...On the day of the interview, I made a prompt telephone call shortly before arriving for the appointment to ensure that the day and time were still good for the interview. When I learned that no changes have been made to the scheduled appointment, I arrived all but moments later. And having the receptionist open the door (it was locked), I walked in and was greeted in the usual fashion then given a short document [application?] to fill out while waiting for the SGA to become available. (...must be a very busy man...though, this morning, I had apparantly walked in right before he arrived at the office, which meant I was in luck...He hadn't even started he stress-filled day at the office, so I didn't have to wait up half an hour for the actual appointment!) Two minutes or so past while I was filling out the form. The door open suddenly and the receptionist direct her undivided attention at a large, shaded figure that I just could catch the back of out of the corner of my eye.
And so it was and there would be a different office worker who would direct me into the meeting area where the SGA waited, being seated on purpose and with intent at a cleared-off desk with nothing more than a few sheets of paper and a laptop computer. He invited me to have a seat, and I immediately noticed the same pinstripe suite I caught scurrying past the reception area. I helplessly made mention of the fact that I noticed him making his way past the reception area, as if telling on him. He smiled and gestured throughtout the entire interview to suggest that there was little room for small talk, and to be completely honest, I was not even allowed to fully mention my education, externship, and work histories. He made it self-evident that his chief concern for the interview was that he revealed the advantages to becoming an Insurance Sales Representative...far more than anything else, even though in my opinion by default, I always thought and continue to think that there were/are more "real life" disadvantages than advantages to being any kind of salesman. I felt that the interview seemed a little one-sided, but after I asked a couple of questions. (e.g., "Will travel be involved?" and "How soon could I expect corresponce after this interview?"), the interview seemed to have ended on a positive note.
Later that day, I recieved a phone call from the AIL office inviting me to come in on Monday for a second interview. This time I was instructed to bring additional items (driver's license, s.s. card, and a laptop computer).
That morning I made an attempt to bring all that was ask of me over the phone and I was on my way to completing a sucessful second interview in light of a new job. However the laptop that I brought was a powerful netbook computer with ample processing, laptop hard disk space, and the screen resolution of a large computer monitor...being a previous computer technical support student, I knew that this netbook was an apt substitute for a laptop and, as my 17-inch laptop had died on me, the netbook just had to do. Yeah, I knew the screen was small, that's why I used my tech skills to "force" my netbook to have greater resolution capabilities than a 17-inch laptop. Even so, the SGA took one look at the physical size of the thing and told me that the 10-inch screen gives netbook computers too much of a "personal" touch that is not useful in saleman presentation. Of course I debated a little but eventually I had to concede, after all, "bigger is better" for use in presentation... no matter how souped-up my netbook is.
Personally, and I do mean "personally," I believe that if you are doing work for a company (especially, one such as this one, where it will be you who actually generate residual subscriber income for a company that will continue to receive these incomes long after you are gone due to eventual failure to meet weekly quotas), why can't the company at least provide you with the equipment necessary to do this for it. (*Smile*) The company-provided laptop computer should automatically become your souvenir upon termination. (Sheeesh!)
