The Job Interview

She asked me what TV shows I watch.
“Desperate Housewives, Degrassi…even though some people think I’m too old for Degrassi. And I’m not just listing those because they’re CTV shows. I also like Six Feet Under.”
“So you like dramas.”
“I do. I’ll watch any teen drama.”
“What about magazines. Do you read Entertainment Weekly, People?”
“Sure.” (A lie. I don’t read them on purpose. I have an US weekly in my magazine rack, but only because I put it in Heather’s Christmas stocking and she left it in my possession when she was finished with it. And I do flip through trash-mags when I’m, say, at the doctor’s office — but only because flipping languidly from vapid article to glossy ad makes more sense than staring at the other patients, guessing what’s wrong with them, eavesdropping on their conversations, then writing about them on my blog like the sick puppy I am.) “I have a Vanity Fair in my bag.” I pulled it out and Irene smiled.
“That’s a great magazine.” (Also Heather’s)
Score!
I might have gone on too long about an article I disagreed with. Hitchens purported that women aren’t funny. Were I a cleverer person, I would have veered back to the television industry somehow — mentioned Corner Gas, how funny THAT is(n’t), and the great contributions women are(n’t) making to that show.

A few days later, I sent a follow-up email:

Hi Irene,

I'd like to thank you again for our meeting last week. I hope I answered all of your questions and sufficiently convinced you how good I would be in the position. As you saw on my resume, this would be a bit of a change from what I've been doing at Rogers TV, but I did get plenty of experience with logging tape, editing, and the TV industry in general during my time there. I think I could really jive with your team.
I'm eagerly awaiting your decision...and until then, happy interviewing!

Take care,
Julia

She replied by telling me thanks for my interest in the position, it was nice chatting with me. But the job was given to a person who has already been working at CTV. She’ll keep my resume on file.

So the Vanity Fair didn’t help much after all. Maybe a Macleans would have given me an advantage over this punk already working for the company. If the job was given to a snot-nosed Degrassi alumna, I’ll have no alternative but to add the show to my ever-expanding Boycott list — relevant teen issues or not!