere for a few months and I’m more comfortable with the people and the job. Recently I started looking to advance my career and applied for my first six-figure position. The role was basically what I already do, just on a larger team with better pay. On paper it was such a good fit. My experience, my skills, my portfolio… everything lined up. And then I absolutely bombed the interview. I kept stumbling over words, getting blocks, and losing my train of thought because I was so nervous. I just kept getting more flustered as it went on… and it went on for a full hour! It was brutal for me and my interviewers, I'm sure. I’m really lucky to love where I work right now and to have a great team, but it’s hard to advance here, and I feel like I could learn a lot more on a bigger team. I know I’m still in a good spot and I’ll have better interviews in the future, but it really sucks that so much of this comes down to how smoothly I can talk to a bunch of strangers on a Zoom call instead of what I can actually do.